LEARNING OUT-OF-SCHOOL

Do You Squidoo?

2010-08-24T22:14:00.005-04:00

I do. I mean I just started. Like yesterday. Here it is..."Frightfully Fun Halloween Science Experiments"

Back for more...?

2010-08-24T12:09:00.004-04:00

What is it going to take? How many times must I start a post before I actually publish it?!

Ugh! the trials and tribulations of a first time blogger....any suggestions?

I think I'm just going to try and set up a "posting schedule" and stick to it.

Although, if it works out anything like my previous scheduling attempt--"weekly meal planning and shopping lists" this is likely to be another failed try at instituting order onto my otherwise chaotic cloud of thoughts, things-to-do, projects I'm working on, projects I'm thinking of working on, projects I'd like to think of working on, curriculum ideas, tips for teachers, fun facts about science, family and children ideas, cooking, entertaining, etc.... (oops! some of those are not learning-out-of-school related...but in my mind it all jumbles together)

Well, I do have an idea...Mon-Wed-Fri, perhaps? Or is this too ambitious, given my need for "me-time, free-time"? There is soo much I want to share, I'd like my voice to be heard too! Except, I also want to be able to fade into the background whenever I feel like it...so maybe blogging isn't the path for me.

I'll be back!

Back in the swing of things with NASA images

2009-09-14T19:29:00.008-04:00

Yes, I know...school has been back in session for a while already and I'm just now getting to posting. Well, better late than never. Besides, like everyone else in education, now is an extremely busy time for me...even as someone not employed by a school district, I am still preparing for visiting classes, new projects, students that need tutoring, programs in need of updating and upcoming events, meetings, conferences, and so on...
Many changes at work, not good or bad, just different... and it's all about how you choose to view them. This summer was exciting, education interns (pre-service teachers) did a great job during their summer internship, and summer camp for grades 3-5 was a success. Since this is the International Year of Astronomy, our summer camp revolved mostly around the study of the stars, planets, distant galaxies and our universe, and the amazing tools we use to do all that. We had to give some props to Galileo, although he wasn't the first to use the telescope, he did have the sagacity to publish his findings, which we know, at the time, was quite a scandal...and we were able to use these cool Galileoscopes (inexpensive, work well, simple pieces and configuration and best of all--> you get to put them together yourself. Yay!)

So with astronomy on my mind for most of the summer I have been a very frequent visitor to the web for information and images related to space exploration. Interestingly enough, earlier this month I received an email introducing me to a website I'm sure I've stumbled across and probably have actually used, but never bookmarked. Or maybe I did but it just got lost in the infinite lists of bookmarks in my multiple folders. Anyway, a very pleasant gentleman named Jake pointed out that nasaimages.org "...is the largest collection of NASA media (still images, video & audio) available from a single, searchable site, for free." And since I just happened to be working on updating a lesson/program that needed to incorporate news about our latest spacecraft to explore Mars, the Phoenix lander, I decided to see try nasaimages.org. Plus, then I could pay close attention to how the site functioned, whether or not it was useful to me, and I would be able to blog about it! (I've been a very sporadic blogger...)

So short story is that nasaimages.org is awesome. If you've ever been to NASA's website, you know how immense and overwhelming it can be. I've used the site many times and almost always get sidetracked by all the great information and links provided. Nasaimages.org is special in that it's comprised of only images , animations and video. Some images are real, some are created by artists, all the ones I've seen are good quality. You can zoom in and out of the images, download both hi and lo-resolution, and if you register for an account (free!) you can create presentations that can be made public (or not) and even be exported to Powerpoint. The media available is extensive, and the website is easy to navigate. The home page even has a cool interactive Spaceflight Timeline that details the chronological history of our space exploration.

All in all, nasaimages.org proved to be extremely helpful, and besides being blog food, it really made the "Exploring Mars" program current and attractive. Plus, I added links to animations on nasaimages.org and I used GoogleMars, a feature of Google Earth that has landmarks and virtual tours on Mars...it looks great now and is a fantastic intro to the Mars soil experiment/activity that follows it.

Alternative/Renewable Energy -your assignment

2009-07-05T22:09:00.013-04:00

Our challenge is to learn a little bit about alternative/renewable energy.
We want to be able to:

Explain why alternative energy is considered important
Discuss the different types of alternative energies available
Know where it is being used
Understand the positive and negative aspects of alternative energy.

