Virtual Learning Community, Instructional Technologies, and IT Integration

The National Science Foundation defines "cyberlearning" as "the use of networked computing and communications technologies to support learning." The report of the NSF Task Force on Cyberlearning, Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge, A 21st Century Agenda for the National Science Foundation, identifies cyberlearning as having "…the potential to transform education throughout a lifetime, enabling customized interaction with diverse learning materials on any topic..."

The task force report identifies potential ways in which advanced computing and communications technologies might be leveraged to support learning, highlighting opportunities for further research. In it, the task force offers 5 recommendations for the NSF to pursue:

• Help build a vibrant cyberlearning field by promoting cross-disciplinary communities of cyberlearning researchers and practitioners
• Instill a "platform perspective"—shared, interoperable designs of hardware, software, and services—into NSF's cyberlearning activities
• Emphasize the transformative power of information and communications technology for learning, from K to grey
• Adopt programs and policies to promote open educational resources
• Take responsibility for sustaining NSF-sponsored cyberlearning innovations

(For EDUCAUSE materials on cyberinfrastructure in teaching and learning, please visit EDUCAUSE Resource Library Cyberinfrastructure web page and look for the "CI Teaching & Learning" tab under "Featured Content.")

Engineering Informatics for Bio-Inspired Robots is an NSF-funded project trying to break down barriers to collaboration between engineering and computer science departments. Faculty members participating in the project are teaching the next generation of engineers and computer scientists to produce intelligent design by reaching across disciplines. The goal is to ensure that students are better prepared to tackle the multidisciplinary demands of the engineering and computing industries. As part of the project, participating institutions are leveraging cyberinfrastructure to share expertise, store research results, and advocate for multidisciplinary instruction, demonstrating the power of inter-institutional cooperation for teaching and learning.

The author provides a long and comprehensive list of resources concerning teaching and learning with technology.

nanoHUB is an online portal for nanotechnology researchers, instructors, and students created by Purdue University and the National Science Foundation. It uses cyberinfrastructure to provide access to scientific tools for research, demonstration, and collaboration, as well as instructional materials. Users can run experiments, review research, or download lectures. nanoHUB is a virtual toolkit as well as a community where students and faculty contribute to the science of nanotechnology.