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MiddleSchoolPortal/Webinar Archive

From NSDLWiki

The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways project presents webinars on timely topics. This page contains the descriptions of those webinars and links to the archived recordings. Please visit the Events page of the MSP2 social network to see the current offerings.

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Interactive Notebooks

Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 2-3pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Few things about middle school students drive teachers to the brink of insanity faster than organization (or lack thereof) and homework. Come join us for a discussion of one way to help combat both problems while also addressing multiple intelligences, differentiation, and student choice. Interactive Notebooks are a way to help facilitate all of these things by allowing your students to be creative and have a choice in the way they process information. This informal chat will address the beginning stages of starting to work with Interactive Notebooks, guide you through the process, and point you in the direction of more resources.

Presenter MiniBio: Todd Williamson is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent Science) at Broad Creek Middle School in Newport, NC. Todd teaches 7th grade science and has a focus on incorporating technology into classroom instruction. He maintains a blog about technology in education called The Technorate Teacher. Todd is a technology trainer for the North Carolina Teacher's Academy and primarily focuses on integrating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom at all grade levels.

Post a comment on Todd's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/ToddWilliamson

Related Resources:

http://www.msteacher2.org/profiles/blogs/session-archive-tech-talk

Moodle for the Middle - Part I and Part II

Part I: Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 2-3pm EST

Part II: Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 4-5pm EST

Recording of Webinar - Part I

Recording of Webinar - Part II

Description: Are you looking for a way to interact with your students online? Moodle is designed to help educators create online courses with opportunities for rich interaction. It's free, open source, and can be adapted to any learning environment. Create calendars, message boards, resource pages, wikis, surveys, tests, and more. Tom Jenkins has used Moodle with his 5th-8th graders for the past 3 years to teach science and technology and will share his experiences with this e-learning platform.

Presenter MiniBio: Tom Jenkins is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent Science) at Indian Valley Middle School in Enon, OH. Over his 12-year career, he has taught middle school mathematics, science, and technology and been an instructor for the Master's of Education program at Wittenberg University. Tom is currently teaching STEM and Technology to 5th-8th graders and serves as a Senior STEM Fellow for the Dayton Regional STEM Center.

Post a comment on Tom's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/TomJenkins

Related Resources:

http://www.msteacher2.org/profiles/blogs/session-archive-tech-talk-1

Moodle Website

Free Hosting Services

NineHub
Rose-Prism

Economical Hosting Services

Bluehost
SiteGround

Blogposts and personal experiences using Moodle in the classroom

Moodle in an Elementary Classroom – Anatomy of a Course, Jan Deyenberg

Digital Storytelling

Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 2-3pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: What is digital storytelling and how can it be adapted for the middle school science classroom? Join us for an overview of this exciting multimedia art form and leave with basic how-to knowledge, ideas for science-specific projects, and resources to guide your implementation.

Presenter MiniBio: Jessica Fries-Gaither is an Education Resource Specialist in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University, where she serves as project director for Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, a cyberzine integrating science and literacy instruction for elementary teachers, and contributes to the Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways. She is certified as a middle school science teacher and has taught in a variety of settings - from 4th grade self contained to 8th grade math and science.

Post a comment on Jessica's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/JessicaFriesGaither

Related Resources:

Blog Post with Presentation and Related Resources

Center for Digital Storytelling

MSK Running Digital Story

From Victoria Rydberg: We have a student created voice thread on our website towards the bottom of this page: http://www.portage.k12.wi.us/rc/

From Virginia Alberti: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/mathematics.html

From Pam Burish: VoiceThread Digital Storytelling with VoiceThread Visual Bloom's Taxonomy VoiceThread posts from NCS-Tech

Wikis for the Classroom

Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 7-8pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: "What is a wiki?" you say. Let's take a look at what a wiki is and how it can be used as a tool for online student collaboration. Whether used to create a reference library or a collaborative teaching tool, wikis are an easily accessible Web 2.0 tool that can be used in any class. Works great in the one-computer room or in the computer lab.

