Wisconsin

Want to keep up with current news in your subject area? Try Google Reader (or other RSS readers) to get constant, up-to-date RSS feeds from various news sources, blogs and podcasts. As May 1st is RSS Day, now is the perfect time to start.Before we begin, what is RSS? RSS stands for “Real Simple Syndication”. Basically, an RSS Feed is an address assigned to content that is updated frequently on the web (such as a blog post, podcast, newspaper article, etc). An RSS Aggregator seeks out content from these RSS feeds and pulls them into a handy reader. In short, it brings the web to you, instead of you going to individual addresses on a regular basis. Need more explanation? Check out the RSS Entry in Wikipedia. Or, simply setup a reader and learn by doing.

Setup
There are many different RSS readers (some are even integrated into browsers), but I suggest Google Reader for its ease of use. First, you will need to setup a Google account. Go to: http://reader.google.com. You will need to follow the instructions to setup an account.

Once you have Google Reader setup, you can add subscriptions by clicking on the ‘Add Subscriptions’ link. There, you can search for new content, and Google Reader will seek out content from these RSS feeds. Alternatively, you can add RSS feeds automatically from websites that have the orange RSS logo.

When reading your feeds, use the “J” key to scroll through the content, and “K” to go backwards. If you want to look at the information more closely, you can simply click on the title or link to the original content.

You can star noteworthy articles, and come back to them later. As some sites are blocked by my district, I will star interesting news feeds and then access them later at home. The more advanced user can do other things, like create folders, tag, read feeds offline, and share your feeds with your friends. Click on the Google Reader Thumbnail (right) to see what a standard display might look like.

Got more questions? Check out the Google Reader Help Center, and you will find many short articles to help you use Google Reader more effectively.

Uses
An RSS reader/aggregator can be an extremely useful tool for a science educator trying to stay abreast of current discoveries and news. This is extremely useful for teachers that want to stay informed for their own teaching, but you can also encourage your students to setup RSS readers to discuss current events.

But what about for other subject areas? RSS readers have obvious applications for history and political science teachers. Try searching for your local paper to see if it has an RSS feed for their top stories. If you are a foreign language teacher, you can get foreign news daily. But RSS readers can also connect you to blogs that might relate to your teaching. Entering the search string “teaching math” reveals a “forum for mathematics teaching for students from upper secondary/high school level through university”.

Enjoy
Go ahead and Read your Feeds! I find that Google Reader is my favorite newspaper; it is a collection of what I want to read, delivered to my desktop automatically. But be careful - if I don’t go through my feeds on a regular basis, I find that I can get thousands of posts behind!

(also posted on www.explodingsink.com)

For Earth Day, listen to our podcast with Bill Nye—comic, engineer, and science guy—and learn his thoughts on global warming and sustainable living. He even tells us about his new show—Stuff Happens—that will air on Discovery’s new channel: Planet Green (which debuts in June).

You can play the interview, view the show notes and subscribe to the podcast by visiting the sites below:

• Lab Out Loud on nsta.org: http://www.nsta.org/publications/laboutloud.aspx
• Lab Out Loud Host (with show notes) http://nsta.libsyn.com

Lab Out Loud is a Podcast sponsored by the National Science Teachers’ Association. Science teachers Brian Bartel and Dale Basler discuss science news and science education with leading scientists, researchers, science writers, and other important figures in the field. A selection of links and notes accompanies each episode, enabling the listener to dig deeper into the topics discussed.

With shrinking school budgets, educators might consider looking to grants for project funds. Here are some tips (from the links below and from personal experience) for you if you are thinking of applying for a grant.

Preparation

• Make sure your idea fits the grant criteria (location, non-equipment, etc)
• Look for full grants and mini-grants too
• May need to become member of professional organization(s) to be considered
• Grants have two broad categories:
  • New proposals
  • Help to buildup existing projects
• “Less is more” in proposal
• Find colleagues as collaborators, community support
• Look at successful proposals of other grant ideas
• Find multiple uses of money, if possible
• Involve students
• Is your project sustainable beyond funding?
• Gather ‘writing tools’
• Success breeds success in grants

Writing

• Use technical writing, not a creative writing style
• Be clear and concise in writing style
• Make sure to plan ahead and make the deadline, if not before
• Display confidence & enthusiasm
• Do your homework: research, cite studies that support your project
• “Jargonize” appropriately
• “Less is More” in writing
• Develop specific, attainable goals in your project
• Provide and timeline and a means for evaluation
• Be prepared to showcase your successes already related to grant
• Discuss potential problems and pitfalls
• Consider your funding needs
• Proofread! Avoid simple typos, misspellings, or awkward formatting
• Critique your own proposal
• Have others read your final draft as well
• Turn in ON TIME (or ahead of time)

