InformalScience.org is growing from an online repository of information, research and evaluations about informal learning into a knowledge network built around people, projects and ideas. Projects are central to work of informal science education and the crucible where research and practice come together. Use Project Pages with your team to share project information, findings, evaluations, and project accomplishments.

PROJECT PAGES — Offer a central online space to share information about informal science learning projects. Add updated project summaries, include team members, link to web pages, and upload reports and media. Collaboratively build Project Pages to reflect your project's impacts and accomplishments. All NSF/ISE projects have automatically been added to the database. Please update this FASTLANE data with new information, pictures, documents, and web links.

FIND RELATED — As projects get tagged with descriptors, you will be able to find related projects by audience type, project deliverables, STEM content area and project setting.

FEATURED PROJECTS — Well-documented Project Pages with active team members will be featured on the front page of InformalScience.org. Please contact informal@pitt.edu if you would like to have your project featured.

FAQs

1. Is my project already here?

All NSF-ISE funded projects that appear in FASTLANE can be found here. For all non NSF-ISE funded projects, check to see if a project team member has already created a Project Page. If your project is not in the database, you will need to initiate a new Project Page.

2. What kinds of projects can I find here?

The Project Pages are open to the wide range of projects that may be broadly defined as engaging public audiences in informal science learning experiences — whether through film and broadcast media, science centers, museums, zoos and aquariums, botanical gardens, nature centers, digital media and gaming, or citizen science, youth, community and after-school programs. Projects may also include research or professional development programs that contribute to the advancement of informal learning knowledge and practice.

3. Does my project belong here?

If your projects fits the suggested criteria outlined above, and you believe it would be of interest to the informal learning community, please create a Project Page. Note our Terms of Service.

4. Who can activate and update project information?

Any project team member can create or update a Project Page. For NSF-ISE projects, the Principal Investigator (PI) and listed team members will be notified by e-mail of updates made to their Project Page. For non-NSF projects, an affiliated project team member may create a Project Page. Once a Project Page has been created, all project team members who associate themselves with the project may update content. Project team members will be notified by e-mail of all changes, additions and deletions to a Project Page. It is the responsibility of a project's team members to monitor the content of a Project Page.

5. How do people become project team members?

For NSF-funded ISE projects, Fastlane data with named PIs should appear on a Project Page. To add your name to a project team, you must first become a member of InformalScience.org. Then locate your Project Page using the site's search function and notice the Project Team box on the right of the Project Page. Click the "Add yourself to the project team link" and enter your name and project role. You must be, or have been, an active project team member in good standing to become a project team member. Once your information is added, an e-mail will be sent to the other listed project team members of your updates.

6. How are project team members removed?

A project team member may remove himself or herself from a project at any time. Otherwise, only the named PI or project leader may remove team members from a Project Page.

7. What kinds of project information may I post?

Project Pages are an updatable place to document your project throughout its lifecycle. You may include project documentation such as the project's original proposal (sensitive information deleted), evaluation reports, research papers and presentations associated with the project. You may upload or to link to media that captures the essence of your project in a range of formats (e.g., images, podcasts, audio files, video files, links to press and media). Please do not include images of children and youth without proper image use releases. Please review our terms of service.

8. What are Project Spotlights?

Project Spotlights are edited features about select projects that have been recommended by the community, InformalScience.org advisors, or NSF program officers. One purpose for this feature is to showcase projects that advance broad knowledge and discussion about what is means to be transformative and innovative. If you wish to serve as a contributing editor and establish guidelines for this feature, or if you wish to recommend a noteworthy project, please contact informal@pitt.edu.

9. How are Featured Projects selected?

Featured Projects are an unabashed attempt to invite the community to create richly documented Project Pages. Those projects that have completed project information fields, active team members, uploaded files and submitted multimedia content will be featured on the front page of the Project section in a continually auto-selected short-list of projects. Please contact us at informal@pitt.edu if you would like to work with us to have your project featured.

QUESTIONS? We will add frequently asked questions (FAQs) here. E-mail us with questions you would like addressed.