The aging of the American population is emerging as one of the most profound public health and social issues that students today will face. The field of aging presents a excellent opportunity for interdisciplinary research and problem solving as it combines disciplines of cell biology, genetics, neuroscience, health, epidemiology, and social issues. There is a dearth of educational programs that focus on aging for the general public and an almost complete lack of inclusion of the topic in general science and health textbooks, and in the national science and health standards. Videodiscovery proposes to develop Understanding Aging, a series of multidisciplinary educational modules dealing with the biological and social aspects of aging that can be integrated into the high school and undergraduate college curriculum. The Videodiscovery Digital Library (VDL TM) is an online instructional delivery system consisting of 30,000 images and movies with associated descriptive text, lessons and retrieval software. This unique resource offers teachers and students a comprehensive, high quality, highly organized science media collection that can improve science learning at all levels. In addition to the image retrieval and curriculum module investigatoring software there is fully integrated assessment engine that administers and scores interactive video tests that are tied to educational objectives. The subscription based- VDL is delivered on a dedicated server located at each site or by a centrally hosted server. During Phase I funding, a set of prototype modules will be developed and tested at the upper high school and undergraduate level. During Phase II, a complete educational program will be developed that will integrate aging topics throughout the science curriculum. This will prepare individuals to anticipate and prepare for the aging process in themselves and family members. It will also stimulate interest in young people in pursuing research or health service careers that focus on aging. Understanding Aging materials will be distributed as part of the VDL and as a stand-alone DVD ROM.
