Inside TIDE is a free service of
  
 

Seasons Greetings
from the
ITEA Staff and
Board of Directors!

Thursday, December 11, 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."
General George Patton

Topics in This Issue
01. Louisville – Wow!
02. Letter to President-Elect Obama
03. Opportunities
04. Nuclear Engineering
05. NASA News
06. NASA Opportunities
07. Obama's Education Perspective Online
08. JASON Weather Curriculum Captures Second Technology Award
09. Inspiration for Teachers
10. High School Graduation Reports for Each U.S. School District Now Available Via New Online Mapping Tool
11. New From the National Energy Education Development Project
12. Disney Educational Production Launches New Programming Tailored to Reinvigorate Today's Multimedia Classrooms

Louisville – Wow!

Are you interested in robotics at any level or rocketry in engineering and design classes? Do modeling, analysis, and simulations interest you? Are you interested in sustainable practices in our design and technology world? If so, ITEA's conference in Louisville next March is a good place for you to join fellow teachers and participate in some of the best professional development experiences that you can find anywhere. Also check out the largest technology education trade show in the USA, with suppliers that address countless aspects of technology teaching. 

STEM is one of the hottest topics in education in America right now. Technology education can and does play a critical role in helping school districts deliver all aspects of STEM education to students, with particular emphasis on the T and the E. The 2009 Louisville Conference will consist of presentations that address the following five subthemes or tracks: TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, DESIGN, ENGINEERING, and STEM INTEGRATION. The discussions are sure to be of crucial interest to those in the field of technology education.

You can see all the conference details in the ITEA preliminary program, available at www.iteea.org/Conference/precon.pdf. And a new session has been added to the program: "Tool Time" with presenter Michael Neden. Scheduled on Friday, March 27 at 4pm, this fun-filled session will feature a variety of new "tools, equipment, and projects" that can be used in the technology classroom or laboratory. You won't want to miss this.

Registration and Housing are both open, and reservations can be made online at www.iteea.org/Conference/registration.htm (registration) www.iteea.org/Conference/housing.htm (housing). And don't forget that your ITEA membership must be current through the end of March 2009 in order to qualify for member rates, which offer terrific discount prices. This is the ONE educational event next year that you won't want to miss. Join the best! Learn with the best! Laugh with the best in an experience that is guaranteed to be one of the best that you have ever attended. You will not be sorry that you did. Make plans NOW to attend.

Opportunities

• Christopher Columbus Awards Challenges Teams of Middle School Students to Solve Community Problems Using Science and Technology
  Finalist Teams Win Trip to Walt Disney World®

Call for Entries for the 2008-2009 school year.
Teams of up to four students and a coach identify a community issue and use the scientific process to solve it. Finalist teams win an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World® where they compete for gold medals and U.S. Savings Bonds. 

The Christopher Columbus Awards are free to enter. Coaches may be teachers, parents, community leaders, or mentors. Teams do not need to be affiliated with a school to enter. The deadline for receipt of entries is Monday, February 9, 2009. For more information and competition guidelines, call 1-800-291-6020 or visit www.christophercolumbusawards.com.

• National Engineers Week Future City Competition™ Is All About Water
  Nobody can doubt the importance of water and water resources in our world, whether it be clean drinking water or water as a resource for sanitation, irrigation, or fire protection. But as our cities grow and expand, what can be done to conserve and reuse such a valuable resource? Beginning this fall, thousands of middle school students are tackling that specific question in the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition™.
             
  Sponsored by the nation’s professional engineering community, Future City aims to stir interest in science, technology, math, and engineering among young people. Students work in teams under the guidance of a teacher and a volunteer engineer mentor to design and build a city of tomorrow. They must also conduct research for an essay on a pressing social need. This year, the essay centers on ways to improve water use by creating a home system that minimizes the use of municipal or externally supplied water for its daily requirements.

For more information on the Future City Competition, visit www.futurecity.org or call 1-877-636-9578. Any and all interested schools, teachers, students, or engineers are encouraged to participate.

• Wireless Innovation Challenge
  The Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Challenge is a brand-new competition seeking innovations using wireless-related technology to address critical social issues around the world. This new competition will award three winners prizes of $300,000, $200,000, and $100,000 for unique, late-stage wireless innovations that offer the best potential for creating social change in the areas of education, health, economic development, the environment, and access to communication.

