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1999-2000 |
| The NETWORK RESOURCES AND TRAINING SITE (NRTS) housed at Elizabeth City State University is designed to serve the states of North Carolina and Virginia. The NRTS provides technology training and facilitate HBCU/MI network opportunities in research and education for science/mathematics faculty and students, as well as for the teachers of predominately minority-attended elementary and secondary schools in ECSU's region. Research focus for this NRTS include High Performance Networks and Earth System Science. |
| Attached you will find the annual report for the Network Resources and Training Site located on the campus of Elizabeth City State University. The report documents the activities and initiatives conducted by the NRTS during the 1999-2000 FY. Initiatives have involved K-12 partners, HBCU/MI partners, ECSU faculty and students. Over sixty workshops were conducted including two major training events. More than 1400 educators and students participated in the onsite and off-site workshops. Many of the workshops used the computer laboratories located on the campuses of our HBCU/MI and K-12 partners. Workshops were organized to strengthen research at partner schools and associate those efforts with NASA Opportunities. Physics, mathematics, biology, and chemistry faculty from all partner schools actively participated and contributed to these workshops. Highlights from many of the workshops and other activities can be found in the Appendix. |
| Funds directly paid to partners and paid in training stipends amounted to over $120,000.00. Funds paid to our industrial partner, ADNET Systems, Inc. for network engineering and for staff, indirect cost and fringe benefits totalled over $80,000. Scholarships, awards and fellowships paid to students amounted to over $15,000. There was an additional $50,000 allocated for videoconferencing equipment and ISDN service fees. |
| The ECSU-NRTS is moving ECSU and partners to be in a competitive position, where they can fit into the critical path identified in NASA's strategic plan for research and/or education. To that end, building partnerships has been a major NRTS focus. The result has been increased participation with NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Space Science Enterprise, and NASA's NOVA and ALERT Programs. Further, Langley Educator Resource Center, Langley Research Center, JPL, John Glenn Research Center and Goddard's Space Flight Center have developed relevant initiatives with the ECSU NRTS and its partners. |
| University partners held four training activities and strategy meetings during the 1999-00 FY. Included in this training was JAVA Training at Norfolk State University, CGI Script Training at ECSU, NOVA Training at Hampton University and AVS/Express Training at ECSU. The NRTS also hosted several videoconferences including a Space Mission Involvement Videoconference, a Webchat with Astronaut Michael Anderson, Earth Science Education Funding Announcement Videoconference, and The MURED Millennium Videoconference. |
| All partners have now established a webpage which focuses on NRTS activities. The webpages are housed on the ECSU Umfort server and are available for viewing at http://nia.ecsu.edu/nrts/nrtspartners.html. |
| Both curriculum and research initiatives have been implemented in the NRTS Educational Plan which focuses on Earth System Science and Technology. Initiatives have targeted both university and K-12 partners in an effort to strengthen the mathematics and science curriculum and research activities. The 1999-00 initiatives have shifted the focus away from infrastructure and instead have been designed to enhance the science and research capability of partners and their affiliation with the centers. All activities have a NASA related component designed to introduce or better acquaint partners with the resources and research opportunities available through Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters, and Langley Research Center. Representatives from the centers and other NRTS have been involved with each university activity. |
| The Network Resources and Training Site project fits in well with the institution's education strategic plan The first of new courses and new degrees is now being implemented. ECSU is fully committed to the goals of the earth science and environmental science research and education focus of this NRTS. This plays a key role in higher education mathematics and science education. Both the Mathematics of the Great Dismal Swamp project; The Earth System Science Academy; and the Satellite Imagery project are fully supportive of the goals and directions of the Geoscience Dept. and the Mathematics and Computer Science Department. |
| The NRTS projects fits well with the institution's education strategic plan. The first of new courses and degrees is now being implemented. This includes a new degree in Marine Environmental Science scheduled to begin during Fall 2000, Both the Geoscience Department and The Division of Education have laboratories that have been provided through NRTS efforts. Both the Geoscience Department (CET ESS On-line Courses) and the Mathematics Education Program (Mathematics of the Great Dismal Swamp) have newly funded NASA Earth Science initiatives acquired through the NRTS. The Division of Education will enroll the first cohort in its new Masters Degree program in Education. Aligned with the NRTS expert site directive have been a number of university programs. |
| Four Earth Science Education awards were received by NRTS partners as a result of these activities. The initiatives are described in the Earth Science Enterprise 2000 Education Catalog. Page numbers are indicated after the name of the initiatives. The titles of these awards are: Mathematics of the Dismal Swamp (p.20); You Be The Scientist with Satellite Imagery in EZ/EC Communities http://nia.ecsu.edu/nrts/ess/earth.html (page 8); NSU/NASA Research Experience in Earth System Science http://vigyan.nsu.edu/reess (page 11); and Norfolk State University Scenario Based Learning: Inquiry for a Digital Earth (page 56). Also included in the Earth Science Enterprise 2000 Education Catalog is the Annual Earth System Science Academy (page 26). |
| The Virginia-based Institute for Global Environmental Strategies has taken an important first step in creating a national infrastructure to promote on-line professional development for K-12 science educators. The non-profit agency announced the selection of six organizations that will receive funding to offer on-line Earth System Science courses for educators. The effort promises to improve science education by impacting the knowledge, skills, and resources of thousands of teachers nationwide. ECSU is one of the six organizations selected by NASA's Earth Science Education Office to administer this program. The MU-SPIN Office has provided funding for Hampton University to also offer the on-liine courses. |
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