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COOL Classroom Introduction
The Rutgers Marine and Coastal Sciences (RMCS), in conjunction with the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) has addressed the need for innovative materials that provide educators with the knowledge and skills they need to develop scientific literacy in their students. RMCS staff, a group of classroom teachers, and scientists have developed supplemental science education resources that facilitate the learning of basic scientific concepts and principles using current marine science research and data. These resources empower educators to capitalize on students' natural fascination with the marine environment to promote basic skills training, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. The COOL (Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory) Classroom is a series of Internet-based instructional modules that link middle and high school classrooms with active research investigations at the Rutgers RMCS COOLroom, a collaboration of oceanographers studying the coastal ocean off the coast of New Jersey.
Who Created the COOL Classroom?
Through associations with the JCNERR and partners such as the Lawrence Hall of Science, the National Marine Educators Association, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Rutgers has attempted to develop innovative concepts for teaching science and forge strong partnerships with K-12 educators. These programs and partnerships have facilitated the integration of research into high-quality professional development programs and educational materials.
The COOL Classroom was created by a team of scientists, classroom teachers, and informal educators with support from the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP). This project enjoys the support of the following institutions: The Rutgers Marine and Coastal Sciences (RMCS), the Center for Advanced Information Processing (CAIP) at Rutgers University, the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at Stevens Institute of Technology, seven New Jersey middle and high school educators, Blue Iceberg (web development firm), Turnstone Publishing, The National Undersea Research Program (NURP), and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR). These partners have worked together to support the goals of the project.
  
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COOL Classroom Staff:
Project Director: Michael De Luca, Rutgers Marine and Coastal Sciences
Project Manager: Janice McDonnell, Rutgers Marine and Coastal Sciences
Education Specialist: Eric Simms, Rutgers Marine and Coastal Sciences
Curriculum Development:
Maureen Barrett, Harrington Middle School
Sonia Botos, Rancocas Valley Regional High School
Liesl Hotaling, CIESE Stevens Institute of Technology
Daniel Griesbach, Homdel High School
Cynthia Hess, Medford Memorial School
Lisa Koch, Ocean County Vocational School
Debra Kovacs, Turnstone Publishing Co.
Paul Ludgate, Upper Township Middle School
Tanya Podchaski, Bernardsville High School
Amy Pallant, Turnstone Publishing Co.
Elizabeth Fort, Blue Iceberg
Artist: Kathy Johnston
Web Development:
Richard Cacciato, Blue Iceberg
Nathan Clay, Blue Iceberg
Julian Damy-Paulsen, Design Concept
Elizabeth Fort, Copywriting and Editing, Blue Iceberg
Ryan Morgan, Blue Iceberg
Natalie Yates, Project Management, Blue Iceberg
David Yun, Blue Iceberg
Computer Programmers: Dr. Deborah Silver, Coordinator/Advisor, Rutgers Center for Advanced Information Processing
Wes Townshend, Rutgers Center for Advanced Information Processing
Vijay Balan, Rutgers Center for Advanced Information Processing
Jamshed Dastur, Rutgers Center for Advanced Information Processing
Scientific Team:
Dr. Fred Grassle, Rutgers Marine Coastal Sciences Director
Dr. Scot Glenn, Physical Oceanographer
Dr. Oscar Schofield, Biological Oceanographer
Michael Crowley, Remote Sensing Lab Manager
Sage Lichtenwalner, COOLroom Website Creator
Josh Kohut, CODAR Specialist
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Credits and Sources
Green, Thomas F. 1998. Marine Science. Amsco School Publications, Inc.
COOL Fact "People in the Ocean, Seafood diet?": Helvarg, David. 2001. Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas. W. H., Freeman and Company, New York. (pages 29-30)
COOL Fact "Life in Inner Space, Living in the Dark": Helvarg, David. 2001. Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas. W. H., Freeman and Company, New York. (page 84)
COOL Fact "Mountains Under the Sea: Eruptions Happen": National Geographic Atlas of the World. National Geographic Society. (need year and page information from Janice and Eric)
Glassy sweepers and Elkhorn Coral Image: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
We'd like to thank all the scientists in the COOLroom for contributing their photographs, maps, indexes, tutorial applets and insights in building the COOL Classroom.
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Contact Us
For Information on Professional Development Training Programs for the COOL Classroom and other COOL Projects see the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve website at http://marine.rutgers.edu/cousteau.
Eric Simms
Education Coordinator
simms@imcs.rutgers.edu
Janice McDonnell
Assistant Manager
mcdonnel@imcs.rutgers.edu
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System Requirements
We have developed the COOL Classroom website (http://www.coolclassroom.org) to be accessible to a broad audience of home and school visitors, using technology and content viewable by everyone from beginners to expert computer users. These are the requirements:
PC Users:
Windows 98 or later
Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape 6.0 or later
Javascript enabled
Macromedia Flash plug-in
Download Macromedia Flash plugin
Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin
Java enabled browser
Download Microsoft Virtual Machine Java components
Macintosh Users:
Mac OS 8.6 or later
Internet Explorer 4 or Netscape 4.0 or later
Javascript enabled
Macromedia Flash plug-in
Download Macromedia Flash plugin
Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader plugin
Java (ships with Mac OS)
Download Times:
We have tried to optimize the loading time for persons using a 56K modem connection. However, a fast T1, DSL, or Cable modem connection is recommended since some of the Flash files are large and will require several minutes to load if using a modem connection.
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