Have your outline/notes/paragraph/video/song/poem/bulleted list/whatever~~~ ready for discussion on Thursday. (Yes, that's this Thursday 7/9/09) ( I really don't care how you organize what you learn, just have something)

Seems broad and pretty general, doesn't it? It's supposed to...you do not need to become an expert on all things "alternative energy". What you should do, however, is get a basic understanding of what the term means, why you should even be able to talk about it, and be able to discuss alternative energy and ask and answer questions about the topic. Don't worry if this assignment doesn't seem very specific, we just have to have enough knowledge to discuss the topic when we start thinking about our lesson.

Sooo - to get you started I'll post a few of my favorite "go-to" sites for info...The whole point of this reading is to help you get better informed about the topic we will be doing our lesson on.

For starters, check out the Energy Information Administration's Energy Kids Page

After that, you might be ready for more advanced information, you could take a look through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Learning section of their website.

Feel free to look at other sources as well, but if you use the web, pay close attention to what website you are on, and who is giving out the information... you don't want to write down a whole bunch of notes and then realize your source is some high school student's online report...(not that high school students can't do good work, it's just not where you want to get most of your information)

Time.com has some interesting articles about the downsides to renewable energy-most notably biofuels. Try The Clean Energy Scam and/or The Trouble with Biofuels.

Get familiar with some of Brookhaven National Lab's work with alternative/renewable fuels. Here's an article about learning more about plant genes that might lead to better biofuel production, and another article about the work some BNL researchers have done with fuel cells.

Please don't rely only on these resources for understanding. If you have questions, open another tab in your browser and search it up! In this day and age with the information technology available, it's easy to get to some answers.

If you have questions, or there are problems with this blog post, write it in the comments.

Online class for elementary PST's

2009-03-22T21:32:00.010-04:00

I'm getting ready to offer a select group of pre-service elementary teachers an online class about teaching science with hands-on methods and inquiry techniques. I know it might be challenging to do this sort of thing online, but I know it can be done. The professor of this class uses the NSTA Press Uncovering Student Ideas in Science-25Formative Assessment Probes, volumes 1 and 2. In this online class I will model what I would do using one of these probes as a starting point for a lesson plan aimed at elementary students; grades 2-4, with modifications for K-1 and grades 5-6. The class will be scheduled on a Sunday afternoon or evening, run about 45 minutes, and I plan to use WizIQ as the platform. I'm excited! This should be a fun learning experience for all involved.

In other news, I was recently notified that a small piece of my welcome speech at a recent High School Career Day for young women in science is included in a video about the organization that I belong to that sponsors this annual event Brookhaven Women In Science or BWIS. It is also on Brookhaven's YouTube channel.

In other news, I am trying Apture out in this blog, we'll see how helpful it is...
I am afraid that no one will know what to do if I don't embed the entire video right in this blog. So here it is the whole thing, even though I am only speaking between 3:07 and 3:41.

NEW MUSIC

2009-03-13T22:14:00.003-04:00

Beatboxing has always been a favorite of mine- I am definitely an old school hip-hop fan at heart...and the mixing of musical styles is also an great interest of mine...like hip hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari

Or Amazing Flute and Beardyman...

Amazing Flute beatboxing and beardyman beatboxing

I've been a bad blogger :-(

2009-03-10T19:33:00.002-04:00

So apparently, the recommended frequency for blog posts is...daily! Oh well, obviously I have been a very bad blogger. That's okay because initially this was just supposed to be my online "journal" so to speak. A way to clarify my thoughts by getting them out in written form, like a diary but just electronic. I didn't think I really cared if anyone read it or not, it's like I was just practicing.

But now I'm interested in being a better blogger. So I'm doing research and reading up on what it means to be a good blogger. Thanks to twitter (my new favorite thing)

Busy Weekend

2009-03-08T22:36:00.003-04:00

Went to a Career Fair for Culturally and Ethnically Diverse educators-just looking at the options.
While I'm not sure I want to be confined to a classroom, I do want to have a longer term impact.
Learned a bit about "Educational Entrepreneurs", sounds like how I describe myself!
Joined MERLOT - The Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching - I like it so far - lots of great ideas
Updated my PROJO on Your Success Network (YSN). I like this site because of the assessment report that you can get that helps you define your values and operating style. Interestingly enough, based on my scores, it seems
I should look for a job somewhere that:
- embraces a high trust level for others
- presents challenging projects and assignments
- is individualistic and creative in problem-solving
- needs you to juggle a number of projects simultaneously
According to this report, I:
- display excellent people skills
- think things through before acting
- are able to shift gears quickly from one project to another
- can develop a variety of strategies and methods

The Increasing Burden on America's Public Schools

2009-03-07T06:47:00.004-05:00

For a great look at how the responsibility of America's public schools has changed over the last 100 years, take a look at Jamie Vollmer's site - if you teach in a school, get one of his posters to remind you of the amazing job you do...

