InformalScience
InformalScience.org
Summary
We are building informalscience.org for use by the informal learning community. This website is intended to be a place on the web where researchers, evaluators, and developers can find all that is currently known about how to conceptualize and assess informal learning in science and in other domains.
The purpose of the National Science Foundation-funded website, informalscience.org, is to promote and advance the field of informal learning in science and other domains. This site aims to support a community of learners, while being a place to share knowledge of informal science learning standards and practices.
Online survey results reveal that informalscience.org has a broad base of users. Respondents represented a variety of professions, including educators, evaluators, designers, administrators, students, producers and writers. Site visitors come from museums, university/independent research groups, and other types of organizations involved in informal learning (e.g., multimedia, design firms, afterschool programs).
Since its inception in 2002, the website has provided users with an annotated database of more than 2,500 citations, originally developed as part of the Museum Learning Collaborative. This website features links to information about evaluation practices and professional evaluators, as well as links to professional organizations, conferences, and university training.
As of 2004, users are able to post and electronically download front-end and summative evaluation studies. Individuals are also invited to submit new references to the database. The website is currently undergoing a large-scale redesign to better serve the informal learning community. The new informalscience.org will include thematic discussions, interviews with members of the field, active listservs, and electronic access to evaluation resources in informal environments.
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