NEWS

Beta Version of MAISON Accessible StrandMap Search Now Available
A beta version of MAISON has been released. MAISON’s goal is to improve participation to NSF’s National Science Digital Library (NSDL) by teachers, librarians, and learners who are blind. MAISON is enhancing the accessibility of NSDL, its internal and external resources and existing services (such as strand maps of educational benchmarks).Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17703
Related Link: MAISON

Clarkson University Engineers Win 2009 Premier Curriculum Award for K-12 Engineering
“Energy Systems and Solutions” is the winner of the inaugural Premier Curriculum Award for K-12 Engineering and is now part of the TeachEngineering digital library collection. The unit is a suite of eighth-grade lessons and activities that provide a comprehensive, practical, and engaging investigation into energy and how it is used - presented from a real-world, applied engineering point of view. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17682
Related Link: Engineering Pathway

NSDL at the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Summer Meeting
ComPADRE, NSDL’s Physics and Astromomy Pathway and CSERD, NSDL’s Computational Science Pathway were featured in presentations and workshops throughout the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Summer Meeting.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17684
Related Link: American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Summer Meeting

Resources to help you utilize the Periodic Table Live! (PTL!)
The Chemical Education Digital Library has another new resource. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17709
Related Link: ChemEd Courses

Optical or Invisibility Cloak Resource from the Engineering Pathway
Ever wish you had an “invisibility cloak”? Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17710
Related Link: SINAM

NSDL Interactivate at Notre Dame
Dr. Bob Panoff of the Shodor Education Foundation presented two workshops on NSDL resources in support of computational thinking at the University of Notre Dame last month to a total of over 50 K-12 teachers and half a dozen students.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17686
Related Link: Michiana STEM Interactivate Computational Science resources for mathematics learning

Dynamic Simulation and Agent Modeling Physics Workshop
One-day introduction to dynamic simulation and agent modeling, featuring NSDL, Interactivate tools, Excel and Agent Sheets. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17688

Report from the ChemEd DL Workshops
ChemEd DL webinars and workshops held this summer included: Periodic Table Live!, Molecules 360, ChemEd courses, ChemPRIME and ChemPaths Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17711
Related Link: ChemEd DL meeting archive

CALL: Participate in the NSDL 2009 Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting Planning Committee is soliciting proposals for presentations at the 2009 NSDL Annual Meeting, November 17-19 in Washington, D.C. Proposals are welcomed from both the NSDL community and from individuals and groups not directly affiliated with an NSDL-funded project. Proposals will be due by midnight of August 28. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17690
Related Link: NSDL Community Blog

EVENTS

MSP2 Summer Tech Talk
Join an MSP2 Summer Tech Talk to get the answers about digital tools for teaching and learning that other people already seem to have! Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17694
Related Link: MSP2 Summer Tech Talk

Announcing the 4th NSDL/NSTA Web Seminar Series
Free online teacher professional development seminars this fall: Chemistry Comes Alive IV: Oxidation and Reduction, Timely Teachings: Seasons and the Cycles of Night and Day, along with seminars from PBS favorites WGBH Teachers’ Domain and Dragonfly TV. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17695
Related Link: NSTA Web Seminars

BOOKMARKS

Energy Systems and Solutions curricula unit
View the 2009 Winner Premier Curriculum Award for K-12 Engineering eighth-grade Energy Systems and Solutions curricula unit. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17697
Related Link: Teach Engineering Curricular Unit: Energy Systems and Solutions

Engineering Pathway Events in History Blog
Did you know that the Engineering Pathway posts “Events in History” for every day of the year? Many of these engineering-related historic events have accompanying blogs we have posted that can be used to enhance your curriculum by connecting new technologies with their historical roots. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17708
Related Link: Today in History blog

Keep Up With NSDL on Twitter
Find out the latest news about NSDL web seminars, events and technology developments by following NSDL on Twitter Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17699
Related Link: http://twitter.com/NSDL

INSPIRATION

QuarkNet
QuarkNet is a hybrid virtual and face-to-face network where teachers, students, parents and physicists interact with one another to “explore the hidden nature of matter, energy, space and time.” Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=148#17701
Related Link: QuarkNet

NEWS

Towards Interoperable K12 Learning Standards
Teachers will gain greater precision in identifying appropriate materials for their students and schools can more systematically track student progression.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17348

Related Link: JES and Co.