Finished with Special Education

2009-02-15T15:42:00.008-05:00

Took a crash course in Special Education: Principles and Practices. This class covered a wide range of issues in the field of Special Education Services. I learned a little more about NCLB, and more importantly, IDEA which covers special education services for students ages 0-21. We broadly and generally touched on introductory information about the various disabilities students might have, how it affects their learning and considerations a teacher has to be aware of in order to teach effectively. Even though I really didn't want to take this class - I am a science teacher not a special education teacher - it ended up being a real eye-opener, I learned more than I thought I would. In order to be classified as having a disability and receive services, students must have a condition that affects their learning in such a way that they would benefit from extra support. Even as a general education teacher, you have to be aware of the types of disabilities that can affect your students. How else are you going to teach them ??!? If a student has a problem learning material that you are teaching, you have to do what you can to help them learn. Sounds simple, but it's a lot more complicated than that. A lot of the challenges come from the current state of education and its structure, which needs to be changed. My questions:
Why is everyone expected to learn best in the same way, in the same type of environment?
Why is everyone pushed towards college and academia?
Why is the classroom setting still thought to meet the needs of our young people? Why is real world experience and application an after-thought instead of the first thought?

Are teachers not able to make learning interesting for everyone because they don't know how (poor teacher education & preparation), because they don't have support (from other teachers, administrators, parents and community), or because they don't have time or resources?
(I am well aware that there ARE teachers who can and do "make learning interesting" for most, if not all, of their students. I'm not referring to them). It is a broad generalization, perhaps it's just not possible to make learning interesting for everyone. I tend to think it is possible, though.

Is it a combination of these and/or other factors? Let me know-Answer the question- Click Here to take survey

Are there reasons I'm not considering?

Haven't had a chance to really read it in depth but Project 2061, from the AAAS looks like it might address some (not all) of the questions I have. The sections of the following document that look interesting are the ideas about Organization of Students, Time, Staff and Space.

And I just skimmed thru it but I am interested also in "The Underground History of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto

Tell us something we don't know...

2009-02-11T19:22:00.004-05:00

National Research Council offers a pre-publication issue of their 2009 report Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places and Pursuits. The report affirms what those of us in the informal science education field already know and love about teaching outside the classroom. Both formal and informal learning experiences have the power to make learning meaningful. Constructing activities that complement and enhance each other connects learning science to the science behind everyday life. Everybody benefits from the realization that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) form the basis of the workd around us. Informal settings allow learners to make their own observations, formulate questions, test hypotheses and analyze results -Inquiry learning at its finest (as long as you have competent educators) in a learner-centered environment. Who could ask for anything more when it comes to teaching and learning science?

Attention All Elementary School Teachers!

2009-02-08T18:21:00.003-05:00

This is a call to all you dedicated education professionals that are interested in the success of future generations. You are a part of making that happen...when it comes to preparing our nation's young people for the world, you have an amazing impact. Please take the time to become excited and passionate about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)

Everyone is calling for stronger STEM education. Policy makers and educators are looking to get students interested in STEM, and we all understand the importance of increasing the public's understanding and comfort level with science.

Many programs, techniques and methods have been developed to get younger students excited about science and math. High school, middle school and elementary school students have a range of learning opportunities available to them to spark their interest in science...indeed, it is a worthy and necessary effort.

But there is a demographic that needs to be addressed FIRST- the Elementary school teacher.

Basic science concepts in the physical, biological, chemical and earth sciences must be a strong part of any elementary teachers knowledge base.
In a study titled "Nurturing Confidence in Preservice Elementary Teachers", published in the Journal of Science Teacher Education v. 18 no. 6 (December 2007) p. 841-60, Robert E. Bleicher found that in doing his research
"Many of the preservice teachers in this study expressed
either weak conceptions or, even, misconceptions about concepts examined in the
course (e.g., mass, density, temperature and heat, conduction). In the early stages of
the course, most exhibited difficulty in recalling facts or linking concepts."

