
The OOI Ocean Data Labs Project
The National Science Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is advancing our ability to understand the natural world by collecting large quantities of data to address complex oceanographic processes. This expanded access to data also provides professors in the geosciences with new opportunities to engage undergraduate students in authentic data experiences using real-world data sets to teach geoscience processes.
However, students struggle to work with data based on their limited experience and exposure to different data types and sources. Also, supporting students in engaging with the data can be challenging for professors too, as there is a lack of adequate tools to easily digest and manipulate large data sets for in-class learning experiences.
Therefore, the OOI Ocean Data Labs Project (formerly called Data Explorations), with funding from NSF, is developing, testing, refining, and disseminating easy to use, interactive Data Explorations and Data Lab Notebooks that will allow undergraduates to use authentic data in accessible ways while being easy for professors to integrate into their teaching.
Recent Blog Posts

Data Labs in the Classroom:
Teaching Tips from the Community
Dr. Tom Connolly, OOI Data Lab Fellow 2020
I am a faculty member at San José State University and I teach at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML). I am a physical oceanographer,…
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Christine Bean
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Christine Bean2021-04-09 14:00:002021-04-09 11:55:44Teaching Concepts in Data Analysis with Live Coding
Data Labs in the Classroom:
Teaching Tips from the Community
Dr. Meg Blome, OOI Data Lab Fellow 2020
Hello! My name is Meg Blome and I am a faculty member in the Geological Sciences Department at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.…
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Christine Bean
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Christine Bean2021-03-25 14:00:002021-04-01 14:31:34Enhancing Lectures with Interactive Data Explorations
Data Labs in the Classroom:
Teaching Tips from the Community
Dr. Natasha Gownaris, OOI Data Lab Fellow 2020
Hi everyone! My name is Tasha Gownaris and I teach at Gettysburg College, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.…
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Christine Bean
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Christine Bean2021-03-18 14:00:002021-03-22 12:32:07Facilitating Active Learning and Bridging Oceanographic Concepts by Exploring Ocean Acidification
I've long touted the advantages of using NDBC data for introducing students to programming and data analysis, with an oceanographically focused dataset. In particular, their DODS Server makes it fairly easy to access decades of data from hundreds…
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Sage Lichtenwalner
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Sage Lichtenwalner2021-03-16 14:26:492021-03-16 16:29:14A workaround for a common error on NDBC DODS
Early on in our OOI Data Labs project planning, we had a big question:
Of all the data collected by the OOI, which datasets would really engage students?
The OOI has over a thousand instruments deployed across several Arrays, and all of…
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Sage Lichtenwalner
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Sage Lichtenwalner2021-03-11 11:00:422021-03-11 11:57:55Student research summaries can help guide activity development
Data Labs in the Classroom:
Teaching Tips from the Community
Sara Smith, OOI Data Lab Fellow 2020
My name is Sara Smith and I teach at Bellingham (WA) Technical College in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences program. We are a…
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Christine Bean
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Christine Bean2021-03-04 14:30:452021-03-05 08:40:01Linking Chlorophyll-a to Fisheries Productivity