Follow-up

• Some grants will contact you regardless of acceptance
• Don’t get discouraged – a good idea is still worth doing. Look for other funding, try again next year
• You may have a perfect idea/application and still get rejected
• If rejected, ask grantor for comments/suggestions
• If accepted, make sure to follow criteria for follow-up: report, publicity, etc

Links

• Grant Writing for Begninners(from TECHlearning): [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]
• Tips for Writing NIH Grants [Link]
• From November Learning: [Wining Grants - pdf], [Grants: Beyond the Money]

Grant Sources (specifically science)

• Local Grants (School, District, Foundation, Community, etc.)
• WSST Foundation Grants
• Toyota Tapestry Grants (large and mini)
• Best Buy Te@ch Awards – awards success using technology
• Hach Scientific Chemistry Projects
• Vernier Technology Award/Grant
• Grants Available through NSTA
• Teacher’s Network List of Science Teacher Grants
• Technology Grant News List of Science Education Grants
• The Foundation Center
• Kathy Shrock’s Grant Listing

Do you have other ideas, or grant sources to share?

[Also posted on explodingsink.com]

My district has recently installed Microsoft Sharepoint. This is a dynamic tool (albeit from the MotherShip) that allows me to create and control groups where users can collaborate though shared documents, discussions boards, blogs, and wikis (and many other features).

My initial observations of Sharepoint made me realize that it has a distinct Microsoft footprint - heavy on tools, but clunky to use. It reminds me of that spoof video fantasizing if Microsoft had packaged the iPod. In any case, I futzed around with it for a while until I was semi-satisfied.

I have to admit - the discussion board is a powerful tool. It engages my students on a level that they would not comfortable with in the classroom. It challenges them to raise questions they would not ask in class. It actually brings more discussion into the classroom. And this was only after a week of discussion. (NOTE: the power of a discussion board is not new to me, but this is the first time I am able to use one under my district’s IT reign).

This is exactly a tool I have been looking for, as I have a colleague in Sweden who wants to have our classes collaborate on a project. Since SKYPE is blocked, this would allow the students to actually have that collaboration - supervised by me and my Swedish colleague.
Sharepoint is quite powerful in that it allows multiple configurations for its users with many layers of permission. There are a few no-brainers that I already have setup to protect my students. First - they can only post, but can’t edit or delete their entries. This helps to reinforce the idea that once something is posted on the internet, it is always there. Secondly, I don’t allow anonymous outside registration either - outside registration would have to be added by me or would have to be requested.

But I am not clear how to setup other student permissions/identities and if I should allow outside access for viewing. I have a few options:

1. Lock down the site so that ONLY students in my class can see and participate in the discussions
2. Lock down the site as above, but allow it to be viewed by any student or teacher in the district
3. Allow outside viewing, but protect student identities - make them create unidentifiable usernames
4. Other options?

If you use student discussion boards, what advice do you have? What are the benefits and drawbacks of these configurations? I want students to be safe, feel free to speak their mind, but I also want to emulate the outside world as well.

You can see what I’ve done (and what the students have done) so far. Their identities are protected - so I am currently using option #3. Most likely, these settings will change in the future. [Link]

This school year, I was fortunate enough to have an interactive whiteboard (from Interwrite) installed in my classroom. I was hesitant to get it at first, as I would lose some valuable front-board real estate to have it mounted.

However, once I started using it, I soon found out some interactive and intriguing ways ways to enhance my instruction. Here’s what I like about it:

1. More Student Interaction. I often find myself working too hard. That is, teaching to my students instead of working with them so that they can teach themselves. The IW has really helped to get students out of their seats and truly be more interactive in the lessons. Students love to write on the board, and it’s a great way to get students to contribute to the class.
2. New Technology WOW Factor. There are only a handful of IW’s in the school right now, and students still think it’s a pretty cool gadget. It’s like I have the iPhone of education hanging on my wall (sorry for the metaphor).
3. Great for Graphing. As a science teacher, I always have my students collect and graph data to analyze in class. The IW allows me to display graphs and write on them for analysis (usually through Logger Pro). The ‘write-on-able’ feature and the fact I can go back or save make the IW far superior to an overhead and some markers.
4. Import Work and other Media. The IW allows me to easily import many types of media. This is particularly nice when working with online or CD-ROM textbooks, as I can incorporate media directly from student texts into my lessons. I can also use non-digital media, as we have a copy machine in our building that will scan documents and e-mail them to teachers.
5. Save and Export Work. As I mentioned, I was a little cautious about losing some traditional whiteboard space. But I found that the IW actually expands this space, and I can create multiple pages and scroll back and forth. I can also record my movements on the IW to export them as a movie, and export the pages to a PDF file.
6. Demonstration and Interactive Use of Programs. I particularly like to use RasMol for molecular imaging. I can use the same basic mouse functions on the IW to manipulate the molecule on the board, as well as certain structures with the IW pen. Here’s an exported video of me manipulating a GFP molecule with the IW.
7. Interwrite Board + SMART Airliner Tablet = Extreme Whiteboarding! I still use traditional whiteboards integrated with the IW. I can assign multiple tasks for student groups to tackle on their own whiteboard, then take a picture of each and upload them to view. The students can present it on the board as I bring up their whiteboard picture. All the while, I am sitting in the back and can correct or add comments with a SMART Airliner Tablet or wireless keyboard/mouse. Again, the students produce, review and critique their entire lesson with my guidance.

Picture of Student Work:

Picture of Corrected Student Work:

If you can’t afford an interactive whiteboard this year, check out the economy solution - made from a Nintendo Wii [Link].

(Also posted on www.explodingsink.com]

Can’t Make it to PETE & C or FETC?  Register for the Illinois Technology Conference at the end of the month.  Visit www.iceberg.org for more details.

Saturday, February 9th @ 7:00 PM
Lawrence University; Appleton, WI
Science Hall, Room 102

Please join us for this special Darwin Day event on Saturday, February 9th at Lawrence University. This event is designed to celebrate Darwin’s birthday and contributions to science. All students, educators and scientists are welcome. Food and door prizes will be provided.

Event Schedule
7:00 PM Keynote Presentations & Discussions (below)
8:30 PM Movie: Flock of Dodos
10:00 PM Social at the Viking Room on campus

Genetics and Speciation
Beth De Stasio, Raymond J. Herzog Professor of Science
& Associate Professor of Biology, Lawrence University
Using one or two recent examples, we will explore the connection between genetic change, phenotypic change, and speciation. Advances in our ability to dissect the genetic component of complex traits such as an organism’s morphology and color have allowed scientists to understand the changes that have led to reproductive isolation and subsequent speciation within particular populations. We will discuss the importance of reproductive isolation to speciation and mechanisms by which organisms can be isolated even when living in the same environment. Two examples will be explored.

Evo-devo and its contributions to Darwin’s legacy
Brigid O’Donnell, Postdoctoral Fellow of Biology, Lawrence University
Evolutionary developmental biology (or “evo-devo”) is a relatively new field of biological inquiry that elegantly illustrates both common ancestry and descent with modification in organic beings as envisioned by Charles Darwin. Evo-devo has provided us with a powerful perspective to explore the proximate mechanisms underlying the genesis of form as well as the evolutionary “tinkering” of developmental pathways across multiple scales of biological organization (from genes to entire structures!). I will highlight two specific case studies that have supplied exciting insights into the origin and evolution of the phenotype: the origin of body plans and the developmental basis of eyespot patterns in butterfly wings.

Coevolution of hosts and their parasites
Judith Humphries, Assistant Professor of Biology, Lawrence University
The coevolution of parasites and their hosts is often described as an “Arms Race”, where for example, the parasite evolves to increase the probability of infecting its host but in response, the host coevolves to better defend itself against the parasite. This is consistent with the “Red Queen Hypothesis” where both host and parasite must continually evolve in order to maintain fitness relative to each other. The relationship between parasitic brood birds such as cuckoos, and their hosts is often used to exemplify this hypothesis.

Please respond to president07@wsst.org if you plan to attend

Sponsored by Lawrence University and
The Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers

Join us for the 1st ever
Discovery Educator Network
Virtual Conference!
Saturday, February 2nd
8 AM - 2 PM

Connect with educators from all over the country during this unique professional development experience where you can attend in-person, online or both.

The DEN Virtual Conference is a national event that provides educators a unique opportunity to experience Discovery Education’s high-quality professional development. Participants have the flexibility to attend the DEN Virtual Conference online or in-person at one of many regional events hosted by the DEN Leadership Councils.

