This CI-TEAM project will demonstrate how to empower local governments, policymakers, students and K-12 teachers to take advantage of cyberinfrastructure (CI) in the environmental arena. Specifically, the project will develop educational modules on CI for environmental monitoring and modeling and combine them into four mini-courses targeted at personnel in local governments, policy-makers, students in environmental science, geography, biology, engineering, public administration, social science and highschool teachers. The work builds upon and goes beyond the ECOPLEX (Environmental Conditions Online for the DFW MetroPLEX) program created by the University of North Texas and the City of Denton that has been running for six years. The innovative research and development to support the education modules include: a wireless sensor network to monitor soil moisture over a watershed; a low-cost total column ozone automated monitor; and a web portal that supports sophisticated analysis and modeling tools. The educational modules will focus on: wireless sensor use and deployment, databases and documentation, data analysis and modeling, and environmental decision policymaking. The modules will eventually be merged and modified, into one three-credit hour course, which would be offered as elective credit possibly with a hybrid of on-line and on-site instruction mode to educate graduate students in several fields as well as allow current high school teachers and local government personnel the opportunity to participate in the course for continuing education credit while they are in the work force.
This project targets a very broad stakeholder audience responsible for environmental observation, education and decision making across multiple levels of public entities, particularly in local governments, high schools and universities, thus will have very broader impacts. It prepares the next generation of scientists and engineers and also the citizenry to be able to interpret data in order to make informed environmental decisions. This improved information awareness of such considerable cross-section of society will have profound and broad effects on the quality of individual choices and public policy. An intensive outreach program directed at the general public of all ages with emphasis on traditionally underrepresented groups will also be implemented based on: a field-based lesson at the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA), a week-long Watershed Summer Day Camp and a Watershed Family Fun Science Saturday offered at the Elm Fork Education Center (EFEC). Upon completion of this project, these programs will be offered at LLELA and EFEC every school year. All materials including lessons, training program, and datasets will be available on the project web portal and thus available to the public at large.
