OceanTeacher and Training Activities: presented at the Twentieth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE-XX), Beijing, China, 4-8 May 2009.

Abstract

The OceanTeacher training resources are in the process of being completely rewritten and converted to a “wiki” system (similar in concept to Wikipedia) that allows for maximum flexibility in the creation of new documents. The wiki framework is also optimally suited to the coordination of multiple authoring assignments, checking and approval of content, and progress monitoring, among a physically widespread team of participants. The existing content structure of OceanTeacher has been subjected to a critical reevaluation, based on nearly a decade of use, and has been redrawn to reflect current training goals and changing interests and needs of the client community. In view of these two major changes to the OceanTeacher training paradigm, the entire concept of holding training workshops responsive principally to current perceptions of education needs in particular regions at specific points in time, has been scrapped in favor of a longrange, permanent “academy” strategy, consisting of annual cycles of standard (and some specialized) courses, offered universally. The academy system includes course sequences, prerequisites and credit concepts similarly to typical university practices.