Shodor in the News
Shodor has recently released a new Web-based interactive educational tool called “Disease Epidemic Model” and has won an award for Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17350
Related Link: Shodor Recognized as a Workplace of Excellence

New Collections at Engineering Pathway
Engineering Pathway is happy to announce two new collections of resources: the Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES), and the Center for Scalable and Integrated Nanomanufacturing (SINAM).
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17368
Related Link: CARES

The Chemical Education Digital Library Presents in Baraboo, WI
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17372
Related Link: Third Annual Best Practices in Science, Math, and Engineering Teaching Conference

Warren Washington: Looking for Climate Change Impacts in the 21st Century
The National Academies recently launched the African American History Web site which highlights important contributions made by African American scientists, engineers, and physicians.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17377
Related Link: African American History Web site

MatDL Pathway Presents at Open Repositories 2009
MatDL is enabling two-way communication between a digital repository and open-source collaborative tools, such as wikis, to support users in materials research and education in the creation and re-use of compelling learning resources.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17390
Related Link: 4th International Conference on Open Repositories

EVENTS

Announcing the 4th NSDL/NSTA Web Seminar Series
Free online teacher professional development for the 2009-2010 school year!
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17352
Related Link: NSDL/NSTA Web Seminar Series

CALL for Papers: Materials Research Society
MRS 2009 Fall Meeting in Boston, November 30th - December 5th. Call for papers - deadline of June 23rd.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17354
Related Link: MRS 2009 Fall Meeting Call for Papers

Call for Submissions - 2009 Premier Award
Have you developed courseware - interactive websites, simulations, tutorials, case studies, software environments or tools - designed to enhance engineering education?
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17370
Related Link: 2009 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware

What Works? Using NSDL Collections in the K-12 Classroom
Whether you’re teaching chemistry, physics or physical science for the first time or need some new material to freshen up next year’s curriculum… sign up for one or several of these free sessions that will explore some of NSDL’s collections.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17379
Related Link: NSDL Brown Bag Webinars

BOOKMARKS

Shodor Celebrates 15 Years of Excellence
Shodor’s mission is to improve math and science education through the effective use of modeling and simulation technologies - “computational science” and has grown to involve more than 20 interns and 40 apprentices in many aspects of our internet and network design, creation and maintenance.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17356

Related Link: Interactions Newsletter

Broadening Participation in Computing
The Empowering Leadership Alliance aims to develop a national network of colleagues.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17362

Related Link: Empowering Leadership Alliance

Help for High School Chemistry Teachers
The National Academy of Sciences has released a new report of a workshop on “Strengthening High School Chemistry Education Through Teacher Outreach Programs.”
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17364
Related Link: Strengthening High School Chemistry Education Through Teacher Outreach Programs

Participate in the Middle School Portal 2: Math & Science Pathways Social Network
Join a growing community of educators by participating in some lively conversations, sharing your best resources, and adding events.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17388
Related Link: MSP2

INSPIRATION

Hug a Library Lately?
Around 300 faculty, staff, and students recently joined together for 15 minutes to surround and hug the Rivera Library.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=147#17366

Related Link: Library HUG

NEWS

NSTA-CBC Reviews of Outstanding Science Trade Books for K-12 Students
The NSDL Resource Center has made the 2009 list of “Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12″ available with links to NSTA-CBC reviews and alignments to relevant National Science Content Standards.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17146
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/imprint/nsta-outstanding-trade-books-2009/

Shodor to Help Lead the Way For the World’s Largest Supercomputer
The world’s largest and most powerful supercomputer is coming online in 2011, and a Shodor is helping to lead the way. Shodor, developer of NSDL’s Computational Science Education Resources Pathway, will manage a $1.3 million education program to bring supercomputer brain power to college classrooms nationwide.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17136
Related Link: http://www.shodor.org/about/

“Vrroooom-vroom” Goes Green
Two springtime events–the Indiana Super Mileage Challenge and the 2009 Green Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, NY promise to highlight advances in green auto engineering that will make automobiles run better, faster and farther on less.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146
Related Link: http://www.imstea.org/

Introducing “NSF Special Reports” Collection in NSDL
National Science Foundation (NSF) Special Reports online feature topics that highlight scientific discoveries accomplished with NSF support. This collection has recently been added to NSDL.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17145
Related Link: http://nsf.gov/news/special_reports/

NEW PODCAST: Deep Sea Thinking: Exploring the World’s Ocean
In episode six earn how scientists are exploring the ocean’s depths in this new podcast from Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, and discover a fun song to share with students.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17165
Related Link: https://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/BrowsePrivately/ucar.edu.1852494894.01852494896.2060336421?i=1637933525

PRISMS Records Now Updated with Strand Map Service (SMS) Identifiers
Take advantage of the graphical concept browsing interface of Science Literacy Maps which show the progression of students’ understanding of science concepts in viewing the PRISMS collection of reviewed phenomena and representations resources.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17163
Related Link: http://prisms.mmsa.org/

EVENTS

Blogging & Tweeting Academia
Academics blog and tweet for many different reasons…Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17163
Related Link: http://www.7iber.com/blog/

NSDL Brown Bag: Community Report
NSDL community members and friends are invited to join NSDL principal investigators Kaye Howe and Tamara Sumner for this update on NSDL’s April 2009 site visit to the National Science Foundation, and the emerging vision of NSDL as a cyberlearning platform for STEM education.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=146#17149
Related Link: http://nsdl.org/pd/?pager=brownbag

