Teaching Science 2.0

Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin.  Please share this with a colleague!

– Professional Development

- NEW CHEMShare Meeting: December 17, 9:00-11:00 AM @ Kimberly HS

RSVP to Shannon Glenn (sglenn@kimberly.k12.wi.us) by December 13

Shannon will share his expertise with Moodle and will provide opportunities for participants to explore and (possibly) create their own Moodle courses for students. Al Hess will share information about online homework systems. Everyone is welcome to share any information or activities especially related to online learning.

- K-12:  Application Opens for Einstein Fellowship Program

http://www.einsteinfellows.org

Attention K-12 STEM educators: Are you an experienced educator who is ready to make a difference in education policy on a national scale?  If so, consider applying for an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship and prepare for a year of unique opportunities. As an Einstein Fellow, you will spend a school year in Washington, DC sharing your expertise with policy makers. You may serve your Fellowship with one of several government agency sponsors such as the Department of Energy, NASA, the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or in the office of a member of Congress.

The application deadline is January 5, 2012.

– Science Spotlight

- Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce STEM Report

"STEM provides choice for people both immediately after school and at mid-career, allowing people to transition to different and oftentimes more lucrative career pathways, including management and healthcare that provide long-term stability and excellent wages," says Anthony P. Carnevale, the Center's director and the report's lead author.

The report details STEM earnings by occupation, race, sex, and education level, and found:

• For women and minorities, STEM is the best equal opportunity employer;
• STEM pays more than most jobs at each level of education, and at the graduate level is exceeded only by a small sliver of managerial and healthcare occupations; and
• STEM training pays more even if you don't work in a STEM occupation. 

http://cew.georgetown.edu/stem/

- Octopuses and squids can switch camouflage mode to stay invisible in the twilight zone.

There are two ways of becoming invisible: you can either be transparent so all light passes through your body, or you can blend in by taking on the colours of your surroundings. A truly incredible animal would be able to do both, switching between the two at a whim. And that’s exactly what some squids and octopuses can do. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/11/10/octopuses-and-squids-can-switch-camouflage-mode-to-stay-invisible-in-the-twilight-zone/

- Nasa turns to the dark side with new material

Nasa scientists have embraced the dark side, creating the blackest material ever. It absorbs almost all light across multiple wavelengths and promises to open new frontiers in space technology. 

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2011/November/22111101.asp

–Student Competition

- Gr 3-12:  Announcing the EngineerGirl! 12th annual Essay Contest

http://www.engineergirl.org/CMS/Contest/food2012.aspx

This year, the National Academy of Engineering’s invites students to write about the role of engineering in providing safe and nutritious food.  The deadline for entries is 6:00 pm (EST) on March 1, 2012.  All winning entries will be published on the EngineerGirl! website and winners will receive cash prizes through the generous support of Lockheed Martin Corporation.

– Website of the Week

- Ask a Biologist

This website provides activities, videos and other resources for life science.  In addition, students can have their questions answered by a biologist.

http://askabiologist.asu.edu/

– Video of the Week

- The Periodic Table Rap

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-20089585-10391705.html

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

11.15.2011

Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin.  Please share this with a colleague!

– Professional Development

Webinar: Sustainable Happiness, Hope & Resiliency – Green Teacher

Monday, Dec 5, 2011 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Join Catherine O'Brien and Elin Kelsey for an inspiring conversation about sustainable happiness, hope and resiliency. In the Summer 2011 issue of Green Teacher, Catherine and Elin introduced the concepts of sustainable happiness, hope and resiliency and why it's so important to move beyond "gloom and doom."

In this webinar, they invite you to join them in a lively conversation about how these ideas are catching hold and causing ripples of optimism across the disciplines of environmental and sustainability education, health and well-being and conservation biology, and around the world.

http://eeinwisconsin.org/net/calendar/details.aspx?c=3535073&s=99154.0.0.2209

– Technology Contest

Your school can win a part of $1,000,000 in technology.  Samsung is dedicated to helping children share the wonder of life, learning, and our planet.  This fall, Samsung is giving public schools nationwide the opportunity to share the wonder of Samsung technology. Samsung and its partners are asking teachers to participate in its contest, which will address a key academic challenge in our country: to increase the pursuit of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. With Samsung and schools joining together, they are looking to foster interest in these subjects among students and illustrate the practical impact applying these subjects can have.  The deadline to enter is March 12, 2012.  Please visit:

https://pages.samsung.com/us/sft/home.htm

– Science Spotlight

The heat is on: A new analysis of the temperature record leaves little room for the doubters. The world is warming

Marshalled by an astrophysicist, Richard Muller, this group, which calls itself the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature, is notable in several ways. When embarking on the project 18 months ago, its members (including Saul Perlmutter, who won the Nobel prize for physics this month for his work on dark energy) were mostly new to climate science. And Dr Muller, for one, was mildly sceptical of its findings. This was partly, he says, because of “climategate”: the 2009 revelation of e-mails from scientists at CRU which suggested they had sometimes taken steps to disguise their adjustments of inconvenient palaeo-data. With this reputation, the Berkeley Earth team found it unusually easy to attract sponsors, including a donation of $150,000 from the Koch Foundation.