Presenter MiniBio: Karolee teaches at Foothill Farms JHS in Sacramento, California. Her 16 years in the middle school have focused on science and the AVID elective. She has her master's in educational technology, completing her master's project on Wikis in the Classroom.

Post a comment on Karolee's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/KaroleeSmiley

Related Resources:

Wiki Comparison Matrix

Free Wiki Platforms

WetPaint Wiki
PB Works
PB Works Summer Camp online course
Wikispaces
Zoho Wiki

Articles

Teacher Tools That Integrate Technology: Wikis

Exemplary Wiki Spaces

Math 247
Middle School Portal 2: Science and Mathematics Resource Guides

Interactive Whiteboards

September, 16, 2009, 4-5pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: So you have an Interactive Whiteboard in your classroom, now what? As more and more schools purchase SmartBoards, Promethean Boards, Mimio systems, and a host of other Interactive Whiteboard solutions, the expectation often seems to be that they will just teach the kids themselves. Join us for this session to learn some of the challenges, strategies, and wonders of using an Interactive Whiteboard in your subject area.

Presenter MiniBio: Todd Williamson is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent Science) at Broad Creek Middle School in Newport, NC. Todd teaches 7th grade science and has a focus on incorporating technology into classroom instruction. He maintains a blog about technology in education called The Technorate Teacher. Todd is a technology trainer for the North Carolina Teacher's Academy and primarily focuses on integrating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom at all grade levels.

Post a comment on Todd's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/ToddWilliamson

Related Resources: http://sharetabs.com/?IWBs

Reading Mathematics is Different

September 30, 2009, 4-5pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Presentation Slides

Description: Join us to discuss why reading mathematics is challenging for many students and what teachers can do. We will examine how mathematics symbols, vocabulary, and content presentation can create roadblocks to students’ mathematics understanding. Learn how to address students’ difficulties by approaching mathematics as a language and to use specific strategies to improve mathematics learning.

Presenter MiniBio: Judy Spicer is a mathematics content specialist at the Ohio Resource Center. She has taught mathematics at the high school and community college levels, written and made presentations, both in person and online, about mathematics curriculum materials and related learning issues. She served as the mathematics content specialist in the development of two education-related digital libraries and is a member of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. Her interests include improving the quality of education for all students and encouraging the use of Internet resources and computer software to help students visualize and understand mathematics.

Post a comment on Judy's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/JudySpicer

Related Resources:

Reading and Writing to Learn in Mathematics: Strategies to Improve Problem Solving

Unlocking the Mystery of Mathematics: Give Vocabulary Instruction a Chance

Getting to Know Your Middle Grades Mathematics Textbook

Sorting Polygons

Adapting Literacy Strategies to Improve Student Performance on Constructed-Response Items (Webcast Article)

Roulette Problem Solving

The Lex Files

Reading and Writing Mathematics

Quantitative Literacy

Ohio Resource Center

Diigo: An Online Research Tool

Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 4-5pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Learn how to use Diigo to keep track of, share, publish, and annotate resources. Diigo is a personal research tool, collaborative research platform, and social information network.

Presenter MiniBio: David Hayward is the Project Manager at Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio (ITSCO). His responsibilities include planning, creating, and teaching technology integration professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers in central Ohio.

Post a comment on David's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/DavidHayward

Related Resources:

Diigo

Universal Design for Learning

Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 4-5pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Meeting the needs of diverse learners while maintaining high achievement standards for all can be challenging – even for the most seasoned educator. Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework based on brain research, provides rich supports and pedagogy to address these challenges, enabling all individuals to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning. Shifting our attention toward the goals, methods, materials, and assessments used in instruction focuses on the disabilities in our curriculum; not in our students. Join us for a discussion about UDL, and leave with some strategies and tools you can use in your classroom tomorrow!

