October 2011 Volume 1, Issue 8
hosted by
Newsletter
Special Interest Articles
• IUPhysics&Astron-omyOpenHouse
• 2012WestPointBridgeDesignCon-test
Individual Highlights
• DoppelMe• BuildYourselfWild• BecomeanM&M• CreateaVoki• SpaceMath@NASA• SMARTR• MathActive• InteractiveResearch
-basedSimulations• LearnGenetics• ArcademicSkill
Builders• TheScienceofWa-
ter-CompleteLes-sonsandResources
• ProfessionalOppor-tunities
• WhatPRISMCanDoForYou!
IU PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY OPEN HOUSESaturday,November5,20119:00am-2:30PMSwainHallWest727E.3rdSt,Bloomington,IN47405-7105
FREE Admission − FREE Refreshments − FREE Parking
• InterestingActivitiesforAllAges• ExploreHowThingsWorkinHands-OnScienceRooms• TestYourScienceKnowledge&CompeteforPrizes• VisittheKirkwoodObservatory• BeAmazedandThrilledbythePhysicsDemonstration
Show• HearaboutCutting-EdgeResearch:publiclecturesin
physicsandastronomy• InterestedinaScienceCareer?TalkwithFaculty&
StudentsaboutResearchandEducationatIU• AreYouaScienceTeacher?AttendtheTeacher’sLunch
www.iub.edu/~iubphys/outreach/openhouse.shtml
2012 West Point Bridge Design ContestTheUnitedStatesMilitaryAcademyispleasedtooffertheeleventhannualWestPointBridgeDesignContest.
Thepurposeofthecontestistoprovidemiddleschoolandhighschoolstudentswitharealistic,engagingintroductiontoengineer-ing.Weprovidethiscontestasaservicetoeducation--andasatributetotheAcademy’stwohundredyearsofservicetotheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thecontestwillprovideyouwithanopportunityto:• Learnaboutengineeringthrougharealistic,hands-onproblem-solvingexperience.• Learnabouttheengineeringdesignprocess--theapplicationofmath,science,and
technologytocreatedevicesandsystemsthatmeethumanneeds.• Learnabouttrussbridgesandhowtheywork.• Learnhowengineersusethecomputerasaproblem-solvingtool.
Wealsohopeyouwillhavesomefunpittingyourproblem-solvingskillsagainstthoseofothervirtualbridgedesignersaroundtheglobe.
bridgecontest.usma.edu/index.htm
PRISM News Page 2
DoppelMe
Build Yourself Wild
Become an M&M
What is an avatar?Theterm“avatar”isusedtodescribeaniconorvirtualrepresentationofapersonwithincyberspace.Avatarscropupinblogs,forumsandothersharedcommu-nities(e.g.MySpace)ontheinternet.
What can I use a DoppelMe for?YourDoppelMeisagreatwaytoexpressyourpersonalityandcommunicatewithothersontheinternet.Thisvisualon-lineidentityputsafriendlyfaceonyourinternetpresenceandbestofall,youcanquicklyupdateitdependingonyourmood.Youarenotlimitedtotheinternet
eitherandcandownloadyouravatartouseindocuments,greetingscards,let-ters...thelistisendless.
How much does DoppelMe cost?AnyonecancreateaDoppelMeanditiscompletelyfreetodoso.
Can I have more than one DoppelMe?Yesyoucan!Allyouneedtodoissignintoyouraccountandfollowtheinstruc-tionstocreateadditionalDoppelMes.
Create an avatar and have some fun!
doppelme.com/
buildyourwildself.com/
ThisisjustasillyandfunsiteforcreatinganM&Mimage.
Youcanchoosecolors,eyes,hair,shoesandac-cessories.
YoucancreateatotallyrandomizedM&Mifyoudare!
Bealittlewildwithyouravatar!
OnthewebsiteBuildYourWildSelf,youcancreatesomewildimages!TheavatarsiteishostedbyNewYorkCityZoosand
Aquariums.
Startbybuildingyourordi-naryself,choosinggender,haircolor,eyes,mouthetcsothatyougetapicturethatlooksjustlikeyou.OK,Istoppedthere.Butifyou
areadventurousyoumaywanttoaddelephantears,wings,atail,ordinosaurlimbs.
Chooseabackgroundforyouravatar–aforestorthesea?
www.mms.com/us/becomeanmm/create/
VoxisLatinforvoicewhileLokiisaprankstercharac-terinNorsemythology.
Vokiisafreeservicethatallowsyoutocreateper-sonalizedspeakingavatarsandusetheminlessons,newsletters,blogs,wikis,emails,powerpointsand
yourMoodleCourse!
