Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
The Science Education Electronic Network (SEEN) includes information for pre- and in-service science
teachers as well as science educators at all levels and settings. Previous issues are archived at
https://mast.wikispaces.com. To be added to or deleted from the distribution list, contact Vikki Costa,
Director of Science Education, vcosta@fullerton.edu. Send news and potential topics to Vikki Costa.
You are encouraged to forward SEEN to anyone and everyone you can think of who cares about
science education!
You’ll see a few changes with this issue:
 We’ve changed our name to the Science Education Electronic Network (SEEN)!
 We are embedding additional information on selected topics – but these are only accessible
through the Word version of this document. You will need Adobe Reader (available free from
www.adobe.com) to access these documents, which are found at http://mast.wikispaces.com.
 We continue to highlight resources from OCDE, CSTA, Cal State Fullerton, and local informal
science education agencies.
Awards, Employment, and Opportunities
Inside the Outdoors is Currently Hiring for the Position of Field Naturalist, Orange County.
www.insidetheoutdoors.org
The mission of Inside the Outdoors is to empower students, teachers, parents and the community to explore
natural areas and expand their knowledge. They offer an outside science school, field program, and traveling
scientist program for grades K-6. They also offer service learning opportunities for students attending Field Trips
or Outdoor Science School—and funding is available.
Field Naturalists lead and instruct small groups of K-6th grade students during hands-on science and social
science field trips at various sites within Orange County. This position is ideal for individuals interested in the
environment or those looking for teaching experience. Full and part-time positions from September to June,
begin at $12.00 per hour. See http://ito.ocde.us/Employment/FS_Employment.htm for more information and
to apply online. (SOURCE: Inside the Outdoors)
Science Education Grants for Teachers - Bookmark this Website!
http://science.ocde.us/Grants.htm
The Orange County Science Network continues to update this site with grant opportunities for K-12 science
teachers! Possibilities include Toyota Tapestry, Toshiba ExploraVision, Siemens We Can Change the World, Ciba
Foundation, NSTA, Target Fieldtrip, Prudential Spirit of Community, Lowe’s Toolbox for Education and more!
(SOURCE: OCDE)
Foundational Level General Science Credential AND Minor in Natural Science
The Minor in Natural Science provides students with the content knowledge to be
successful on the CSET Science Subtests #118 and #119 – required for the new
Foundational Level
Foundational Level General Science Credential. Cal State Fullerton will be accepting its first
General Science Credential.pdf
cohort of FLGS credential candidates for the Fall 2009 semester. For more information on
the FLGS Credential and Minor in Natural Science, see also
https://mast.wikispaces.com/Just+for+Science+Educators. Applications are due February 28, 2009. See the
Admissions to Teacher Education Office (http://ed.fullerton.edu/adtep/SingleSubject.htm) for more
information. (SOURCE: California State University Science Education)
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
1
Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
New Cohort in the Master of Arts in Teaching Science Program starts Fall 2009!
The CSU Fullerton MAT-S program offers both science and science education coursework,
with science coursework based on student interests. Candidates develop content
MATS-Flyer.pdf
knowledge, leadership skills, and expertise in instruction and assessment. Coursework
emphasizes use of technology to improve teaching and learning and is delivered in a hybrid
of face-to-face and Web-based instruction. The program is structured in five-semester sequence (fall, spring,
summer, fall, spring) so that it may be completed in two years. Summer coursework includes a 45-hour
internship in a science or science education agency. Options for culminating experience include project, thesis,
or submission for National Board Certification. (SOURCE: California State University Science Education)
OCDE Science
Orange County Science Education Association Fall Conference for K-8 Science Teaching
www.ocscience.org
OC Science
November 15, 2008 at the Hashinger Science Center, Chapman University, Orange, CA.
Education Conference.pdf
Registration and Check-in is at 7:30 AM, with a fee of $35.00 Teachers and $20.00 Student
Teachers/Students. Advanced registration recommended. Payment instructions online. Late fee of $5 for sameday registrations. Fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, workshops, vendors, opportunity drawing.
