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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Quote of the Day
"If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results."
Gen. George Patton

Topics in This Issue
01. School is Out!
02. The Value of Your ITEA Membership
03. It’s Here – The Capstone Course You’ve Been Waiting For!
04. CTTE Announces Publication of 2008 Yearbook, Engineering and Technology Education
05. Design Squad Competition Extends Deadline
06. NCTL Offers Engineering Professional Development Workshops
07. Enhance your Knowledge of Physical Science this Summer
08. TECH Awareness: STEM Summer Camp for High School Girls
09. School TV Summer Workshops For Educators
10. Send Your Name Into Space on the NASA Kepler Mission
11. Technology Genius George Westinghouse on Screen for the First Time
12. Green News
13. The Latest in Industrial Design
14. A Concrete Canoe?
15. The Condition of Education 2008
16. New TEAM Website Unveiled
17. Need Some Good News?
18. Cal U Graduate Studies



School is Out!

Thanks to Brad Naas for this great picture – well understood by many classroom teachers.

The Value of Your ITEA Membership

Professional members receive benefits for only $.22 cents per day! That’s about half the cost of a postage stamp!

Take a look at ITEA's Value Proposition for membership at:  
http://www.iteea.org/Membership/ITEAValueProposition.pdf

Sign up or renew today at http://www.iteea.org/Membership/membership/htm

 

It’s Here – The Capstone Course You’ve Been Waiting For!

ITEA is pleased to announce the availability of Engineering Design, Second Edition, the high school capstone course of the Engineering byDesign™ Standards-Based National Model Program. Engineering Design, Second Edition offers students the opportunity to understand and apply knowledge and skills required to create and transform ideas and concepts into a product that satisfies specific customer requirements. Students will experience design engineering in the creation, synthesis, iteration, and presentation of design solutions. Students will coordinate and interact in authentic ways to produce the form, fit, and function documentation, with appropriate models to completely define a product. Engineering Design, Second Edition is an interactive electronic publication. The special introductory price is just $69.00 ($62.00 for ITEA members). To order or for additional information, contact ITEA at orders@iteea.org or 703-860-2100 (order code P222CD).

CTTE Announces Publication of 2008 Yearbook, Engineering and Technology Education

If you would like to order copies of the 2008 CTTE yearbook, edited by Rod Custer, DTE and Tom Erekson, DTE, contact Glencoe Direct Marketing at these toll-free telephone numbers:

  • Ordering for personal use, billing to a home address (with personal credit card) – 1-800-262-4729
  • Ordering for professional use, with a school address and P.O. # (or direct billing) – 1-800-338-3987

Previous CTTE yearbooks are also available. Please specify when ordering.

Design Squad Competition Extends Deadline

The DESIGN SQUAD Trash to Treasure Competition will continue throughout the summer months. The deadline has been extended from June 30th to August 31st, giving kids more time to submit their ideas for a chance to win $10,000!

The Trash to Treasure Competition challenges kids to take everyday discarded or recycled materials and re-engineer them into functional products. The grand prize winner receives a $10,000 cash prize provided by the Intel Foundation and a trip to the development lab at Continuum to build a prototype of his or her design. Go to www.pbs.org/designsquad/contest for more information.

NCTL Offers Engineering Professional Development Workshops

The Engineering the Future (EtF) team at the National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL) is happy to offer support to advance engineering education for all students in Massachusetts and beyond. Below are the dates for our upcoming summer professional development workshops being held at the Museum of Science, Boston and in Pittsfield, MA, plus a convenient four-week moderated ONLINE COURSE for teachers anywhere in the world. We will also be traveling to several states this summer, so if your school, district, or state could support a custom PD session, please call or email. Complete information is available at the websites listed below.

For additional information, contact Lee Pulis, Curriculum Developer, Engineering the Future National Center for Technological Literacy, Museum of Science, Boston at lpulis@mos.org.

