The Science Teachers' Community RSS feed

Should a year of National Service be required for all Americans? - Carol Smith

Carol Smith — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

The following email was sent to me from Jennifer Oxenford [jmacdoug@isc.upenn.edu] This is a free video conference.

Schools around the globe are invited to join a new program being offered by The National Constitution Center called, "THE EXCHANGE: Should a year of national service be required for all Americans?" This program will be offered on March 18, 2010 from 12:30-1:30 PM EST. The Cost is FREE and the program is open to schools who have access to Internet2 connected networks and H.323 videoconferencing equipment. (Note - All ESU 10/11 schools are members of Internet2.)

If interested, please contact Jason Allen at either jallen@constitutioncenter.org or 215.409.6644 by Thursday, March 11th for registration and information. Mandatory Internet2 testing for all sites will be on Friday March 12th. Once you have confirmed that you have Internet2 capabilities please contact Jason Allen to reserve a testing time.

The National Constitution Center is excited to invite your school to participate in the 4th installment of the 2009 – 2010 season of its national student program, The Exchange: A Marketplace of Student Ideas. This event will take place on Thursday, March 18, 2010 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EST. This installment of The Exchange, “Should a year of national service be required for all Americans?“ asks students to consider ways to connect national needs and the demands of responsible citizenship. The discussion will be hosted by SuChin Pak from MTV and Discovery Channel’s Planet Green and moderated by Kermit Roosevelt, professor of law from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.

Students will have the opportunity to be heard by and hear from other students around the country using Internet2 video conferencing technology. It is an exciting way for students to discuss current constitutional and political issues with their classmates and peers in other parts of the nation.

Schools that participate in The Exchange will be asked to use a free Town Hall Wall lesson-plan poster provided by the National Constitution Center to prepare their students to be part of the conversation.

If your school chooses to participate in The Exchange, you will be asked to select one student to be part of the video conference round table. Only one student, your school’s student representative, is allowed to speak to the national audience during the video conference. If a student other than your student representative speaks without prior authorization, then your school will be disconnected form the video conference.

During the video conference, students will have an opportunity to interact with each other and share their thoughts on mandatory national service. Students will use this deliberation to recommend a national service model that the government should implement.

Participating schools must have connectivity to the INTERNET2 network and the ability to do H.323 videoconferencing.

While there is no cost to participate in this event, we do ask schools to work to make sure this event is a success. Participating schools will be responsible for the following:

Participation and successful completion of videoconference testing prior to the event with the National Constitution Center;
Selection of a student representative;
Preparation of students through the use of the free Exchange Town Hall Wall lesson-plan poster and resources; and
Completion of the nationwide Exchange Web Poll at www.constitutioncenter.org/exchange <http://www.constitutioncenter.org/exchange> .

We hope you are able to participate in this remarkable opportunity.

0 Comments

Rivers and Wildlife Celebration - Carol Smith

Carol Smith — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

The Wild Experience Room will provide free, hands-on, family-friendly activities on Saturday, March 20, as part of the 2010 Rivers and Wildlife Celebration at the Holiday Inn in Kearney, Nebraska.

The Wild Experience Room, organized by the Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership, will be open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. "Live critter demonstrations" will include Birds of Prey, from Raptor Recovery Nebraska, at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Nebraska Snakes, with Dan Fogel, at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Activities will include making bird feeders, folding paper cranes, making bird band bracelets, looking for compost creatures, and more. wild experience room flyer no tabs.pdf

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Opportunities to see sandhill cranes - Carol Smith

Carol Smith — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

C.S.I.

(Crane Scene Investigations)

The largest gathering of sandhill cranes in the world happens right here in Nebraska! You and your students are invited to become Crane Scene Investigators and learn about these unique birds.

C.S.I. is approximately 2 hours long and is designed with your students in mind and only available from the first of March through the first of April. Dates and times fill fast, so make your reservations early!

Crane Cam

Crane Central

For downloadable educational videos, be sure to check out CRANE CENTRAL on the CRANE CAM hosted by ESU 10. Go to www.rowesanctuary.org The DVD is also available in our Nature Store.