Presenter MiniBio: Mindy Johnson is an Instructional Designer and Research Associate at CAST, a non-profit educational R&D organization near Boston, MA. Her focus is primarily on developing and researching web-based UDL tools for use in science classes. Before joining CAST, Mindy was a special education co-teacher in content-area classes. She also works at the Boston Museum of Science as an instructor in their Overnight Program, conducting hands-on science and math activities for students of all ages.

Post a comment on Mindy's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/MindyJohnson

Related Resources:

CAST Website: http://www.cast.org/

National Center on UDL: http://www.udlcenter.org/

UDL Spotlight Blog: http://udlspotlight.wordpress.com/

UDL Editions by CAST™: http://udleditions.cast.org/

CAST UDL Book Builder™: http://bookbuilder.cast.org/

CAST UDL Curriculum Self-Check™: http://udlselfcheck.cast.org/

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

UDL for Higher Education: http://udlonline.cast.org/home

Laboratory Safety

Thursday, November 12, 2009, 7:30-8:30pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Join Ken Roy as he discusses the Dirty Dozen and the responsibilities of all educators in making science classrooms and activities safe[r] for students.

Presenter MiniBio: Ken Roy is the National Science Teacher Association (NTSA) Science Safety Consultant and the Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Connecticut.

Related Resources:

MSP2 Digital Library Search on Laboratory Safety Resources - Click on the + by the Quick Search and then the Laboratory Safety link - http://www.msteacher2.org/page/search-the-msp2-collection-of

Rehab the Lab - You can download fully scripted lesson plans for least-toxic chemistry labs, information on ways to reduce chemical stockpiles in biology labs, and a database of school chemicals that describes their risks and educational utility and provides guidelines for their storage, purchasing and disposal.

Connecticut High School Science Safety: Prudent Practices and Regulations

NSTA Position Statement on Science Safety

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Center for Disease Control Workplace Safety

Flinn Scientific - Request the free laboratory safety manual for middle school science.

Citizen Science: Building Math and Science Skills and Knowledge

Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 7:30-8:30pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: In this session, you’ll find out about the Cornell Lab’s citizen science projects, especially eBird, and how your classroom can participate. You’ll also see examples of the kinds of online data and graphs that are easily accessible to you and your students. Finally, you’ll learn about our free BirdSleuth resources that will support you in giving students experience with the entire scientific process: observing birds carefully, asking their own questions, collecting data, summarizing data with graphs and charts, drawing evidence-based conclusions through research and observation, and publishing their results in Cornell Lab’s student scientific journals.

The BirdSleuth curriculum weaves together major life science concepts such as habitat, diversity, adaptations, and behavior through engaging activities and schoolyard investigations focused on birds. Further, it engages students in Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s citizen science programs, giving them a real-world connection to Cornell University scientists and access to authentic biological data which they can use to answer their own questions. Your students will be motivated and excited to participate in citizen science because it gets them outside, it’s challenging and fun, and they know that their data will be put to use addressing real-world issues of local and global concern.

Presenter MiniBio: Jennifer Fee was hired by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2004 to develop, field test, and publish the BirdSleuth curriculum. Since the first module’s publication in 2006, Jennifer has been working to continue to develop innovative BirdSleuth resources while provide online and in-person support to teachers. Prior to joining the Lab, she worked at the Missouri Botanical Garden and graduated from the Biology programs at Truman State University and Illinois State University.

Post a comment on Jennifer's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/JenniferFee

Related Resources:

All About Birds - http://www.allaboutbirds.org

Ebird – http://www.ebird.org

Cornell Lab of Ornithology – http://www.birds.cornell.edu

Teaching About Light and the EM Spectrum at the Middle Level

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 7pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Always wanted to teach a science unit on light, but didn't have the resources? Join a web seminar on teaching about light and the electromagnetic spectrum in the middle grades. Find out how to access free, standards-based model units on the topic of light in The Physics Front web site. Hear about recent research on middle school students' understanding (and misunderstanding) of light. Learn what you can do to facilitate exciting, age-appropriate learning experiences on a topic often avoided in middle school.