Yet Berkeley Earth’s results, as described in four papers currently undergoing peer review, but which were nonetheless released on October 20th, offer strong support to the existing temperature compilations.

http://www.economist.com/node/21533360

– Website of the Week

The Science Books and Film Prize finalists for 2012 are out!  Each year, SB&F selects the top book in a variety of categories appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school students.  These are great books to include in your classes. 

http://www.sbfonline.com/Subaru/Pages/Finalists2012.aspx

A few years ago, Tim Gerber (Biology, UW La Crosse) and I started a “Mock Science Books and Film Prize election” to help get pre-service teachers and K-12 students reading high quality science tradebooks.  You can read more about that project here:

http://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/departments/curriculum/stem/mocksb&f.html

– Video of the Week

Four award-winning multimedia series for educators and students can now be accessed on the NSF:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin.  Please share this with a colleague!

– Grants, Awards and Competitions

LOFT Best In Class applications are now available on the Kids In Need Foundation website:

The grants fund innovative classroom projects between $100 and $500.  To be eligible, you must be a certified K-12 teacher of any subject in a public, private, charter, or parochial school in the USA.  Application deadline is December 9, 2011.  LOFT has donated $50,000 in support of the Kids In Need Foundation and the LOFT Best In Class Grants.

http://www.kinf.org

Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award

Do you know K-12 teachers or district-level administrators who are making a difference in education through the use of technology? Recognize their achievements by nominating them for the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award.  Technology personnel and K-12 classroom teachers who have demonstrated exemplary use of technology to enhance learning are eligible for this award. School principals, superintendents or associate superintendents may nominate eligible candidates. The award will be presented in April 2012 at the 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo. The deadline for applications is Jan. 16, 2012.

Applications and more information are available online at http://www.amfcse.org/Alan%20Shepard%20Award/alan_shepard_award.htm

DNA Day Essay Competition

Celebrate DNA Day with the American Society of Human Genetics.   DNA Day commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 and the discovery of the double helix of DNA in 1953. 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place students receive $1,000, $600, and $400, respectively, and their teachers receive equal amounts in lab equipment grants.  10 honorable mention awards of $100.   The essay question is now online.  The essay deadline is March 12, 2012.  For information, please visit:

http://www.ashg.org/education/dnaday.shtml

EPA Announces the 2011 Presidential Innovation Award Program for Environmental Educators
 Two teachers from each EPA region will be selected to receive the award. Recipients will receive a commemorative plaque and an award of $2000, to be used to further their professional development in environmental education. Additionally, the local education agency employing each teacher will receive an award of $2000 to further the recipient’s environmental educational activities and programs. EPA and CEQ will announce the        
 inaugural award winners in the spring of 2012.                                          

For more information on eligibility requirements and selection criteria or to submit an online application, please visit www.epa.gov/education/teacheraward <http://www.epa.gov/education/teacheraward> . The application deadline is December 30, 2011.                   

– Science Spotlight

What Happens When You Flush a Toilet in the World’s Tallest Building?

 The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. It's located in Dubai, a city with a lot of other skyscrapers. What Dubai doesn't have: A central sewage infrastructure that can accommodate the needs of a bunch of skyscrapers. You see the problem.

http://boingboing.net/2011/11/08/what-happens-when-you-flush-a-toilet-in-the-worlds-tallest-building.html

Russia Books Itself a Spot at Science Top Table

 Russian plans a return to the scientific top table, after the ministry of economic development recently approved plans to significantly increase research funding. The Innovative Russia 2020 scheme should see science funding rise to at least 2.5 per cent of GDP. However, some critics think the scheme is overambitious and predict that implementation will run into bureacratic problems.

 http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2011/November/07111102.asp

– Websites of the Week

NBC Learn:

http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn

These original resources (short videos, documents, images, and activities) are super examples of the application of science in our world today and they’re FREE. Check them out.

·       "Chemistry Now!" consists of 32 weekly learning packages that break down the chemistry behind things such as cheeseburgers, chocolate, soap, and plastics. Each learning package contains short video stories that illustrate real-world applications of chemistry, current events, and archival news stories and lesson plans.

·       From the tropics to the Arctic Ocean, "Changing Planet" explores the impact that climate change is having on our planet. Each of the 15 videos, 3–5 minutes long, follows scientists in the field who are studying the dramatic effects of rising temperatures in the air, in the water, and on land. Designed specifically for classroom use, each report has a lesson plan and activities.

