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[ISTATALK-L] FW: 3 March 2007 Earth Science Sites of the Week



From: earth science site of the week [mailto:EARTH@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mark Francek
Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 5:29 AM
To: EARTH@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: 3 March 2007 Earth Science Sites of the Week

Hello everyone,
I am pleased to announce that Elizabeth Rogers Joyner will be making regular hydrosphere-related contributions to the “Earth Science Sites of the Week.” Elizabeth serves as curriculum specialist for the Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence -Southeast (COSEE-SE), as well as the Marine Educator with the SC Sea Grant Consortium. Elizabeth coordinates professional development in ocean sciences with the regional communities including informal and formal educators and scientists from NC, SC and GA. She enjoys working with teachers, as well as students by creating novel ways of learning science such as infusing the arts and technology with science concepts.  Mrs. Joyner currently serves on the Board of Directors of the SC Marine Educators Association.  
 
Elizabeth joins these outstanding professionals in making contributions to the “Site of the Week”:  Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES); Joseph Kerski, ESRI; Cheryl Dodes, Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School, Port Washington. NY; John McDaris, Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College, MN; Virginia Malone, educational consultant, Hondo, TX; Martin Ruzek, Universities Space Research Association; and Holly Devaul, DLESE.
 
This week’s 3 March “Earth Science Sites of the Week” feature the following resources:
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PICKS OF THE WEEK: Plate tectonics boundary maps (in “Geosphere” section), Film footage from inside a tornado (in ”Atmosphere” section), AAAS Concept maps from the Atlas of Science Literacy (in “GENERAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL” section), free graph paper (in “General and Environmental” section), Words that are fun to say from "buckminsterfullerene" and "ovoviviparous" (in “Humor” section).
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GEOSPHERE
1) Need plate tectonics boundary maps?
2) Podcast tutorials for Google Earth
3) Geologic Atlas
HYDROSPHERE
1) Predicting phytoplankton blooms
2) Exploring sea floor topography
ATMOSPHERE
1) Inside video of tornados from National Geographic
SOLAR SYSTEM AND UNIVERSE
1) Target earth: multimedia asteroid module
2) Chesapeake Bay bolide (impact crater)
GENERAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
1)  AAAS Atlast of Science Literacy
2) Free graph paper utility
3) Improving study habits
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DEPARTMENTS
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1) Animations:
            a) Old Faithful video cam
            b) Explore Learning animations
2) Outstanding Earth Science Images
            a) Cloud wakes
            b) When basalt and sandstone mix       
3) Good Read: “shakin spaghetti” how pasta is used to model earthquakes       
4) Good Quote: diamonds and coal
5) Doable Demo: chewing gum inquiry
6) Computer Tip: selecting multiple files
7) Teacher Tip: class management-- never promise what you cannot deliver
8) Humor: some words that are fun to say, like buckminsterfullerene and ovoviviparous
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FEATURES
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GEOSPHERE
1) DISCOVERING PLATE BOUNDARIES, Dale Sawyer, Rice University, (suggested by Sue Wylie Notre Dame Prep., Pontiac, Michigan), find high quality plate boundary maps, ideal for reproduction.  Scroll down to “Plate Boundary Maps for Students.”

http://terra.rice.edu/plateboundary/intro.html
 
Another decent source: http://denali.gsfc.nasa.gov/dtam/data/ftp/gtam.pdf (suggested by Mike Barrett)
 
2) GOOGLE EARTH TUTORIALS, Kokae, (Rich MacLeish, Alexander Hamilton HS, Greenburgh, NY), find podcasts for image linking, overlays, and place marks in Google Earth.
 
http://kokae.libsyn.com/
3) GEOLOGIC ATLAS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD, by the Planetary Science Instittue (Recommended by Theresa Schwerin, IGES) - "A Photographic Atlas of Rock Breakdown Features in Geomorphic Environments" is available for free download from the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz. Mary Bourke and Heather Viles edited the atlas with contributions from many geologists and planetary scientists. The atlas is a reference designed for teachers and students with color images and explanations. To download the atlas (15 MB), please visit: 
 
http://www.psi.edu/staff/bourkepubs/atlas

HYDROSPHERE
EARTH EXPLORATION TOOLBOOK:  WHEN IS DINNER SERVED?  PREDICTING THE SPRING PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOM IN THE GULF OF MAINE?, TERC, (Suggested by Elizabeth Rogers Joyner, COSEE-SE), “In this chapter, users learn about the variables that influence the abundance of phytoplankton. They apply this knowledge to make predictions about the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Maine. Users obtain and graph data from buoy monitoring stations and interpret them to make their predictions. They check their predictions by examining chlorophyll concentration data at each buoy. Users also compare their predictions with reality by obtaining and examining MODIS satellite images to view the full extent of the bloom over time.”
 
http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/phytoplankton/index.html

2. EXPLORING SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY, Earth Exploration Toolbook and Sandra Swenson, Columbia University, SERC, (suggested by John McDaris, SERC), in this EET chapter, users learn how data about the depth of the ocean floor is gathered and how these data are displayed to indicate the shape of Earth's ocean basins. Users approach the question "How do we know what the seafloor looks like?" from a historical perspective: they explore an illustrated timeline that describes ancient through modern methods used to learn about the seafloor.

http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/seafloor/index.html  

ATMOSPHERE
1) CATCHING TORNADOS, National Geographic, “It's a technological first. A well-placed probe fitted with 7 video cameras—6 with a 60-degree field-of-view designed to achieve a full 360-degree field-of-view (one failed during deployment, resulting in a 300-degree field-of-view) and one pointing upward—captures footage inside a tornado, providing visual data on ground wind speeds where the storm does the greatest damage. And Tim Samaras with his team of storm chasers are there to make it happen.”

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature6/multimedia.html
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<!--[endif]--> SOLAR SYSTEM AND UNIVERSE
1) ASTEROID CHALLENGE TARGET EARTH, (suggested by Cheryl Dodes, Weber Middle School , Port Washington, NY,), the Space Foundation and SpaceClass are collaborating to bring you our new Virtual Lab called Asteroid Challenge, Target Earth. In the Virtual Lab, students will learn about the near-Earth asteroid, Apophis which may collide with Earth on April 13, 2036. There are versions for middle and high school students.
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]--> http://spaceclass.org/apophis/

2) THE CHESAPEAKE BAY IMPACT CRATER, (suggested by Cher Cunningham, Science Information and Education Office, USGS), Looking for a way to teach about Earth-changing events? This site presents information about bolides, or impact craters, and the consequences of these ancient disasters, with particular reference to the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. With the attention recent reports are receiving that an asteroid may collide with the Earth in 2036, exploring bolides offers an opportunity to place current events in an historical context using a topic that is particularly interesting to students.

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/epubs/bolide/

 
GENERAL AND TEACHING TIPS
1) ATLAS OF SCIENCE LITERARCY, AAAS, are you teaching what’s really important?  “In a first-ever joint arrangement, Project 2061 and the National Science Teachers Association have co-published Atlas of Science Literacy, a collection of 49 conceptual strand maps that show how students' understanding of the ideas and skills that lead to literacy in science, mathematics, and technology might grow over time. Each map depicts how K–12 learning goals for a particular topic relate to each other and progress from one grade level to the next.”<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->  
http://www.project2061.org/publications/atlas/vol2/default.htm

2) FREE GRAPH PAPER UTILITY, MathHelpCentral,  (suggested by Glenn Waddell, Jr.), the following link has a program listed on the bottom of the page that will allow cutting and pasting into Works or Opendoc format. From there you could add your labels and print.  I just tried it and it works. The program is amazing, you can get almost any kind of graph paper you would ever need for anything! I use this program often in my math classes to create custom paper.

http://www.mathematicshelpcentral.com/graph_paper.htm

3) GOOD STUDY HABITS, www.study-habits.com, (suggested by Abderisak Adam, Gothenburg/Sweden) the site offers students a wide range of helpful iarticles, guides and study tools/software (such as our practical speed reading tool which calculates how many words you read per minute) for improving study skills.

