Networked Computing for the 21st Century Education, Training, and Human Resources

	Overview centers for Learning Technologies Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence initiative Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) NLM HPCC Training Grants National center for Research Resources (NCRR) NASA Learning Technologies Project Presidential Technology Initiative and Training Research for Automated Instruction
Overview	ETHR R&D supports computer- and communications-related research to advance education and training technologies at all levels including K-12, community college, technical school, trade school, university undergraduate and graduate, and lifelong learning. The complex and technically challenging applications flowing from leading-edge R&D in HECC and LSN make it increasingly important for today's students and professionals to update their education and training on an ongoing basis in order to adopt the latest technological advances. ETHR technologies improve the quality of today's science and engineering education and lead to more knowledgeable and productive citizens. ETHR R&D will: Encourage collaborations in research, development, and evaluation of education, training, and human resources among Federal agencies, academia, and industry Advance technologies for high-quality, affordable software learning tools Encourage development of information-based models of educational systems and learning productivity Support research on information technology applied to learning and cognitive processes Demonstrate innovative technologies and networking applications. The training of the next generation of citizens skilled in developing and using information technologies is critical to the ongoing effort of maintaining U.S. competitiveness in today's highly aggressive international market environment. FY 1998 and anticipated FY 1999 ETHR R&D investments will continue to support this effort.
centers for Learning Technologies	NSF has recently funded three national centers for learning to develop a new generation of researchers and computer tools focused on learning technologies: The center for Interdisciplinary Research in Constructive Learning Environments, a partnership of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University, aims to develop a new generation of computer tutoring systems that adds advanced planning and natural language components to existing intelligent tutoring systems. The center will test the new tutors in collaborating schools and will serve as a technology transfer center enabling developers, researchers, and educators to integrate these advances into existing educational practices and upgrade tutors already in use by thousands of students. The center for Learning Technology in Urban Schools, a partnership of the Chicago and Detroit public schools with researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, will assist teams of teachers and researchers in learning how to make new technologies work in urban and non-urban communities across the Nation. The center will encourage new technologies and improved school organizations that are better structured to adopt new technologies and rigorous new science curricula. The center for Innovative Learning Technologies, a partnership of SRI International, University of California-Berkeley, Vanderbilt University, and the Concord Consortium, will investigate virtual learning communities, visualization and modeling, uses of low-cost ubiquitous computing, and learning assessment. The center will provide the infrastructure for synthesizing learning technology R&D and implementing lessons across projects, stimulating rapid innovation, multidisciplinary collaboration, and support for mathematics and science learning. The center will train postdoctoral scholars from multiple disciplines to provide future leadership in learning technologies.
Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence initiative	In FY 1999, NSF will continue investing in both Collaborative Research in Learning Technologies and Learning and Intelligent Systems (LIS) through its KDI initiative.   NSF's LIS program will study cognition, neuroscience, information technologies, and related disciplines. Supported work focuses on "learning about learning" by emphasizing the integration of theory with experiments that ground, test, and advance basic understanding of learning and intelligent behavior. Learning technology projects funded under LIS include research on learning applied to reading proficiency, learning applied to navigation problems, learning using intelligent agents, and the development of multiple-user environments for teacher training. As part of this investment, NSF plans to fund an educational digital library under a new Digital Library solicitation and will continue to support work in educational object environments and advanced distributed learning.
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT)	Meeting the challenge of educating scientists, mathematicians, and engineers for the 21st century will require a new paradigm in graduate training. To address this need, NSF is establishing the IGERT program in FY 1998. A Foundation-wide, multidisciplinary, graduate training effort, IGERT will develop innovative, research-based, graduate education and training activities that will produce a diverse group of new scientists and engineers well-prepared for a broad spectrum of career opportunities in both academic and industrial environments. Supported projects must be based upon a multidisciplinary research theme and organized around a diverse group of investigators from U.S. Ph.D.-granting institutions with appropriate research and teaching interests and expertise.   Two additional programs are eligible for IGERT support: KDI -- to understand how educational and scientific communities can educate new generations of learners Graduate education -- to integrate education and research
NLM HPCC training grants	There is a shortage of biomedical professionals trained in the use of modern computer and telecommunications systems. Current U.S. needs include both biomedical professionals cross-trained in informatics, and professionals from computer and information sciences and engineering who have had doctoral or post doctoral training in the application of these technologies to health problems. To help address these needs, NLM is expanding its successful predoctoral and postdoctoral grants program for career training in medical informatics. Grants will be made in research and application, and in HPCC-in-medicine fellowship training support.     NLM provides educational grants to cultivate cross-trained biomedical/ computer/ telecommunications professionals.
National center for Research Resources (NCRR)	NCRR supports high performance computing training at six high performance computer resource centers and at two graphics/visualization resource centers. These centers provide training for students (undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral) attending the host institutions, and for scientists and students (including postdoctoral) outside these institutions. Current participants include biologists and scientists in related disciplines who need to learn about high performance computing, and computer scientists who need to better understand the capabilities and needs of high performance computing as applied to biomedical research.
NASA Learning Technologies project	Through the Internet, NASA is reaching into America's classrooms to make a difference in the quality and content of mathematics, science, and technology education. Using the Web as a primary medium, NASA hosts virtual electronic field trips, collaborative science projects, and distance learning activities, and allows students to interact with scientists in real time.   NASA's cooperative agreement, "Public Use of Earth and Space Science Data over the Internet," demonstrated mature K-12 education products and innovative digital library technologies. Current activities available through NASA Regional Outreach centers and education cooperative agreements will continue to make an impact on education and information delivery over the Internet.   NASA's Learning Technologies Project (LTP) is now developing a digital audio network testbed that will initially support 5,000 schools nationwide. This audio-based Internet infrastructure will be used to communicate NASA science and make distance learning technologies more widely available. Interaction and training will be provided through NASA's Learning Technologies Channel.     LTP is NASA communicating science -- letting students and teachers know that while imagination starts at the ground floor, the sky is not the limit.
Presidential Technology Initiative and Training Research for Automated Instruction	Two Federal agencies -- DoD and its Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) -- that are not part of the CIC budget crosscuts, participate in ETHR activities. Among them, the Department of Defense Educational Program (DoDEA) is a learner-centered educational organization providing its students with the knowledge and skills required for high levels of achievement.     DoDEA's Presidential Technology Initiative encourages software developers to use their institution's Web sites for sharing and interacting with the DoDEA teachers who will be their partners in finishing software projects and rapidly making them available to DoDEA students.   The AFOSR-supported Training Research for Automated Instruction (TRAIN) project is a large scale, long-term effort designed to investigate instructional approaches for automated education and training. These include a human performance taxonomy, benchmarks, and experiments. This work is being made available to extramural researchers. A computer laboratory has been built at Lackland (CA) Air Force Base to support TRAIN goals.