What is the APS Archive of Teaching Resources?
The Archive is a searchable digital library that can be used by teachers at all levels (K-12, undergraduate, graduate and medical school) to enhance and supplement their current teaching resources. It was created for and by professional societies and individual educators as a repository of lessons, lab exercises, case histories, test questions, figures, lectures, graphics and multimedia files, educational research articles, science content articles, and links to physiology teaching resources on the web.
Who can use the Archive?
The Archive is open to all educators and students worldwide. Users do not have to be members of the participating societies. There is no membership or registration required to search, browse, or download materials. At the current time, there is no fee for any Archive material; however, if materials are catalogued in the future that require a fee to access, this is clearly noted on the item description.
What is BEN?
The BiosciEd Net (BEN) Collaborative is spearheaded by AAAS and includes more than 25 professional societies and coalitions for biology education (including the Archive partner societies). Through the BEN portal site (www.biosciednet.org), the BEN Collaborative provides searchable and seamless access to the digital library collections of its 25+ partners to provide users with accurate and reliable biology education resources.
What is NSDL?
The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) "...was created by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide organized access to high quality resources and tools that support innovations in teaching and learning at all levels of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.... NSDL is designed primarily for K-16 educators, but anyone can access NSDL.org and search the library at no cost. Access to most resources discovered through NSDL is free; however, some content providers may require a login, or a nominal fee or subscription to retrieve their specific resources. NSDL provides an organized point of access to: 1) High-quality STEM content aggregated from a variety of other digital libraries, NSF-funded projects, and NSDL-reviewed web sites. 2) Services and tools that enhance the use of this content in a variety of contexts" (Ref: http://nsdl.org/about).
Who can submit to the Archive?
Anyone can submit material s/he has developed to the Archive. You do not need to be a member of any of the Archive partner organizations to submit your material. The copyright for the material remains with you and you can withdraw your item at any time.
What restrictions are there on using the material I find in the Archive?
You may download and use materials hosted on the Archive for purposes such as teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research. In ALL cases, the user must acknowledge that the item was found in the Archive, be referenced appropriately, including recognition of the copyright holder. Be sure to note copyright restrictions on individual items, especially journal articles. At minimum, resources should be considered to have a Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0). The copyright holder on each resource is noted; you can contact the copyright holder for permission for non-classroom uses.
Is there a cost associated with using any material I find on the Archive?
The vast majority of items included in the Archive are free. However, there may be some items that do have a cost associated with them. That will be specified on the resource information under "Cost."
How do I know if an item is scientifically accurate?
Each resource submitted to the Archive undergoes review before being added to the Archive. Resources and web sites submitted by individuals undergo review by experts in the field for scientific accuracy and appropriate use of animals or humans. Articles from journals (e.g., Advances in Physiology Education) were peer-reviewed before publishing. Items developed by the participating societies are reviewed in-house and/or by project advisory boards prior to cataloguing.
How do I know if an item will prove effective in my classroom or laboratory?
Because user needs will vary, items submitted to the Archive are not reviewed based on their anticipated usefulness. However, there is a comments section attached to each item.Users are encouraged to comment about the item and its usefulness to them.
How can I give feedback to the author?
You may post a comment on any item and rate its usefulness. Comments are vetted prior to posting by Archive staff. Authors are notified about comments posted on their items and have the opportunity to post a comment in return or contact you directly.
Why do I have to be at least 13 years old to register at the Archive?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA, http://www.coppa.org) prohibits the collection of personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. However, anyone can search and download materials from the Archive.