NEEShub resource - This is a sample of a simple assessment instrument that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a seminar or webinar

NEEShub resource - NEES@Berkeley in conjunction with the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Center (PEER) runs an education program consisting of two components: 1) a lecture and activity session at the classroom of an interested teacher, and 2) a field trip to attend the PEER Earthquake Simulator Laboratory and NEES@Berkeley Laboratory at UC Berkeley. 

The lecture includes...

• basic information about earthquakes
• explanation of why earthquakes happen
• discussion about professions (like engineering) that address the effects of earthquakes on our communities and buildings
• teaching key building systems and components that help buildings resist earthquake shaking safely
• instructions and background on the hands on activity of building a K’NEX structure

As a follow up to the lecture, teachers are given a kit that contains materials for groups of students to design and construct small earthquake-resistant building models. On the field trip students tour the labs and test their building models on a shaking table that simulates earthquake movements. For more information visit http://peer.berkeley.edu/education/k-12_outreach_program.html

This survey is provided to the students to assess student learning outcomes and to evaluate the effectiveness of the education program.

NEEShub resource - The NEES 2011 Summit was an opportunity to bring researchers (plus graduate students) and site operations professionals together to review state of the are research methods and results.

The post event survey was administered electronically using the NEEShub survey tool. All participants were recruited with an email requesting their participation in the survey (See Doc and Attachments section). The survey attempts to gather data to answer the following questions.

1. Who participated? (Demographic information )
2. What portions of the meeting did the participant attend?
3. What was the quality of the Plenary session? (topics, depth, relevance to community, time)
4. What was the quality of the technical sessions? (topics, depth, relevance to community, time)
5. What was the quality of the NEEShub Training Sessions? (Introduction, advanced topics, Diagnosis/Support)?
6. What are participantrsquo;s perceptions of their ability to use the NEEShub following the training session?
7. Are the supporting documents sufficient?
8. Was the registration process clear and efficient?
9. Was the accommodations and meeting facilities adequate?

Results of this event will be analyzed and reported in the NEEScomm 2012 annual report.

NEEShub resource - Quake Summit 2011 was held in June 2011 in Buffalo. This was a partnership between NEES and MCEER.

  As part of the annual meeting, NEES held their annual committee meetings. This survey is the specific part of the feedback form which deals with the NEES committee meetings.

NEEShub resource - As the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) approaches the end of its seventh year of operation, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has tasked the Science and Technology Policy Institute/IDA (STPI) with identifying potential scenarios for the future of NSF-supported earthquake engineering facilities (NSF 10-071 Dear Colleague Letter).

To help with this task, STPI requested that the current manager of NEES operations, NEEScomm, prepare a retrospective self-study report on the successes and lessons learned managing the NEES network and IT infrastructure.

Without a question, an important component of the NEES legacy is all the investigators who received their PhDs through work in NEES research. Additionally, there have been many other MS graduate students and undergraduate students who have been trained in NEES, as well as postdoctoral and other international researchers. NEEScomm polled NEES equipment sites and NEESR PIs to identify graduate students who have participated in NEES research.

NEEShub resource - NEEShub Boot Camp sessions took place at the NEES/MCEER Annual Meeting held in Buffalo on June 10, 2011.

 Three Boot Camp sessions occurred based on NEEShub experience level. The sessions were hand-on training for researchers and graduate students that introduced NEEShub features for facilitating research.

NEEShub resource - The NEESreu program (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) is a dynamic 10-week summer research program for upper division undergraduate students interested in Civil, Electrical or Computer Engineering, and other fields related to seismic risk mitigation

REU participants are paired with a faculty advisor and join a NEES research team. Students learn to conduct independent research and how to participate effectively as a research team member.

This survey was completed by each REU student at the end of their summer REU experience.

NEEShub resource - Students in the Summer 2011 Summer Program participated in an experimental version of a virtual poster session implemented in a 3D virtual world called Quakequest.

The survey was designed as a post evaluation to capture students' self report about their experience. Its primary goal is a formative assessment to help us improve the system. The driving questions to be evaluated by the survey include –

1. Do students perceive learning from their peers by preparing, sharing and reviewing drafts of their research results? (learning)
2. Does the experience provide formative feedback they can use to improve the quality of their experience? (learning)
3. What challenges do students experience using the virtual world? (usability)

The results of this survey provide valuable information used to redesign the system for future uses.