·       A fast-paced and informative 10-part video series, the "Science of NFL Football" explores the physics, engineering, materials science, math, and more behind America's popular sport. The series uses the universal appeal of football to drive an understanding of complicated scientific concepts in 3–5 minute videos with lesson plans.

·       "Science of the Olympic Winter Games" is a 16-part series that features sports of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. The 3–5 minute videos illustrate how scientific principles apply to competitive sports. Lesson plans and activities for each video are included.

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin.  Please share this with a colleague!

– Professional Development

Upcoming NSTA Webinars:

Temperature and Earth Climate (Monday 10/7 @ 7:30 – 9:00 PM) What determines a planet's climate? In this web seminar, you will use NASA mission data collected from NASA satellites to show how we determine a planet’s climate. The featured lesson in this web seminar is "Modeling Hot and Cold Planets" from the Earth Climate Course. You will explore why extreme temperature differences exist between Earth and other planets in our solar system. You will design an experiment to determine the factors having the greatest influence on the temperature of a planet and test your hypotheses using a simulated computer model.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar9.aspx

Journey of the Birds (Wed 10/9 @ 7:30 – 9:00 PM) Migratory birds are excellent subjects for students to use to investigate the natural world. As they learn about the amazing travels of winged wildlife in the classroom, students can study birds outside their school, at nearby natural wetland areas and within their own backyards. Join educators from South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuges as they share successful teaching tools created as part of the International Brant Monitoring Project and the Shorebird Sister Schools program.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NOAA/webseminar8.aspx

– Science Spotlight

Science360 Radio is a new 24/7 internet stream that showcases 100+ radio shows and podcasts from the U.S. and around the world. It's available on the Web and via iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. From the latest news headlines to in-depth interviews and lively discussions, Science360 Radio delivers to a worldwide audience engaging daily programming about all things science, engineering, math and technology. Science360 Radio is a part of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Science360 network.

http://science360.gov/

– Website of the Week

10 NASA Inventions you might use every day.

http://curiosity.discovery.com/topic/physics-concepts-and-definitions/ten-nasa-inventions1.htm

– Video of the Week

From TED.Com (30 minutes): Biochemist Kary Mullis talks about the basis of modern science: the experiment. Sharing tales from the 17th century and from his own backyard-rocketry days, Mullis celebrates the curiosity, inspiration and rigor of good science in all its forms.

NOTE: Some “not safe for work” language…but some great stories!  Dr. Mulllis is interesting – he won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, but also is quite controversial regarding his “denialist” views of HIV / Aids and Climate Change.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kary_mullis_on_what_scientists_do.html

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin. Please share this with a colleague!

– Professional Development

Beaver Dam Science Share (10/16): Learn about science notebooks and quality free Internet resources.  Bring a favorite activity to share with your colleagues and network with area science teachers.  Wednesday November 16^th from 4:30 to 5:30 at Beaver Dam High School (Room 612).  Please RSVP by Nov. 1 to Melissa Hemling            hemlingm@bdusd.org or 920-885-7313 x2192 (include your name, school and subject taught).  There is NO COST for this event!

– Science Spotlight

A Dutch woman who lived to 115 years old credited her longevity to pickled herring, refraining from smoking and limiting alcohol. But scientists are looking to the woman’s genetic blueprints, hoping to uncover the secrets of successful aging.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335295/title/No_shortage_of_dangerous_DNA

– Website of the Week

Elementary teachers find resources about the Arctic and Antarctica along with practical ideas for enhancing children's literacy skills in this online project.

http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/

– Teacher Award (and funding!) Opportunity

NSTA and PASCO® is providing STEM Educator Awards to recognize excellence and innovation among K-12 STEM Educators. The PASCO STEM Educator Awards will recognize a total of five educators annually with an award totaling approximately $4,500, including a $1,000 cash award and a $2.000 certificate for PASCO products to further support their STEM program. Each winner will also receive up to $1,500 for travel expenses to attend the NSTA national conference, participate in a STEM “share-a-thon” workshop, and be recognized at the NSTA Awards Banquet.  The deadline to apply is November 30, 2011.  For more information, please visit:

http://www.pasco.com/STEMawards

– Student Competition

YouTube and NASA are challenging students to design a science experiment that can be performed in space. Students from 14 to 18 years old can upload videos of their experiments onto YouTube’s Space Lab website.  A panel of scientists, astronauts, and educators, including Stephen Hawking, will judge the entries, and the two winning experiments will be conducted on the International Space Station 250 miles above Earth and live streamed on YouTube.

“The idea of seeing something you conceive and build in your ordinary classroom being actually flown on a rocket, being actually sent to the International Space Station, being actually carried out by a national, is the stuff of fiction. We think that is going to be the thing that gets kids excited,” said YouTube’s Zahaan Bharmal, who conceived of the challenge.  For full details, please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/SpaceLab

The deadline for entry is December 7, 2011.

