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ANALYSIS OF WEBSPACE

I.  Overview 

The use of the internet as a “commons” for educational resource sharing has attracted increasing interest over the past two years, especially as Web 2.0 revolutionizes the way we think about and interact with websites.  Governments, nonprofits, academic institutions, and individuals are pouring huge amounts of resources and personal efforts into what is now known as the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, a collaborative effort to create, maintain, and share free and high-quality educational resources online.  The OER Grapevine on Wikipedia maintains a list of major OER projects, many of which are still in their early stages and extensively funded by foundations such as the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Shuttleworth Foundation.  Several of these projects, specifically those more relevant to the aims of Science Club Commons, are explored in further detail below. 
 
However, nearly all current OER initiatives focus on standard school curriculum and coursework.  In the subject of elementary school-level math, for example, most OER sites provide extensive learning materials on core topics such as addition, subtraction, fractions, and basic algebra.  Very few, if any, emphasize the creative problem solving and interesting, yet nonessential, topics featured much more prominently in supplementary environments such as after-school clubs, but which can be just as important and inspirational in a young person’s education.  Searches for common math club topics such as knot theory, number theory games, and even arithmetic tricks return no results in major OER databases.
 
While such club-appropriate material is noticeably absent from educational resource sharing sites, this is not the case for the internet as a whole.  In the realm of math and science club material that Science Club Commons addresses, there are vast quantities of creative and interesting activities, problems, and discussion topics available online.  They are simply scattered around the web, and often presented in limited collections or on static, old-looking, and sometimes unmaintained websites.  Nearly all of these are Web 1.0 sites, and the burden of creating content for an entire site, placed on a single individual or group by the one-way flow of information inherent in Web 1.0 sites, could very well have been an obstacle to growth and development on the scale of OER sites as described above.  Several Web 1.0 sites in Science Club Commons’s webspace are also described in further detail below.
 
There exists a need in the burgeoning OER community for a resource-sharing website focused on creative thinking and extended-learning educational materials appropriate for after-school clubs and similar environments.  Indeed, the demand for such a site is particularly strong as the vast majority of after-school clubs are outreach efforts run by volunteers who do not possess the pre-existing educational network and resources that career teachers have.  Science Club Commons aims to fill part of this need, utilizing an OER model to provide a central site where math and science enthusiasts can create and share resources targeted for elementary school math and science clubs.  By choosing to focus its target user base on high school students running elementary school math and science clubs, Science Club Commons also gives itself the ability to provide additional resources such as information, discussion, opportunities, and awards tailored specifically for high school students.  No major website targeted to this large audience of high school students running elementary school math and science clubs currently exists. ScienceShare thus hopes to not only fill the need for club-appropriate material in the OER educational resource-sharing movement, but also to make a significant impact in encouraging high school students to give back to their communities through math and science outreach.    
 
 
II.  Examples of Web 2.0 Resource Sharing Sites 
 
OERCommons 
 
OERCommons is the pioneering Open Educational Resources (OER) resource-sharing site, and the largest and most established of all OER sites.  It hosts an extensive collection of educational materials for all levels and subjects, with sophisticated searching and filtering mechanisms as well as rating and feedback systems.  However, the sheer quantity and diversity of the materials is a bit overwhelming, and many of the resources are targeted specifically for teachers, often requiring special software or an activity length of 15 classroom weeks.  This website, while an excellent resource, would not be very appropriate for outreach projects and Science Club Commons’s target audience of high school students running elementary school students.

 WeTheTeachers 

Of all the websites in ScienceShare’s webspace, WeTheTeachers comes closest to matching Science Club Commons’s vision.  In addition to serving as a venue for teachers to exchange educational materials, the website also offers forums, teacher highlights, and virtual “teacher groups.”  WeTheTeachers even has an instant puzzle-making tool similar to the worksheet generator Science Club Commons hopes to implement. While this website is targeted exclusively to teachers, not Science Club Commons’s target audience of high school students and volunteers, it provides a good starter model for Science Club Commons.
 
 
III.  Examples of Web 1.0 Resource Providing Sites 

Gamequarium 

Gamequarium, sponsored by digital resources learning company SqoolTechs LLC., contains links to interactive online math games for elementary school students and claims to provide “all of the best K-6 math tools the web has to offer.”  While many of the games themselves are well-designed and appealing, they are not optimally presented for potential users.  The games are simply listed as a collection of links on a single web page, with no information about particular games, and users must click through the links to find out more about each game.  Gamequarium’s overall site appearance also provides a suboptimal user experience.  The page design is bordered by distracting ads and projects an old and static feel in comparison to many modern websites.

A+ Math 

A+ Math provides a collection of online math games similar to Gamequarium, as well as an instant worksheet generator.  This unique worksheet generator, a basic implementation of what Science Club Commons hopes to offer, distinguishes A+ Math from its current competitors.  Users can specify a subject for the worksheet, such as addition, and some basic parameters, such as the number and difficulty of problems and optional instructions.  However, the subject material on the website, and especially the worksheet generator, is limited, including only basic classroom topics such as addition, subtraction, and rudimentary algebra, and the site’s rudimentary visual design and last copyright date of 2003 suggests a stagnant site that is not regularly maintained.

BBC Bitesize Modules 

BBC’s math and science modules offer games, exercises, and quizzes for elementary school students.  The modules have high-quality user interactivity and visual design, as one would expect from a large media corporation such as BBC, but there is only a limited number of these modules since providing educational resources is not one of BBC’s main missions.   

RHL School 

The RHL School provides a set of interesting math problems designed to stretch a student’s critical thinking abilities.  The problems are in worksheet-form and age-appropriate for elementary school students, and the site appears to have been updated on a weekly or bi-weekly basis in the past.  However, the last update for the site is listed as 2003, so RHL School is a static collection of materials that is no longer maintained.
 
 
IV.  Science Club Commons in Comparison 
 
Science Club Commons offers the following features:

• Guide to starting a club
• Resource Share
• Discussion Forum
• Club Highlight
• Instant Worksheet Maker (*future)
• High School / Elementary School Matching Service (*future)
• Awards and Opportunities (*future)

 
With these features, Science Club Commons aims to combine the best of the Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 educational resource websites discussed above, in a setting optimized for high school students running elementary school math and science clubs.  It will use the resource-sharing model of the Web 2.0 websites, integrating feedback systems similar to OERCommons and community features similar to WeTheTeachers.  It will also bring in the creative thinking focus and enthusiasm found in many Web 1.0 sites, and build off of the useful worksheet generating tools found in A+ Math and RHL School.  Finally, Science Club Commons hopes to establish itself as a unique resource tailored specifically for high school students running or hoping to start elementary school math and science clubs, and in this way more effectively encourage high school students to give back to their communities. 

Page last updated 06.08.08 by Serena Yeung