Project Suggestion: NSDL CS

• Number of people: 2-3
• Goal: Finish developing a CS collection proposal for NSDL, due 4/11/2001
• Contact information: Professor Lillian (Boots) Cassel at Villanova (cassel@acm.org), Professor Lee Giles at Penn State (Giles@ist.psu.edu), Professor John Impagliazzo at Hofstra (cscjzi@Mail1.Hofstra.edu) and the instructor, along with local faculty Professors Lee (janlee@cs.vt.edu) and Perez (perez@cs.vt.edu)
• Required background: interest in education and computing
• Description: NSF proposes to build a digital library to help undergraduate students, NSDL (National Science (and Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education) Digital Library - see references). There is need for a group to coordinate this effort for the field of computing and information technology. This project aims to help develop such a collections-oriented proposal.

  First, students should study about the NSDL and related activities. See references below. This phase of activity also will include looking at digital library proposals funded in related areas. Note: By and large, this phase has been largely completed by students in Fall 2000.

  Second, students will talk with with each of the instructors listed as contacts to collect ideas. Contacts also should be made with publishers to develop a team for this work, leading to our getting support letters from those publishers.

  Third, students will go through 2-3 cycles of outlining and partially drafting a proposal that can be refined to ultimately be submitted in April. Note: There are several drafts already prepared but we need a series of further ones so the proposal is superbly written and clear.

  References:

  (1) NSF, "National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library (NSDL) - Program Solicitation," National Science Foundation NSF 00-44, 2000. http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0044. Note: This is superceded by the version mentioned below as reference 6.
  (2) NSF, "National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library (NSDL) - Program Information". National Science Foundation, 2000. http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/nsdl/
  (3) SMETE.ORG. Website for one of pilot projects related to the NSDL, pointing to many of the other projects, http://www.smete.org
  (4) D. Knox, S. Grissom, E. A. Fox, R. Heller, and D. Watkins, "CSTC: Computer Science Teaching Center", 2000. http://www.cstc.org
  (5) Lillian Cassel and Edward A. Fox, co-editors, ACM Journal of Educational Resources in Computing (JERIC, http://purl.org/net/JERIC/)
  (6) NSF, "National Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Digital Library (NSDL) Program Solicitation", National Science Foundation NSF 01-55, 2001, http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0155

  
  

• Honors students involved during Fall 2000:
  • Kate McDevitt, kmcdevit@vt.edu] (continuing, working on independent study in Spring 2001)
  • Brian Hobbs, brhobbs1@vt.edu (graduated in Dec. 2000)