Studiesshowthatusingtechnologyineduca-tionimprovesstudents’achievements.Vokiisauniquetooltoengageyourstudentsincreativeexpressions.AsAlbertEinsteinoncesaid:“Itis
thesupremeartoftheteachertoawakenjoyincreativeexpressionandknowledge.”
See the PRISM Voki
www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=3761730&height=267&width=200
Create a Voki
www.voki.com/create.php
PRISM News Page 3
Space Math @ NASA
SMARTR
MathActive
SpaceMath@NASAintroducesstudentstotheuseofmathematicsintodayssci-entificdiscoveries.
Throughpressreleasesandotherarticles,weexplorehowmanykindsofmath-ematicsskillscometogetherinexploringtheuniverse.
Problem 429: Tracking a Sea Turtle from SpaceWhatisitthatseaturtlesdointheocean?Inthisproblem,youwillgettousedatafromasingle,taggedseaturtletoplotitsjourneyacrossthePacific
OceantoCalifornia.Youwillalsogettoestimateitsdailyandhourlyspeedasitswims.
Problem 430: Space Shuttle Atlantis - The Last Shuttle FlightHaveyoueverwonderedhowfasttheSpaceShuttleismovingatthetimeitisbeinglaunched?Inthisproblem,youwilluseaseriesoftimedimagestomeasurethespeedoftherocketasitislaunched.Wouldyoubeabletoout-racethisrocketinacar?Nowyoucanfindout!!
Relevant and Interesting Math!
MathActivelessonsareFlashanimatedmathmod-ulesdesignedforgradesK-12.
EachmodulefeaturescontentthattouchesageometryperformanceobjectivefromtheArizonaAcademicStandardsformathematics.
MathActivelessonswerebuiltaroundeducator
mathematicalexpertiseandpedagogy.UsingBack-wardDesign,eachmodulewascreatedtotargetaspecificgeometryperfor-manceobjective.
Fromtheeducator-cre-atedlessonplan,anASUgraphicstudentanimatedthelessoninFlash.ManyofthemodulesarecreatedwithEnglish,SpanishandNavajonarration.
MathActivehasbeenwidelyusedforremedia-tion,extensionactivitiesandtheintroductionofconcepts.
Mapped to Standards on the PRISM website!
WelcometoSMARTR!Theonlymathandsciencesitearoundcreatedbyyouthjustlikeyou!Hereyouwillfindsomeamazingmathandsciencegamesandactivities.Searchbytopic(e.g.,Weather)orsubject(e.g.,Math).Sitback,relaxandEXPLORE!
TheSMARTRwebsite
wasdesignedbyEduca-tionDevelopmentCenter,Inc(EDC).EDCisaglobalnonprofitorganizationthatdesigns,deliversandevaluatesinnovativeprogramstoaddresssomeoftheworld’smosturgentchallengesineducation,health,andeconomicopportunity.SMARTRwasalsocreatedbyyouth–
justlikeyou!Weworkedwithboysandgirlsalloverthecountrytodesignanddevelopwhatyouseeonthissite.WehopeyouenjoyusingSMARTRandifyoudo,pleasetellyourfriends,familyandteach-ersaboutus.
Mapped to Standards on the PRISM website!
spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/
smartr.edc.org/
www.asset.asu.edu/new/mathactive/grades7_8.html
PRISM News Page 4
Interactive, Researched-based Simulations
Learn Genetics
PhETprovidesfun,interactive,research-basedsimulationsofphysicalphenomenaforfree.Webelievethatourresearch-basedapproach-incorporatingfindingsfrompriorresearchandourowntest-ing-enablesstudentstomakeconnec-tionsbetweenreal-lifephenomenaandtheunderlyingscience,deepeningtheirunderstandingandappreciationofthephysicalworld.Tohelpstudentsvisuallycomprehendconcepts,PhETsimulationsanimatewhatisinvisibletotheeyethroughtheuseofgraphicsandintuitivecontrolssuchasclick-and-dragmanipulation,slidersandradiobuttons.Inordertofurtherencour-agequantitativeexploration,thesimula-tionsalsooffermeasurementinstrumentsincludingrulers,stop-watches,voltmetersandthermometers.Astheusermanipu-latestheseinteractivetools,responses
areimmediatelyanimatedthuseffectivelyillustratingcause-and-effectrelationshipsaswellasmultiplelinkedrepresentations(motionoftheobjects,graphs,numberreadouts,etc.)Toensureeducationaleffectivenessandusability,allofthesimulationsareexten-sivelytestedandevaluated.Thesetestsincludestudentinterviewsinadditiontoactualutilizationofthesimulationsinavarietyofsettings,includinglectures,groupwork,homeworkandlabwork.Ourratingsystemindicateswhatleveloftestinghasbeencompletedoneachsimulation.AllPhETsimulationsarefreelyavailablefromthePhETwebsiteandareeasytouseandincorporateintotheclassroom.TheyarewritteninJavaandFlash,andcanberunusingastandardwebbrowseraslongasFlashandJavaareinstalled.