New Laboratory Course
Engineering the Future (EtF): Science, Technology, and the Design Process

As states revise their science standards for all students, many have explicitly included technology and engineering so that all students can learn about the designed world, develop practical problem-solving skills, and expand their career horizons. Engineering the Future (EtF): Science, Technology, and the Design Process is a new laboratory course for the first year of high school science, created to help a broad spectrum of students meet these standards. EtF is a full-year lab course organized around four projects, each of which is divided into several tasks. In the first project, students design solutions to problems that they find interesting. In the second, they design energy-efficient buildings to counter the problems associated with urban sprawl. In the third unit, they learn about thermal-fluid engines as they design and build toy putt-putt boats and write patent applications for their innovations. The fourth project challenges the students to design electric circuits. Units two, three, and four illustrate how the same fundamental concepts of energy flow apply to thermal, fluid, and electrical systems. Kits are available for projects 3 and 4, and the entire course can be implemented on a modest budget. After four years of development, including two years of field-testing by more than 160 teachers, EtF has been published by Key Curriculum Press. Interested teachers can request a free review copy at the following website: http://www.keypress.com/etf

 

Enhance your Knowledge of Physical Science this Summer

Register to Attend the NSTA Online Short Course: Force and Motion
Registration is now open for the summer session of the NSTA Online Short Course: Force and Motion. This short course combines asynchronous learning with live web sessions to help you master science content. Intended for Grades 3-8 teachers, Force and Motion will begin on July 10 and will meet on five consecutive Thursdays, (July 10, 17, 24, 31, and August 7). The instructor is Dr. Matt Bobrowsky. All short course live web sessions are scheduled from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern time. As a participant, you will meet online with the instructor and NSTA staff to ask questions and have discussions about the topic. You will also work on your own time with self-paced materials (SciPack, SciGuide, e-Book, and Journal articles) to boost your knowledge of the subject matter. Two graduate professional development credits from the University of Idaho are available for a nominal fee in addition to the course’s registration costs and materials. For more information and to register, visit the NSTA Learning Center at: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/online_courses/force_motion.aspx.
Questions may be directed to fmendez@nsta.org.

 

TECH Awareness
STEM Summer Camp for High School Girls
July 6-10, 2008

For the third consecutive summer, Katherine Weber will direct a STEM-focused, four-day residential camp for high school girls. TECH (Technology and Engineering Coalition to Heighten) Awareness will engage girls in hands-on STEM learning activities such as environmental science, digital and screen printing, robotics, chemistry, nanotech, manufacturing, and appropriate technology.

Several California University of Pennsylvania female students in technology education will serve as near-peer mentors, role models, and assistant camp instructors. The campers will explore STEM to nurture their education and career interests. The camp seeks to create a supportive learning community for women in STEM at Cal U to improve future recruitment efforts. Also, the university students will develop leadership experience to strengthen their retention in the technology education program. The camp is free for qualified students with funding at Cal U from Provost Madden, Dean Jones, and Dean Colelli, and from the NSF Advanced Technological Education project. For more information, contact Katherine Weber at weber@cup.edu.

Source: TEAP Journal, Spring 2008.

 

School TV Summer Workshops For Educators

Amherst Middle School, NY has announced that an additional Adobe Visual Communicator 3 workshop session will be offered on July 24-25, as the existing sessions of July 14-15 and August 4-5 are almost at full capacity. Complete details are included in the PDF Registration Packet, located at http://www.schooltvmadeeasy.com/files/Summer%202008%20Teachers-web%20optimized.pdf

Take an inside look at how Amherst Middle School has developed into a nationally known school TV program, thanks to the affordable Adobe Visual Communicator 3 software. No longer are schools required to spend thousands to get professional results regarding school TV news shows, class projects, and more.
(http://www.schooltvmadeeasy.com/files/Summer%202008%20Teachers-web%20optimized.pdf).

Questions or comments? Email Rob Zdrojewski at RobZ@SchoolTVmadeEasy.com
http://www.AmherstTechTV.org

 

Send Your Name Into Space on the NASA Kepler Mission

NASA invites you to submit your name to be included on a DVD that will be rocketed into space as part of NASA's Kepler Mission, scheduled to launch in February 2009. The Name in Space DVD will be mounted on the exterior of the spacecraft in November 2008. A copy of the DVD with all of the names and messages will be given to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Those who want to participate in the Name in Space project should submit their name, the state or country where they live and, if they desire, a short statement (500 words or less) answering the question: "Why do you think the Kepler Mission is important?" A Certificate of Participation will be generated for printing when you register on the Kepler Mission website. The deadline for submissions to the Kepler Mission website is Nov. 1, 2008. To submit your name and learn more about the Kepler Mission, visit http://kepler.nasa.gov/.