2009 Sixth Annual Games for Change Festival in NYC
This event is dedicated to a new movement that aims to use video games for social change–poverty, global conflict, climate change. Games for Change is called “the Sundance of video games” for “socially-responsible game-makers.”Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#17151
Related Link: http://www.gamesforchange.org/fest20

Call for Submissions - 2009 Premier Award
Have you developed courseware - interactive websites, simulations, tutorials, case studies, software environments or tools - designed to enhance engineering education?Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#17159
Related Link: http://www.engineeringpathway.org/premier/

NSDL/NSTA Web Seminar: APS: Studying the Human Physiological Limits of Exploring Mars
Discussion on the question of whether or not human biology will limit our ability to travel through the solar system.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#17162
Related Link: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NSDL3/Webseminar8.aspx

BOOKMARKS

Repository-on-an iPhone
ArXiview is a new iPhone application billed as a very easy way to surf the last few weeks of arXiv postings.Click here to view full article: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NSDL3/Webseminar8.aspx
Related Link: http://dabacon.org/arxiview/

President Obama at the National Academy of Sciences 146th Annual Meeting
President Barack Obama addressed members of the National Academy of Sciences gathered at its annual meeting on April 27, 2009.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#17153
Related Link: http://edg1.vcall.com/video/nas/launch.asp

MERLOT Africa Network mailing list
The MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching) Africa Network mailing list. Click here to view full article: http://edg1.vcall.com/video/nas/launch.asp
Related Link: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

NOW AVAILABLE: NSDL EduPak 1.0: An Open Source Digital Library Services Platform for Education
NSDL EduPak is an all-in-one, open source, education digital repository solution bundle that provides a general platform for building digital libraries united by a common data model and interoperable applications.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#17142
Related Link: http://wiki.nsdl.org/index.php/Community:EduPak

Engineering Pathway Themes for April and May
Sustainable Engineering, Asian Pacific Heritage Month, and Blog updates, including: ecotourism, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, NSDL’s trip to the NSF and Cow eye Tacos.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#17157
Related Link: http://www.engineeringpathway.com/ep/hEd/search/search_link.jhtml?keyword=origami

INSPIRATION

In Celebration of Teaching and Learning
A notable “World’s Fair of Education,” or Celebration of Teaching and Learning 2009 was organized by public television Thirteen/WNET, WLIW21 in NYC Mar. 6-7, 2009.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#1715
Related Link: http://thirteencelebration.org/blog/category/edblog/

N E W S

NOW AVAILABLE: NSDL EduPak 1.0: An Open Source Digital Library Services Platform for Education
NSDL EduPak is an all-in-one, open source, education digital repository solution bundle that provides a general platform for building digital libraries united by a common data model and interoperable applications.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_00 
Related Link: http://ncore.nsdl.org/index.php?menu=services&submenu=services!EduPak

Submitting a grant to NSF?
Start your information search by going to the NSDL.org homepage and follow the banner link titled “Submitting a grant to NSF?”. You’ll find all the information you need about the RC and TNS, tools and services available, and who to contact for additional information. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_01 
Related Link: http://nsdl.org/contribute/?pager=proposers

Statistical and Thermal Physics (STP) Collection from ComPADRE
The resources in this Collection include curricular materials, theory, problems, and simulations on topics ranging from thermal equilibrium to the Ising model? Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_02 
Related Link: http://www.compadre.org/stp/

Integrating Social Networking into Middle School
When you hear the words “social network” what comes to mind? We all have social networks–our friends, family, work colleagues–but what about your online social networks? Now the Middle School Portal Math and science Pathways project has an online social network. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_03 
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/middle-school-math-science/2009/02/21/integrating-technology-social-networking/

Education Week
NSDL is highlighted as a place where topical resources suitable for a particular grade levels can be found in Education Week’s Technology Counts Report. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_04 
Related link: http://hosted.vresp.com/235290/23cdafbf79/551000762/f5418be027/

TeraGrid and Shodor “turn on” HPC Training and Education Resources Through High Performance Computing (HPC) University
Teragrid and Shodor have combined forces and resources to bring the HPC University portal to life. HPCU provides the global high performance computing (HPC) community with a clearinghouse of HPC resources including training and education materials and events. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_05 
Related link: http://hpcuniv.org/

Teachers’ Domain Pathway Presents: Inspiring Middle School Literacy: Reading & Writing in Science & History
While there is much Teachers’ Domain is pleased to announce the new Adolescent Literacy Special Collection: Inspiring Middle School Literacy: Reading and Writing in Science and History, funded by the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_06 
Related link: http://www.teachersdomain.org/special/adlit/

