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April 2005 - Vol. 2, Issue 4 Previous Issues Submit newsletter content Back to DLESE
Contents
Resource of interest: Earth 911
Professional development opportunity: Understanding Tsunamis - 2005 Online Teacher WorkshopThe Professional development opportunity: National Teachers Enhancement NetworkMontana State University's National Teachers Enhancement Network (NTEN) delivers high quality Internet-based learning opportunities to K-12 science teachers. You can access electronic resources, discuss issues online with other teachers, and participate in graduate level science courses via the Internet. An average of 15 online graduate level science and science education courses are available each semester. Courses may be taken for professional development or as part of a graduate degree program in science education. Earth science related courses offered this summer include Hydrology of Streams and Lakes, and Landforms for Elementary Teachers. Courses in biology; chemistry; education, curriculum and instruction; land resources and environmental sciences; mathematics; microbiology; and physics are also offered. More information on this summer's courses. Contributed by Kelly Boyce DLESE Ambassadors programDLESE Community Services conducted a training workshop for DLESE K-12 Ambassadors at the national convention of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recently in Dallas. Bryan Aivazian worked with eleven teachers from Texas and Louisiana to prepare them for outreach efforts in their respective states. Each has agreed to make at least one presentation a year for the next two years at conferences and workshops in their state. Similar training workshops will be held at future NSTA conventions in Hartford, Chicago, and Nashville this fall. An additional workshop will also be conducted in conjunction with the California Science Teachers Association convention in Palm Springs in October. Two half-day Ambassador training workshops will be conducted at the DLESE Annual Meeting in July. The first workshop will be for K-12 teachers who wish to become DLESE Ambassadors and who will receive post-training stipend and travel support for subsequent Ambassador responsibilities. Florida middle and high school educators are particularly encouraged to attend the K-12 Ambassador workshop. A second general Ambassador training workshop will be conducted for interested DLESE community members; however, no subsequent post-training support is involved. Current Ambassadors by state. If you or a teacher you know would like more information about becoming an Ambassador in your state, please contact Bryan Aivazian at bryana@trib.com or 307-259-4050. Contributed by Bryan Aivazian. DLESE outreachDLESE hosted both an exhibit booth and a reception at the recent NSTA conference in Dallas. The reception was well-attended and those staffing the booth reported a notable increase this year in the number of visitors who commented that they already knew about or used DLESE. This is encouraging real-world experience that DLESE's reach is expanding and the word is getting out! In related outreach news—the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado conducted an evaluation of four exhibits at the December 2004 American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting, including the DLESE booth. Their evaluation summary noted that DLESE's booth was "...the most effective for attraction and holding power..." and commended the active behavior of those staffing the booth in engaging visitors and providing information. DLESE will host exhibit booths at the following conferences later this year:
DLESE 2005 Annual Meeting update
This year's meeting program is taking shape, and takes advantage of the coastal location in St. Petersburg by incorporating a variety of outdoor field trips throughout the meeting. Each attendee may choose either one half day or one full day field trip opportunity during the meeting. While some attendees will be participating in field trips, other parallel sessions will be taking place that offer a wide variety of professional development and community engagement, from workshops on DLESE tools and services to effective proposal writing, science writing/journalism, research design, effective course design, evaluating digital libraries, and using data, to name just a few. There will be general sessions, open labs to search/recommend resources related to field trips or to submit teaching tips on resources in the library, and focus groups on particular research projects. A DLESE-in-Action forum on Saturday night will provide an opportunity for DLESE users to share their individual experiences of how they use DLESE. Social events include an opening reception at the Clam Bayou house on the beach, a Saturday night barbecue, the Share Fair on Sunday night, and a concluding dinner on the pier Monday night, with Aquarium visit, and dancing. Registration for the Annual Meeting will be available in early May, and will close in early June. Watch under What's New at DLESE for notification of registration availability. Questions about Annual Meeting planning may be directed to Planning Committee Chair Stephanie Stockman (stockman@core2.gsfc.nasa.gov).
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