Finding and using data in educational digital libraries

THREDDS (Thematic Real-Time Earth Distributed Data Servers) services catalog geophysical data and other data services to support discovery and use by researchers. THREDDS, however, doesn't support data discovery and use by learners and educators (i.e. novices). Educational digital libraries, like DLESE (Digital Library for Earth System Education) provide rich metadata descriptions that are effective in helping novices locate and use most types of learning resources. DLESE, however, doesn't provide a way for novices to discover geophysical data in immediately usable forms. The VGEE (Visual Geophysical Exploration Environment) supports novices' discovery and use of geophysical data by linking THREDDS services with educational curricula and learner-centered data tools. The curricula are cataloged in DLESE and so can be discovered in educational settings. These curricula then guide novices to the appropriate tools and illustrate meaningful use of the data. More generally, by coupling data to curricular documents, text-based discovery tools (e.g. search engines) can be extended to data.