Information and application materials for the Wireless Innovation Challenge are available at: http://challenge.vodafone-us.com/, or email challenge@vodafone.com. Applications will be accepted online until February 2, 2009.

• Motorola Foundation Calls for Innovation Generation Grants Applications
  Signature program to provide more than $5 million to pioneering, hands-on science and math programs

Motorola has opened its call for applications for the 2009 Innovation Generation Grants, the technology company’s signature giving program. Innovation Generation Grants support programs that inspire and cultivate the next generation of inventors and innovators by making science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) accessible and relatable to students at any age. In 2009, the Motorola Foundation will provide $5 million in Innovation Generation Grants to organizations that engage U.S. Pre-K through 12 students, especially girls and underrepresented minorities, and teachers in STEM programming.

In 2008, the Motorola Foundation’s Innovation Generation Grants supported more than 90 programs that use innovative approaches to develop students’ interest and skills in STEM. This year, at least 25% of total grant dollars will support new programming that has been operating for less than two years and is not simply an expansion of an existing program. Any U.S. nonprofit organization may apply, including schools and school districts.

Apply online at www.motorola.com/giving. The application deadline is February 15, 2009.

• ACSA Competitions
  The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture has created a number of competitions for students and faculty. ACSA competitions are national and international in scope, offering unique opportunities to investigate, develop, and challenge systematic approaches to design. Below are the 2008-09 ACSA Student Design Competitions. Additional information is available at www.acsa-arch.org/competitions/.
  • The ACSA/AISC 2008-2009 Steel Design Student Competition will offer architecture students the opportunity to compete in two separate categories. Registration Deadline is February 9, 2009. Winning students and their faculty sponsors will receive cash prizes totaling $14,000.

  Category I – LIFE CYCLE OF A SCHOOL will challenge architecture students to design a school for the twenty-first century that critically examines life cycle and proposes an innovative solution in steel. The problem of urban growth and decay is larger than an individual building. Therefore, architects should consider a total life cycle assessment approach to designing buildings so that they may be adaptable, flexible, and accommodate change. This project will allow students to explore many varied functional and aesthetic uses for steel as a building material. Steel is an ideal material for schools because it offers the a high strength-to-weight ratio and can be designed systematically as a kit of parts or prefabricated to allow for quicker construction times and less labor, thus reducing the cost of construction. Schools constructed in steel are more flexible and adaptable to allow for diversity of uses over the life of the facility.
  
  Category II – OPEN with limited restrictions. This open submission design option will permit the greatest amount of flexibility.

  • The GREEN COMMUNITY Competition will encourage students to consider environmental sustainability dependant upon collective, community-scale efforts. The competition will also examine ways of reducing the impact of our built environments on the Earth. The competition will explore sustainable planning strategies such as brownfield/grayfield redevelopment, transit-oriented communities, natural resource management, and land conservation. This competition offers students the opportunity to think critically about their communities looking to a sustainable future. Locate a site in your local community or region, identify the barriers and strengths to living sustainably, and develop a proposal to create a flourishing and sustainable community using the tools of the environmental design disciplines: architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. Registration Deadline is February 9, 2009. Prizes are as follows: First Prize: Student – $2,500, Faculty Sponsor – $1,000; Second Prize: Student – $1,500, Faculty Sponsor – $750; Third Prize: Student – $750, Faculty Sponsor – $500.
    
    
  • The 2008-2009 Preservation as Provocation: Rethinking Kahn’s Salk Institute competition invites architecture students to imagine the next chapter in the life of one of America’s architectural treasures, Jonas Salk’s Institute for Biological Studies. This challenge asks designers how the preservation of these extraordinary buildings can provoke a profound rethinking of our current conventions about composition, construction, and building performance. The aim is to envision a new type of facility that would be unimaginable without the existing structures. The Salk Institute has been a highly successful research facility, but the changing landscape of science requires an evolution of the campus; along with respect of the architectural and historic integrity of the site. Registration Deadline is February 9, 2009. Winning students and their faculty sponsors will receive cash prizes totaling $10,000. Prizes are as follows: First Prize: Student – $3,500, Faculty sponsor – $1,500; Second Prize: Student – $2,250, Faculty sponsor – $750; Third Prize: Student – $1,500, Faculty sponsor – $500.

