SCEC Demonstrates Education Modules at IRIS Annual Meeting

"DESC Online" Product

In July, the Education and Outreach Program the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) sponsored a workshop entitled "Seismology Software for the Classroom: a Workshop for Developers and Users." The workshop served as a promotional tool for the development of educational seismology software for the undergraduates.

Held on the campus of UC Santa Cruz, the workshop brought scientists and programmers together with end-users to explore the range of currently available software and exchange ideas for future development. Participants investigated the features of each application and explored ideas about how to use it in the class-room. The software developers included SCEC's DESC Online (Development of Earth Science Curricula Online) team. Web author John Marquis, manager Katrin Hafner, and Outreach Specialist Sara Tekula showcased DESC Online software and shared ideas with other developers and users.

About 20 users and developers met the Ming Ong Computer Lab on campus to see each other's software in action. Applications for both major personal computer platforms were presented, includ-ing MatSeis (Mark Harris of Sandia National Laboratories), Wiggles (Chuck Ammon of St. Louis University), WinQuake 32 (Larry Cochrane at Public Seismic Network), DIMAS (Dima Droznin, Petro-Pavlovsk, Kamchatka, Russia), and Seismic-Eruption (Alan Jones at SUNY-Binghampton). Web-based applica-tions like SCEC's Investigating Earthquakes through Regional Seismicity and the Live Internet Seismic Server (Bob Woodward, Albuquerque Seismological Lab) demonstrated how real-time data could be incorporated into the classroom setting to create a dynamic natural laboratory.

Overall, the workshop served as a forum for undergraduate-level professors to learn from each other's "home-grown" applications. IRIS will continue to facilitate dialogue between these groups and hold similar workshops for K-12 and adult education.

For more information about SCEC's educational software or educational programs in general, contact Sara Tekula at 213-740-2099.