The day will feature keynote presentations from Discovery’s own Hall Davidson and Lance Rougeux that will be broadcast to each of the regional gatherings. In between the keynote presentations, participants will attend breakout sessions presented by local STAR Discovery Educators.

“Lost in Translation” presented by Lance Rougeux
How many of your students are bilingual? An easy way to find out is through a simple math formula. Take the number of students in your classroom and multiply it by one. There’s your answer. All students today are bilingual and d 4n tongue dey knO so weL L%kz fune & cn b kind of hard 2 rED, @ lEst 4 adults. So how do we meet the needs of our students when we’re the second language learners in the classroom? In this kickoff session, we’ll take a look at ways we can use media and other technologies to help get us up to speed and speaking their language

“Revenge of the Digital Immigrants: Teaching with Media Technology” presented by Hall Davidson
Veteran teachers suspected the research has finally proved: 21st Century students are different. With different attention spans, higher IQ test scores, and social networks, their sophistication comes earlier—with a different skill set. There is a silver lining: We can teach this “New Brain” more effectively, more efficiently, more engagingly. We have the technology! Media has evolved and education must evolve to match.

Educators who cannot attend an in-person regional event still have the opportunity to participate virtually in the full-day conference. Special breakout sessions presented by Matt Monjan, Mike Bryant and Steve Dembo will be broadcast throughout the day.

To register for the DEN Virtual Conference or to see if there is an in-person event in your area, please visit: http://Community.DiscoveryEducation.Com/virtualconference

Seats will fill fast, so make sure you RSVP for this FREE and unique opportunity ASAP.

Here are our Wisconsin Locations. For more information, e-mail the contact person:

MADISON - Cathy Houchin
(Webster Elementary School; Watertown)
NE WISCONSIN - Keith Schroeder
(Marinette)
MIWAUKEE METRO - Rachel Yurk
(Hartland-Lakeside School District)
VERONA - Rita Mortenson
(Verona High School)

The Library of Congress has recently made a huge step in embracing such Web 2.0 concepts such as creativity, collaboration and sharing between users.In an effort to provide better access to their collections, while symbiotically harvesting more information about those collections, the Library of Congress has created a Flickr page to host copyright-free pictures:

Out of some 14 million prints, photographs and other visual materials at the Library of Congress, more than 3,000 photos from two of our most popular collections are being made available on our new Flickr page, to include only images for which no copyright restrictions are known to exist…

…We want people to tag, comment and make notes on the images, just like any other Flickr photo, which will benefit not only the community but also the collections themselves.

More information is available on the Library’s Web site here and on the FAQ page here. You can read Flickr’s take here.

-from the Library of Congress Blog

While this is a tremendous offer, don’t forget about the slew of resources already available from the Library of Congress (including a section for teachers). Check them out for your classes and for yourself.

And there is also an underlying motive here. To help the Library on this project, Flickr has even created a new publication model for public collections called The Commons. Both the LOC and Flickr are hoping to encourage other public institutions to follow their lead. (In fact, the National Library of Australia is already doing a similar project with Picture Australia).

But of course, making these collections easily available has tremendous implications in education. This is a perfect way to teach about tagging and sharing in the classroom, while using historically important content without the worry of students accessing inappropriate content. And these pictures have no copyright restrictions, so they can easily be used by students and teachers in endless and creative ways in many classes. Too bad Flickr is blocked by Websense in my district.

What could you do with these pictures?

(also posted on www.explodingsink.com)

Here is a press release from Space Explorers (De Pere, WI):

Senior research scientist Dr. Michael Wolff will host a live, online chat with students and teachers on Thursday, January 17, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CST. During this event, Dr. Wolff will answer students’ questions about the Martian atmosphere. Space enthusiasts are encouraged to submit questions before or during the scheduled chat time by visiting this LINK.

Dr. Michael Wolff is a senior research scientist with the Space Science Institute, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Wolff graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a Ph.D. in Astronomy in 1993. Dr. Wolff is actively involved in several current spacecraft teams, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MARCI and CRISM instruments) and the Mars Exploration Rover project. Among his current research interests are radiative transfer, interstellar dust, remote sensing algorithm development, electrodynamical scattering theory, and many aspects of terrestrial planet atmospheres.

Space Explorers, Inc. is sponsoring this chat event. The company provides kindergarten through twelfth grade standards-based science programs including virtual simulations, experiments, and data analysis tools to thousands of educators across the United States. Through these programs, Space Explorers strives to inspire a new generation of explorers to pursue careers in science, math, and technology.