• 2008 Extreme Redesign: The Ultimate 3-D Printing Challenge
  Thousands of students have submitted their great ideas and brought those ideas to life with a Dimension 3D Printer. Dimension, the world’s leading provider of desktop 3D printers, is once again calling on high school and college-level CAD students worldwide to send their best innovative and creative redesigns for the 2008 Extreme Redesign Engineering Challenge. In addition, graphic arts and architectural students are invited to send their best innovative and creative designs for the 2008 Extreme Redesign Art & Architecture Challenge. Winners in each of the three categories will receive a $2,500 scholarship, and runners-up will receive $1,000 scholarships. The top 10 redesigns from each category will be printed on a Dimension 3D Printer, and the models will be sent back to the students along with a $50 gift card. Everyone who enters the contest will receive an official Extreme Redesign T-shirt, courtesy of Dimension 3D Printing. You do not need a printer to participate, just a drawing of your design in an STL format.
  
  Entries will be accepted through February 1, 2009. More information and forms can be found at www.dimensionprinting.com/extreme-redesign/extreme-redesign-main.aspx.
  Source: NJTEA - Update #6 - October 09, 2008 6:24 PM

Nuclear Engineering

In the most recent issue of JETS' Pre-Engineering Times, you'll find the tools to help your students explore…assess…and experience engineering! From a look into the world of Ross Radel and his work to find cost-effective options for nuclear power on the Moon and on Mars to enjoying a hands-on activity where students will control energy production in a nuclear reactor, students will learn firsthand how nuclear engineering is all around them. Enjoy!

NASA News

NASA Unveils New Spacesuits and Spacewalks Website for Educators
With the upcoming space shuttle missions continuing construction on the International Space Station and to provide maintenance to the Hubble Space Telescope, the importance of spacewalks and the reliance on spacesuits are taking center stage. To help educators share these topics with their students, NASA Education has unveiled a new website (www.nasa.gov/education/spacesuits).
 
The NASA Education Spacesuits and Spacewalks website brings a wealth of educational resources together in one place.  
Visitors to the site can:
      •   Check out the Clickable Spacesuit and learn about the different parts of a spacesuit.
      •   Take a look at videos about the spacesuits of the future.
      •   Watch Brain Bites videos and learn about hard-to-do moves in a spacesuit.
      •   Take a step back in time and visit the Spacesuit History Gallery.
      •   Explore the Educational Activities.
      •   Read about spacesuit designers and engineers who create and test spacesuits.
      •   Discover other NASA websites with information about spacesuits and spacewalks.

New Education Materials Available at NASA.gov
These activities comprise a series of practical mathematics applications in space science. The problems are authentic glimpses of modern engineering issues that arise in designing satellites to work in space. Each word problem has background information providing insight into the basic phenomena of the Sun-Earth system, specifically space weather. The one-page assignments are accompanied by one-page teacher guides with answer keys.

• Space Math I, Grades 7-9 – The 20 practical problems in this booklet investigate space weather phenomena and math applications such as solar flares, satellite orbit decay, magnetism, the Pythagorean Theorem, order of operations, and probability. www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Space_Math_I.html
• Space Math II, Grades 7-9 – The 24 practical problems in this booklet investigate science and math concepts such as solar energy, stars, scientific notation, and distance, rate, and time.  www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Space_Math_II.html
• Space Math III, Grades 9-12 – The 36 practical problems in this booklet investigate science and mathematics concepts such as radiation effects on humans and technology, solar science, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.  www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Space_Math_III.html

NASA Opportunities

•     2008-09 Life and Work on the Moon Art and Design Contest
NASA invites high school and college students from the arts, including industrial design, architecture, computer design and the fine arts, to submit their work on the theme "Life and Work on the Moon." Artists are encouraged to collaborate with science and engineering students. Such collaboration is not required but would help to ensure that the art is valid for the moon’s harsh environment.
 
Entries will be accepted in three categories: two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and digital, including video. Entries will be evaluated not only on their artistic qualities, but also on whether they depict a valid scenario. Prizes include awards and exhibit opportunities. International students are encouraged to participate, but they are not eligible for cash prizes or student internships. Entries are due no later than March 15, 2009.
 
For more information about the contest and to register online, visit http://artcontest.larc.nasa.gov. Questions about the contest should be directed to Dr. Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov .

•     Registration Open for the 16th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race
Registration is open for the 16th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race. High school and college students design and build a vehicle that addresses a series of engineering problems similar to those faced by the original lunar-roving vehicle team. Each school may enter up to two teams. The race will take place April 3-4, 2009, in Huntsville, Ala., at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Entries must be received by February 1, 2009.
 
For more information about the competition and to register online, visit http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html.
Please email any questions about this opportunity to Sabrina Pearson at Sabrina.M.Pearson@nasa.gov.

•     2009 RASC-AL Competition for College Students
NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2009 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage Competition. RASC-AL is a design project competition aimed at university-level engineering students.
 
The RASC-AL contest challenges university students to think about what sorts of conditions astronauts will face when they return to the moon, then design projects that may become part of actual lunar exploration.
 
Student teams must submit a summary of and an outreach plan for their proposed projects by February 6, 2009. Their work must be based on one of four themes: outpost to settlement, initial lunar outpost, bringing the world along with virtual exploration, and novel approaches to increase samples returned from the moon. The RASC-AL Steering Committee of NASA and industry experts will evaluate the proposals and select as many as ten undergraduate and five graduate teams to compete against each other at a forum in June 2009 in Florida.
 
The RASC-AL Program is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering or science at an accredited university. University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. A group of universities may also work in collaboration on a design project entry. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.
 
For more information about this competition, visit www.nianet.org/rascal/index.html. If you have questions about this competition, please contact Audrey Staples at Audrey.Staples@nianet.org.

Obama’s Education Perspective Online
President-Elect Obama has begun launching details of priority efforts at the www.change.gov website. Several sections of educational focus have been prioritized for the new administration, including:

K-12:

• No Child Left Behind: The plan is to reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. They plan to improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner.
• The Federal Charter School Program would see doubled funding to support the creation of more successful charter schools in states that improve accountability, allow for interventions in struggling schools, and have a clear process for closing down chronically underperforming schools.
• Math and Science Education will be a national priority. The plan is to recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. Efforts are planned to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.
• Address the Dropout Crisis by passing legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school, including strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.
• Afterschool Programs would see doubled funding, so that programs such as the 21st Century Learning Centers can serve a million more children.

Teacher Support:

• Teacher Service Scholarships are recommended to cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.
• Accreditation would be required for all schools of education. A voluntary national performance assessment would be implemented to help ensure that every new educator is trained and ready to walk into the classroom and start teaching effectively.
• Teacher Residency Programs would supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools.
• Mentoring Programs would be expanded and pair experienced teachers with new recruits. Incentives would also be provided to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share best practices.

More details and other ideas on educational priorities are at www.change.gov/agenda/education_agenda.

Source: Triangle Coalition Electronic Bulletin, December 4, 2008 - Volume 14, Number 45  Online Version
www.trianglecoalition.org/curtceb.htm

JASON Weather Curriculum Captures Second Technology Award   
Operation: Monster Storms Earns Technology & Learning Award of Excellence

The JASON Project has captured its second major educational technology prize for 2008, winning a coveted Technology & Learning Award of Excellence for its science curriculum.

JASON’s unique approach is based on lighting the spark of inspiration by connecting students with “great explorers and great events” in order to create deeper engagement, increased motivation, and higher achievement. Core curriculum units, aligned to state and national science standards, challenge students to apply their knowledge to compelling, real-world scenarios. Science—and leading scientists—come to life through videos, computer games, podcasts, Webcasts, live chat sessions, and an online global community. A powerful new technology platform provides educators with state-of-the-art tools to manage, assess, and track student performance.

Available in print and free online editions, Operation: Monster Storms was developed in partnership with NASA, NOAA, and the National Geographic Society, and transports students to the center of Earth’s most extreme weather events as they learn the science needed to save lives and property.

Visit www.jason.org for complete access to JASON curricula, including the ecology unit, Operation: Resilient Planet, and the preview site for Operation: Infinite Potential, an energy unit scheduled for release in summer 2009.

Inspiration for Teachers

•     Shuttle Main Landing Gear Tire Project
The Technology Education Department at Kingswood Regional High School has been granted a three-year loan of a space shuttle main landing gear tire from NASA. Throughout this school year, students and teachers will construct an exhibit to honor New Hampshire astronauts and will use the tire as its centerpiece. “The project started as a collaborative effort between the Art and Technology Education Departments,” said project manager and ITEA member, Dan Caron. “Other teachers expressed an interest while we were writing the proposal. Now that the tire is here, even more teachers are showing an interest in working on the project.” Students and teachers will participate either directly by researching or building a part of the exhibit, or indirectly by organizing space-awareness activities.