NSDL Materials Science Pathway (MatDL) Presenter at The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society Annual Meeting
While there is The MatDL Pathway and The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) held presentations and roundtables on Computational Materials Research and Education on February 18 and February 19 as part of the 2009 TMS Annual Meeting. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_07 
Related link: http://www.tms.org/TMSHome.aspx

E V E N T S

NSDL/NSTA Web Seminar: Arctic and Antarctic Birds
On Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 6:30 pm ET, join Jessica Fries-Gaithe and staff from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for free digital resources, lesson plans, and children’s literature from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears ezine. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_18
Related link: http://nsdl.org/?homepage_ad=1&resource_id=824

(MSP)2 Webinar Series
(MSP)2 Webinars will have a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) focus and are presented by experts in their fields. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_19
Related link: http://nsdl.org/?homepage_ad=1&resource_id=822

B O O K M A R K S

“Sciencegeekgirl” Now Featured in the NSDL Blogosphere
Sciencegeekgirl, Dr. Stephanie Chasteen, modestly describes herself as a “geek of many flavors” whose endeavors include science education and communications with a particular flair for podcasts and radio.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_210 
Related link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/sciencegeekgirl/

Activities for afterschool play with video demonstrations 
Simple activities for afterschool play with video demonstrations and “how-to’s” from the Exploratorium on NSDL and iTunesU. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_211 
Related link: http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/ucar.edu.1984134241

 I N S P I R A T I O N

The Practice of Education at the Speed of Thought
Connexions seeks to change the way information is delivered to students and teachers around the world. Over 8,000 content modules, 450 collections, are used by over 1 million monthly visitors. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_312 
Related link: http://cnx.org/

N E W S

AAAS Project 2061 to Offer Content Alignment and Instructional Quality Training
With support from NSF’s NSDL program, the long-term science education reform initiative of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will train the staff of seven NSDL Pathways as well as those of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) on how to determine the content alignment and instructional quality of K-12 digital resources. The workshop will be held in March 2009 at the AAAS headquarters in Washington, DC. It will be followed by a customized workshop for each individual NSDL Pathway.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_00
Related Link:  http://www.project2061.org/

Dr. Robert Panoff, CSERD, Leads Workshop and Gives Keynote Speech at the Annual Faculty Conference at Houston Community College
On January 30, 2009, science faculty from the Houston Community College District and representatives from the Houston Independent School District participated in a computational science workshop conducted by Dr. Robert M. Panoff, Executive Director of Shodor. Faculty and administrators were given a general introduction to computational science and three hours of hands-on exploration of the “sources and resources of the Pathways of NSDL.” The disciplines represented at the workshop were life sciences, biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, astronomy, and physics. The following day Dr. Panoff gave the keynote speech, “Computational Thinking Across the Curriculum,” at the annual Houston Community College Faculty Conference.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_01
Related Link: http://www.hccs.edu/hccs/faculty-staff/center-for-teaching-learning-excellence/about-the-center-for-tle/sponsored-events

NSDL Reflections Hot Topic: How Do You See the Future of NSDL?
In January, an article, “NSF Rethinks Its Digital Library,” was published in the AAAS Science Magazine discussing the history and current challenges of NSDL. It described some of the ‘rethinking’ by NSDL stakeholders and other observers. We’d like to get the broader community to think about and respond to this timely topic. A new area on web site is designed to respond to this (and future) hot topics facing the NSDL community. We invite you to visit the site and respond to the article by answering the question: How do you see the history of the NSDL and its future differently from what was described in the article?Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_02
Related Link: http://nsdlreflections.wordpress.com/

New in MicrobeLibrary
The American Society for Microbiology’s MicrobeLibrary continues to grow. Recent additions include a new issue of Focus on Microbiology Education (FOME) newsmagazine featuring the topic of concept inventories and assessments; one new articles accepted to volume 10 of the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education on the constructivist approach; two new curriculum activities; and four new visual resources.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_03
Related Link: http://www.microbelibrary.org

WGBH Teachers’ Domain News
Teachers’ Domain is pleased to announce a new adolescent literacy special collection funded by the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. These self-paced classroom activities use history and science topics to enhance the literacy skills of struggling readers in grades 5-8.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_04
Related link: http://hosted.vresp.com/235290/23cdafbf79/551000762/f5418be027/

In the Spotlight - Engineering Pathway Celebrates Black History and Engineers Week in February and Women’s History in March
The Engineering Pathway (EP) “In the Spotlight” highlights timely resources in our collections. In February we focused on Engineers Week. This month and next, browse our resources on African American scientists, engineers, and inventors, and gender diversity.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_05
Related link: http://nsdl.org/about/?pager=pathways&subpager=EP