Workshop Highlights include Avoiding Misconceptions, Intertidal Exploring, Toys for Teaching Science, Using
Digital Images in the Classroom, and Water Resources. (SOURCE: OCDE)
Upcoming Events
Speak Up
www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speak_up_faq.html
Speak Up is an annual national research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow.
Any school, district or organization that serves K-12 students may participate in
Speak Up. As a Speak Up participant you are part of a growing movement that
values and uses their stakeholders’ opinions to inform K-12 educational decisions.
Participating in Speak Up provides educators the opportunity to gather information from their students,
teachers, administrators, and parents about key educational topics, free of charge; ensures that the views of
students, parents, and educators are included in the dialogue about K-12 science, technology and math
education; and engages stakeholders in strategic planning, budgeting, or decision-making processes.
The Speak Up data represents the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder input on education,
technology, 21st century skills, schools of the future and science instruction. Education, business, and policy
leaders report using the data regularly to inform federal, state, and local education programs. Speak Up 2008
will be open October 27th - December 19th, 2008. Results will be available to participating schools and districts
in February 2009. Lesson Plans are available for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-12. Through the lesson plans, students
are introduced to the concept of contributing to local change and a national dialog by voicing their opinions
about their education. Use the lessons to encourage students to reflect on their use of technology both in and
out of school, and how they learn math, science, and 21st century skills. (SOURCE: Project
Tomorrow)
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
2
Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
Bird of Prey: Conservation Workshop and Raptor Release
www.insidetheoutdoors.org
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 9: a.m. to 11 a.m. at Rancho Sonado. Cost is only $5.00 per person—and free for
Inside the Outdoors Foundation Members. (SOURCE: OCDE)
Symposium for Aspiring and Pre-Service Math and Science Candidates at CSUs
http://education.llnl.gov/etsymposium
The Edward Teller Symposium at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is
Teller Symposium
Flyer
scheduled for Friday, November 21 from 8 am - 5 pm. This year's event is focused on
global climate change and participants will hear scientific and educational experts speak
about climate change, tour the lab, participate in an interactive global climate activity, and learn more about the
STAR (Science Teacher and Researcher) summer program at LLNL and other Bay Area sites. The Edward Teller
Symposium is intended for aspiring and pre-service science and math teachers on CSU campuses. The event has
several objectives (see program materials), but chief among them are to 1) recruit more highly qualified science,
engineering and mathematics undergraduate students into the teaching profession and 2) encourage aspiring
and pre-service teachers to apply for the STAR (Science Teacher and Researcher) 2009 program. Attendance is
limited to 50, so first come, first served! Entrance to the event is free (and includes lunch), however students
must pay their own travel expenses. Online pre-registration is required by November 7 due to the strict
security clearance required for entrance to the lab site. Only US citizens can attend. A one-unit course will be
available through Cal Poly Continuing Education for those seeking CEU course credit. Questions? Contact the
STAR program at CESaME (Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education) at Cal Poly, San Luis
Obispo at cesame@calpoly.edu or 805/756-2859.
Local Resources
Orange County Watersheds
www.ocwatersheds.com/
Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC)
www.mwdoc.com/For_Students_and_Teachers.htm
Santa Ana Watershed
www.sawatershed.org
Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District
www.rcrcd.com/index.htm
Project WET
www.watereducation.org
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) is an award-winning, nonprofit water education program and
publisher. The program facilitates and promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water
resources through the dissemination of classroom-ready teaching aids and the establishment of internationally
sponsored Project WET programs.
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
3
Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
FREE Educators’ Workshops at the Discovery Science Center
www.discoverycube.org
The first Monday of every month (October to May), Discovery Science Center hosts a free Educators’ Workshop
from 4:00 to 6:-- pm. This educational event includes a hands-on science workshop on standard-based
concepts, and exploratory visits to the Center’s exhibits related to those topics. Each workshop addresses a
variety of concepts and their applications across all grade levels. Call 714-263-3837for more information. They
also provide many exciting educational programs from grade-specific lesson plans to hands-on demonstrations,
water education, and after-school activities. Remaining topics for the year include: Dec 1, 08 - Elements vs
Compounds; Jan 5, 09 - Forces & Energy; Newton's Laws; Feb 2, 09 – Magnetism; Mar 2, 09 - The Science of
Light and Sound; April 6, 09 - Elementary School Chemistry; and May 4, 09 - Avoiding Misconceptions.