Presenter MiniBio: Caroline Hall is the lead content editor for introductory physics collections in the ComPADRE digital library. She believes that blended e-learning and interactive web tools have the potential to revolutionize science education and energize the science classroom in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago. She has spent the past 6 years working to build K-12 digital science collections, but looks back to her 8 years of classroom teaching as her first love.

Post a comment on Caroline's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/CarolineHall

Related Resources:

Light Model Unit

AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy

Electromagnetic Spectrum Graphic

St. Marys Physics Animations

Motion Mountain - Free Physics Textbook

Animoto and Glogster

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 3:30pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: This session, facilitated by Eric Biederbeck, will look at how to use some common web tools. The focus will be on Animoto and Glogster, both of which are free. Eric's students will demonstrate how to use both to create a visually stunning presentation that reports out information about a specific topic.

Presenter MiniBio: Eric Biederbeck, MSP2 Teacher Leader, is in his 9th year of teaching math, science, and social studies at Essex Middle School (Essex Junction, VT). Eric teaches on a three person team where he incorporates his interest in technology, project based learning, and differentiated instruction.

Post a comment on Eric's MSP2 wall: http://msteacher2.org/profile/EricBiederbeck

Related Resources:

Glogster Resources

Glogster for Educators - this space is more controlled and you can get 100 accounts for students

Glogster Social Network

Jim Dachos's Public Library

Place Value Glogster

Nicole Tomaselli's List: Great Glogs

Glogster Examples from Eric's Students

http://s069.navigators.edu.glogster.com/bananas/

Animoto Resources

Animoto

Animoto Examples from Eric's Students

Fractions and Decimals

Rainforests: The Canopy Layer

Digital Tools and Math

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 4:30pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Are you wondering how Glogster, Google Docs, or Scratch can be of service in your math classes? Have you seen a great way to build students' math vocabulary via podcasting? Are you looking for digital tools that can give your students more hands-on experience with algebra concepts?

Get together with other math teachers to share ideas and resources to strengthen student learning in math through the use of digital tools. This will truly be a discussion and sharing session among peers.

Eric Biederbeck and Tom Jenkins will moderate what, we hope, is a lively conversation!

Presenter MiniBio: Eric Biederbeck, MSP2 Teacher Leader, is in his 9th year of teaching math, science, and social studies at Essex Middle School (Essex Junction, VT). Eric teaches on a three person team where he incorporates his interest in technology, project based learning, and differentiated instruction.

Post a comment on Eric's MSP2 wall: http://msteacher2.org/profile/EricBiederbeck

Post a comment on Tom's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/TomJenkins

Related Resources:

Bridge Contest

Gaggle

Glogster Social Network

Glogster for Educators - this space is more controlled and you can get 100 accounts for students

Google Docs

Math 2.0 Interest Group

Moodle Webinar

The Pizza Problem Challenge

Pringles Challenge

Scratch

Scratch in the Classroom

Screen Jelly

SketchUp

Google Spreadsheet to help facilitate collaboration between classrooms, regardless of geography

Google Apps for Educators

Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 4-5pm EDT

Recording of Webinar

Description: Not just a search engine...Google has created numerous free applications just for educators. Google Tools are one of the many emerging Web 2.0 concepts for educators that allow social networking, sharing, collaboration, and much more.

Presenter MiniBio: Rachel Lacy, Educational Consultant with ITSCO, returned to the Columbus area after two years of designing and delivering Interactive Video Conferencing programming for the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska. Her background and teaching experience is in early childhood education. At ITSCO she teaches professional development classes with online learning tools.