http://www.study-habits.com/  
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DEPARTMENTS
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1) ANIMATIONS: 

a) Old Faithful Video Cam, NPS, (suggested by Diana Harding, science consultant), this view updates every 30 seconds.  Pictures of past eruptions                         and a question and answer section are available.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm

b) Explore Learning Simulations, ExploreLearning, (suggested by Joseph Kerski, ESRI), ExploreLearning offers a catalog of modular, interactive simulations in math and science for teachers and students in grades 6-12, called “gizmos.”  Gizmos are designed as supplemental curriculum materials that support state and national curriculum standards; in addition, Gizmos help teachers bring research-proven instructional strategies to their classrooms.  This is a commercial site but a free trial is available, and some of the animations would be appropriate for Earth Science instruction.

http://www.explorelearning.com

2) OUTSTANDING EARTH SCIENCE IMAGES:
 
a) Cloud wake, Guadalupe Island, Mexico August 1991. Earth from Space,   NASA (submitted by Virginia Malone, consultant, Hondo, TX),  the   1370 meter volcanic island of Guadalupe off the coast of Baja California, Mexico produces unique cloud wakes, if the winds are high vortexes are apparent.  In this image low stratus clouds are moving southeastward leaving a wake on the leeward side of the island. 

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/EFS/photoinfo.pl?PHOTO=STS043-76-61

b) EARTH SCIENCE PICTURE OF THE DAY (EPOD) http://epod.usra.edu (suggested by Martin Ruzek, USRA, Whitelaw, WI)  When basalt and sandstone    mix ... here's an interesting juxtaposition associated with the Pine Valley Laccolith of Utah.

http://epod.usra.edu/archive/epodviewer.php3?oid=174752     
 
3) GOOD READ: Shakin' spaghetti PSU researcher uses pasta to show friction in earthquakes, PSU, “Uncooked pasta might be providing researchers with a better understanding of the effects of friction in earthquakes, according to a Penn State geoscientist.”

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2003/01/01-21-03tdc/01-21-03dscihealth-02.asp
 
4) GOOD QUOTE: (suggested by Cheryl Dodes, Weber Middle School, Port Washington, NY) "A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure."
- Unknown
 
5) DOABLE DEMO: Chewing Gum Inquiry- Each student forms a group of 4 has a different brand/flavor of gum.  The idea is to find out which gum has the most sweetener.  Students have to write out the problem, hypothesis, procedure, data table, conclusion. Access to a scale, accurate to 0.1 gram is needed.
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<!--[endif]--> 6) COMPUTER TIP: (suggested by Virginia Malone, educational consultant, Hondo, TX), How to Select a long string of files using the Shift Key.  When you want to copy or delete contiguous files click on the first one hold down the shift key and click on the last.  All of the files between the first and last will be selected.  Especially handy when deleting bunches of unwanted emails. 
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<!--[endif]--> 7) TEACHER TIP: (submitted by Virginia Malone, consultant, Hondo, TX) Never promise what you cannot deliver. This means both punishment and rewards.  On punishment:  “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”  The trick in teaching is to know what sticks you actually carry. “I will send you to the principal’s office is not a big stick.”  Calling parents is generally a big stick, even if the parent is less than ideal.  No matter what stay cool and stick to the facts.  On rewards: they must be based on real performance by the student or they will be meaningless. 

8) HUMOR: Alman Photo, Some words that are fun to say:
plinth
crwth
quotidian
buttafucco

http://www.altmanphoto.com/Fun.To.Say.Cool.Words.html
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“Earth Science Sites of the Week” dating back to 1999 are now available and can be searched by keyword. To access past archives go to the “Earth Science Site of the Week Archives” link half way down the page at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi/ Another way to access sites is to consult RESOURCES FOR EARTH SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY INSTRUCTION at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi . Over 1000 reviewed links are organized around the sequence of topics typically taught in an introductory earth science or physical geography class. Links are also available for 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.
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Mark Francek
Professor of Geography
Dow 285
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
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