OceanTeacher

From OceanTeacher

1 Background & Introduction
2 Learning Resources in OceanTeacher
3 Training Courses Based on OceanTeacher
4 About OceanTeacher's WIKI Format

OceanTeacher is being re-written during 2009, so you may still find articles that are empty, incomplete or in draft form. We anticipate that the work will be substantially complete during the first quarter of 2010.

Background & Introduction

Welcome to OceanTeacher, an online encyclopedia about marine data management and marine information management, designed for training advanced students and mid-level professionals. OceanTeacher consists of a large number of integrated articles on information and data topics, paired with a set of course manuals that "point" to selected articles and exercises, in a highly organized way. OceanTeacher is designed to disseminate knowledge to a professional audience of marine data and information managers working in marine data and information centres worldwide. But it may also be of interest to marine scientists, university students and policy makers.

You may find information on any marine data and information management topic by entering a corresponding term in the search window. “Go” will direct you to an article with this title (if such an article exists); “Search” will provide an overview of articles in which your search term appears. You will find an explanation of terms and acronyms in the Glossary.

OceanTeacher is an activity of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) Programme of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) . The OceanTeacher project is managed by the IODE Steering Group for OceanTeacher.

We also invite marine data and information managers to make a contribution by sharing their knowledge and expertise. You may contribute in several ways: you may improve or update an existing article, you may add a discussion page to an existing article or you may add a new topic. For more information on contributing to OceanTeacher, contact Dr. Wouter Rommens, IODE Project Ofﬁce Training Coordinator (wouter.rommens@iode.org) or Peter Pissierssens, IODE Programme Coordinator (p.pissierssens@unesco.org)
The OceanTeacher training program is principally concerned today with the advance of marine data management skills among a global community of scientists who rely mainly on the Windows operating system on a personal computer. Our bias toward these resources is quite obvious in many articles, where you will find methods and discussions based completely on the Windows/PC paradigm, without reference to UNIX/LINUX options or other higher-level systems. As OceanTeacher grows in the future, we hope to expand the scope to include all systems and software.

Learning Resources in OceanTeacher

This is just a brief overview of the main topics in OceanTeacher. You can browse through the entire typology of articles by clicking on the Navigation Tree link in the menu on the left.

General Information: Overview information, information for editors and authors, contact information and other explanatory materials
Marine Information Management: On our blue planet, the dominant feature is ocean. It contains 97 percent of the Earth’s water and releases vapor into the atmosphere that returns as rain, sleet, and snow, ever replenishing the planet with freshwater. All life, including our own, is dependent on the ocean. Understanding the ocean is integral to comprehending this planet on which we live. Understanding the ocean is more than a matter of curiosity. Exploration, inquiry and study are required to better understand ocean systems and processes.; Marine Science Libraries hold an important role in promoting information about the marine environment: information provision to the policy makers - educating the next generation of environmental stewards; attracting a future environmentally concerned workforce and generating an ocean literate public that understands the value of the ocean and can make appropriate decisions to protect it. On an International scale, networks of Marine Information Management (MIM) Centers, collaborating to produce products and services, strengthen our global understanding of ocean processes and conditions. Marine Information Management is a vital process in this knowledge cycle.
Marine Data Management: The techniques and methods used by professional earth scientists to build, quality-manage, catalog, and operate marine data assemblies in support of a broad range of research, survey and operational programs, including governmental and intergovernmental elemosynary agencies. Operations include the provision of data to the user community, according to disciplinary, temporal, spatial and formatting requirements, and the publication of higher-level, usually multi-disciplinary, synthesis products beyond the scope of typical individual requests. Marine data management extends to include public and formal education about the nature and content of marine databases, and about the proper interpretation/use of major data products and analyses.

Training Courses Based on OceanTeacher

A number of courses have been developed, using the articles in OceanTeacher and other online resources. Go to the OceanTeacher Classroom to see the available titles.