Related Resources:

Google for Educators

Google Classroom Activities Lesson plans and activities that incorporate Google products

Google Teacher Community

Google Calendar

Google Docs

Google Groups

Google Mail

Google Earth

Google SketchUp

Google Translate

Google Wiki

STEM Career Exploration for Middle School

Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 3:30-4:30pm EDT

Recording of Webinar

Description: Learn about two youth-created STEM career resources developed by Education Development Center, Inc, and funded by the National Science Foundation. The FunWorks provides highly interactive, 'real world' career experiences and uses young people's current interests and passions (e.g., music, sports) to help them explore exciting, future STEM careers. The Girls Communicating Career Connections project's media series—short video segments produced by middle school aged girls—captures the inquiry-based learning experiences of six girls, as they investigate what it means to be a scientist or engineer. Both projects encourage youth to see the science in their everyday lives, its relevance to things most important to them now (e.g., sports,music, art, health & nutrition), and leverage that connection to spark interest in, and knowledge of, STEM careers. Young people across the country participated in every stage of the development of these resources through online surveys, focus groups, pilot testing, and through the involvement of a youth co-design team who worked with project staff to design and develop the sites.

Presenter MiniBio: Sarita Pillai is a Senior Project Director with Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). Drawing on her background as a computer scientist and technology developer, her role involves managing national projects that focus on the creation of powerful technology-based resources for educators and youth, with a special focus on the needs of diverse learners. In particular, she specializes in program and resource development aimed at engaging youth, particularly girls and minority youth, in scientific education and future careers. In all her work, youth are central to design and development efforts, working closely with project staff to co-design all project deliverables. She is co-author of More than Title IX: How Equity in Education Has Shaped the Nation, published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2009.

Post a comment on Sarita's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/SaritaPillai

Related Resources:

The Fun Works

Girls Communicating Career Connections

Timely Teachings: Seasons and the Cycles of Night and Day

Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 4-5pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Join us as we discuss two challenging topics in the elementary and middle school curriculum - day and night and seasons from both science and literacy perspectives.

We'll review scientific principles, examine common misconceptions and formative assessment strategies, and discuss how to approach these topics by integrating science and literacy. We'll share resources from Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, the National Science Digital Libraries' Middle School Portal, and other high-quality content providers.

Presenter MiniBio: Jessica Fries-Gaither is an Education Resource Specialist in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University, where she serves as project director for Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, a cyberzine integrating science and literacy instruction for elementary teachers, and contributes to the Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways. She is certified as a middle school science teacher and has taught in a variety of settings - from 4th grade self contained to 8th grade math and science.

Post a comment on Jessica's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/JessicaFriesGaither

Related Resources:

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears Issue 3: Polar Patterns: Day, Night, and Seasons

The Reasons for the Seasons

Teaching With Trade Books

A Season to Inquire

Astronomy with a Stick/Day into Night

Journey North: Mystery Class

Global Sun Temperature Project

Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day

Let's Present With Prezi

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - 4:30-5:30pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Join us as we introduce a presentation tool that brings a whole new meaning to the experience of "powerpointlessness." We'll look at the zebra tool and it's different functions but spend the majority of time talking with educators that are using Prezi in their classrooms and professional development work.

Here are resources that our four presenters discussed:

Maria Anderson Math Educator Muskingham Community College

To see some of my presentations (slides or prezis) go here: http://teachingcollegemath.com/?page_id=619

Teaching Mathematics Resources http://teachingcollegemath.com/?page_id=528

http://prezi.com/nsu8izuq8jxs/mathematweets/ Hid information in the leaves of the tree and embedded video

http://prezi.com/mwjmblbegsbx/how-can-we-measure-teaching-and-learning-in-mathematics/

http://prezi.com/r2lbb3lfomg5/playing-to-learn-math/

http://sites.google.com/site/mathetlearningprojects/

http://prezi.com/rj_b-gw3u8xl/

http://sites.google.com/site/mathetlearningprojects/

Vicky Gorman 7th Grade Science, Medford Memorial Middle School, New Jersey

This was the first Prezi I ever created. I used it in the classroom, just as you would use a Power Point. The kids loved the "zooming" quality. Their understanding of and interest level in the material was markedly increased.

