Using the World Wide Web to link marine scientists and educators

Abstract

The Bridge, a unique web-based resource center and clearinghouse, will bring together marine educators, academia, private industry, and government in support of quality marine education. It will provide educators with a comprehensive source of accurate and useful information on global, national, and regional marine science topics, and provide researchers with a contact point for educational outreach. Project partners, the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) and Sea Grant's marine education programs, together with a network of affiliated websites, bring to the Bridge a national presence and established collaborative infrastructure in marine education, a suite of complimentary resources, and ready access to current scientific and educational information. Key project elements: Collaborative NMEA and Sea Grant management, National scope and impact, Supporting regional network, Scientific review panel, Emphasis on quality information and materials, Improved educators' access to current data and information, Improved opportunity for scientists' educational outreach, E-mail discussion group for marine educators and scientists, Easy to use, navigate, and search. The Bridge will establish and nurture a broad-based, long term partnership among project partners, oceanographic researchers, and educators. It is supported by the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP), Sea Grant, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and NMEA. The website will open in 1998.