– Tech Tip

Is  YouTube blocked at your school?  YouTube is piloting a program to help make education related videos available for schools.  Only education videos will be accessible, comments will be disabled, and related videos will only be educational.

Schools can set their filters to allow YouTube videos only from this domain: http://YouTube.com/education

Schools interested in participating in this pilot program can sign up at: http://YouTube.com/t/education

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin

Welcome to this week’s issue of Science Matters in Wisconsin.  As a quick reminder, this is the new title for WSN eNews.

The NSTA database that I use to send this newsletter had “issues” earlier this month.  I apologize if you did not receive a newsletter over the last two weeks.  Archives are available at: http://www.sciencematterswi.com/tag/newsletter

Archive Note:  The web version for the next two weeks of Science Matters in Wisconsin will not be posted until the week of November 7.  However, it will still be sent on time via e-mail.

– Legislative Action!

From Francis Eberle, NSTA Executive Director:

Senate leaders last week released the draft of a massive bill (860 pages) to revise and reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind. The ESEA draft incorporates the STEM legislation introduced by Senator Merkley on October 6 to improve STEM education. It is anticipated that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will begin consideration of ESEA sometime this week.

The STEM legislation in the draft ESEA, which NSTA strongly supports, would reauthorize and strengthen the current Math and Science Partnership Program (Title II B) at the Department of Education by providing competitive grants to states and districts to improve student achievement in the STEM fields.   (NOTE from Eric:  These “Part B” grants provide opportunities for universities and school districts to collaborate on professional development projects to strengthen math and science content knowledge)

NSTA and the STEM Education Coalition worked closely with Senator Merkley on this legislation, and were the first groups to support the legislation.  However we still need to demonstrate clearly to the entire Senate that STEM should be a major priority in the reauthorized ESEA, so we are asking you to support the STEM provisions in this draft by sending an individualized letter to your Senator. You can do this through the STEM Education Coalition web site; http://www.congressweb.com/cweb2/index.cfm/siteid/stemedcoalition

– Professional Development

South Africa Study Tour – Summer 2012: South Africa creates a complex and interesting learning environment when examining sustainability issues. Like most sustainability issues around the world, problems faced in South Africa are tied up in a complex web of political, social, economic, historical, and human rights issues. The human dimension of environmental and sustainability issues will be a focus of this program and will be explored through studies in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces. Travel to South Africa for three weeks in the summer of 2012 to learn about education, history, and sustainability in South Africa while participating in an educator exchange. All formal (K-12) and non-formal educators are eligible to participate. More information can be found at http://www4.uwsp.edu/cnr/wcee/get/southafrica.asp or contact Susan Schuller 715-346-4150 / Susan.Schuller@uwsp.edu 

NSTA Webinar (Oct 25 @ 7:30 – 9:00 PM):  Making the Transition to Scientific and Engineering Practices: Visiting the potential of the Next Generation Science Standards http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/webseminars.aspx

– Science Spotlight

A few weeks ago, I sent an e-mail regarding the surprising (and controversial) finding of neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light.  This ongoing story provides a fantastic look at the nature of science and the process of replication and peer review.  Scientists are looking at multiple different aspects of the experiment that may have resulted in unaccounted for uncertainties.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335309/title/Critics_take_aim_at_fast_neutrinos

– Technology Competition

INTEL’s APPUP Competition: Kids are wired to learn and technology can help them achieve their dreams.  Enter the contest by saying in 500 words or less why your favorite K-12 school deserves a technology package, featuring industry-leading technology from Intel, exciting learning and teaching apps, and more.  If your story gets the most votes by December 4, your designated school will win a technology package worth $25,000.  Second and third place winners receive technology packages valued at $10,000 and $5000.  And, every week they will give away a notebook, to reward you for helping your community.  For more information, please visit:

http://contest.appup.com/#Challenges

The contest runs from October 5 – December 4, 2011.

– Student Opportunity

NASA wil be launching twin spacegraft to orbit the moon.  They are challenging K-12 students to give these spacecraft new names. Entries must be submitted by teachers using an online entry form by November 11, 2011.  For more information, please visit:

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/grail/namingcontest.cfm?CFID=6865009&CFTOKEN=93461418

– Video of the Week

Students can read and watch video about 21 Smithsonian scientists including a volcano watcher, a fossil hunter, art scientist, germinator, and zoo vet.  Please visit:

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scientist/index.html

– Contact

To subscribe to Science Matters in Wisconsin, please visit - http://bap.nsta.org/Content/Home/BecomeAContact/Default.aspx

For questions about Science Matters in Wisconsin, please contact me:

Eric Brunsell, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh  brunsele@uwosh.edu

Posted via email from Science Matters in Wisconsin