Community Opportunity: Help us update data-rich activities

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Workshop participants at the Earth Educators' Rendezvous CCT workshop.

Provenance: Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

The current political climate has drawn into question the longevity and availability of information and data stored on federal websites. Many teaching materials in the Teach the Earth collection rely on linking out to these websites for updated instructions or current datasets as part of the classroom activity. One way to safeguard teaching materials from becoming unusable if the websites they rely on go dark is to update the materials to include all the information and data needed to complete the activity within the activity page.

The newly developed Community Contribution Tool (CCT) provides a mechanism for community members to do this update for any activities you use, and to share the revisions with the broader community. This might involve uploading data files, adding PDF versions of key web pages, or adding contextual notes to ensure future usability.

The CCT is more than just a safety net. It's a platform for continuous improvement and community collaboration. You can:

• Update outdated activities: Upload documents such as updated Excel files or resources that help refresh content to reflect the latest research, pedagogical approaches, and technological advancements.
• Localize resources: Have you tailored activities to suit your specific region, classroom, or student demographics, making them more engaging and relevant to your students? Upload materials related to your application to share with others!
• Ensure longevity: Proactively save data and key web pages, preventing activities from becoming unusable.

By empowering educators to take ownership of the resources you use, this tool provides a tangible way to preserve and enhance the materials you depend on.

Making a contribution

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If you've used a SERC-hosted activity, you can share your modifications using the CCT. To do this,

1. Find the original page describing the activity
2. Use the button (available both at the top of the page and in the Teaching Notes section) to the Community Contribution Tool form. Use the form to provide a written description of your modification and upload any related files (e.g. if you modified a student handout to work better in your teaching context, or updated the data from the set used in the original activity).
3. After submitting the form it will be vetted by staff (to weed out spam submissions) and then will appear on the public page with attribution to you.

Want to get updates if someone submits a community contribution for an activity you use? Take advantage of the Favorites feature that allows you to sign up for email updates about changes to activities you've added to your personal favorites list.

SERC has started this work

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Recently, SERC staff worked to preserve data sets for teaching activities that relied on NOAA websites and data, which were initially slated for immediate shutdown. We used the CCT tool to safeguard these resources, ensuring their continued availability and helping preserve the usability of the activity. This effort showcases the CCT's effectiveness in responding to potential data loss. We invite you to help us continue this work.

Learn more about the CCT and how to use it »