Contents

DLESE 2004 Annual Meeting - fill the gaps in representation!
Resources ready for review!
Resource of interest: Understanding Evolution
Teachable Topics and resources of interest
Teacher professional development opportunity: Earthworks
DLESE at Atlanta NSTA

DLESE Annual Meeting - fill the gaps in representation!

Do you teach or have colleagues that teach in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Connecticut, and Hawaii? Representation from these states is needed to provide geographic balance to the DLESE 2004 Annual Meeting. The meeting is for teachers at all levels, resource and library developers, data and service providers, and researchers, and will focus on how to make effective use of the library and its services for teaching and learning about the Earth. Please encourage your colleagues from these areas to complete the Call for Interest by close of business on Thursday, March 25. Keep watch on What's New at DLESE for further information about registration, targeted for April availability.

Resources ready for review

Are you an educator interested in reviewing a DLESE resource? We have a new list of resources that need reviewing. This is a critical activity, since it helps make DLESE a useful, trusted source for online resources. View new resources under review. The resources cover topics about the environment, life sciences, atmosphere/climate, social sciences/humanities, solid Earth, and space sciences. Your effort is greatly appreciated!

Resource of Interest: Understanding Evolution

The Understanding Evolution website offers teachers valuable support for teaching and learning about evolution. Coming online in February of this year, and funded by the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the website was created jointly by UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education. The Museum of Paleontology's director of education and public programs Judy Scotchmore noted in a recent article announcing the site that "Many K-12 teachers don't have a strong science background, so there is some discomfort in teaching evolution, which is perceived by some as controversial. We provide a comfort zone. Teachers can use this website to increase their confidence level so they can teach evolution enthusiastically in the classroom." The heart of the site is Evolution 101, which can serve as a primer to evolutionary theory or an intensive course in the nitty gritty details of speciation, micro- and macroevolution, and ongoing research into how evolution happens. Strategies for teaching and responding to student misconceptions and roadblocks are offered. There are numerous practical examples of how evolution impacts our daily lives, including over 50 lesson plans and activities.

Teachable Topics and Resources of Interest

DLESE now offers a Teachable Topics section that helps you capitalize on and teach 'hot' topics in the news. It divides such topics into subtopics and links them to resources specifically chosen to help teach about them. Current topics include: Mars rover landings and oceans.

The Resources of Interest page lists favorite resources that have been suggested by community members and which appear on the DLESE home page for a month, like the Understanding Evolution site currently featured. Examples of exemplary resources for the K - 5 , 6 - 8 , 9 - 12 , and undergraduate levels are also available if you want to find a quick listing of good resources. Teachable Topics and the grade-level appropriate Resources of Interest lists are available from the For Educators page on dlese.org as well as from the View previously featured resources of interest link at the bottom of the DLESE homepage.

Teacher professional development opportunity: Earthworks

Earthworks is a free, six-day workshop in the Rocky Mountains, designed to help you create Earth system science research projects for your students. The workshop takes place June 19-25, 2004. Deadline for application is April 16. The workshop is designed for new in-service teachers, but is also suitable for experienced teachers who want to learn more about Earth system science. No previous knowledge of Earth science is required. This year's Earthworks will be held at the Cal-Wood Conservation Education Resource Center, approximately 15 miles northwest of Boulder, Colorado. Travel, lodging, meals and curriculum materials are provided at no charge. Accommodations will be dormitory-style camp lodging, and a limited number of outdoor campsites. University credit is available at cost. Please see the website for more information. Earthworks is sponsored by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado. To apply, go to http://cires.colorado.edu/~k12/earthworks.

DLESE at Atlanta National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) meeting

If you will be at the national convention of NSTA in Atlanta from April 1-4, stop by the DLESE booth (Booth 754) in the exhibitor's hall to try out search strategies, obtain handouts, and sign up for give-aways. Please plan on attending the NSDL/DLESE Reception, on Saturday, April 3, from 5:30 - 7:30 PM (at the Marriott Marquis, Garden Terrace), providing an introduction to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE). Other DLESE-related activities at NSTA include:

1. Digital Libraries: New Tools for Post-Secondary Science Education. April 1, 8-9 AM, Omni Hotel, Grand Ballroom C, Susan van Gundy, NSDL, et. al.
2. Half-day Short Course # SC-13: Digital Libraries: New Tools for Science Teaching and Learning, April 1, 1-5 PM, Westin Hotel -Tower 1202, Susan Van Gundy, NSDL; Kim Lightle, ENC; Ted Sicker, WGBH; Betsy Blackmer, the Alsos Digital Library; and Holly Devaul and Marianne Weingroff, DLESE.
3. New Online Tools for K-12 Science Education, Susan Van Gundy, NSDL, Saturday, April 3, 9:30-10:30, Omni Hotel @ CNN Center, International B
4. Publish and Disseminate Your Earth Science Activities On the Web: A Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) and Geological Society of America (GSA) Collaboration, Saturday, April 3, 2:00 - 3:00, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Copenhagen Room. Bryan L. Aivazian (Natrona County School District, Casper, WY); Holly Devaul (UCAR/DLESE Program Center, Boulder, CO); Christine V. McLelland (Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO).

Your feedback is appreciated. To send comments, articles, requests for a text-only version of the newsletter, or to unsubscribe, send email to: newsletter@dlese.org. To contribute photos of interesting Earth science phenomena for potential use in the DLESE Matters banner, email support@dlese.org. Photo credit will be acknowledged.

Photo credits: Flower photo by Don Davis.