 

Technology Genius George Westinghouse on Screen for the First Time 

Westinghouse is a feature-length documentary about the life and times of George Westinghouse, his companies, legacy, personality, partnership with Nikola Tesla, and conflict with Thomas Edison. George Westinghouse is considered America’s greatest industrialist and the only man who would go up against Thomas Edison, and win. His victory over Edison during the Battle of the Currents set the stage for the entire future of electric power. The Westinghouse air brake is considered one of the most important inventions in history. Automobile shock absorbers, railroad signaling, and the modern day weekend all owe their existence to the man whom Andrew Carnegie called “A genius who can’t be downed.”

Available from Amazon.com, the film’s webpage is located at www.westinghousefilm.com.

 

Green News

Non-Profit Save Our Seas Foundation Announces First of Its Kind Children’s Book Series
The non-profit Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) is launching a first of its kind children’s book series featuring high-definition photos of marine life combined with original illustrations. Never before has a book series used state-of-the-art undersea photography combined with original character illustrations to promote environmental awareness to children. The first two books of the series are hitting bookstores nationwide this month. “The Devil Fish” and “The Great White Red Alert” are aimed at children ages 8-12. The book series is just the first step in what will become a global campaign to educate and inspire young people to protect the world’s oceans. The SOSF plans to expand the series to publish future books in different formats, targeting different age groups. For more information, please visit: www.saveourseas.com

“Green” Homebuilder Study: None of Top 13 U.S. Firms Fully Embracing Sustainable Practices
Despite some encouraging environmental and energy-efficiency developments in recent years, none of America’s 13 largest publicly traded homebuilders has “fully embraced the emerging market of sustainable building design and construction,” according to a major new study by Calvert – one of the nation’s leaders in the field of sustainable and responsible investing – with support from the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment.

The survey of the 13 largest publicly traded U.S. homebuilders used four major “green” indicators: energy use; building-material use; water use; and land use. Titled “Greener Pastures for America’s Homebuilders? A Survey of Sustainable Practices by the Homebuilding Industry,” the Calvert report concludes: “Our survey of the 13 largest publicly traded U.S. homebuilders finds that, while every major homebuilder has incorporated some environmental and efficiency programs and products into some of their new homes, none has fully embraced the emerging market of sustainable building design and construction. Calvert’s study of the sustainable policies, programs, and performance of the nation’s largest homebuilders revealed that the industry has a long way to go before any of the companies can truly claim to be addressing the risks and opportunities inherent in the environmental and climate change dilemmas.”

Solar Method of Heating Pavement Used to Heat Buildings
The Chicago Tribune /AP (1/2, Max) has reported that a Dutch company, Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV, "is siphoning the heat from roads and parking lots to heat homes and offices." Originally, the project was created to "to reduce road maintenance." For that purpose, "A latticework of flexible plastic pipes, held in place by a plastic grid, is covered over by asphalt, which magnifies the sun's thermal power. As cool water in the pipes is heated, it is pumped deep under the ground to natural aquifers where it maintains a constant temperature of about 68 degrees Fahrenheit." Later, the water can be retrieved "to keep the road surface ice-free in winter." It can also "pump cold water from a separate subterranean reservoir to cool buildings on hot days." However, Ooms Avenhorn found that it was producing a surplus of energy. "The answer was to construct buildings near the tarmac and pipe hot water under the floor." While the "installation cost is about twice as much as normal gas heating," the "energy required is about half of what would otherwise be needed. That translates into lower monthly heating bills and a 50 percent savings in carbon emissions."

