This weekâ??s 5 March 2005 "Earth Science Sites of the Week" feature:
__________________________________________________________________________________1)
tsunami images
2) flashcards
3) ocean analysis tool
4) taking field notes
5) properties of light
6) optics for kids
7) ozone over your house
8) animation: river bedload
9) the new science fair with PowerPoint
10) humor: interesting test answers
__________________________________________________________________________________1)ASIAN
TSUNAMI AERIAL PHOTOS, Tony Demark, (suggested by Geoff Howe,
Decatur High School, Decatur, MI), this website provides an amazing look
at â??before and afterâ?? Asian tsunami satellite photos that can toggled to
dramatically show damage. Images of barrier islands, spits, inlets,
harbors, and other shoreline features are shown just before, during, and
after the seismic sea wave devastated the area. This dramatic teaching
tool can help students gain a feel for the true scope of damage both
ecologically and in terms of loss of human life related to the largest
tsunami of the modern era.
http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/
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2)FLASHCARD EXCHANGE,Tuolumne Technology Group, find a variety of K-12
flashcards on nearly any subject for drilling students on earth and
science concepts. There are some misspellings and incorrect or
oversimplified answers but after review, these flashcards can be a good
study tool for students.
http://flashcardexchange.com/
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3)OCEAN COLOR TIME-SERIES ONLINE VISUALIZATION AND ANALYSIS, NASA,
Welcome to the Ocean Color Time-Series Online Visualization and Analysis
System! This system is based on the GES-DISC Interactive Online
Visualization and ANalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni) which was developed
by the GES DISC DAAC to provide users with an easy-to-use, Web-based
interface for the visualization and analysis of the Earth Science data.
The Ocean Color Time-Series Project (REASoN CAN, Dr. Watson Gregg, PI)
currently employs Giovanni for the visualization and analysis of SeaWiFS
ocean color data, with five data products available. In the future, data
sets that will be available for analysis include MODIS Aqua data and
merged (multiple mission) data products that are being created by the
Ocean Color Time-Series Project.
http://reason.gsfc.nasa.gov/Giovanni/
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4)FIELD NOTEBOOK: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh.
(suggested by Virginia Malone, Hondo, TX), this site provides an
introduction to field notes and their importance. There are two
practice sessions designed to help students with field sketches;
included in this section are some drawing tips and a final sketch of
each site.
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/undergraduate/field/fnb/
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5)REFLECTION AND ABSORPTION OF LIGHT, SERC, (suggested by John McDaris,
SERC),in this Starting Point activity, students use a microcomputer
connected to a light sensor and temperature probe to explore the
reflection and absorption of radiation for different surfaces. Students
follow instructions in this guided inquiry-based lab and are then asked
to design an experiment of their own to either test the reflectivity of
sand, soils, water and other materials or to investigate the effect of
different surface textures on reflectivity.
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/teachingwdata/examples/RefAbsLght.html
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6)OPTICS FOR KIDS, Optical Research Associates, Elementary school
children might enjoy this quick look at some optical basics, especially
if coupled with some experiments from the Optics Discovery Kit from OSA
or some creative play with the commercial program ZAP!. There's also a
bit of a pep talk on science and engineering as careers.
http://www.opticalres.com/kidoptx_f.html#LightBasics
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7)OZONE OVER YOUR HOUSE, from NASA, `You can find the total column
ozone amount* over your house (or anywhere else) using data from Earth
Probe TOMS**. Just enter the date, latitude and longitude you want.``
Choose between four different satellites, each recording ozone values
for different dates, Units are in Dobson units. The most recent
readings are from 1994; still, useful patterns emerge for student exercises.
http://jwocky.gsfc.nasa.gov/teacher/ozone_overhead_archive.html
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8)ANIMATIONS: Viewing Bedload Movement in a Mountain Gravel-bed Stream,
USDA, Available in the QuickTime (.mov) format (546K), Windows Media
(.asf) format (288K), and Real Media (.rm) formats (630K). Also note
that FREE half hour long VHS videos on stream processes are available
from this site. I received the videos in the mail within a week.
http://www.stream.fs.fed.us/publications/videos.html
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9) POWERPOINT GOES TO THE FAIR, NY Times, (may require registration to
access) "Technology is rapidly changing the world of science, but it is
only now starting to change the world of the science project, a ritual
of the academic year. Now that computers are second nature to many
students, some teachers are abandoning the traditional cardboard
displays in favor of electronic files."
http://tech2.nytimes.com/mem/technology/techreview.html?res=9A05EFD9163BF934A15752C0A9639C8B63
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10) INTERESTING TEST ANSWERS, gathered by Doug McKeever, Whatcom
Community College, Bellingham,WA
--"Cascade volcanoes were created primarily by the seduction of the
Pacific Ocean plate."
--"Mount Aloa" for Mauna Loa
--"flash floods in the dessert" [that's quite an imageâ?¦ picture a
banana split overflowing with chocolate syrup]
__________________________________________________________________________________
These links are archived at RESOURCES FOR EARTH SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY
INSTRUCTION at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi . The links are organized
around the sequence of topics typically taught in an introductory earth
science or physical geography class. Links are also available for a
variety of animations, environmental science, earth science/geography
education, career opportunities, and more. The sites selected are based
on image quality, ease with which lesson plans can be developed,
organization, authenticity, scope, and format. Please contact me at
Mark.Francek@xxxxxxxxx to remove yourself from the mailing list, add a
new subscriber, or suggest a site to be listed.