First Flight Field Trip
www.ducksscore.com/firstflight.html
February 12, 2009. The event officially begins at 9 AM and will end at 12:30 PM.
Honda Center is the home for your
Anaheim Ducks, and on February 12, 2009 it will become the home room for your students. This one-of-a-kind
event will turn the arena into an interactive classroom where your students will explore how water and liquids
affect the Ducks as they compete on the ice. Along with learning these concepts with a free workbook, students
will hear from Ducks’ players and coaches live. Your students will have a great time applying what they have
learned in school to a field trip that is fun, entertaining and highly educational. The First Flight Field Trip will
prove to be the most exciting field trip for your students this year! Recognized as an educational event by the
California State Assembly, the academic principles within the First Flight Field Trip are intended for students in
grades 3-6 and follow the state’s educational content standards. However, we believe that students and adults
of all ages will enjoy this event. We encourage you to bring the entire school! Registration begins November 1,
2008. (SOURCE: Anaheim Ducks S.C.O.R.E.)
News and Research
Atomic Learning Limited-Time Free Offer on Vicki Davis' Seven Steps to a Flat Classroom workshop.
www.AtomicLearning.com/7sfc_wb2
Through October 30, 2008, the workshop can be accessed free of charge by visiting The workshop was created
for Atomic Learning by Web 2.0 expert Vicki Davis. Davis is a classroom teacher who has been recognized for her
innovative classroom practices using Web 2.0 and coauthoring The Flat Classroom Project—a global Web 2.0
collaboration project for middle and senior high school students. In the Seven Steps to a Flat Classroom
workshop, Davis uses short, show-and-tell video tutorials to guide users through flattening their classroom by
expanding it to include global communities and collaboration tools. The workshop includes over 80 tutorials on
topics such as Applying ISTE NETS standards to your project, Connecting Classrooms online, Digital Citizenship
and Safety and more. For more information, visit www.atomiclearning.com. (SOURCE: techLEARNING News)
How Pterosaurs Took Flight
www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37810/title/How_pterosaurs_took_flight
Extinct flying reptiles known as pterosaurs may have taken to the air with a technique akin to leapfrogging, new
research suggests. (SOURCE: ScienceNews.org)
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
4
Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
Student Contests
Last Chance to Enter the WIN (Water Innovation Now) Contest 2008
http://win.ocde.us
Entry Deadline is October 31, 2008. The Orange County Department of Education is
pleased to sponsor the exciting Project W.I.N. which challenges Orange County's
students to develop innovative ideas to promote water conservation in California. The
top two projects from each category will be given the opportunity to display and share
their project at the U.N.E.S.C.O. Global Conference on water December 3rd at the Ocean
Institute. Visit win.ocde.us for contest prizes. The contest is open to students in grades
K – 12 attending school in Orange County, California. Entries can be an individual or team
of up to 4 individuals. (SOURCE: OCDE)
Win a Green Computer Lab for your School!
www.pcmallgov.com/greenlightcontest/
INSPIRE your middle and high school students to be leaders in the Green Schools movement--and your school
could win a state-of-the-art computer lab! The "Green Light Contest" essay competition, sponsored by PC Mall
Gov, in partnership with HP, InFocus and T.H.E. Journal, is seeking entries from students in two categories:
grades 5 - 8 and 9 - 12. In essays of 1,000 words or less students are asked to describe how they and their
teachers can utilize technology to protect the environment, with the grand-prize-winning composition being
awarded a 30-seat "green" computer lab for the author's school. Two additional first place winners (one from
each grade-level category) will each receive a "green" laptop. Winning essays will be published in T.H.E. Journal
and winners will be recognized at FETC, January 21 - 24, in Orlando, FL.
The application deadline is December 1, 2008.
The Kids' Science Challenge
www.kidsciencechallenge.com
The first 1000 entries receive free science activity kits. The Kids’ Science Challenge is a nationwide competition
that encourages third to sixth graders to submit experiments and problems for a group of scientists and
engineers to solve. Using podcasts, virtual communities, after-school activities, and online games, the Kids?
