Team icons

I just put up the team icons vote on the blog. Go have a vote!

Generic Google Account

I created a generic Google account for those of us without Google accounts to sign on to the blog. Potentially it could also be a way for teachers or others to access the blog without us having to extend reader privileges to each individual. To use it, simply sign on to read the blog as:

gmri.education@gmail.com

Password: cohencenter

Hope this helps!

Seacoast Science Center

We stopped in at the Seacoast Science Center on Saturday to check out their exhibits and their new Gregg Interactive Learning Studio. Although the studio was not active when I was there, I think it would be interesting to get a group from our staff down to see a demonstration of the facilities capabilities (they are only 1 hour away from the lab). They are currently running 4 programs: Gulf of Maine, American Lobster, Horseshoe Crab, and Coastal Creatures Adaptations.

You can read more at this case study.

Sir Ken Robinson on Driving Creativity Out of Kids

When you have a free 20 minutes, you might enjoy this talk:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

Guinea piglets

If you need a spiffy new camera or GPS to do whatever whenever this spring, ask a Sarah if you can borrow one. In turn, we'll ask for your feedback on the easy & sticky aspects of using it. Better yet if you need a camera to photograph your pet Asian shore crab....

VS Teacher Recruitment

We'd appreciate some group input on our approach to recruiting our first cohort of Vital Signs teachers. Initially we thought we'd recruit for the Teacher Institute, but have since changed our approach to recruit for Year 1 participation. This announcement of sorts will be distributed by email to the MMSA list serve, teachers we've already targeted, etc.

Feedback:
What are your questions after reading this? What questions will teachers have for us? Where are the holes?
Layout? [note that the bullets, spacing, etc. don't play nicely with Blogger]
Length? Too wordy? What would you cut?
Does it capture your attention? If not, ideas how.
Anything and everything else.

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Vital Signs
Real Students. Real Science.

A unique opportunity for grades 7 & 8 science teachers

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is offering Maine science teachers a unique opportunity to partner with us in the design, development, and implementation of our new Vital Signs program for students in grades 7 & 8. [See Program Overview below]

12 teachers and their students will work closely with GMRI educators, scientists, and technologists to shape Vital Signs program direction, inform curriculum, evaluate technology components, and contribute to the initial dataset of a statewide long-term ecological research project.

This first cohort of Vital Signs teachers will be invited to a 3-day introductory Teacher Institute in August 2008. Teachers and students will partner with GMRI educators through the 2009-2010 school year to implement, evaluate, and refine Vital Signs.

Vital Signs Teacher Institute

Who: 7^th and 8^th grade science teachers

When: August 18, 19 & 20, 2008

Where: Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland

Highlights:

§ Connect with the scientific community
Practice inquiry instruction
Become familiar with Vital Signs technology & curriculum resources
Do authentic field work in freshwater and coastal systems
Understand local, regional, & global invasive species issues

Perks:

§ Suite of Vital Signs field equipment
30 Contact Hours awarded upon workshop completion
150 stipend upon workshop completion
Lodging in Portland’s Old Port provided on 8/18 and 8/19 for those from away
Mileage reimbursed

Please express interest by June 1, 2008 to:
Contact person name
Phone
Email

Vital Signs Program Overview
Vital Signs is an authentic inquiry-based, field science education program that links 7^th and 8^th grade students and scientists in the rigorous collection and analysis of essential environmental data across freshwater and coastal ecosystems. Innovative technology, relevant content, and critical partnerships create an authentic science learning experience for students, a distributed data gathering network for scientists, and a statewide community of teachers, students, and scientists collaborating to learn about and steward the Gulf of Maine watershed.

More: http://gmri.org/education/vitalsigns.asp

New Team Icons

We were discussing the possibility of new team icons for Lobster content, as we probably wouldn't want to have a team Lobster. Meredyth and I vote for team Harbor Seal, Dave thinks team Cod or team Atlantic Herring...other ideas, comments?

Welcome to our blog!

This blog was created in response to last night's AGILe meeting. This is a forum for us to share ideas and innovations in an easily accessible and stream-of-consciousness form. It is only open to those of us here for now but potentially this could be a forum that opens up to teachers and other educators as well. On here we will share ideas we have while on the floor here in the Cohen Center and hope to hear from you at your desk upstairs as well.

Enjoy and happy writing!