Title: "The Three Methods of Heat Transfer" http://prezi.com/_9uzrdt0w0so/

This is a short Prezi I've used for home online review prior to a major assessment. It combines with a YouTube video.

Title: "Water as the Universal Solvent Review" http://prezi.com/o2wir4djwnea/

This last Prezi is quite long. However, the nice thing is students can view a portion of it, take a break, and continue with the review at another time. I broke the presentation into sections by embedding numerous YouTube videos along the way. You will notice an acronym I created called ORSQ. This stands for "Online Review Supplement Question." These questions are the ones in the presentation. I put them on a handout, so when a student is finished doing the review, there is a hard copy of the questions and answers. Most, if not all of the questions are the ones included in the assessment.

Title: "Ocean Currents Review" http://prezi.com/4gu3_u_hkl66/

If anyone is interested, here are the links to the Online Review Supplements that go with the Prezi's I've created.

Media:The_Water_Cycle_Online_Review_Supplement.doc‎

Media:Storms_Online_Review_Supplement.doc‎

Media:Ocean_Currents_and_Coriolis_Effect_Online_Review_Supplement.doc‎

Media:Mixtures_and_Solutions_Online_Review_Supplement.doc‎

Media:Weather_vs._Climate_Online_Review_Supplement.doc‎

And here is a letter sent home to Parents before I offered the online review option. The second page has a disclaimer and requires a parent or guardian signature before the students can view Prezi and the online review.

Media:Permission_Letter_to_Parents.doc‎

Maria Droujkova Leader of the National Math and Math 2.0 Networks http://www.naturalmath.com

I will show two examples demonstrating a particular power and limitation of the tool that has to do with its "fractal-like quality" so to speak.

http://prezi.com/kgb0wp-7cgmu/primes-of-beauty/

http://prezi.com/wvzwpjapkpqk/counting-to-a-million-in-progress/ - in progress – not sure that this is the best tool to do what she want to do – crashes at 10000X zoom!

M. Gabriela Eyzaguirre MS Technology Coordinator The American School of Lima, Peru

http://prezi.com/qzwjvbgmjxmx/facebook-security/

http://prezi.com/w-c_w6yuww4y/technology/

Presentation made by students: http://prezi.com/fpqeff18hyj9/earthquake-presentation/

http://prezi.com/-xusavv0mcap/project-presentation/

http://prezi.com/nnbpt_leaiij/muscular-system/

21st Century Skills and . . .

Thursday, October 21, 2010. 7-8:00 pm EST

Recording of Webinar note: This recording started pre-maturely, thus you will want to slide forward to just before the point where the first slide changes, indicated at the bottom of the screen with a short vertical line.

Description: The U.S. is in critical need for a qualified workforce equipped with skills beyond the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. The U.S. future workforce needs employees with critical thinking and problem solving, communications, collaboration and creative and innovation skills. We as educators will need to tweak what we already are doing in order to prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities that await them in the 21st Century. Learn how you can incorporate these skills in to your instruction to meet the needs of the 21st century employer.

Presenter MiniBio: Dr. Genola Johnson has 21 years of experience in education. She has taught elementary, middle, high school and college level. She has taught almost every subject including a school instructional lead teacher for 4 years. She has had experience in STEM education and alternative education opportunities for students. She currently is employed at Manchester Middle School and Executive Director of G.A. Educational Learning Center, LLC, an educational consultant firm.

Related Resources:

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Measuring 21st Century Skills

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

Problem Based Learning Online

Global Treks: Virtual Field Trips

Thursday, October 28, 2010. 8-9:00 pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: Wish you could show your students a tropical rain forest or an African savannah? With virtual field trips you can! In this webinar learn how to break down the walls of your classroom, differentiate instruction, introduce and reinforce otherwise intangible concepts that transcend your students' necessarily limited perspectives. A plethora of resources and links from e-museums to webcams are provided with great ideas on how to integrate them across the middle school curriculum.