Science Challenge is designed to inspire third to sixth graders to discover the fun of science. The deadline is
January 31, 2009. (SOURCE: techLEARNING News)
Teaching and Technology Resources
Preview JASON Project New Curriculum!
www.jason.org/public/feature/FeatureDetail.aspx?pos=1&fid=144
In Operation: Infinite Potential, students strengthen their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills with
science content directly aligned to national and state standards. Working alongside leading scientists, students
explore past, current and future challenges of energy generation, storage, and consumption. Through research
articles, labs, field assignments, videos, computer games and other multimedia, they investigate and analyze
emerging technologies designed to meet the needs of an energy-hungry planet. The curriculum will be available
Summer 2009. (SOURCE: JASON Project)
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
5
Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
Classroom Resources
www.nsf.gov/news/classroom/
Classroom Resources is a diverse collection of lessons and web resources for classroom teachers, their students,
and students' families. Materials are arranged by subject area to help [teachers] quickly find resources...and
then use them to create lesson plans or at-home activities. Most of these resources come from the National
Science Digital Library (NSDL). NSDL is the National Science Foundation's online library of resources for science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics education. It was established by the National Science Foundation to
capture improvements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and organize them into
one point of online access. Collaborating partner institutions such as universities, museums, professional
organizations, government agencies, research laboratories and publishers create NSDL materials. NSDL's
network of content-rich collections, educational resources, and technology-based information is intended to
meet the needs of students and teachers at all levels: K-12, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning (see
www.nsdl.org). (SOURCE: National Science Foundation)
Got the HOTS for Inquiry?
www.t2tweb.us/Digital/workshop_hots/index.html
This digital workshop presented by Gail Wortmann shows you how you can increase student learning by
integrating inquiry and Higher Order Thinking Skills (H.O.T.S.) into instruction, discusses how to incorporate
inquiry and the revised Bloom's Taxonomy into student assessment, disaggregate the "scientific method" and
connect it to inquiry, and discuss assessments for inquiry and H.O.T.S. Many science classroom activities are also
presented within this digital workshop. (SOURCE: U.S. Dept. of Education)
Websites of the Week
Teacher Survival Central
www.discoveryeducation.com/survival/
Discovery Education, Walden University, Mimio, Adobe, Elmers, and CDW-G have joined forces to launch
Teacher Survival Central. This new Web site offers tips, tricks, tools, and practical suggestions for easing entry
into the teaching field. Educators will find classroom management techniques, ideas for connecting classroom
activities to the curriculum, lesson plans, peer-networking resources, tools to create engaging learning centers,
and more. In addition, New Teacher Survival Central is offering $50,000 in weekly prizes until January 31, 2009.
One first-year educator will be chosen from all entries to win a grand prize package that includes products from
all the site partners. (SOURCE: techLEARNING News)
Doodle--A Free Online Scheduling Tool Useful for Educators
www.doodle.ch/
Doodle is a simple, free, Web-based application for scheduling meetings and other events. The person proposing
the meeting will select possible dates and times, which will appear in an online matrix. Each person invited to
the meeting will add his or her name to the list and select available dates and times. The choices of everyone
invited will appear in the matrix, facilitating the selection of a date/time for the proposed meeting that is
convenient for the majority of those invited. To start, go to the Web site above and click "create poll" under
"Schedule an event," then follow the directions from that point.
For University Science Educators
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
6
Science Education Electronic Network
SEEN
October 27, 2008
A Periodic Publication of the Math and Science Teachers Project
California State University Fullerton
Math and Science Teacher Initiative (MSTI) Toolkit
http://nsm.fullerton.edu/msti
The CSU MSTI Toolkit is now on the Web in Beta form! This site is a collection of CSU campus resources for
math and science teacher recruitment. Most items are available in html, Word ®, Publisher®, or Adobe Acrobat
form. It is still a work in progress, but many resources are already available. Please send additional resources
for posting to vcosta@fullerton.edu.
SciEd News
Editor: Vikki Costa vcosta@fullerton.edu
7