Solving a Big Math Problem
While there is much discussion about the importance of mathematics to scientific research, engineering, and technological innovation, the performance of American math students on international assessments is below that of math students in many other countries. In its special report “Math: What’s the Problem?”– the National Science Foundation (NSF) uses video interviews and online resources to examine the state of math education and to discuss the roles of culture, technology, and research in improving math learning and proficiency. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_06
Related link: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/math/

E V E N T S

Helping Middle School Teachers with Free Online Professional Development
NSDL’s Middle School Portal Math and Science Pathways project, (MSP)2, and the National Middle School Association (NMSA) are partnering to provide a series of free online web seminars by recognized experts in support of middle school educators. These online learning programs are a convenient way to learn about resources and services that you can use in and out of your classrooms. Webinars are free and presented live, with recordings of the event available for subsequent use.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_18
Related link: http://www.nmsa.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/Webinars/tabid/1011/Default.aspx?PageContentID=303

NSDL Brown Bag: Tools you can use from NSDL Technical Network Services (TNS)
NSDL’s Technical Network Services (TNS) provides open-source tools and support services that the STEM education community can use for creating production digital libraries and content-rich STEM learning environments. Join TNS staff for a brown bag web seminar session on March 5, 2009 at 1:00PM EST that is intended to provide current and prospective NSDL Pathways and projects, and other STEM educational developers, with an overview of three tools that can be used to manage and access collections of learning resources in interesting ways. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_19
Related link: http://nsdl.org/pd/?pager=brownbag

NSDL/NSTA Webinar: Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: Arctic and Antarctic Birds
On April 21, 2009 at 8:00 pm ET join Jessica Fries-Gaither, Project Director and Elementary Resource Specialist for the Ohio Resource Center at Ohio State University and staff from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as they share free digital resources, lesson plans, and children’s literature from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine. This seminar is designed for K-5 educators. Register today for this web seminar!Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_110
Related link: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/SeminarRegistration.aspx

Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Workshop
The Engineering Pathway launched draft versions of a new BPC Portal at the BPC Community Meeting on February 9-10, 2009.  The portal, will engage the computing diversity community with a digital library, collaboration opportunities, news, bulletin board, blog and other community services. The BPC digital library includes resources tagged for promising practices, and key research regarding target populations in computing and IT including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, women and persons with disabilities.Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_111
Related link: http//www.bpcportal.org

B O O K M A R K S

The Best of the MiddleWeb
NSDL’s Middle School Portal (MSP)2 has been selected as one of the “Ten Great Sites for Teachers” by MiddleWeb, which provides resources for schools, districts, educators, parents, and public school advocates who are working to raise achievement for all students in the middle grades. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_212
Related link: http://www.middleweb.com/10TeachingSites.html

Take Off with Polar Birds
Issue 11 of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, focusing on Arctic and Antarctic Birds, is co-produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and “explores the amazing birds that live in or migrate to the polar regions” in photos, stories, research and a podcast entitled, “Birdwatcher’s Delight: Birds and Inquiry Learning.” Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_213
Related link: http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/

Webinar on Water: Not Too Late To Check It Out
In December 2008, ChemEd DL broadcast a highly successful Web seminar on water. Resources available in the ChemEd DL collection were introduced and recent, cutting-edge research about the dynamic nature of liquid water and the number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule were discussed. The online archives include the presentation slides used at the Webinar, links to related content, and free access to the movies used in the Webinar. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_214
Related link: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NSDL3/webseminar4.aspx

Call for Resources to MicrobeLibrary
The American Society for Microbiology invites authors to submit resources to its MicrobeLibrary. Resources sought include classroom activities and laboratory exercises; animations, images and videos depicting the microbial world; and quality images for standard microbiology protocols Submissions are due March 1, 2009. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_215
Related link: http://www.microbelibrary.org

I N S P I R A T I O N

Café Life
“Periodic Tables” is billed as a monthly Durham, NC gathering where curious adults can meet in a casual setting to discuss the latest science in plain English. On Feb 10 Bob Panoff offered his personal story about why he left tenured academics and created Shodor to help transform science and mathematics using networked learning communities such as the National Science Digital Library. Become a Periodic Tables fan on Facebook. Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_316
Related link: http://www.ncmls.org/periodictables

N E W S

“We Will Restore Science to its Rightful Place… Transform Schools, Colleges and Universities”
On January 11, 2009 the National Science Board (NSB) issued “National Science Board STEM Education Recommendations for the President-Elect Obama Administration,” and sent them to Obama’s Transition Team. President Obama’s inaugural address reflected not only the concerns of the NSB, but included those of the entire nation.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_00
Related Link: http://nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2009/01_10_stem_rec_obama.pdf

WGBH Teachers’ Domain On iTunes
Teachers’ Domain has added new life science, earth and space science, physical science, and engineering tracks as free downloads. Resources available for download include videos and educator guides with discussion.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_01
Related Link: http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/wgbh.org