Ok, so science is my field of interest and I think it is fun and interesting and exciting and all that great stuff...I have to remind myself that not everyone feels that way (although I have a hard time figuring out why...) But...how can we help the elementary school teacher (preservice or not) gain a better understanding and develop their STEM skills and knowledge???? Any ideas?

Guided Inquiry and teaching science

2009-02-08T18:07:00.001-05:00

If there is a way to make sure students feel how exciting science is, it's by letting them do it for themselves. Since science is all about asking questions and looking for ways to find answers, it has an unlimited capacity to be applied anywhere. Using "hands-on" methods creates real learning opportunities. Teaching students how to think is more about asking questions than giving answers...when you have them "Do Science" you are helping them ask questions about their world, and develop an understanding of it.
True inquiry demands time...allowing students to formulate their own questions and find appropriate ways to answer them means letting them work at their own pace. Unfortunately, many educational settings do not have unlimited amounts of time for true inquiry. Guided inquiry is focusing students thoughts to a particular tpic or question, and providing clues, materials, equipment and space to work on their question, A huge part of guided inquiry is using open-ended questions that require them to think. Avoid "yes" or "no" questions so you can observe and address any misconceptions. Get your students to talk about their understanding and explain their thought processes about the subject. Allow them to see for themselves by doing it for themselves, whenever possible.

Look to using "hands-on" science as an interdisciplinary tool to connect other academic subjects together and bring meaning to learning.

Are there teachers who would like to make science more accessible and relevant to their students? Are there teachers out there who are always looking for "new and improved" ways of getting students to think critically and analytically?

"Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results." -John Dewey

EDUFIRE is amazing!

2009-02-08T16:46:00.006-05:00

It's hard to explain what a fantastic opportunity edufire is. TeachStreet is also a wonderful community to be a part of. And great news! Teachstreet is making a move to the East Coast -specifically -NY. Yes - ! Can't wait to get more involved.

Since I am a newbie and only now getting started with all these awesome technological possibilities, I can't help but be excited about the chance to keep doing what I love talk and teach science. I'm a teacher because I can't help it! The person to person connection is most important, so while face to face teaching/learning is very powerful; the capabilities of the internet are, I think, a marvelous alternative.
The challenge with my favorite topic (SCIENCE!) is this... doing science hands-on and by asking questions (inquiry) and I have the most fun when I am "live and in-person", so to speak. But I don't think it's too much of a stretch for me to develop an online and video teaching style too. Look forward to learning all about it...

Here we go again...more classes!

2009-02-02T18:52:00.002-05:00

This semester I'm enrolled in two courses...Principles and Practices of Special Education and Environmental Chemistry. It's a challenge to do both courses at the same time, luckily, the Special Education class is a condensed version, and won't take all semester to complete. The degree which I am completing requires a basic understanding of the issues of teaching students with disablities. "Disabilities" can range from physical, mental and emotional disorders to processing difficulties. People (students included!) with disabilities somet mes require assistance, as a teacher, you become aware of the multiple conditions that can affect how students learn.

So for all the exemplary teachers out there...Thank you! Because your primary interest is that your students really do learn, making information easily accessible is what drives your teaching. Since you already address how students learn best by providing the information in a multitude of ways; your students build their own knowledge and skills by seeing and hearing the information, and by touching or manipulating objects. Of course, being the fantastic teacher that you are, you are excited and passionate about your students potential and the topics you are teaching to them. Your students recognize this and are grateful for it, even if you never know it...and you can be sure that you are making a difference to people's lives.

if the above paragraph doesn't describe you - Don't worry! If you've just started out and are still building your own methods of making your curriculum interactive, hands-on and meaningful and relevant for your students, there are many resources available ot you to help you become the greatest teacher. If you have been teachiing for a while and you can't identify with the above description, maybe you're not teaching in the reight environment for you....or maybe teaching isn't what you do best...