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Basic Clickers Workshop ~ March 24, 2010 - Carol Smith

Carol Smith — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Basic Clickers Workshop ~ March 24, 2010 ~ 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ~ ESU 10 ~ Kearney

One of the hottest items in instructional technology is the use of “clickers” or audience response systems. Students use remotes to answer questions before, during, and after a lesson thereby allowing teachers to get instant feedback about student understanding. Dustin Frank will lead a workshop for eInstruction clickers using the Classroom Performance System (CPS). If you are using eInstruction clickers or want to learn more about what they can do, this workshop is for you! To register go to https://odie.esu10.org/

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Crane Season Information - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Have you made reservations for your class to come see and learn about an event that happens nowhere else in the world except here in central Nebraska? I’m talking about the gathering of over 500,000 sandhill cranes. People from around the globe come to see this phenomenon and your class should not miss out.

C.S.I. (Crane Scene Investigation) program is approximately two hours long and is designed with your students in mind. It is only available from the first of March through the first of April when the cranes are here on the Platte River. Dates and times are filling fast, so make your reservations soon! Cost is $3.00 per student

Crane Cam will go live the weekend of March 6th and is again being hosted by ESU 10. THANKS ESU 10!

For downloadable educational videos about sandhill cranes, be sure to check out CRANE CENTRAL on our website. Go to www.rowesanctuary.org The DVD is also available in our Nature Store.

NEW THIS YEAR!

Are you looking for a book with just enough good facts and trivia to spark in the novice crane-watcher an appreciation of these fascinating birds and at the same time a book that gives those long time watchers more insight into the behaviors they were seeing? Well, we have the book for you. It is called The Private Lives of Sandhill Cranes. This easy-to-read resource is full of wonderful illustrations and maps and is on sale here at Rowe for $10.00.

For more information, just give me a call. I look forward to working with you and your class.

Keanna Leonard
Education Director
Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary
44450 Elm Island Rd
Gibbon, NE 68840
308-468-5282
___________________________________________________________________________

Make your reservations today for CRANE SEASON!!!

For a Naturally Good Time come to First Sundays @ Rowe!

Know Rowe? Learn more at www.rowesanctuary.org or on Facebook.

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Today's Science 2.0 Agenda/Notes - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Thanks so much for those of you that attended today's meeting! A GREAT sharing day! here is the agenda and notes from today's activities! Even if you weren't here today, there are plenty of links here that you MUST check out!!!

http://tr.im/scienceagenda

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Nebraska Outdoor School Day Expo - Carol Smith

Carol Smith — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Nebraska Game and Parks invite all fourth, fifth and sixth grade students to their 4th Annual Outdoor School Day Expo on either Thursday, May 13 or Friday, May 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event will be held at Fort Kearney State Recreation Area and is a free educational event. Over 40 diverse hands-on activities and demonstrations that correlate with Nebraska State Standards in the areas of science, math, history, reading and writing are offered.

Registration begins January 20, 2010. Attached is the Teacher's Guide and Registration Instructions.

Teachers Guide Packet 2010.pdf

Registration Instructions - Fort kearny.doc

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CAPspace Science Project Request: Tornados - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Just came across this opportunity for your science class to collaborate with another class in New York and share about Tornados.

Take a look and see if it is something you might be interested in!

Jason

----------

Title: Tornado Alley:

Status: Open

URL: http://projects.twice.cc/?l=collaboration&id=642

Connections: H.323

Grades: 5, 6, 7, 8

Subjects: Science (Earth)

Dates: Between March and June - 9AM-3PM EST

Description: We are a fourth grade class in upstate New York and are studying weather in different geographical areas of the U.S. We would like to talk to a school in Tornado Alley (Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc.) We would like the opportunity to meet via video conference to ask questions about tornadoes in their geographical areas, how long the tornado season lasts, and if they've ever experienced an actual tornado.

0 Comments

Web Sites for you! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Here are a few web sites that I thought you would like.

Good general lesson plan sites - http://tr.im/KjRO
Science Fair site - http://www.sciencebob.com/sciencefair/index.php
You Tube URL Tricks - http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-youtube-url-tricks-you-should-know-about/
ReTool Yourself (professional development ideas) - http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/25886
100 Web Tools for Collaboration - http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/26378

This last link is a video from a student demonstrating how her 7th grade science class is being run. This looked like a very engaging science class!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEls3tq5wIY&feature=youtu.be&a

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Classroom Instruction That Works Webinars - Carol Smith

Carol Smith — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

In this series we are featuring nine webinars on Marzano's instructional strategies. Each webinar will focus on the how to use specific instructional strategies in your classroom as well as technology tips and tricks to integrate along the way!