http://phet.colorado.edu/
learn.genetics.utah.edu/
TheGeneticScienceLearningCenterisascienceandhealtheducationprogramlocatedinthemidstofthebioscienceresearchbeingcarriedoutattheUniver-sityofUtah.Ourmissionismakingscienceeasyforeveryonetounderstand.Toachieveourmission,weprovideedu-cationalmaterialsandprogramsforglobalandlocalaudiences.Theseinclude:Twowebsites,availablefreeofchargetoInternetusersworldwide:Learn.Geneticsdeliverseducationalma-terialsongenetics,bioscienceandhealthtopics.Theyaredesignedtobeusedbystudents,teachersandmembersofthepublic.ThematerialsmeetselectedUSed-ucationstandardsforscienceandhealth.Teach.GeneticsprovidesresourcesforK-12teachers,highereducationfaculty,andpubliceducators.TheseincludePDF-basedPrint-and-Go™activities,unitplansandothersupportingresources.Thema-terialsaredesignedtosupportandextendthematerialsonLearn.Genetics.ProfessionaldevelopmentprogramsthatupdateK-16teachers’expertiseinbiosci-
enceandhealthtopicsaswellaspreparethemtoimplementthematerialsonourwebsites.SeealistofupcomingcoursesandworkshopsonTeach.Genetics.Communityprogramsthatengagewithdiversecommunitiesindiscussionsaboutgeneticsandhealth,andindevelopingculturallyandlinguistically-appropriateeducationalmaterials.Oureducationalresourcesprovideac-curateandunbiasedinformationabouttopicsingenetics,bioscienceandhealth.Designedfornon-researchaudiences,theyarejargon-free,targetmultiplelearningstyles,andoftenconveyconceptsthroughanimationandinteractivity.OurnewestmaterialsarebeingdevelopedwithourExploragraphic™designmethodology.Sometopicsingeneticsandbiosciencere-searcharecontroversial.TheCenterdoesnottakesidesinpoliticalorethicalcon-troversies.Rather,ourgoalistoprovidecomprehensiveinformationthatpromotesalivelydiscussionofthesetopics,sothatindividualscanarriveattheirownin-formeddecisions.
PRISM News Page 5
Arcademic Skill Builders
The Science of Water: Complete Lessons and Resources
ArcademicSkillBuildersareonlineeduca-tionalvideogamesthatofferapowerfulapproachtolearningbasicmath,lan-guagearts,vocabulary,andthinkingskills.
Ourphilosophyisinspiredbytheintenseengagementarcadeandvideogamesfosterbetweentheplayerandthegame.TheArcademicgoalistomakeaspectsofclassroominstructionaseffectiveincreatingpersistenceandinvolvementasobservedinvideogameplayers.Ourgamesarearesultofblendingvideogamefeaturesintoinstructionalresearchinordertoachieveahighrateofstudentlearningthroughincreasedtime-on-taskandengagement.Studentsmustemploystrategyunderexcitingcircumstancestomakerapidresponseswhilebeinggivenimmediatefeedbackontheirdecisions.
Theseeducationalgamesprovidefunandfocusedrepetitionpracticethatenablesautomaticityandfluencytobeachieved
morequickly.Withwhatwenowknowaboutautomaticityandfluencyinaca-demicperformance,wecanhelpstudentsachievemasterfullevelsperformancefasterthaneverbefore!Student SafetyYourstudentsarecompletelysafewhileplayingthegames.Itisimpossibleforanyoneoutsideyourclasstocontactastudentwhileplayingthegames.Inourmultiplayergames,ifthestudentstartsa‘private’game,thenonlyplayersthatknowthepassword(createdbythestu-dent)canjointhegame.Allotherplayersarenotallowedtojointhatgame.Ifthestudentstartsa‘public’game,thenanyplayerfromoutsidecanjointhegame,butthereisnocontactbetweenoutsideplayersandthestudent.WedonotstoretheplayerID’sthatthestudentcreates.Wemonitorplayernamesandblockinap-propriatenamescreatedbythestudent.Mapped to Standards on the PRISM website!
Aseriesofinquirylessonsandresourcesthathelpstudentsunderstandthephysicalpropertiesofwa-ter,thatlivingorganismsaredependentonwater,andhowwateraffectstheirhealthandthatoftheplanet.
