Doctoral Candidate Arlene de Strulle Arlene de Strulle is one of 13 doctoral candidates enrolled in the recently inaugurated SDSU/USD doctoral program in Educational Technology. Arlene is Director of Education for the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), UCSD. Arlene's personal interests lie in creating interactive applications for the teaching of science. "Learning about the evolution of life on Earth, especially the complexity of life in our oceans, has intrigued me throughout my life. Therefore, my professional pursuits are to evolve learning technologies that support others in their lifelong learning of science." This, coupled with her professional responsibility at the Aquarium to develop innovative science education programs for San Diego schools and national outreach efforts via educational technology, is why she's pursuing this particular doctoral program. A native New Yorker, Arlene began her career at the New York Aquarium where she was a Marine Science Instructor, and wrote exhibit graphics and publications for seven years. Since that time, she's held positions as Director of Education for two other environmental organizations - the Central Park Conservancy, the organization that manages New York's Central Park, and the Center for Conservation and Development, that protects the natural resources in New York's watershed region. At the Central Park Conservancy, Arlene developed a new mission for education,The Global Park focusing on Central Park as a major resource for bringing environmental conservation and education to New York City schools. At the Center for Conservation and Development, Arlene initiated the first statewide education program for students to study the history and preservation of New York's watershed, which received accolades from government agencies and a full-page article in The New York Times. Arlene has also worked for the Congressional Research Service, Natural Resources Division, in Washington D.C., where she wrote a Policy Report on the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and analyzed other laws governing our oceans. She has written several articles; created an interactive children's software program on humpback whales; and has authored a book on freshwater invertebrates, Guide to Animals Without Backbones. As Director of Education at the Birch Aquarium, Arlene is entrusted with providing leadership and articulating the vision of the Aquarium's Education Program. This includes supervising a highly active department of full- and part-time teaching staff and volunteers; managing and analyzing the department's budget; conducting year-round program development, evaluation, and implementation; contributing to exhibits development; and providing educational support for special events throughout the Aquarium. The Aquarium is the educational outreach arm of Scripps Institution of Oceanography where SIO science research is integrated into multigenerational programs, new exhibits, hands-on workshops, and field trips. Since Arlene's arrival two years ago, she has doubled the number of school programs, and added educational technology enhancements into programs and exhibits. Some new uses of educational technology are computers in the classroom with interactive science programs developed by Arlene and SIO staff; an online Kelp Cam that shows a live exhibit on the Aquarium website; and an informational Kiosk. Arlene is currently working on online pre- and post-visit materials and registration for teachers; other web-based programs to expand programs nationally, student learning projects, and teacher support. There are two parts to the Aquarium's Education Program, school programming and public programming, the latter of which focuses on families, children, and adults. For the school program, the Aquarium recently launched a new education initiative that Arlene developed, Exploring the Science of Our Oceans and Earth, that now offers teachers an array of K-12 programs in marine biology, physical oceanography, ocean technology, and atmospheric sciences to enhance classroom curriculum and inspire student science learning. Programs for students are designed for Elementary (Grades K-2), Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) and Middle School to High School (Grades 7 to 12). Most of these programs are available either on-site or as outreach to schools. This new menu of programs meets the new California Science Content Standards, and some, in addition, highlight the American Association for the Advancement of Science Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Frequently, Scripps scientists take part in these programs. There are a number of scientists at SIO who work closely with Arlene on program content development. Arlene cited one example of a scientist in bioluminescence who participated in developing new programs. He was delighted to see the students and teachers have fun learning science and experiencing hands-on activities related to his work. Arlene sees opportunities for educational technologists to develop projects related to science education. Just as the scientists at SIO foster the development and use of cutting edge technologies to explore the world's oceans, Arlene seeks to do the same in education by developing innovative technologies to foster science learning.