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Developing a Multi-disciplinary Online Cyberinfrastructure Course through Project-Centric Bioinformatics Abstract

It is increasingly difficult for teaching to keep pace with rapid advances in technology, especially at the interface of several disciplines. We describe here the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary bioinformatics course focused on preparing the future scientific workforce. Central to the course is a project-centric teaching paradigm to engage students in applying the concepts of cyberinfrastructure through the integration of the disciplines of biology, computer science, mathematics, and statistics in the field of bioinformatics. In this project, Bluefield State College (BSC) professors and their students were introduced to the concepts of cyberinfrastructure (CI) through the application of genomics software tools and data. The cornerstone of the project-centric approach was the development and implementation of educational modules centered on applying a transdisciplinary approach to specific and typical challenges that are faced by current scientists in the area of pathosystems biology (host- pathogen-environment interactions). The course modules were further modified by BSC to fit their students and training objectives. We report here the first implementation of the CI course and a summary of our initial observations to aid others in implementing similar courses. Specifically, we discuss materials developed at Bluefield and implementation of the Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART) Course Management Service (CMS) at BSC in the delivery of the course as well as the assessment.

Introduction

It is increasingly difficult for teaching to keep pace with rapid advances in science and technology, especially at the interface of several disciplines. The rapid and continued developments in information technology are now the driving forces of many of these advances. To address this challenge, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) convened a Blue Ribbon Panel to explore the trends in information technology and to make strategic recommendations on programs that NSF should award in response to advances in information technology. The summary report from this event, now referred to as the Atkins Report (Atkins et al., 2003) on Cyberinfrastructure (CI), launched an NSF funded program towards the integration of Information technology (IT)-enabled systems, tools, and services to create a national cyberinfrastructure directorate. The premise was that integration of the multitude of tools and services into a national cyberinfrastructure directorate would enable access to multidisciplinary information for many individuals and groups that had previously been marginalized and thereby revolutionize the way science is done. Specifically, the goals were to harness the full power of cyberinfrastructure for discovery, learning, and innovation across and within all areas of science and engineering in the preparation of a workforce with the knowledge and requisite skills needed to create, advance, and exploit cyberinfrastructure over the long-term. Thus a Cyberinfrastructure Training Education Advancement and Mentoring (CI-TEAM) program was created.

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Craddock, L., & Rainey, D., & Faulkner, S., & Hart, F., & Eborall, M., & Foster, L., & Cammer, S., & Tretola, B., & Sobral, B., & Crasta, O., & Mutter, B. (2007, June), Developing A Multidisciplinary Online Cyberinfrastructure Course Through Project Centric Bioinformatics Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2143