AAPT/ComPADRE is an educational digital library covering resources in physics and astronomy education and education research. It is a product of the American Association of Physics Teachers, in collaboration with content partners and professional organizations with similar missions. It consists of a network of resource collections, each created and edited to support the needs of a particular community of teachers and learners in physics and astronomy. Example collections are teaching resources for high school teachers and a community web site for physics education researchers.
The ComPADRE Digital Library was started as a part of the NSF-sponsored National Science Digital Library.
Collections contain cataloged links to web-based resources such as simulations, videos, lesson plans, curricula, and education research. Some material is hosted on ComPADRE itself. Information provided by the catalog includes a description, subject matter, audience, format, and author. Collections also provide information and resources specific to the needs of their community, such as news and events, research and professional development opportunities, member web pages, and online discussion forums.
Within each collection, users can discover resources by searching the title, description, keywords, author and/or URL. Users can also browse through the materials on the collection by subject, type of resource, and grade level. A search on the Digital Library homepage will include a broader range of materials across all collections. Specialized content, such as conference proceedings, ready-to-run interactive activities, student assessments, and video content, is available from some collections.
Performing a search provides a list of items that match your search criteria. This list includes, for each item, the title, which is linked to details about the item, the URL, the introduction from the content description, and information about the author, the subject, and the grade level. Also available on the "Partner Results" page is content from of a similar search on other digital libraries.
There is no cost for using the basic features of the library. Some Premium content is restricted to AAPT members and subscribers to the library. Premium content and subscription terms are now in final development.
No. The resource catalog on ComPADRE is available for searching by anyone.
Those who create an account on the library have additional tools that enhance their use of the site. These include the ability to bookmark materials in a personal filing cabinet, to join into some discussion forums with other users, and to comment on materials in the catalog.
AAPT members and library subscribers will soon have access to additional content and enhanced personalization tools.
To login, users must provide their name and email. Further information can be provided, if desired, to personalize the collection for the user and enhance interactions with others. Personal information about users is not provided to other organizations.
You can contact the AAPT/ComPADRE staff using the feedback form.
Further information is available on the About page.