Presenter MiniBio: Davilla Riddle teaches 8th grade science in Hawaii. She supports STEM education on Middle School Portal 2 (MPS2) as a Teacher Leader. Davilla works with several groups (i.e., Hawaii Science Teachers Association, Maui Economic Development Board and Hawaii Department of Education) to engage educators, create and facilitate online learning, and provide professional development opportunities on integrating digital tools in the classroom. Davilla holds an M.S. in Natural Resources Development. She is currently working on a Master’s in Educational Technology.

Related Resources: Livebinders with all the links you'll need for all your global treks.

Leave a comment for Davilla on her MSP2 wall.

Getting the Most Out of Your Students in the Networked World

November 17, 2010, 4-5pm EST

Slideshow

Recording of Webinar - http://bit.ly/dhCRFj

Description: Students today live in a world that is filled with connections. Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and other services mean that information is available at a lightning pace. How do we take advantage of that as teachers and what are the caveats of working in a world where networked learning is the norm? Join us for a discussion about the implications of networking on teaching and learning in today's world.

Presenter MiniBio: Todd Williamson is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent Science) at Broad Creek Middle School in Newport, NC. Todd teaches 7th grade science and has a focus on incorporating technology into classroom instruction. He maintains a blog about technology in education called The Technorate Teacher. Todd is a technology trainer for the North Carolina Teacher's Academy and primarily focuses on integrating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom at all grade levels.

Post a comment on Todd's MSP2 wall: http://www.msteacher2.org/profile/ToddWilliamson

Related Resources:

Digital Native vs. Digital Immigrant

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/10/21/beyond-the-digital-native-immigrant-dichotomy/

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Junk Detector

Web 2.0 is great for students because they can:

1) Create

  • Screen Toaster
  • Glogster
  • Edublogs
  • Aviary (online alternative to Photoshop)
  • MakeBelieveComix.com
  • Animoto
  • xtranormal.com

2) Communicate

  • Skype in the Classroom - A free directory that connects teachers and helps them use Skype to enrich students' educational experience
  • Edmodo - social network for students, includes gradebook for teachers

3) Collaborate

  • PBworks.com - wiki pages
  • ePals
  • Diigo
  • Wallwisher

More than the tools... and we've just listed a few of the possibilities!

List of URLs - http://www.multiurl.com/l/3Kz

Introduction to mySakai: An Online Learning Management Tool

Tuesday, December 14, 2010. 8-9:00 pm EST

Presentation Slides

Recording of Webinar

Description: Learn how to set up a basic classroom and use some of the basic tools in rSmart's mySakai, an online learning management tool similar to Blackboard and Moodle.

Presenter MiniBio: Davilla Riddle teaches 8th grade science in Hawaii. She supports STEM education on Middle School Portal 2 (MPS2) as a Teacher Leader. Davilla works with several groups (i.e., Hawaii Science Teachers Association, Maui Economic Development Board and Hawaii Department of Education) to engage educators, create and facilitate online learning, and provide professional development opportunities on integrating digital tools in the classroom. Davilla holds an M.S. in Natural Resources Development. She is currently working on a Master’s in Educational Technology.

Leave a comment for Davilla on her MSP2 wall.

Teacher-n-Teacher: Connecting Classrooms

Thursday, January 13, 2010. 8-9:00 pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Please note: Session begins at about 12 minutes into the recording. Please slide the indicator at the bottom of the Elluminate Room screen to 12 minutes to avoid pre-session technical set-up conversation.

Description: Innovative classrooms today create opportunities for students to collaborate locally, nationally, or globally and empower them to forge new, purposeful academic relationships. This presentation provides educators with a framework that supports student learning communities around STEM concepts. Learn how to involve students in relevant, project-based learning with authentic audiences, nurture critical thinking, and facilitate the development of interpersonal and global communication skills.