Each webinar is a one-hour session from 4-5PM. A day or so before the webinar, you will receive an email with instructions and the website for the webinar.

There is no driving or weather worries, all you need is a computer! Choose just one webinar to attend or choose them all! These are great refreshers if you attended Classroom Instruction That Works this last summer! Even if you don't know anything about these instructional strategies, please join us and find out all the easy ways of engaging and reaching your students.

Summarizing and Note Taking - January 19, 2010
Reinforcing Effort/Receiving Feedback - February 2, 2010
Homework and Practice - February 16, 2010
Non-Linguistic Representation - March 2, 2010
Cooperative Learning - March 23, 2010
Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback - April 6, 2010
Generating and Testing Hypothesis - April 20, 2010
Ques, Questions, and Advanced Organizers - May 4, 2010

Register on ODIE at https://odie.esu10.org/

0 Comments

Cell Size Visual - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Just saw this site and it is a great way of showing cell size compared to other things such as coffee beans, rice, amoebas, and carbon atoms! Check it out! What do you use to help students visualize these things?

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/

0 Comments

First Sunday's at Rowe Sanctuary! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Looking for something other than shopping this Sunday? Come on out and join us for our December First Sunday @ Rowe starting at 1:30 p.m. http://rowesanctuary.org/first%20sundays.htm

With native grasses and fallen leaves rustling in the breeze and the symphony from flocks of birds streaming south, late fall is a great time to explore Rowe Sanctuary. This month’s program will take advantage of this natural music by offering a workshop called ‘The Music of Nature - The Nature of Music’ presented by former UNK professor of music Annabell Zikmund, and Rowe Volunteers Susan Elmore and Jackie Flohr.

Other activities include nature hikes and marshmallow roasting on an open campfire!

For more information:
Keanna Leonard, Education Director
Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary
44450 Elm Island Rd
Gibbon, NE 68840
308-468-5282

0 Comments

Share Your Favorites! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Share with the group your favorite lesson, web site, tech tool, or activity! Don't feel like you don't have something to contribute! Everyone has something they love to use with students!

8 Comments

Check out these websites! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Astronomy for Kids - http://www.cosmos4kids.com/
Biology for Kids - http://www.biology4kids.com/
Chemistry for Kids - http://www.chem4kids.com/
Earth Science for Kids - http://www.geography4kids.com/
Physics for Kids - http://www.physics4kids.com/

Let me know what you think of these web sites by posting a comment below!

0 Comments

ESU 10 Now Has GPS Units! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:00:00 GMT

ESU 10 has purchased 15 Garmin eTrex Legend GPS units for teachers to checkout and use with their classroom! They can be checked out through ODIE!

More can be found in the description on the Media Library:
https://odie.esu10.org/library/MediaItemDetails.aspx?MediaItemID=54607

Also at: http://blog.esu10.org/gps Here you can find out more about the Global Positioning System devices as well as how-to's and instructional materials to go with the GPS's.

Let us know what you think! How will YOU use the GPS Devices with your students? Are you already doing a GPS project that you would like to share? Share this and other instructional materials here on this community!!!

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Wordpress Updates - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT

WordPress Site for updates and information
Check out this website for current announcements, news, account requests, feature requests, training resources, and workshop information. Wordpress @ ESU 10 Blog Site

Mobile Support in WordPress @ ESU 10
Districts purchasing and supporting mobile computing now have the option of making their Wordpress site mobile accessible. Great for providing content to these mobile devices without having to sync them on an continual basis. Read more...

0 Comments

Click & drag - Randal Skaggs

Randal Skaggs — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:18:07 GMT

Anyone using click & drag activities on computers? I'm looking for ideas/suggestions.

Thanks!

1 Comments

New 21st Century Skills Maps - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

21st Century Skills Maps

Geography Map (2009)
Science Map (2009)

From an email I received:

First-of-their-kind Classroom Examples of Integrating 21st Century Skills into Science and Geography Courses

The 21st Century Skills and Science and Geography Maps demonstrate how the integration of 21st century skills into science and geography classes support teaching and prepare students to become effective and productive citizens.

The maps were released at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC) by representatives from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) along with colleagues from the National Council for the Social Studies and National Council of Teachers of English, who released social studies and English maps in 2008.