Take the time to stay current and enjoy what you do. If it is teaching and you are good at it because you truly like to teach, more power to you!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-19T16:16:00.005-05:00

This is always a great time of year! Even though where I live it is cold and snowy, I love this time of year because it's like a fresh start...the new year gives us all a chance to design and plan the rest of the year. I love looking forward to trying new things and learning more... I am really excited about completing the final semester for my Master's degree in Adolescent Education teaching science. Graduation May '09!
Best wishes to all those ready to make 2009 their best year ever, those willing to try new things and stretch themselves out of their comfort zone, those looking forward to raising their expectations and growing. Here's a few fresh ideas...
Learn a new language with a self directed online language learning system like Mango, or try a live video tutor (a real person!) at Edufire. I haven't developed my bio yet, but have signed up so check back for classes that I will be teaching online at Edufire...
Take a look at my Lens at Squidoo, a place where anyone and everyone can share what they know best.
If you are ready to change your lifestyle and begin to live in a clean, nontoxic environment, take a look at some household cleaners that DO NOT contain ammonia, chlorine, phosphates and other harsh chemicals that can damage your skin, eyes, lungs and the environment. My favorite stuff? The Basic Cleaner is a multitasking wonder that does it all!

Teachers Without Borders

2008-09-29T17:17:00.005-04:00

I've joined Teachers Without Borders (TWB)! It is an organization that works on connecting teachers and students around the world,using technology and information. I'll have a chance to learn from other teachers and students and their life experiences. I'll also get a chance to share what I learn and know as well. I'm really excited and have begun the Certificate of Teaching Mastery Course. The first assignment is about "Hospitality" and so I have created a short video introducing everyone to the little corner of the world that I inhabit. It is very simple - just a few pictures and Bach...but I'm proud of it anyway!

Other than joining Teachers Without Borders, I have been learning a lot about making and editing videos, working with my camcorder, and uploading to youtube. It's kind of addicting...If I'm not careful, I'll stay up all night working with this stuff!

Science education consultant

2008-09-25T19:21:00.006-04:00

As a science education consultant, I have been busy with the start of the new school year...A love of science and education make me excited about all the opportunities, though. Here are some things I have worked on recently:

Assisting a student teacher in her K-2 placement. This week, she had her first observation and used a quick experiment to demonstrate interactions between matter and dissolving. The experiment can be found here. It seemed the lesson went well, and with a few adjustments to writing a lesson plan, it sounds like this teacher will do well in her placement. She is already thinking about her next observation and might read a book related to Halloween.
Occasions such as Halloween are great chances to incorporate interdisciplinary methods in any lesson. Actually, it is ALWAYS a good idea to try and make your lessons as interdisciplinary as possible as often as time permits, but that's another topic for another post... As far as Halloween goes, including activities about anything "Halloween-y" like bats (animals -life sciences), pumpkins (plants-life sciences); food (cooking -chemistry)-, spooky legends (history-social studies), counting and graphing favorite Halloween candy (math). Of course, i think the best way to acknowledge Halloween is with an experiment.
Here is a quick link to some "fun and yucky" recipes. The "Gunk" is also known as "oobleck" Take a look at it~~

The Amazing Oobleck! - Amazing videos are here

2. I have also sent my first, introductory email to a protege match I got through MentorNet - an organization I recently joined. MentorNet is a "nonprofit e-mentoring network that positively affects the retention and success of those in engineering, science and mathematics, particularly but not exclusively women and others underrepresented in these fields." Something I am definitely passionate about. We'll see how this e-mentoring works, but I know it will be a fantastic learning experience.
I met with a high school Living Environment teacher looking for some ideas for a Technology Fair in the spring. We came up with some awesome ideas and I can't wait to see where it takes us next. For my part I will try to contact a researcher in a field that is exploring some of the issues that are covered in the NYS Living Environment curriculum. I have no idea how to even find scientist that would be willing to speak to, or even just answer questions from high school students, about the research they are doing. I am trying to do this via videoconferencing and so this project also challenges me technologically. I know it's possible....here are some of the ideas we kicked around at our brainstroming session-

Having high school students record a lesson for middle school students or even teach it live via webcam/video conferencing - taking a topic or subject within the LE curriculum that can be scaled to middle school level and relates to their curriculum as well. Maybe groups of your students can decide on different ways to teach it- skits, original written works, powerpoint presentations... they could design their own method of teaching the content using technology.
Interview with a scientist - after discussing or researching a topic, or conducting an experiment, students could ask a research scientist in the field questions about what they learned. This could be done in realtime - (skype video conferencing) or asynchronously - students could record their questions (audio or visual) and the scientist could answer these questions at a time more conducive to this plan. Scientist might even be able to show (if using video) some equipment or tools in their lab.
Virtual Labs -- video a few exciting labs throughout the year - either sections of whole class work, or follow one student correctly demonstrate the steps of the lab, while other students narrate.
Students recording their own unit review podcasts or vidcasts in preparation for unit tests. These could be done throughout the year and then combined at the end as a final review.
Video conferencing with another high school. It woild be really cool if they could do this internationally somehow. But even anther U.S state would be great.

