Thinking NGSS and Literacy??

Hello all,

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are out! I’d like to share with you Understanding the Next Generation Science Standards MOOC through the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh STEMlab with Dr. Eric Brunsell. A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course.  The course is free, but for a small fee students can earn a certificate proving their participation and completion of the course.  If you haven’t discovered Paul Anderson of Bozeman Biology on You Tube, he has a number of excellent short videos to help navigate the NGSS that will eventually cover all of the Science and Engineering Practices, Cross Cutting Concepts and Disciplinary Core Ideas.  I was a big fan of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) resources in the past and I continue to be with the webinars and journal articles regarding the NGSS.  I highly recommend joining NSTA.  The organization was a tremendous help to me when I was starting out as a science teacher.  I also recommend joining the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers.  Their conference will be held in Appleton next spring.  NEW ChemShare has also been beneficial from the presentation on NGSS to listening to teachers bounce ideas off one another to learning about upcoming professional development opportunities. I'd be happy to forward you the contact information for NEW ChemShare if you contact me.  Sometimes it’s just nice to meet new people working out in the field.

Happy viewing,

Mrs. A

Earthquake Blogging

Hello all,

I’ve been in search of two blogs relevant to my unit topic for class, earthquakes. I discovered the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) and the Seismo Blog out of the University of California Berkley Seismological Laboratory. The PNSN blog focuses mostly on the Washington and Oregon areas.  A January post shows seismographs pickup on more than ground vibrations from earthquakes, such as sonic booms from bolides entering the atmosphere. It’s fun to click on the seismograms link and view the station clusters and activity. I truly enjoyed the variety of earthquake information available on the Seismo blog. The site offers current news stories, information on recent earthquakes, and content on earthquake predictions and warning worldwide. 

Happy viewing,

Mrs. A