The College of Exploration: Project & Partnership  Management, and Web Site Development

TCOE will design, develop, facilitate implementation of the GlobalHeartbeat program. As well, they will solicit interest and coordinate the partners involved in the program.

About The College of Exploration

TCOE ( http://www.coexploration.org) is a not-for-profit educational organization with 501c3 status, located in Virginia, and incorporated in 1991. TCOE designs, develops, delivers and evaluates courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, and other education events and programs. Participants are of all ages, with a particular emphasis on prospective and practicing educators. 

Over the past 10 years, TCOE's management and faculty have collaborated with many clients  to produce highly successful online and onsite education programs and projects. Here are examples of these clients/partners and the projects:

• Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) and College of Education at Florida International University: Pilot for Global Heartbeat program
• Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA): Professional Technical Studies Standards webconference
• Public Broadcasting System: Teacher MATHLINE Program
• DoDEA: distance learning programs and courses for teachers and high school students.
• NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Water and the Solar System; and the Ocean Envoy program
• NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) Sea Grant: Harmful Algal Blooms; and El Niño (both workshop for educators)
• National Geographic, NASA, and NOAA: Sustainable Seas Expedition (workshop series)
• University of Maryland System: design, development, delivery, and evaluation of courses for teachers at international schools
• George Mason University: One of its first Web-Based graduate course –  Instructional Technology: Networks and Telecommunications

TCOE's has also created a "virtual campus" that provides a "Home Base" for the collaborative efforts of scientific research and science education, as well as the delivery of courses and professional development programs for educators. The focus has been on integrating leadership, technology, and the environment, but there is a wide range of course and program offerings.

Since organizing its first course for the DoDDS (now DoDEA) schools, TCOE has served more than 2000 prospective and practicing teachers in distance learning and on-site/distance learning combination courses and workshops. Examples of courses and series of courses offered include:

• New Approaches to Assessment
• Integrating Technology into the Curriculum
• Project-Based Learning
• Exploring Global Communities (series)
• Technology, Education, & Transformation: Issues in a Networked World (series)
• Online Education: Developing Successful Web-Based Learning Environments (series)
• Developing Community: Using the Web for Research, Collaboration, and Collegiality (series)

The design of the campus focuses on learner-centered activities that occur via conversations within a computer conferencing environment. The virtual campus is completely web-based, running on a network of  Sun, Linux and NT servers. The system supports web-computer conferencing with Caucus software, chat, web page hosting and development, Lotus Notes Domino, FTP, and database connectivity. The virtual campus also uses a TCOE NT server for audio and video streaming using Real Networks technology.  Video conferencing is achieved with commercial ISDN video conferencing equipment from VTEL.com and also on the web using web-based  conferencing from Microsoft, CUSeeMe and others.  Multimedia lessons, programs and presentations are also made using a variety of software products.

The  College of Exploration, 230 Markwood Drive, Potomac Falls, VA 20165
Tel: (1) 703 433 5760      Email: peter@coexploration.net