This project is planning and implementing a meeting in Fall 2008 for the PIs and projects supported by the NSDL program and for the communities directly engaged with these projects and with NSDL.org, specifically K-12 and higher education STEM teachers and learners. In the distributed, networked environment in which NSDL projects and NSDL.org are developed and used, face-to-face meetings provide opportunities to exchange research results and promising practices and to explore common challenges and solutions. The cross-section of PIs and project staff who attend ensures an exchange of ideas vertically and horizontally. The primary goals of the meeting are: i) to provide opportunities for networking for all attendees; ii) to feature accomplishments of the NSDL community; and iii) to demonstrate the value of NSDL projects' contributions to cyber-enabled STEM education. Outcomes include: i) documentation of the meeting planning process, including timelines and communications, proposal review processes, and a meeting website; ii) an archive of meeting presentations and posters; and iii) an end-of-meeting survey and related report to the NSDL community. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its support and facilitation of meeting attendees' exchange of research results and new ideas. In addition the meeting planning team has an ongoing commitment to integrate emerging technologies and services that support peer connections during the meeting planning process and during and after the meeting. The annual meeting itself is exerting broader impact by drawing together researchers and developers of educational cyberinfrastructure with users of cyber-enabled STEM education resources from across the United States. In addition, significant participant support costs broaden the spectrum of participation beyond NSF-funded projects. Participants also disseminate meeting results; and presentations are archived at the meeting website.