These new maps:

Provide educators with teacher-created models of how 21st century skills can be infused into instruction.
Highlight the critical connections between science, geography and 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and communication.
Cite specific student outcomes and provide project models for enhanced student achievement in grades four, eight and twelve.

0 Comments

Birding - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

There has been some interest in the past about birding with this group. I just ran across a tweet for a pretty neat site (I think so anyway!) that you might want to check out:

http://birdcinema.com/

Lots of video and other media.

Enjoy!

Jason

0 Comments

The Great Park Pursuit - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:00:00 GMT

This would be a great adventure for families as well as classrooms! Check out http://www.negpp.org/! there is a challenge there to visit all of the 15 listed Nebraska state parks! If you want to participate, you must register there on the web site.

This might be a great summer project to continue to engage students in Nebraska Geography! Have your own Great Park Pursuit! Challenge your next group of students (any age would love this) to get to as many of Nebraska's parks this summer as they can. Once they get there, have them take a picture of the park sign and two more pictures from inside the park. They must then email those pictures to you, the teacher. You can create a map in Google Earth and mark their travels using the pictures they took! This would also make a great competition between class sections or maybe between conference schools! (They could even use their cell phones and send those pictures if your cell plan will handle that!)

Most importantly, encourage your students to get out and enjoy Nebraska's state parks!

http://www.negpp.org/

0 Comments

Text Recommendations Update - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

We have had a conversation going here previously that I would like to revisit. it is the time of year when all the requisitions are probably about done. But I wanted to make you aware of the latest in publishing and text books. Just saw this site from Jon Becker on Twitter. Right now it seems to be in its infancy but it has some real potential. It looks like it is mostly science materials right now. CK12 is a non-profit organization on a mission to reduce the cost of textbooks. On this site, you can create your own! Check it out! http://www.ck12.org/

0 Comments

Summer 2.0 workshop and workshop follow-up - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Don't forget to register for the Science 2.0 Summer Camp! As always, it will be new materials! it is a two day workshop with lunch provided. We would welcome ideas for the two days! Is there something you would like to get an indepth look at? Is there a web tool that you would like to try to implement? Let us know! We will be working on the agenda after our NETA conference at the end of April (NETA stands for Nebraska Educational Technology Association).

We are thinking about doing a webinar follow-up with our Science 2.0 group. This could be whatever/whenever would work for this group. I know this time of year is just crazy busy so I don't want to add more to your plate. This would be a low-key conversation online some afternoon or evening. I am thinking that maybe a Monday night would work best or possibly a Wednesday night maybe around 7PM. I am willing to be very flexible. I would like to try out this technology with you as a group to see how things would work but I also want to encourage sharing time too. Think on it and give us some feedback! Even if you think this is a little more than you want to do right now.

Let us know what you are thinking!

0 Comments

Video Periodic Table of Elements - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Just saw this on Twitter! This is an awesome periodic table of elements but each element is linked to an informational video! Very cool! http://www.periodicvideos.com/#

3 Comments

Ocean Now - National Geographic - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Hey,

Do you want to see what the ocean looked like hundreds of years ago, before it was disturbed by human activities such as fishing and shipping?

National Geographic is sponsoring an amazing expedition through the Southern Line Islands in the Pacific Ocean -- some of the last parts of the ocean untouched by humans. The crew is going to survey and document these pristine reefs and islands so they can help preserve them for future generations.

The best part is that during the voyage, the crew will be providing constant updates on their discoveries: photos, videos, and stories from the high seas. They'll even answer questions we submit to them.

I just signed up for updates from this expedition. Click here to make sure you're signed up too:

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/joinus

It's so important to explore these parts of the ocean so we can make sure they're not lost forever. It'll also help us limit and reverse the impacts humans have made on the oceans from decades of pollution, overfishing, shipping, and development.

This promises to be an incredible journey, and now you and I can be part of it:

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/joinus

Thanks!

0 Comments

Seeking text recommendation - Joey Hajda

Joey Hajda — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:00:00 GMT

My administrators are requesting I purchase a new freshmen earth science textbook for the upcoming year. Why we spend so much $$ on textbooks, I don't know, but alas, I need to give them a publisher and title. Do any of you have a text you've found more usable than others? Any input whatsoever would be appreciated. Thanks!

Joey Hajda DVM MEd
Ansley

4 Comments

Project WILD - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Opportunity that I received via email that I thought you would like to hear about.