Presenter MiniBio: Rebecca Lawson is a National Board Certified Teacher who recently retired after teaching young adolescents for 35 years. She has served as technology teacher and/or technology coordinator in her school for twenty years. Rebecca's focus has been on integrating technology into the core academic areas and encouraging colleagues to "teach differently" using technology as a tool for learning.

Davilla Riddle teaches 8th grade science in Hawaii. She supports STEM education on Middle School Portal 2 (MPS2) as a Teacher Leader. Davilla works with several groups (i.e., Hawaii Science Teachers Association, Maui Economic Development Board and Hawaii Department of Education) to engage educators, create and facilitate online learning, and provide professional development opportunities on integrating digital tools in the classroom. Davilla holds an M.S. in Natural Resources Development. She is currently working on a Master’s in Educational Technology.

Related Resources:

STEM and PBL

Monday, January 31, 2010. 7-8:00 pm EST

Recording of Webinar

Description: A look at the advantages of incorporating STEM activities through project based learning. This webinar explores how STEM and PBL projects work together to enhance 21st Century skills and how Bloom's taxonomy provides a framework for creating projects that encourage student engagement.

Presenter MiniBio: Dr. Genola Johnson has 21 years of experience in education at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels. She has taught almost every subject and has had experience in STEM education and alternative education. She currently is employed at Manchester Middle School and Executive Director of G.A. Educational Learning Center, LLC, an educational consultant firm.

iPad and Apps for the Middle School

Tuesday, March 1, 2011. 4-5:00 pm EST

Recording of Webinar Please note that the audio begins at 4 minutes into the recording.

Description: Explore the iPad and some great apps for the middle school classroom. We’ll focus on apps that lend themselves to STEM as well as apps to facilitate integration across disciplines. Take a look at iPad’s possibilities for teaching and learning. If you’re already using iPad, bring your ideas along and share!

Presenter MiniBio: Jessica Prunty is an Educational Consultant with Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio (ITSCO). Prior to joining ITSCO, Jessica taught high school art in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and worked at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH.

Presentation Slides in PDF

Presentation via Slideshare

Related Resources:

Scratch

Description: Check out these 5-minute video clips to learn about Scratch.

Presenter MiniBio: Tom Jenkins is a National Board Certified Teacher (Early Adolescent Science) at Indian Valley Middle School in Enon, OH. Over his 12-year career, he has taught middle school mathematics, science, and technology and been an instructor for the Master's of Education program at Wittenberg University. Tom is currently teaching STEM and Technology to 5th-8th graders and serves as a Senior STEM Fellow for the Dayton Regional STEM Center.

Join the discussion, post a comment on Tom's blog at MSP2

From Science Fair to STEM Festival

Tuesday, June 28, 2011. 1-2:00 pm EST

Recording of webinar


Description: STEM Festivals--Learn the basics of how to facilitate a progressive alternative to the middle school Science Fair-The STEM Festival! STEM Festivals are learner friendly, encouraging inquiry-based thinking and creativity while solving real world problems in your classroom, school and/or community.

Presenter MiniBio: Karen Jones has taught 7th grade science for 11 years at Grant Middle School in Marion, Oh. She is currently writing her dissertation for an Ed.D degree in Educational Leadership at Ashland University focusing on Middle Level Philosophy, Organization and Climate. She also teaches various education courses for Ashland University.

Related Resources:

Article by Mark Sanders: Media:STEM_Education,_STEMmania.pdf

Powerpoint slides of the webinar: Media: STEM_Webinar.ppt

Author and Copyright

This page is brought to you by the staff of the Middle School Portal 2: Mathematics and Science Pathways (MSP2) project. Connect with colleagues and find exemplary resources at http://msteacher2.org. Email any comments to msp@msteacher.org.

Copyright 2009-2011 - The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No. 0840824. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.