EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS

NASA Earth Science Enterprise Education Program Update

--Nahid Khazenie (nkhazeni@pop100.gsfc.nasa.gov) Earth Science Systems Program Office, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

COTF Seeks Reviewers for New Software Package

The NASA Classroom of the Future (COTF) at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia, is actively seeking educators interested in evaluating a new software package for middle school science classrooms.

A previous version of this software for use in high school classrooms won the 1995 Technology and Learning magazine science software of the year award. The new initiative, entitled "Astronomy Village: Investigating the Solar System," is a two-year project funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The COTF is hoping to enlist teachers and other educators willing to try the software and provide them with feedback. There is no cost for the beta-test (trial) software.

To learn more about the product and access the beta-test application, please see: http://www.cotf.edu/av2/ and follow the links to "Astronomy Village: Investigating the Solar System."

For more information, contact: John Hornyak, Curriculum Writer, NASA Classroom of the Future, Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, WV 26003, Phone: (304) 243-2494; Fax: (304) 243-2497.

Resources on The Internet

Live from the Rain Forest (LFRF) Website

http://passport.ivv.nasa.gov/rainforest

This site is the preview version, designed to give educators and others all they need to get started on this unique learning adventure. Here you'll find the dates and times of the videos, extensive information about the contents of the Teacher's Guide and Multimedia Kit and how to order them, sample lessons, journals from some of the Smithsonian/Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA) team who'll be the project's hosts in the Amazon, and a preview of the site itself.

In the coming weeks, much more content and many images will be added to the main sections of the site as they are populated by plants, animals, and people of the rainforest. You can check out the opportunities already available for teachers to talk to teachers and the PTK staff via DISCUSS-LFRF. And you can make contact with PTK "veterans" mentor teachers who can help you implement the project successfully.

Programs to Improve Teaching & Learning

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/triedandtrue/index.html

Sixteen programs to improve teaching & learning, developed by the Department of Education-supported Regional Educational Labs, are featured in a document recently added to the Department's website: "Tried & True: Tested Ideas for Teaching & Learning."

Each program has an extensive research base, has been kept up-to-date, and has clear evaluation data. Each has been endorsed and supported by all ten Labs and can be adapted to a variety of school and community settings.

Redesigned Education Website

http://www.ed.gov Faster searches, greater access to information and attractive layouts await users of the newly redesigned Department of Education web site. Student financial aid materials, tips for parents, statistics and the latest findings on what works in education are among the myriad of documents stored on the site, helping make it one of the most widely used education resources on the Internet.

Science Netlinks

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com

The American Association for the Advancement of Science and MCI have launched Science NetLinks, a Web site to help science teachers, librarians, and other educators identify useful resources, and use those resources in a teaching environment.

NASA Spacelink Library Improvements

http://spacelink.nasa.gov/Instructional.Materials /NASA.Educational.Products/

The NASA Spacelink Library has been updated with major changes to the NASA Projects and Instructional Materials directories. The NASA Projects area now features information and references aligned with NASA's four Enterprises: Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology, Space Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space, and Earth Science.

Changes to the Instructional Materials area include subject-area menus that categorize references and materials more closely with national standards in science and mathematics. Additionally, NASA's Educational Products are now listed in a single, easy-to-read menu.

Our Mission To Planet Earth Teachers Guide On-line

http://spacelink.nasa.gov/Instructional.Materials /NASA.Educational.Products/Our.Mission.to.Planet. Earth/

"Our Mission to Planet Earth: A Guide to Teaching Earth System Science" for grades K-4 includes activities such as setting up a terrarium as an Earth System model to demonstrate the water cycle, the greenhouse effect, and the difference between global warming and cooling. Students can also create their own models of instruments and satellites and learn about careers in Earth System Science.