 

The Latest in Industrial Design

Ambiguously Green Standards: While there may be no one left who would argue that sustainable design is NOT better design, there still is considerable debate going on about what qualifies as sustainable design. There also remains the notion that going green is more expensive. One architect makes that case, in part: http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/04/green_ambiguity_higher_costs_r.html.
From IDSA’s Design Bytes – 4/21/08

Beware of Greenwashing: Maybe it is sustainable, and maybe it ain’t. All we know, is, even Tom Sawyer has trouble separating fact from fiction when it comes to product labeling. In this article, a marketing firm defines the six sins of greenwashing to make it easier for all of us to distinguish legit sustainable practices from marketing hogwash: http://www.twincities.com/ci_8982484?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com.
From IDSA’s Design Bytes – 4/21/08

De Plane! De Plane! Is Green! Is Green? A manufacturer of business jets has heard enough of its customers ask for more eco-friendly aircraft and is beginning to take action to provide a greener solution for air travel. What does that mean exactly? Read for yourself: http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/greener-falcons-coming-from-dassault/.
From IDSA’s Design Bytes – 6/2/08

A Woman’s Touch: How many female car designers do you know? Probably not many. Which is both sad and predictable. Unless, maybe it doesn’t matter. One member of GM’s design team says there is no such thing as designing a car for a gender. Perhaps not, but there certainly can be a gender ascribed to a car. Have you met BMW’s GINA yet? http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1075-bmws-fascinating-gina-light-visionary-model-design-study.
From IDSA’s DesignBytes – 6/16/08

 

A Concrete Canoe?

With equal parts technical skill, creativity, and determination, the University of Nevada, Reno (pictured above) has captured its first ever national Concrete Canoe title at the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) 21st Annual National Concrete Canoe Competition in June. Their 19.5-foot-long, 160-pound, white canoe with blue and silver stain defeated entries from top engineering schools from across the country, and ended the University of Wisconsin-Madison's five-year winning streak. The win marks the end of three days of fierce competition and more than a year's worth of blood, sweat, and tears for the team in their bid to capture the “America's Cup of Civil Engineering.”

The races, both endurance and sprint combined, counted for only 25 percent of the teams' overall score. The remaining 75 percent was based equally on a technical design paper that highlighted the planning, development, testing, and construction of the team's canoe; a formal oral presentation, in which the team had to detail its canoe's design, construction, racing ability, and other innovative features, as well as defend its choices to the judges during a question and answer session; and the end product—the final racing canoe and project display, which were scored on aesthetics and visual presentation.

For more information on the National Concrete Canoe Competition, including downloadable high-resolution photos, please visit http://www.concretecanoe.asce.org.

The Condition of Education 2008

The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released "The Condition of Education 2008," a congressionally mandated report that provides an annual portrait of education in the United States. The 43 indicators included in this year's report cover all aspects of education, from early childhood through postsecondary education and from student achievement to school environment and resources. Among the report's findings:

  • This year, public school enrollment is expected to approach about 50 million students. Total public school enrollment is projected to set new records each year from 2008 to 2017, at which time it is expected to reach 54.1 million.
  • Minority students make up 43 percent of the public school enrollment overall, and 48 percent in the South and 55 percent in the West.
  • In 2005-06, about a third of Black students and a third of Hispanic students attended high-poverty schools compared with 4 percent of White students.
  • Average reading scores of fourth- and eighth-graders were higher in 2007 than in 1992.
  • Average mathematics scores increased 27 points for fourth-graders and 19 points for eighth-graders between 1990 and 2007.
  • Among public high school students in the class of 2005, about three-fourths graduated on time.
  • Since 1970, women's undergraduate enrollment has increased over three times as fast as men's. Currently, women make up 57 percent of undergraduate enrollment.
  • In 2006, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned about $11,000 more than those with an associate's degree, about $16,000 more than those who had completed high school, and more than twice as much than those who did not earn a high school diploma.

The full text of "The Condition of Education 2008," along with related data tables and indicators from previous years, can be viewed online at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/.

Source: Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin
June 12, 2008 - Volume 14, Number 23  http://www.trianglecoalition.org/curtceb.htm

New TEAM Website Unveiled

The Technology Education Association of Maine (TEAM) has a new website: http://web.mac.com/meteched/iWeb/TEAM/Home.html. Check it out today!

Need Some Good News?

Check out all the good news from the Indiana Office of Career and Technical Education at http://www.doe.state.in.us/octe/technologyed/goodnews.html 

cup.edu/go/teched techedonline@cup.edu

For more information contact the Office of Web-Based Programs
Toll-free at 1-866-595-6348 or email techedonline@cup.edu

Submissions to Inside TIDE

To submit news or calendar items to Inside TIDE, email: kcluff@iteea.org.

End of Inside TIDE, Tuesday, July 1, 2008

http://www.cup.edu/go/teched techedonline@cup.edu