AT&T has some good information about videoconferencing for learning - and there are guidleines and things to remember at "Videoconferencing for Educators". The page is pretty outdated (98) but has some relevant points.

Some of our challenges with this project includes the videoconferencing capability of the school and what is available for free or minimal cost. *Besides all the other stuff we have to set-up!* Windows Live meeting is NOT free; Skype has video conferencing that is... the Skype "tips and tricks" page that indicates that it is possible to record a Skype video call--> But I definitely have more research to do... The fact that Skype video calls might be easily recordable means that some of our ideas could be relatively easy to set-up.

Lastly. another pre-service teacher, this one in a Math, Science and Technology course in her elementary education track was looking for help with her "science probe" For more about "science probes" look to NSTA publication "Uncovering Student Ideas in Science", an absolutely fantastic resource. She happened to be working on the "Rusty Nail" probe. I advised her that interestingly enough, a rusty nail has more mass than a shiny one!

It has to do with the rust molecules adding mass because rust forms as a combination of IRON atoms (element symbol:FE) and OXYGEN atoms (element symbol:O) –

When a metal that is iron or has a high concentration of iron (like steel) begins to rust the chemical change that is taking place is called a synthesis reaction-2 or more substances combining to make a new one. It looks something like this:

4Fe + 3O2 --> 2Fe2O3

Basically this reaction says that when 4 atoms of solid iron react with 2 molecules of oxygen gas à 2 molecules of solid rust are formed.

This is information is from About.Chemistry.com. Wikipedia and Yahoo! answers also had some answer as to why a rusty nail weighs more than a shiny on. I hope she remembers to cite her references and always double check any information she receives. (Including mine!) This way she will learn it for herself in a way that makes sense to her. That's the only way to teach it properly. (As any good teacher will agree!)

Common English language errors

2008-09-19T20:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know I am not an English teacher or an expert in the English language...I'm not even a professional writer, editor or proofreader...
and I have made more than my fair share of grammatical errors and probably a few spelling mistakes as well...

I just think it is extremely sad and unprofessional of people (especially teachers- of any grade or subject) not to edit and check their own work.
----->Spellcheck doesn't cut it--you still have to read over your work! This is so important for students, jobseekers, professionals-- everyone really.
You might think that since some mistakes are so commonplace, they are acceptable, but that is not true. Anytime you write something to communicate your ideas you are presenting yourself. Why not do it in the best way possible?
People will and do evaluate you and your skill level by your writing...

The worst part of this bad English epidemic is that school teachers are some of the worst offenders -
How does it look when a teacher creates a website for his/her students to go to and work from and there are errors all over the pages!?
A typo here and there is understandable, but maybe if they actually read over their work they would catch some of the other, more serious offenses.
---->This is called "editing" and it is a crucial part of writing.<----

It looks terrible - and it is certainly not encouraging to think that these people are TEACHING !!

One mistake I have seen recently-and not just from teachers, but from people in fields other than education, is using the word "peak" for the word "pique" as in "I hope this will peak your interest" Huh !?!?

This is soooo annoying...I won't even get into the depressing spelling and grammatical mistakes I see in publications, like newspapers and local newsletters, all the time-
e.g. "Great closeout sale's" ~~Sale's what? What does the sale own or have? Using an apostrophe before the s ('s) indicates possession NOT plurality!!
Even better..."Join us Saturday's and Friday's in July" It is very frustrating.

If this applies to you, take heart....Washington State University has a page called "Common English Errors" and it is quite eye-opening.

Take a look at the List of Errors (just click on the link that says Go To List of Errors)

Again - I do not profess to be a linguistic expert, or even that knowledgable about all the nuances of the English language...but there are such blatant mutilations of common English terms and words out there, I just needed to vent. Of course, I always account for typos (they happen to all of us at some time or another) and I'm not including instant and text messaging language, because as far as I'm concerned they are like slang and not really standard English. (yet!)