Foreign Language Versions of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears Now Available
A visit to the January 2009 issue of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears features a new “Change Language” option allowing users to choose to read the magazine in languages including French, Spanish, German and others.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_02
Related Link: http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/

NSF Science Computational Science Education Reference Desk (CSERD) Workshop
While students were busy during exam week in December, a three-day workshop At Washington & Lee University on computational science education and interactive computing resources from NSDL enabled about a dozen undergraduate math and science faculty to explore new modes of teaching and learning. During this same period, Computational Science Education Reference Desk (CSERD) and NSDL were featured resources along with the new High Performance Computing University HPCU) portal, at the e-Science Conference in Indianapolis.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_03
Related Link: http://cserd.nsdl.org

One-stop Engineering Education News Service
The Engineering Pathway (EP) has launched an Engineering and Computing Education news service–a continuous feed of user-submitted items, featured on the EP homepage, parsed by discipline and displayed on EP disciplinary community pages. Learn more about personalized news and other services offered by the Engineering Pathway.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_04
Related Link: http://www.engineeringpathway.com/ep/util/news_event/news_event_list.jhtml

E V E N T S

Media Literacy in the 21st Century
On Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm ET NSDL/NSTA Web Seminars will show participants how to access classroom-ready resources from public television. This interactive presentation from WGBH’s Teachers’ Domain will show educators of grades 5-12 how to integrate media literacy into earth and space science curriculum while introducing free media resources from Teachers’ Domain.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_15
Related Link: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/SeminarRegistration.aspx

NSDL at AAAS, Feb 13-15, Chicago
Representatives from NSDL Pathways and Projects will feature resources and address current trends and best practices related to teacher professional development and undergraduate student preparation during workshop sessions at the AAAS Annual Meeting.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_16
Related Link: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/

USA TODAY Education and NASA Host STEM Career Exploration Webinars
Demonstrations of USA Today’s career exploration web site, developed in collaboration with NASA, will be held online February 5, 9, and 13. Please RSVP if interested in participating.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_17
Related Link: http://www.usatoday.com/educate/homesplash.htm

DSpace Foundation, Fedora Commons, Sun Microsystems and SPARC Present All About Repositories Webinar Series
Beginning on February 18 DSpace Foundation, Fedora Commons, Sun Microsystems and SPARC (The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition) will offer a free About Repositories Webinar Series to provide professional learning opportunities for repository managers, developers, curators and decision makers. The series will be web cast and will also be made available through DSpace, Fedora, Sun and SPARC web sites.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_18
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/hatcheck/2009/01/20/dspace-foundation-fedora-commons-sun-microsystems-and-sparc-present-all-about-repositories-webinar-series/

B O O K M A R K S

NSF NSDL (National STEM Education Distributed Learning) Solicitation
The NSDL program aims to establish a national network of learning environments and resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels. Projects that explore specific topics that have immediate applicability to collections, services, and other aspects of the development of the NSDL network, which were submitted as Targeted Research under previous solicitations, should now be submitted as small grants to the Services section of the program. The proposal deadline date is April 15, 2009.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_29
Related link: http://nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf09531

2009 NSF/AAAS Visualization Challenge. You See it All
The 2009 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Winning entries will be published in a special section of the February 19, 2010 issue of the journal Science and Science Online and on NSF’s website. One winning entry will appear on the front cover of Science.
For more information, see: http://www.nsf.gov/news/scivis
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_210
Related link: http://www.crabtreecompany.com/y_creative/NSF/09105AAS_Call-for-Entries.htm

“Classroom Information Needs,” D-Lib Magazine
Author Marcia Mardis, Assistant Professor, College of Information, Florida State University, reports on a search analysis from a digital library for educators on search string logs from 2004-2006 from Michigan Teacher Network in the January/February issue of Dlib Magazine.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_211
Related Link: http://dlib.org/dlib/january09/mardis/01mardis.html

“Documenting the Value of Education”
In this blog post Chemistry Professor John W. Moore, University of Wisconsin, and Editor of the Journal of Chemical Education examines the strong arguments Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz offer in their book The Race between Education and Technology,and agrees “that changes in policies are needed if the American educational system is to catch up with technological change and again make major contributions to our economic future.”
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_212
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/chemeddl/2009/01/13/documenting-the-value-of-education-february-2009/

NEW: Shodor InterACTIONS Newsletter
Shodor (http://www.shodor.org/) has launched a quarterly newsletter aimed at keeping a growing audience of students and teachers informed about the latest improvements and additions to Shodor’s computational science programs and activities. The newsletter is available as a downloadable PDF file and via email.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_213
Related Link: http://nsdl.org/about/?pager=pathways&subpager=CSERD

MATHwire: Information for Mathematics Users
MATHwire, is a monthly newsletter published by Wolfram Research (http://www.wolfram.com/) featuring information about Mathematica and other Wolfram Research products as well as related events from the Mathematica Learning Center.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_214
Related Link: http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-doc/2003-October/002382.html