______________________________________________________________________

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will sponsor a Project WILD workshop in Loup City on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Please view the attached flier for more details.

The workshop will include a visit to Bowman Lake for some hands-on, aquatic activities.

Please forward this announcement to anyone who you think might be interested in the workshop and would benefit from the training.

Call or email Michelle Koch (402-471-5363 or michelle.koch@nebraska.gov) if you have questions or would like to register.

1 Comments

Science is Fun Web site! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Another teacher just sent this to me and I thought some of you might like it! See what you think and comment if you would like!

Science is Fun! http://www.scifun.org/

1 Comments

Web Sites for Science Teachers - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

This looked like a good resources so I wanted to share. Let me know what you think!

Science site with hands-on activities - http://www.siemensscienceday.com/
A news web site for students - http://www.dogonews.com/
A mapping site with project capabilities - http://www.mapskip.com/
Turn your photos into puzzles - http://www.flash-gear.com/puzzle/
List of cartoon/comic building web site - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/02/7-resources-for-creating-cartoons-and.html

1 Comments

cell phone uses in classroom - Graci Gillming

Graci Gillming — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:52:30 GMT

Here's a great site for educational uses of cell phones.

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/05/value-of-using-cell-phones-to-enhance.html

0 Comments

Science 2.0 Workshop - What's Your Favorite? - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Tell us your favorite lesson, web site, or tech tool. Use the COMMENT below to leave your information here!

7 Comments

Science 2.0 Workshop - DL w/ John - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

1. Based on this morning's presentations, what is different from your classroom?

More self directed
cool new resources
way more student directed than teacher directed
more technology here; hard to implement back at school
different tools

2. Based on your responses to question 1, what might you take back to your classroom to change your classroom environment?

school might be going 1:1 with students next year; have to get ready
how do we get to the point of where students are sharing?
cell phone technology? parent purchases of computers?
having students share; texting
cell phone becoming more computer based
collaboration is IMPORTANT piece!

Remote Conferencing:
TV, cell phone, two-way video conferencing,

Remote conferencing progression

Sit 'n Git (NASA - Autopsy)
Collaboration (Capspace)
http://www.tvdec.org/k12enrichment

Tools to support remote conferencing

codecs (lifesize)
codec software (polycom PVX - XMeeting
Skype - iChat - Netmeeting

Honda video - See a Dream

0 Comments

Two Sites... - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Do-It-Yourself Podcasting from NASA - http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/diypodcast/index.html

Science News Reader - http://classpress.net/science/index.htm

1 Comments

Astronomy Resources from Edutopia - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Edutopia from the George Lucas Educational Foundation published this list of Astronomy resources that you might like to have. http://www.edutopia.org/stargazing-galileo

0 Comments

New Version of Google Earth! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Just released, Google Earth 5 with a view of the ocean! you can see the Mariana Trench!
http://earth.google.com/ocean/

0 Comments

Science Simulations - Nathan McClenahan

Nathan McClenahan — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:34:10 GMT

In poking around, I have found a great site for science simulations. These are primarily for students in middle or high school. These simulations are a good way to reinforce science concepts graphically. They require either Adobe Flash or Java to run over the web. You can even download all of them if you wish. Oh ya, and I like the price... Free.

http://phet.colorado.edu/index.php

0 Comments

365 Photos! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:00:00 GMT

This looks like a great project and would be fun to do with your
students. The idea is to take a photo each day! You could gear this
toward a certain type of curriculum or theme if you wanted! The kids
would get into the routine of this and you would be pulling out that
camera more often! For more on this project go to:
http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

Also see The 10 Most Stunning Photo Blogs - http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-10-most-stunning-photo-blogs/

1 Comments

Welcome to a Year of Science - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:00:00 GMT

A web site to start you off in 2009! http://www.yearofscience2009.org/home/

0 Comments

Autopsy - Science Enrichment through Distance Learning - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:00:00 GMT

http://community.tvdec.org/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=478

0 Comments

Wind For Schools Program - Joey Hajda

Joey Hajda — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

We are progressing through the preliminary steps for participating in the Wind For Schools program (installation of a Skystream wind turbine on our school grounds.) I was wondering if there are others who would like to share what they've learned/done regarding this project....

Joey Hajda
Ansley Schools
www.friendlychemistry.com (Because everyone would like a fun way to teach and learn chemistry!)