And if you are wondering what this has to do with science...well, anytime you perform an experiment, review protocol, communicate your results or ask a question you are using the English language (obviously, if you are not a native Englidh speaker, then perhaps you would be using a different language and this might not apply).
Writing properly and reading accurately are essential to the pursuit of science and scientific endeavors.

Science debate 2008

2008-09-18T20:42:00.001-04:00

Recently, I was made aware of a website called Science debate 2008 that focuses on the presidential candidate's answers to important and relevant science questions. Check it out at http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/.

You can look at both candidates' responses to questions such as
"What policies will you support to ensure that America remains the world leader in innovation?"

Besides the fact that currently, our education system

is not ensuring that enough of our young people (the future generations!) get an adequate, well-rounded, comprehensive education - especially low-income students...
is not teaching our children to think critically and analytically...
is subjecting students to school systems, conventions and teaching methods that are over 50 years old (!) - plus overcrowded classrooms and elementary teachers who are are not comfortable with science, or prepared to teach it...

...besides those facts (and I'm sure, many more) we have a current situation where the United States is rapidly losing its innovation and technological edge. There was a time when scientists from all over the world came to the US to research and study in this country- because we had the technology and brainpower to collaborate, cooperate and share information-information that led to some of the greatest discoveries this world has seen.

Take a look at sciencedebate2008.com and find out if our presidential candidates "...have a plan to keep the American economy strong and to tackle America's major challenges like climate change, energy security, education and healthcare - all of which revolve around science..." -Shawn Lawrence Otto
CEO, Science Debate 2008

Below is a YouTube video highlighting Rosina Bierbaum, the
former Associate Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP); Dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan ~~
and why she thinks it's important that presidential candidates have a debate on science:

2008-09-18T17:11:00.001-04:00

Why Blog?

Ok - a little about me and why I'm blogging...
I am a science educator~

I teach informal science to all levels of students on Long Island New York, more specifically in eastern Suffolk county.
I get to talk and "do" science with kids from kindergarten to 12th grade, undergraduate and graduate students, teachers and scientists. This is a part-time position and so I still have time to tutor HS students once in awhile, and I'm looking into online tutoring as another way to reach students.
I am in the process of getting a masters degree in Adolescent Education-General science/biology at Dowling College. (Almost done! - 3 more classes to go, including the one I'm taking this semester.) I have mentored undergraduate education students and just started a new mentoring relationship with a post-doc in neuroscience.

I have a great family and really, thoroughly enjoy myself each and every day (or at least, make an effort to!) I love being a science educator because IMHO science is what makes up everything...there is not one thing that I can think of that can not be related to the study of science in some way. Once in awhile, I challenge people to try an think of something that cannot be related to science and to this day I have not heard one good topic, event or concept that can't be linked to science somehow. The key is that I consider even the so-called "soft" sciences like sociology and pyschology scientific disciplines.

That's enough about me...ok maybe a bit more...I have a wide range of interests-Right now I am very interested in-

green technology and applications, especially in construction, home products and transportation
environmental awareness and ecological issues
climate change
renewable sources of energy
reducing waste
health and wellness
stress relief
yoga
meditation
nutrition
forensics (love Forensic Files!)
fashion
make-up
travel
citizenship and community
electronics
keeping up with technology (hence the blog!)
diversity in education and in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
literacy for all
women and girls' issues around the world
free trade practices
making money

Just to name a few. And I'm always into hanging out with my family.

There's more-lots more, but Idon't want to list them all (too boring). Most of all , I like (luv) science and so my favorite channels are Discovery, Science channel, truTV- not that I get a chance to watch lots of TV, you know with always learning about science and all...

I am blogging to share my experiences with science education (both being the educator and the educatee)-so the goal is this...I am going to try and update frequently (at least once a week) and post cool science links, videos pictures, new scientific discoveries, advances in technology, some current events, and ways to get involved with the world around us and contribute positively to our global community. Hopefully this will be a fun learning experience!

My new blog!

2008-09-07T21:04:00.001-04:00

not much to see here now...stay tuned or check in once in a while to find out how science is all day everyday (at least I think so!) and how we as educators and learners can apply it to daily events...