I N S P I R A T I O N

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is This Month’s Featured Collection in Dlib Magazine
Jessica Fries-Gather, Editor of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears and Elementary Resource Specialist, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University provided readers of the January/February issue of D-Lib Magazine with an in-depth look at Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, an online professional development magazine for elementary teachers focused on preparing teachers to teach polar science concepts in an already congested curriculum.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_315
Related Link: http://dlib.org/dlib/january09/01featured-collection.html

N E W S

Chemistry Resources from ChemEdDL Now Available Through “Google Gadgets”
Add an interactive 3D molecule or a cool chemistry video to your iGoogle page! The ChemEdDL now has What’s This video, Molecules 360 and Journal of Chemical Education articles available through the iGoogle homepage setup. Include these on your home page for a fun way to see resources of the ChemEd DL!
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_00
Related Link: http://wiki.chemeddl.org/index.php/Development:ChemEd_Content:Tools:Google_Gadgets

NSDL Annual Meeting News
Find out what fellow NSDL Annual Meeting 2008 attendees said about the meeting in the summary report of the survey.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_01
Related Link: http://annualmeeting.nsdl.org/meeting/archives/2008/AM08_final_report.pdf

“CellDance” 2008 Image and Video Contest Winners
The winners of the 2008 competition CellDance, a film, video and imaging competition sponsored by the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) combine the best of science and art..
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_02
Related Link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133115.php

All About NSDL “Brown Bags”
The NSDL Brown Bag Series is a free professional development webinar scheduled monthly. These 60-minute programs highlight trends and best practices in STEM education with programs at both K-12 and higher education levels.
Click here to view full article:http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_03
Related Link: http://nsdl.org/about/contactus/

NSDL Reflections - A Community Carol
An invitation to read essays written by NSDL community members, and to add your thoughts about their
stories.
Click here to view full article:http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?
Related Link: http://nsdlreflections.wordpress.com/

B O O K M A R K S

NSDL Fan Club: Sciencegeekgirl
NSDL has an admirer who reports on the steady stream of reports, resources, activities and technology available through NSDL.org.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_15
Related Link: http://sciencegeekgirl.wordpress.com/?s=NSDL

NSDL Solstice Resources
These five NSDL resources shed light on solstice math and science on the shortest day of the year.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_16
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/highlights/2008/12/16/nsdl-resources-highlight-solstice-science-and-math/

Combine Holiday Movie-going and Lesson Planning
In the Expert Voices blog “Connecting News with National Science Education Standards” author Mary LeFever points out that moviemakers may get the science right.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_19
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/connectingnews/2008/12/15/science-or-science-fiction/

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Have you ever though about shipping out to sea? NOAA’s “Teacher at Sea” Program is accepting applications for the 2009 field season until Dec. 31, 2008.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_110
Related Link: http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/

STEM Career Exploration Educational Resources
USA TODAY Education and NASA have collaborated on free STEM and STEM career exploration educational resources.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_112
Related Link: http://www.noboundaries-stemcareers.com

I N S P I R A T I O N

Singing the Praises of Interactive Computing
When it comes to stepping outside the box to motivate people, Bob Panoff, would rather stand on it with guitar in hand, or sit on it at a piano with a microphone at the ready.
Click here to view full article: http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_213
Related Link: http://www.hpcwire.com/specialfeatures/sc08/offthewire/Singing_the_Praises_of_High_Performance_Computing_at_SC08.html

N E W S

The Periodic Table Live! from the Chemical Education Digital Library
Chemical Education Digital Library (ChemEd DL).
Students and teachers especially are invited to interact with the
periodic table, chose an element of interest, and learn all sorts of
interesting information about that element–from details of its
discovery, to its industrial uses and other characteristics.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

Cyberlearning Updates, New NSDL Pathways
At their recent NSDL Annual Meeting National Science Digital Library
partners met in Washington, D.C. Sept. 30 - October 2, 2008 to unveil
new directions for the 8-yr-old NSF initiative designed to leverage
online educational STEM opportunities for students and learners of
all ages nationwide. Three new NSDL Pathways partners, that provide
access to audience-specific views of appropriate NSDL resources and
services, were introduced.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

The Future of Networked Information
Over the past two years the Open Archives Initiative (OAI), in a project called Object Reuse and Exchange (OAI-ORE), has gathered international experts from the publishing, web, library, repository, and eScience communities to
develop standards for the identification and description of
aggregations of Web resources. Production versions of the OAI-ORE
specifications and implementation documents are now available to the
public, with a table of contents page here.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

