Chemical Education Today
News & Announcements News from Journal House ChemEd DL Invites You To Moodle The Chemical Education Digital Library (www.chemeddl. org), a Pathway project of the National Science Digital Library (nsdl.org), provides several online services to the chemistry education community. Among those is ChemEd Courses, a learning system and course management service based upon the popular open source Moodle (moodle.org) project. ChemEd DL invites you to use this service to develop online learning resources or to share such resources you may have already developed. A successful workshop was been developed and delivered using ChemEd Courses; several other courses, workshops, and learning activities are currently in development. In return for your contribution of learning resources to ChemEd Courses, ChemEd DL will provide you access to several JCE resources, including the JCE QBank collection of general chemistry questions, streaming video from Chemistry Comes Alive!, and the entire JCE Web Software collection (an order form is on p 880B or use the JCE Store at store.jce.divched.org). To get involved with ChemEd Courses and ChemEd DL, point your browser at moodle.chemeddl.org and follow the link “Become a ChemEd Courses Developer” in the Main Menu. Come Moodle with ChemEd DL!
Awards Announced 2008 NSTA/Vernier Technology Awards Announced The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Vernier Software & Technology announce the seven winners of the 2008 NSTA/Vernier Technology Award. Ranging from elementary school teachers to college instructors, they were selected as winners by a panel of experts, appointed by NSTA, and chosen for creating innovative data-collection lessons and programs in their classrooms. Each winner received $1,000 in cash, $1,000 in Vernier products, and up to $1,000 toward expenses to attend the 2008 NSTA National Convention in Boston, MA, where they were formally recognized at the convention’s awards banquet. The winning entries are listed below by category. Elementary Allison Needham, 5th grade teacher, J. B. Watkins Elementary School, Midlothian, VA. “Music Maker”
Middle School Mary Cook, 8th grade science teacher, Roosevelt Middle School, Glendale, CA. “Demonstrating Newton’s Laws” Sherlynn Davis, science teacher, Crossroads Second Chance–North, Roswell, GA. “Investigating CO 2 and Temperature During Rush Hour” 780
High School Steve Ahn, science teacher, Watagua High School, Boone, NC In “Microclimate Investigation,” Ahn’s students will use Vernier probeware to study the microclimates found on the Watagua High School property. They will investigate temperature, light intensity, soil moisture, and relative humidity as a function of altitude and distance from the creek that runs through the campus. Additionally, teams of students will use handheld GPS receivers to guide them to pre-arranged locations where they will take photos and collect data. The end product of the activity is a digital field guide the students can use to further explore nature on their own. Rebecca Runnels Morrison, science teacher/administrator, Runnels High School, Baton Rouge, LA For the past several years, Morrison has led a project to create “Amusement Park Instructional Videos”. As part of the project, students use data-collection technology, such as graphing calculators and accelerometers, to investigate the rides at a popular amusement park. This year, she will also have students team up to produce videos documenting their planning and implementation of the data-collection, as well as any discussion and analysis of the data. Danielle Spaete, physics teacher, Pleasant Valley High School, Bettendorf, IA Spaete’s physics program uses lab activities to teach difficult physics concepts. She has designed “A New Voice for an Electronic Keyboard,” which is an activity that starts with her students investigating the sounds created by different band instruments and then choosing an instrument to study further. They collect data for several notes and analyze the frequency and intensity of the notes and overtones unique to that instrument. The students then “teach” an electronic keyboard to play each overtone with the right intensity to match their instrument. Projects are successful when the keyboard accurately mimics the intended instrument.
College Irina Lyublinskaya, associate professor, College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY Lyublinskaya has developed a research project, “Teaching Elementary Math and Science Standards with Technology”, for pre-service elementary teachers. It is designed to impact her students’ attitudes toward using data-collection technology in the classroom. As part of it, inquiry-based data-collection activities address core NSES (National Science Education Standards) and NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) standards. The activities bridge a natural connection between science and math concepts. Students explore various properties of addition of positive and negative decimals by measuring the voltage across different arrangements of 1.5 volt batteries. Her students worked through the activities in an effort to gain an appreciation of
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Chemical Education Today
how calculators and data-collection technology can be used as tools to enhance student understanding of math and science concepts, thus making them more open to using these types of activities in their own classrooms.
Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities Plan Ahead for National Chemistry Week The Journal is planning ahead, and you can too! National Chemistry Week (NCW) 2008 will be observed October 19–25, 2008. This year it has a sports-related theme, “Having a Ball with Chemistry”. In our October issue (to be mailed and available on JCE Online in early September) you will find articles gathered around the theme and a sports-related JCE Classroom Activity. The Chemical Education Today (front) section will pick up the theme in these regular features: News from Online, Research Advances, Reports from Other Journals: Nature. There will also be another of our popular JCE Resource Papers that will highlight previously published JCE articles relating to sports. Examinations Institute on the Move The Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute will move its offices during summer 2008. Its new host will be the Department of Chemistry at Iowa State University. The Exams Institute Web site at http://www.uwm.edu/chemexams (accessed Apr 2008) will have updates and complete address information as soon as these are available. The logistics of the move will be carried out so that disruption of order fulfillment will be minimal—limited essentially to the time during which the physical inventory of exams is on the moving truck. Systemic Approach to Teaching and Learning For readers interested in the Systemic Approach to Teaching and Learning (SATL), the 1st International SATL Conference will be held at Tafila Technical University in Jordan on July 13–15, 2008. The SATL method incorporates several features of concept mapping and is rooted in constructivist principles. The conference will incorporate papers addressing the use of SATL in a variety of science (and non-science) as well as technical (engineering) disciplines; applying the techniques to assessment and curriculum design; and using the method as a general tool
to help guide the development of other educational functions. Conference details can be found at http://www.ttu.edu.jo and following the prompts (accessed Apr 2008). Readers of this Journal who have an interest in or are curious about SATL should see, for example, J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 1078 and 2005, 82, 211. Say Cheese: Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day On a unique day in April 2008, people around the globe took time off from the increasingly technological world we live in to share the unusual beauty of the time-honored photographic process of pinhole photography. Similar to photography as we know it, pinhole photography differs in that the camera has no lens. Instead, it has a very small aperture (a pinhole) that projects an image on film or paper. The Greeks were creating rudimentary pinhole cameras using slits in wicker baskets and the crossing of leaves as far back as 500 B.C.E. Nearly any lighttight container can be used, such as an oatmeal box or can. Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day has passed this year, but photographers of all ages who participated in the day have shared their resulting photos at http://www.pinholeday.org/ gallery/index.php (accessed Apr 2008). If you and your students would like to try pinhole photography and possibly join in next year’s celebration, you will find complete instructions for making a pinhole camera as part of JCE Classroom Activity #18 “Photochemistry and Pinhole Photography: An Interdisciplinary Experiment” (J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, p 736A).