Background for Teachers
PhysicalScienceofWaterWhatisthechemicalstructureofwater?Howdoesthechemicalstruc-tureofwaterrelatetoitsspecialphysicalproper-tiesandbehaviors?Whattypesofactivitieshelpstudentsunderstandthe
propertiesofwater?Water’suniquephysicalpropertiesmakeitthemostimportantcompoundonEarthfromseveralperspectives.Watercovers70%ofthesurfaceofourplanetandisessentialforallknownformsoflife.Theweatherweexperi-enceandthelandonwhichweliveareshapedandinfluencedbywater.Thefoodsweeat,andevenourownbodies,relyonthisessentialresource.Learnmoreaboutwaterinthisinteractive,self-pacedonlineworkshop.(Three contact hours of profes-sional development)
National Science Educa-tion Standards: Materialscanexistindif-ferentstates-solid,liquid,andgas.Watercanbechangedfromonestatetoanotherbyheatingorcooling.Waterhasuniquecharac-teristics.Amixtureofsubstancescanbeseparatedintotheoriginalsubstances.Waterisasolvent.Organismshavebasicsneeds.Humanschangeenviron-mentsinwaysthatcanbebeneficialordetrimentalforthemselvesandotherorganisms.
www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/
www.k8science.org/resources/water-Index.cfm#sub2
PRISM News Page 6
Professional Opportunities
What PRISM Can Do For You!
Lilly Endowment Announces Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program for 2012 For2012theEndowmentwillagainofferupto120grantsof$8,000eachtoIndiana’spublicandprivateschoolteach-ers(includingguidancecounselorsandlibrary/mediaspecialists),principalsandassistantprincipalsforprojectsoftheindividual’schoice.Forafullprogramdescription,gotolillyendowment.orgorteachercreativity.org.
Indiana Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2011 Fall ConferenceSheratonIndianapolisCityCentreHotel,November6-7,2011,GettingtotheCoreThethemeoftheconferenceis“GettingtotheCore”andtherewillbesharingofvaluableinformationaboutthestan-dardsformathematicalpracticesfromtheCommonCoreStateStandardsandsessionspresentedbymembersoftheIndianaDepartmentofEducation.Manyofthepresentersarematheducatorswhohaveawealthofinformationandfield-testedideastoshare.SomeofthepresentationsarecollaborationsofuniversitymatheducatorswithK-12teach-ers.Wealsohavesomenotableauthorspresenting(ToddWhitaker,DonBalka,KarenKarp,AprilSayre.NewthisyearisabusinessmeetingonMondaymorningandaspeakerattheluncheononMonday.http://www.indianamath.org/resources/conference.cfm
HASTI Leadership OpportunitiesInterestedinaHASTIleadershipposition?ContactCarolynHayes([email protected])or([email protected])tolearnmoreaboutthepositions.Mostofthepositionsbecome“open”onceeverythreeyears,whichpreventstheturn-overoftheentireBoardatonetime.Letusknowifyou’dliketorunforapositionandwe’lladdyournametothepoolofcandidates-it’saninvaluableopportunitytoworkwithsomeincredibleIndianascienceeducatorsandgivebacktoourfantasticnetworkofHASTImembers!
• Easilyfindtheperfectteachingandlearningresourcesfromourlibraryofover2,800.
• Savealistofyourfavoriteresourcesforquickretrieval.
• Createandsharelessonplansthatteachyoursubjectsutilizingyourfavoriteresources.
• Developonlineclassroomswithinteractiveassignments,lessons,quizzesandmore!
• Joindiscussionswithstudents,parents,orother
teachersinsidechatsandforums.
• Storeyourclassroommaterialsonlinesothattheyareavailabletoyoufromanycomputer.
• Reachyourstudentsmoreeffectivelybyusingwebmediaforthedigitalage.
• EarnCRUsbycompletingPRISMledonlineMoodlecourse–eitherBeginningMoodleorIntermediateMoodlecoursesareavailabletoyouatnocostseveraltimesthroughouttheyear.
• Selectfromfreelearningresourcesthatemphasizevisualization,richcontext,staged-problemsolving,andelectronicallyenabledcollaboration/communication.
• Augmentyourowndynamicpresenceintheclassroomwithteachingtoolsthatmirrortheskillsneededforsuccessinhighereducationandthe21stCenturyworkplace.
Through our strong support from the Lilly Endowment
and others, we are constant-ly growing and improving. Check our site regularly to
see what new resources you can use in your classroom.
www.rose-prism.org
www.rose-prism.org
PRISM isa freewebsite thatprovidescollectionsofonline resourcesforIndianaeducatorsinthefieldsofscience,technology,engineering,and mathematics (STEM). The primary collection of digital teachingmaterialsisindexedaccordingtotheIndianaAcademicStandardsfor6th,7th,and8thgradeandsecondaryeducationcourses.