Helping to jump-start the project is an exhibit in the Kingswood Library Media Center to celebrate NASA’s 50th Anniversary. On display are the shuttle tire, thermal protection system tiles, multilayer insulation, and flight hardware from three shuttle payloads.

For information on this project, contact Dan Caron, EbD™ Curriculum Specialist, at dwcaron@hotmail.com.

•     Virginia Elementary Teacher Wins Cash Grant
Martha Newsom Smith, first-grade teacher at J. B. Watkins Elementary School in Midlothian, VA, won $11,000 to visit and study historic structures in England and Scotland from an engineering perspective.

The R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence program, a partnership between the Community Foundation and the R.E.B. Foundation, recognizes excellence in public education by awarding cash grants to outstanding public school teachers from several Virginia counties. Since 1988, the program has awarded $2.1 million to more than 500 public school instructors in recognition of their outstanding classroom performance. Recipients use the grants to travel, pursue postgraduate studies, or attend professional workshops.

Smith feels that it was adding children’s engineering to her classroom that brought the excitement that sparked the nomination. In her mind, children’s engineering has changed her teaching. Martha is now an adjunct instructor for ISAT 501 Technology Workshop: Children’s Engineering, a graduate level class taught through the Outreach Program at James Madison University, VA. She has presented at the ITEA Annual Conference in the past and is scheduled to do so again in 2009. Her school received the ITEA Elementary Program Excellence Award in 2007, and Martha herself was awarded the 2008 VTEA Elementary School Teacher of the Year Award.

You can reach Martha at martha_smith@ccpsnet.net.
Or read the full story at www.chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/news/0809_news_releases/REBawards.htm

•     Recent Article About Becoming a Technology Teacher
Inside TIDE readers may enjoy an article about becoming a technology teacher, written recently by ITEA President, Len Litowitz, for i-SECT, an online magazine. Check it out at www.i-studentadvisor.com/isa/volume4/isect/isect-volume4.html.

•     Two Sixth Graders from Davenport, Iowa
invented an accessary for a snowblower. What happened next is pretty amazing. Read the story at www.jsonline.com/business/34246044.html.

High School Graduation Reports for Each U.S. School District Now Available Via New Online Mapping Tool

The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center has announced the launch of a powerful feature of its EdWeek Maps website that allows users to access and download detailed reports on high school graduation for every school district in the United States. This powerful online mapping tool makes comparable, reliable data on high school graduation rates available to the public at maps.edweek.org.   

New From the National Energy Education Development Project

•     EIA Renewable Energy Slideshow
Looking for a multimedia way for students to learn more about renewable energy? Check out the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Energy in Brief audio slideshow about renewable energy. Visit http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/slideshows/renewable_energy.html.
Source: Energy  Exchange (from the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, November 2008)

•     NEED Curriculum Online
A recent survey of NEED teachers found that many wanted more access to electronic versions of NEED guides to save paper, shipping costs, and to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s now easier than ever to find—and download—most of the Curriculum Guides online. Browse NEED materials by subject matter, name, or grade level. Go to www.need.org/curriculum.php to get started.
Source: Energy  Exchange (from the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, November 2008)

Disney Educational Production Launches New Programming Tailored to Reinvigorate Today’s Multimedia Classrooms

Disney Educational Productions (DEP), a division of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment that produces and distributes award-winning, accredited educational programming for K-12 grades, has announced its commitment to create new cutting-edge, multimedia educational programming to reinvigorate classroom curriculums across the United States. 

With a renewed focus on programming tailored to meet the advancements of today’s multimedia classrooms, DEP is launching The Science of Disney Imagineering, which consists of three new DVDs that help students learn about Trajectory, Gravity, Levers, and Pulleys and features real Disney Imagineers who specialize in everything from thrill rides to fluid dynamics. The videos help teachers demonstrate how the principles of gravity work on thrill rides, roller coasters, and other irresistible park attractions.

Submissions to Inside TIDE

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

End of Inside TIDE, Thursday, December 11, 2008