Last September, NSDL and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) started a monthly series of free web seminars for science teachers. We didn’t know what to expect but now, with nine down and two to go, it’s pretty clear that they are a hit. So far, 525 teachers have participated in sessions where live presenters show how to use digital learning resources, with the audience participating and commenting online during the presentation. The presentations are made available as free recordings after the live session ends. The subjects have been diverse, ranging from how to describe plate tectonics in a classroom to how to use zebrafish embryos to study the development of neurons. The average attendance is 58 and the crowd logs off satisfied: on a scale of 1 to 5, the average attendee ranked their seminar a 4.66.

One particularly nice aspect of the web seminars is that the party sometimes doesn’t break up for weeks. Seven Expert Voices blogs have grown out of the NSTA series, and they are evidence that successful Webinars create temporary online communities. Veteran science educator Kathy Ezrailson of Texas A&M University hosted a session on June 30 on electrostatics, in conjunction with NSDL’s Pathway site on physics and Astronomy, ComPadre. Eighty-eight people attended. Several weeks later, Dr. Ezrailson asked a question on the electrostatics blog and got 45 responses, including several from teachers who had clearly been sharing ideas with each other off-line. “I liked the fact that we did not lose our human qualities in the online interactions,” said one participant. “People showed personality and humor. I learned about several great resources to which I can guide my students and other teachers.” But these parties do end: a month after the event, she asked another question and is still waiting for her first comment.

We put Expert Voices blogs in an archive section when people seem finished, but you can still read them and post to them. There is a lot of good stuff on the archived blogs, such as journal entries and a photo from the plate tectonics team’s trip to Antarctica.

The next web seminar, scheduled for the evening of May 22, is a general session on how to use NSDL content effectively. The host is Core Integration Outreach specialist Robert Payo, and he will give examples of actual classroom uses of digital learning resources that have worked well. The season ends with a session June 19 designed especially for middle school science teachers, hosted by Chad Dorsey of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance. See you there.