2 Comments

Google LIFE Photos - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Google is hosting photos from LIFE! Search millions of photos from LIFE's archives from as early as the 1750s. Go to http://images.google.com/hosted/life or add "source:life" to any image search on Google.

Let us know what you think!

0 Comments

Web Sites for Science Teachers - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Couple of sites I just ran across on Twitter. See what you think:

NASA Quest - http://quest.nasa.gov/ -

FREE Web-based, interactive explorations designed to engage students in authentic scientific and engineering processes.

Mr. Wayne's Class.com - http://acpstech.org/physics/twayne/ - Physics/Physical Science PowerPoints

0 Comments

Global Connections - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

Last summer at NECC in San Antonio, TX, we listened to the keynote on the second day and were inspired to go beyond what we were already doing in education. The keynote was a pair of teachers from Canada who were not necessarily comfortable with technology but they were burning out in their classrooms. They learned about Skype and about iEarn and were refreshed! Their classroom activities were renewed as was their spirit!

What they were talking about is the latest buzz word in education, global connections. Teachers are connecting with other classrooms around the world! The tool of choice seems to be Skype. Skype is a free download. With this program you can instant message but you can also make audio and video calls to another computer for FREE! You can also make audio calls to landlines and cellphones for a small fee. Skype is also a tool that you can use on any platform; Mac, PC, or Linux.

How do you find schools to share such a connection? One of the most important issues is having a purpose in your connection. You want to make sure this is a learning experience for students. Using iEarn, schools can find projects to participate in or post their own project. The projects come in all shapes and sizes. There are projects from the US and some from Pakistan.

What equipment will you need? You will need a computer with an Internet connection. You will also need speakers and a microphone. If you are going to do a video conference, you will need to have a camera. Many of the Mac's come with built-in cameras which work very well. Web cams are not very expensive and can be picked up at your local Wal-Mart, Target, or KMart. Keep in mind, you get what you pay for in a web cam. If you have a regular video camera, you can plug that in and use it as a web cam! That adds the zoom and pan actions into your video conference.

This is really an exciting tool for education. Even here at the ESU, we are using Skype to answer teacher questions and other tools such as Adobe Connect Pro to do workshops and trouble shoot technical issues. Go home today and try these ideas for yourself! Some of you may be able to try this right away with kids but many of us need to try it for ourselves first. It is a great tool to visit those grandkids or children. Use Skype to find a college friend and visit with them. See what YOU think...

Here is a link to the presentation I did yesterday for the Library/Media Specialists group on global connections! It contains more links to other sites such as iEarn! http://tinyurl.com/globetips

0 Comments

Become a Discovery Educator! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

I go to conferences and see DEN on name tags and bags. That is what inspired today’s blog. I wanted to find out more about the Discovery Educators Network and how it works.

We all know that Discovery Channel is a great resource. What you might not know is that you can become a member of Discovery Channel to get more from this fabulous resource? So, today I went on and signed up. I am not a STAR Educator yet but I have made the first step.

To get into being a Discovery Educator, go to DEN web site and follow these instructions. Check out the benefits of being a Discovery Educator! Once you are signed up you have hundreds of great resources, lessons, discussions, and more at the tips of your fingers. If you are still hungry for additional resources, become a STAR Educator! Follow the instructions there and apply online! They will ask you to answer three questions and submit a digital version of a lesson you have done. Seems pretty simple! With STAR status, you will receive even more benefits.

Join me in the DEN!

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Soil Sample treatment - Polla Hartley

Polla Hartley — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

The English teacher and myself want to do a " Soils of the States" project. Does anyone know off the cuff what you need to do to the soil before you send it across state lines. I seem to have heard you had to bake it at a certain temp for so many minutes. We wanted to put the simple instructions into the letters we send out. Thanks polla

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Science sites found on Twitter - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 05:00:00 GMT

From: http://twitter.com/cscribner

Checking out this great resource for 7-12 year olds for Science.http://tinyurl.com/59qqcv Enjoy! 11:46 PM Oct 23rd from BeTwittered
Looking at http://tinyurl.com/3v95l4 a great resource for teaching science in the K-5 building. 11:42 PM Oct 22nd from BeTwittered

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Nebraska Rain Fall Data - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:00:00 GMT

From John Stritt:

Thought science teachers might find this of value as it provides reported rainfall for the past 4 years by region. Not sure if you can export this data as I haven't gotten in that far. http://dnrdata.dnr.ne.gov/NeRAIN/

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Nebraska Rainfall Web Site - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Some of you might be interested in seeing and using this site. With the weather being as crazy as it is, you might have students thinking about rainfall in Nebraska.

