January 19, 2011

A free online educational workshop for formal and informal educators, ocean explorers, scientists and other interested members of the public will be available from NOAA later this month. The course named “How Do We Explore?” is based on the voyages of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, which most recently completed a joint expedition with an Indonesian vessel and scientists in Indonesian waters.

The workshop will be accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day starting Jan. 24 through Feb. 11, thereby allowing participants to work on their own time and at their own pace. Topics will include: searching for ocean anomalies, selecting sites for exploration, communication tools, telepresence technology, ocean mapping techniques, water column study and operating underwater robots called remotely-operated vehicles, or ROVs.

Registration is open and information is available at: http://www.coexploration.org/oe-hdwe.

Participants will engage with ocean explorers and others, and will receive a variety of downloadable supporting materials. For educators, the course contains inquiry-based lesson plans for all grade levels and the option to receive either one graduate extension credit ($100) from California State University at Fullerton or a certificate of completion.

“All life on Earth relies on the ocean and yet the ocean is 95 percent unexplored, unknown and unseen by human eyes,” said Paula Keener, director of education programs for NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. “To better understand, manage and protect the ocean and its resources, NOAA believes it is critical to use the best technology to explore, discover, inform, educate and motivate.”

Workshop presenters include:

• The ROV Little Hercules being lowered into the sea.

  High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

  Steve Hammond, Ph.D., chief scientist, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
• Lieutenant Nicola VerPlanck, operations officer, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer
• Catalina Martinez, regional manager and expedition coordinator, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
• Mashkoor Malik, physical scientist, NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
• Sharon L. Walker, oceanographer, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
• Edward Baker, Ph.D., supervisory oceanographer, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
• Dave Lovalvo: founder/owner, Eastern Oceanics;
  adjunct professor, Institute for Exploration;
  ROV team lead, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer

The course is the latest in an online series presented by NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research in partnership with The College of Exploration to provide an online setting through which educators and others from around the world can meet, view keynote addresses given by ocean explorers and ask questions of keynote speakers.

Celebrating 10 years of ocean exploration, NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research uses state-of-the-art technologies to explore the Earth's largely unknown ocean in all its dimensions for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge. Follow NOAA’s ocean expeditions at: http://www.OceanExplorer.noaa.gov.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer is operated, managed and maintained by NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, which includes commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps and civilian wage mariners. NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research is responsible for operating the cutting-edge ocean exploration systems on the vessel. It is the only federal ship dedicated to systematic exploration of the planet’s largely unknown ocean. Davisville, R.I., is the ship's designated home port.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find us online and on Facebook.