An example of a pinhole camera (above left) and a photograph taken with one (right).
EduComm 2008 Conference The EduComm 2008 Conference is being held June 18–20, 2008 at the Las Vegas Hilton Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. This is a national technology management conference focused on connecting higher education with AV and IT technology to enhance the classroom and distance learning experience. For more information or to register, go to http:// educommconference.com/ (accessed Apr 2008).
Announcements Share Your News with the JCE Community! Send contributions to the JCE Announcements column to Elizabeth A. Moore, associate editor, by email at
[email protected] or at the address on the masthead. Contributions should be concise, to the point, and appropriate for the Journal’s audience. They may be edited for clarity, timeliness, or length.
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News & Announcements Congress of Nano–Bio & Clean Tech 2008 The International Association of Nanotechnology is accepting abstracts to be presented at their upcoming 5th International Congress of Nano–Bio & Clean Tech 2008. The Congress will be held October 27–30, 2008 at the San Francisco Airport Mar-
riott Hotel in Burlingame, CA. More information may be found at http://www.ianano.org/ (accessed Apr 2008). Supporting JCE Online Material http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/Jun/abs780.html Full text (HTML and PDF) with links to cited URLs and JCE articles.
Proposal Deadlines National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources
jsp?div=DUE) for the most up-to-date listings and guidelines; phone: 703/292-8670; email:
[email protected].
These NSF deadlines have been established or are anticipated.
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Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Full Proposals October 16, 2008 Alliances for Broadening Participation in STEM (ABP) See NSF Web site for deadlines for this cluster program. Course, Curriculum & Lab Improvement (CCLI) Full Proposals, Phase 1 from submitting organizations located in states or territories: • beginning with A through M May 20, 2008 • beginning with N through W May 21, 2008 Full Proposals, Phases 2 and 3 January 12, 2009 Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research: Workshop Opportunities (EPS) Full Proposals accepted any time Informal Science Education (ISE) Full Proposals June 19, 2008 Letter of Intent September 18, 2008 Full Proposals December 18, 2008 Nanotechnology Undergrad. Educ. in Engineering NUE Full Proposals May 14, 2008 National Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Digital Library (NSDL) Letter of Intent (optional) May 27, 2008 Full Proposals June 27, 2008 NSF Grad. Teaching Fellows in K–12 Educ. (GK–12) Letter of Intent May 16, 2008 Full Proposals July 3, 2008 NSF Scholarship in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (S-STEM) Letter of Intent July 10, 2008 Full Proposals August 12, 2008 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Full Proposals, REU Site (Antarctic) June 6, 2008 Full Proposals, REU Site August 18, 2008 Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) Full Proposals, Planning accepted any time
Official deadline dates for proposals will be specified in the new program solicitation for each program, to be published at least three months before the relevant deadline date. Consult the NSF Education and Human Resources (EHR) Web site (http:// www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=EHR) and that of its Division of Undergraduate Education (http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.
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The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.*
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Camille Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: February 5, 2009 Faculty Start-Up Awards Program: May 9, 2009 Henry Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Awards Program: June 26, 2008 New Faculty Awards Program: May 9, 2009 Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry: August 14, 2008 Senior Scientist Mentor Program: November 13, 2008 Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences: Initial Inquiry: June 15, 2008 Proposal (by invitation): November 13, 2008
* New submission guidelines may apply. For details and information on online application and nomination forms, check the Dreyfus Foundation Web site at http://www.dreyfus.org or contact The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., 555 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022-3301; phone: 212/753-1760; email:
[email protected]. Research Corporation** ** Major changes in the Research Corp. awards program have taken place: some programs were terminated, there have been changes in ongoing programs, and an entirely new program has been initiated (about which details will appear in summer 2008). “The Foundation has decided to sharpen the focus of its programs on early-career academic scientists in the U.S.” See http://www.rescorp.org/ for more information.
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Cottrell College Science Awards: new guidelines available at http://www.rescorp.org/ for both single-investigator and multi-investigator awards • Cottrell Scholar Awards (for beginning faculty members who wish to excel at both research and teaching): changes to be announced Spring 2008 These awards have been terminated: • Research Innovation Awards; Research Opportunity Awards; Special Opportunities in Science Awards; Department Development Awards
Further information may be obtained from Research Corporation, 4703 East Camp Lowell Drive, Suite 201, Tucson, AZ 85712; phone: 520/571-1111; fax: 520/571-1119; email:
[email protected]; WWW: http://www.rescorp.org/. NOTE: check this Web site for information about a new requirement for submitting applications online.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 85 No. 6 June 2008 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