Nebraska Rainfall Assessment and Information Network (NeRAIN) - http://dnrdata.dnr.ne.gov/NeRAIN/index.asp

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Inspirational Quotes for the Beginning of 2nd Quarter - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A Couple of quotes have caught my eye lately so I thought I would share those with you.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandella
"You must be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi

Here are a few more for you to check out on Darren Draper's blog (as a side note, he is a great person to follow on Twitter):http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-turn-inpirational-quotes.html

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Google Earth Ideas - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Just found this Google presentation on the web with 21 innovative ways to use Google Earth with your students! Have fun and enjoy the site! http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_175fp5qg9d3

When you are done, let us know what you think!

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Websites - Jason Everett

Jason Everett — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Please share your favorite website you like to use with students.

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21st Century & You! - Deanna Stall

Deanna Stall — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:06:09 GMT

What do 21st Century Students look like?

You have seen them walking down the street in any town, big or small, with pockets full of gadgets and talking on their cell phones. All that technology that we adults can't even identify. These are the 21st Century students. These are the next generation of earners, families, and voters in the United States. As I was reading the article Syncing Up With the iKid: Connecting to the Twenty-First-Century Student by Josh McHugh in Edutopia, I was thinking about when I was a kid and boom-boxes were a hot item. Everyone had one and they were all shapes and sizes. But it was a little embarrassing on those Saturday nights when my parents would bring out the record albums to torture us with this outdated technology, not to mention the polka music they were playing. Thankfully, the Walkman came along and I could listen to what I wanted, when I wanted. That meant, no more polkas for me! It also meant that I missed out on the family time together and the opportunity to let my parents know that I didn't like their music. In reminiscing, I realized that is probably what today's kids think of the adults in their lives. They want the latest and greatest technology for reason's they aren't sure about; they want it personalized; of course, they want to be able to tell you that you are old and out of touch with the world; and they still want to be accepted and part of the family.

A group called Partnership for 21st Century Skills developed a vision of 21st century student success. Nine states have taken part in this initiative. Nebraska's Department of Education has been in talks about it as well. The skills, knowledge, and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life are outlined on their site.

Core Subjects & 21st Century Themes - The core subjects they have included are English, reading or language arts, world languages, arts, math, economics, science, geography, history government and civics. They also include that interdisciplinary themes of global awareness; financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy; civic literacy; and health literacy.
Learning and Innovation Skills - These skills include creativity & innovation; critical thinking and problem solving; and communication and collaboration.
Information, Media and Technology Skills - Because of an abundant amount of information the skills students will need are information literacy, media literacy, and ICT literacy (Information, Communication and Technology)
Life and Career Skills - Employers will be looking for these skills in any area and in all their employees. They are looking for flexibility & adaptability; initiative & self-direction; social & cross-cultural skills; productivity & accountability; leadership & responsibility.

In order for us to get students to succeed with these skills, four things must be in place. First, standards and assessments are critical; that's not a problem in Nebraska. Second, curriculum and instruction should support these 21st century skills. Third, teachers need to be provided adequate professional development in these areas. And lastly, where students learn affects what they learn so learning environments which support 21st century skills is the final critical piece of the puzzle. Statistics say that students of today will have fourteen different jobs by the time they are 38 years old. It is vital that our students have these skills in place before they leave our schools. Did You Know 2.0 and A Vision of Students Today are great video representations of many statistics like these.

What do 21st Century Teachers look like?

Why upgrade to color televisions if the black and white worked just fine? Why get a cassette tape player when your eight-track player did the job? Well, ok, the eight-track may be a bad example. I bet you can come up with a few of your own examples. The world has upgraded in every way, shape, and form. 21st Century Teachers are going to look different as well. We must upgrade to provide a quality education for our students.

International Society of Technology Education (ISTE) created standards for educational technology for students and teachers. In June of 2007, ISTE unveiled the NETS-National Educational Technology Standards for Students. This last June, ISTE released the NETS for Teachers. In June of 2009, ISTE will complete the NETS for Admininstrators. You are probably thinking, "More standards? I'm going to scream!" Before you do that, let's think about what these standards are really asking us as teachers to do for our students. Here are some explanations and ideas you can try in your classroom to promote 21st century learning in your students.

Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity - Many of you already do this every day with kids. The word facilitate is really a tough one to truly put into action. How do we let go of the reigns in our classroom and still control the behavior, student interaction, and learning while they are there? My kids always want to be responsible for the big stuff like mowing the yard instead of just doing the dishes. The same applies to students in the classroom. If you want kids to do something, they need to know it is important enough and that you trust them enough to be in charge of it. Allow students to be in charge of their own learning! Give them guidance so they know how to do the research and let them find all the resources they can. Let them create their own visual model of their understanding so you can see it too. You will be surprised at how deep the learning will be! If you don't know how to use the technology, ask someone to help you or be willing to let the kids figure it out on their own. Letting go of the reigns is an exhilarating feeling for you and your students!
Design & develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments - For weekend work, have students take pictures that represent your current vocabulary words and share those pictures with the whole class. Think they don't all have cameras? They will take the pictures with their cell phone or will borrow a camera. Have you ever had your students make a movie for your class? If you aren't ready for Final Cut Pro, have students use their digital cameras to take enough pictures to create a movie (kind of like making a cartoon). If you want to dive in a little deeper, try out Movie Maker on Windows or iMovie on the Mac to have students create commercials, public service announcements, or summary videos of classroom events.
Model digital-age work and learning - Most schools now have some sort of information system such as Power School so many of you are using that for keeping grades. Try adding one new tool to your repertoire this next school year. If you get stuck, ask a student! They will be glad to help you, and it is a great way to build that trusting relationship with students. Keep your bookmarks on Delicious or Diigo and then share them with your students. Take pictures of your class and post them on Flickr or Picasa. Save your Power Point slides as .jpg or .png and post them to Picasa so students can access them anytime.
Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility - Talk to kids in every class about internet behavior. Preteaching is the best! Tell them ahead of time what they can expect on an assignment and then, how you expect them to complete it and how it will look. If they are doing research, teach students how to do responsible research on the internet. Take the next step and talk to them about the difficult stuff. Talk about the internet, social networks, and what might be out in the world. This is no different than talking about drugs, alcohol, or relationships. Even if kids hear it from their parents and then hear it again from you, keep talking!
Engage in professional growth and leadership - Going to workshops is always a good thing but we here at ESU 10 are very aware of the obstacles you face when trying to take time for professional development. What can you do then, if you are unable to take those days? For starters, find a small group of people you trust. They don't have to teach in the same curricular area that you do or even the same grade level. Gather your group frequently for short sharing sessions even if it is only 10 minutes a week maybe in the morning or after school. Start by sharing your favorite web sites, next teach each other how to use a web tool. Finally try longer training sessions for instructional strategies or applications. You might even try learning a new tool together with the help of online training such as Lynda.com. or Atomic Learning. Your new group (PLN - Personal Learning Network) will keep you going through the school year. ESU 10 also offers many workshops in Kearney. Those trainings can be brought to you and your school by our trainers at ESU 10! Please call or email if you are interested. We will also be implementing a new training delivery method in the form of a webinar. We have four planned for October and November covering Google tools. They are one-hour sessions after school. We hope this new technology will make it easier for you to get the training you need, when you need it. Additionally, there are online communities just for teachers! From the makers of ODIE, ESU 10 is developing communities for workshop participants and member schools. (More communities are in the works!) These communities will be used for collaboration, sharing resources & lessons. There are also web sites such as Classroom 2.0, a Ning site where teachers gather to collaborate and share. If you are really ready to dig in, try Twitter! Twitter is a microblogging site where you follow and are followed only by the people you give permission to. Read more about Twitter and how it is being used in a new article on Edutopia! Professional development is viral so pass it on and cheer each other on!

If you are wondering where you stand with your technology integration, ISTE has created a classroom observation tool that can be downloaded. You will need to sign up for a free account. Use this tool when making lesson plans or observing teachers. The last two pages of the .pdf might trigger some other great lesson ideas for your classes.

21st century kids may look a little different than we did at that age but they didn't get there by themselves on purpose. They are the result of a changing society. America and the world will continue to change, grow, and develop new technology. For our students to be ready for that change, ready to be proper citizens, run a government of which we can be proud, we must be willing to work toward these skills for ourselves first.

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