E V E N T S

Upcoming NSDL Web Seminars: Beyond Penguins and Polar Bear Series, October 29th and November 13th
The next two free seminars in the NSDL series feature online
professional development programs for elementary educators, K-5.
These seminars will highlight resources from Beyond Penguins and
Polar Bears, a cyberzine that helps educators integrate science and
literacy with a focus on the polar regions.
Click here to view full article
Related Link(s): http://tinyurl.com/6g5pur; http://tinyurl.com/6eknth

Tune in to the Honeywell Nobel Minds Laureate Lecture Series
Join students and teachers worldwide on October 27, 2008 at 10am CST
for a lecture by Professor Mario J. Molina, winner of the 1995 Nobel
Prize in Chemistry. His lecture is part of the Honeywell Nobel Minds
Laureate Lecture series. The lecture will be given at Tecnologico de
Monterrey, in Monterrey, Mexico. You can watch it LIVE at:
http://www.honeywellscience.com.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

B O O K M A R K S

Speak Up Survey
Join 319,223 students, 25,544 teachers, 19,726 parents and 3,263
administrators who have participated in Speak Up Day annual national
educational research surveys facilitated by Project Tomorrow. The
2008 survey closes December 19, 2008.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

“Moving Toward Web 2.0 in K-12 Education” Blog Post
Steve Hargadon, Educational Technology Consultant and Entrepreneur,
writes about K-12 educational technology and topics related to the
future of education. He boils down the Web 2.0 to the simple idea
that it is “a two-way medium” as it applies to education in this
recent blog post.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

Speaking of Something Interesting: NSDL Blogosphere Highlights
There is always something interesting in NSDL’s blogs: National
Chemistry Week: What Works?; Evaluating Information, and Discovery of
the Structure of DNA.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

Gaming Company Seeks Input from Teachers
Ramo means “play” in Gujrati, and is the name of a new gaming company
Ramogames.com. This gaming site is targeted at kids and is founded by Sumir Meghani a Harvard Business School graduate and Yahoo! alum along with others who have experience with companies like Electronic Arts, Thomson Learning. Meghani is seeking input from teachers about what might be useful in classrooms in this survey.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

Time for the Sparky Awards, from SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and
Academic Resources Coalition)
The competition invites students to consider the issues and
creatively express their views around the 2008 contest theme
“MindMashup: The Value of Information Sharing.” Submissions must be
received by November 30, 2008.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

I N S P I R A T I O N

National Student/Parent Mock Election; October 30
The National Student/Parent Mock Election seeks to turn the sense of
powerlessness that keeps young Americans and their parents from going
to the polls into a sense of the power of participation in our
democracy.
Click here to view full article
Related Link

N E W S

Get Ready for Washington: NSDL Annual Meeting Updates
By Sarah Holsted The 2008 NSDL Annual Meeting is almost upon us. This update includes reflections on the planning process and an overview of the program.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://annualmeeting.nsdl.org/

Annual Meeting 2008 Blog
Tune into NSDL Road Reports for up-to-the-minute blog posts about the NSDL Annual Meeting.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/roadreports/

Rolling Out NSF’s NSDL Awards for 2008-2009
Eighteen National Science Digital Library (NSDL) awards have been announced by the National Science Foundation.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://tinyurl.com/3un7ph

Pathways and Projects Updates
Download NSDL Pathways Highlights and NSDL Projects Updates from the Annual Meeting web site.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://annualmeeting.nsdl.org/

New Web Site for Engineering Pathway
The Engineering Pathway recently redesigned its website to better engage the younger generation by incorporating findings and recommendations from the recent National Academy of Engineering study, Changing the Conversation.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://www.engineeringpathway.com

NSDL’s Science Literacy Map Tool Adds 41 New Maps and “Student Misconceptions” Feature
The new version of the National Science Digital Library’s Science Literacy Map (SLM) tool is an easy-to-use service that finds and presents students with the right resource at just the right moment.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://strandmaps.nsdl.org/?id=SMS-MAP-0048

E V E N T S

Educause 2008
IT in Higher Education will once again be in the spotlight at Educause 2008 to be held in Orlando, FL October 28 - 31.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?SECTION_ID=321&bhcp=1

B O O K M A R K S

“Pat the Librarian” Featured in APS Forum on Education
Pat Viele, NSDL blogger and the physics and astronomy librarian at Cornell University has an article about information fluency for physics featured in the Summer 2008 newsletter of the APS Forum on Education.
Click here to view full article http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_27
Related Link: http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/summer2008/viele.cfm

Timelines and review process for the Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) solicitation
The timelines and review process for the Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) solicitation,, are changing in 2009.
Click here to view full article
Related Link: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07603/nsf07603.htm

I N S P I R A T I O N

Large Hadron Rap
A creative team from the CERN Large Hadron Collider found a unique way to tell the world why physicists are so interested in the results of the collision of sub atomic particles at high speeds in a new music video seen by millions of Internet viewers.
Click here to view full article http://content.nsdl.org/wbr/Issue.php?issue=current#id_39
Related Link: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM