The Earth and Sky radio series proposes to produce, distribute, market and evaluate 72 compelling environmental radio programs on oceanic and atmospheric topics featuring NOAA scientists, data and information. These programs will air at a rate of 24 programs per year over a three-year period as part of Earth and Sky's regularly scheduled programming to its many affiliates. Earth and Sky will feature this new radio programming on our web site. The programs will be available in both text and a variety of audio formats including downloadable mp3 files, streaming m3u files, and will be available for podcast. The web site will also feature additional information that augments and supports the content of the radio programs, including links to relevant information, encouraging web visitors to delve deeper into a topic area and learn more. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT will correlate their vast catalogue of existing environmental education curricula to each show. Correlations for each program will be listed next to that show in the dedicated PLT section of Earth and Sky's website.
In this chapter we want to examine the reality behind these labels by examining the place of emergent technologies in the lives of young people. In doing so, we review and synthesize some of the key research in this area, highlighting the principal topics and potential issues of interest for future study. Although much has been published in the popular media, until fairly recently relatively little had been written from a more scholarly perspective. The overview we offer here is based on a wide range of academic research dispersed through a variety of disciplines including geography, sociology
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Susan McKayCrispin ThurlowHeather Zimmerman
Quarked!™ is a collaborative physics education project at the University of Kansas that provides engaging and educational science experiences for youth ages 7 and up, educators and the general public. This multimedia project material focuses on concepts of scale and matter, and presents subatomic particles as relatable characters in both human and quark or electron form that explore science through story-driven adventures. It includes a comprehensive website with a range of materials including animated videos, games, apps, FAQs and lesson plans, as well as hands-on education programs at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. Initially, funded through an NSF EPSCoR grant (Grant No. EPS-0236913 and matching support from the State of Kansas through the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation and EPP-0354836), this projects continued to grow and new resources have been added through funding from the Kauffman Foundation, Google grants and other NSF awards. Quarked.org attracts more than 75,000 unique visitors annually, local PBS television stations in Kansas and Missouri broadcast the 3D animated videos, and the museum programs have reached more than than 5,000 school participants and continue to be offered.
Focus groups with parents of third and fourth graders were implemented to help support the revision and expansion of the current Cyberchase website for parents. This study focused on the following research questions: (1) How do parents understand their role in helping their children with learning in math? (a) Do parents see their role as motivational? (b) Do parents see their role as helping their child with math difficulties? (c) Do parents see their role as collaborating with their child in learning math? (2) What are parents' concerns or anxieties about their role in supporting math
To gain insight into the Cyberchase audience, a Web survey was conducted with parents through the PBS Web site during June and July, 2005. Participants were 94 parents of children who were current or past users of at least one Cyberchase media component (e.g., TV, Web site, outreach materials, etc.). Roughly equal numbers of boys and girls were represented, and one-third of the children were identified as minorities. Parents were recruited through the Cyberchase Web site and online mailings, and were asked to complete the online survey. Rather than being representative of U.S. parents as a
Two 8 to 10 week modules, one focusing on cells and the other on reproduction and heredity, serve as the basis for the development of a comprehensive, assessment-driven, middle school science curriculum called "Science for Today and Tomorrow." A curriculum frramework is developed for Life and Physical Sciences to be taught in Grades 6 and 7 and Earth Science in Grade 8. The research-based materials assist students to develop a working knowledge of a core set of ideas that are fundamental to the discipline and ultimately to see how the concepts span the disciplines. The student materials and the teachers' guides are enhanced with classroom-tested assessments and web-based content resources, simulations and tools for gathering and interpreting data. On-line professional development materials allow teachers to gain content knowledge and pedagogical skills. The website also contains an area that provides information for administrators including strategies for supporting teachers and another area for community members to involve them in the students' science learning. The project builds upon the lessons learned in previous materials development projects at TERC.
Educational Web Adventures LLP, representing a collaboration of two educational Web developers and two museum researchers, will conduct research to explore the role of learning style in online informal learning experiences. The study will develop ways of measuring learning style among children ages 10 to 12 and test hypotheses about learning style, activity preferences, engagement and satisfaction. The researchers hypothesize that, when the shape of the learning experience fits an individual's preferred learning style, the experience will be more engaging and more satisfying. The study will examine the following questions through laboratory and online testing: How can children's learning styles be identified? How do children's learning styles affect their preferences for online activities? Do activities that match the individual's preferred learning style result in greater engagement and satisfaction? How can the research findings be applied to the development and design of more successful online learning activities?
This planning grant seeks funding for demonstrating proof of concept for the proposed traveling exhibition "Inside Phoebe's Field." It is an outgrowth of the prior NSF project (9979287) that resulted in an interactive book for middle-school age girls. This project extends the book through exploring the feasibility of using mixed reality in an exhibit format as well as virtual environments using the Internet. Intellectual Merit: The project will further the technology-enhanced three-dimensional storytelling approach by development of selected science exhibit prototypes. The project team combines academic, museum and professional expertise, as well as a partnership with the Girl Scouts of the USA. Broader Impact: This project will provide the ISE field valuable feedback about the use of metaphor in storytelling in a science-based exhibition, as well as about the application of new technologies (virtual reality, augmented reality technologies and interactive electromechanical events) for creating exhibit experiences. At the same time it will further the development of a national traveling science exhibition whose primary target audience will be girls from ages 10 to 13.
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Mitzi VernonKatherine CennamoIrene GoodmanMichael ErmannSteve HarrisonMargarita McGrath
The World Media Foundation is producing and distributing "Emerging Science of Environmental Change." This radio-based project presents new and cutting edge research to the public through National Public Radio broadcasts, Internet radio broadcasts, multi-media web presentations, Internet-based discussion, formal school curricula and public lectures. The goal of the project is to provide the public with a longitudinal view of how those engaged in cutting-edge science formulate theories, structure their inquiries and monitor the ongoing processes, pitfalls, unexpected results and successes of their research. The production team will closely follow the work and processes of one or more research teams over major portions of the 36-month project in order to provide an in-depth understanding of the research process. The project will deliver nine one-hour radio specials and nine additional hours of shorter program segments that will be included in the NPR "Living on Earth" series. The online component of the project will present expanded versions of the audio through its daily web radio service, as well as multi-media web pages with references and discussions linked to the core subjects of the specials. School outreach will be directed primarily at largely urban, under-served middle and high schools. It will use the audio and multi-media web presentations of current research as frames of reference for student instruction in environmental science.
The Tech Museum of Innovation is producing a 3,000 square-foot permanent exhibition, complementary online acitivities, and a Design Challenge curriculum to engage visitors in the exploration of Internet techologies. The goals of the project are to enhance the technological literacy of middle school students, provide the general public with tools, experience, and confidence to participate in shaping the future of the internet, and advance the informal science education community through applied research in networked exhibit technology. Two distinct features of the exhibit are: 1) The Smart Museum, a computer network linking gallery and online expereinces, and 2) "dynamic content," a set of strategies for rapid exhibit updates that will mirror the changing Internet for the life of the exhibition. The Design Challenge curriculum will be used at the museum, in outreach to classrooms and community centers, and in training sessions for science educators. The summative research will be shared with the science education community via The Tech's web site as well as professional seminars, publications and conferences.
Thinking SMART is a comprehensive five-year program that will encourage young women to pursue careers in science, mathematics and technology. The project focuses on girls ages 12-18, and will especially target those who are underserved and underrepresented in the sciences, including girls from diverse backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Key elements include four science/engineering module options, a two-tiered mentoring component, training, resource materials, online activities and an awards program. The modules (Material Girls, Eco Girls, Galactic Girls, Net Girls), focus on engineering, ecology, physics and computer science respectively, and will be aligned with national standards. The modules are implemented during the school year and include weekly programming, a summer camp and a spring "Women in Science and Engineering" conference organized by girls. Weekly meetings are augmented by online activities, in which girls interact with other participants and mentors, publish reports and obtain career information. Additionally, participants who complete all four modules are eligible to become paid mentors for younger participants. Five publications will be produced to support the program, including manuals for mentors (both adults and youth), module activities, a parent guide and a guide for implementation sites on community partnerships. Thinking SMART materials will be developed and piloted tested at eight sites in conjunction with Girls, Inc. affiliates in Nashua, NH, Worcester, MA, Oakridge, TN and Shelbyville, IN, with input from the Society of Women Engineers. Extensive training will also be provided for pilot programs and future dissemination. Finally the E3 Awards Program will motivate implementation sites to create high quality local programs. It is anticipated that more than 1,500 Girls, Inc. affiliates will adopt "Thinking SMART."
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Brenda StegallJanet StantonHeather Johnston NicholsonShalonda MurrayJoe Martinez
Twin Cities Public Television, in association with Red Hill Studios, is producing and disseminating an Exploring Time television special and associated outreach material. The project will augment and leverage the Exploring Time traveling exhibit now being developed by the Science Museum of Minnesota (NSF grant #99-01919). The goal of both the exhibit and the television special is to increase the public's understanding of our world by revealing the unseen world of natural change -- the multitude of changes that are occurring in the present but at rates too slow or too fast to be seen. The television special will provide visual explorations of changes that take place over a vast range of timescales -- from billionths of seconds to billions of years. The television series and exhibit will be supplemented by a range of materials. Both low- and high-bandwidth, web-based material will be available and a teacher's guide will be developed for middle school classrooms. A "Time Explorers Toolkit" will be available to both formal and informal learners. This CD-ROM includes detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to create time-lapse movies. The project also will coordinate outreach with the Community Technology Centers Network, the organization that supports technology centers that serve individuals from underrepresented and low-income groups.