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| New Collaborations |
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Bringing the Ocean to Inland Audiences
By Lesley K. Smith
How do you provide professional development in ocean and climate sciences to rural teachers in Colorado? Using the theme Exploring Connections Between the Global Oceans and the Inland Southwest, the COSEE- West Colorado Collaborative connected teachers from Steamboat Springs (a ski resort) and Grand Junction (an agricultural area on the Western Slope) with professional development events in Boulder using televideoconferencing (TVC) [more] |
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| Ocean Hall Update |
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As the Sant Ocean Hall approaches its first anniversary (yes, already!), the Ocean Portal (OP) development team has been hard at work creating and compiling content for the launch of the Portal in the Fall. Many of you have helped by providing the OP with lesson plans and other educational materials.
Over the next few weeks, Elizabeth Ban, the COSEE/Ocean Science Education Specialist at the NMNH, will be setting up meetings with OP collaborators to discuss hosting the best ocean sciences content available. COSEE will be one of the first collaborators and the National COSEE Network will be asked to participate in the beta-launch, which is a testing period to see how the OP is working. The team will be collecting comments and suggestions to improve the OP prior to the public launch. Please contact Elizabeth Ban or call 202-633-1087 if you would like more information. |
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| COSEE Presence at Conferences |
AGU Session A session proposal for the fall American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting has been accepted on COSEE's efforts to assist ocean scientists with broader impacts. The meeting will be held December 14-18, 2009 in San Francisco. If you are interested in submitting an abstract for this session, please contact Liesl Hotaling. The deadline to submit an abstract is September 3.
COSEE Evaluations Session at Ocean Sciences Meeting The COSEE evaluators have had a session accepted for the 2010 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon (Feb. 22-26, 2010). Entitled COSEE Evaluations: What We've Learned and Implications for the Future, the co-convening evaluators are Chris Parsons (COSEE-NOW), Rena Dorph (COSEE-California), Patricia Kwon (COSEE-West) and Mark St. John (National COSEE Network).
We invite anyone who has conducted an evaluation or research study of COSEE-related activities to submit an abstract for this session. Abstracts will be accepted starting August 1 and are due by October 15, 2009. For abstract submission guidelines, visit the conference site.
We recommend you review the session proposal (below) to determine if your work fits. You can also contact the co-conveners to discuss ideas. We look forward to your participation and any support or ideas you can offer.
COSEE Evaluations: What We've Learned and Implications for the Future
COSEE (Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence) is an NSF Division of Ocean Sciences program. The COSEE network consists of 12 thematic and regional centers across the U.S. and its mission is engaging scientists and educators to transform ocean sciences education. One of the unique aspects of the COSEE program is that each center and the network has its own evaluator, a person or team continually assessing the effectiveness and impact of education strategies and activities. What have we learned since we began in 2002? During this session COSEE evaluators will present the results of a variety of studies on COSEE audiences, scientist-educator collaborations and education activities. From observations to concept mapping to models, we will showcase what we’ve learned and discuss the implications for future COSEE education strategies and evaluation efforts.
Session at AAAS COSEE- West will be presenting a special session at the AAAS meeting in February 2010, Building Bridges Between Ocean Scientists, Educators and Students. For more information contact Linda Duguay.
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| Central Coordinating Office Updates |
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COSEE on Twitter COSEE recently launched a Twitter account. Twitter allows for individuals and organizations to follow COSEE's updates or "Tweets." Some of our followers include: Ohio Sea Grant, New York Sea Grant, NOAA Nautical Charts, Oregon Sea Grant, Earth Gauge, NOAA's Ocean Service, Michigan Sea Grant, Maine Sea Grant and other individuals interested in what COSEE is doing. If you have a COSEE Tweet to post, send it to Romy Pizziconi. The use of Twitter by the Network will be a topic of discussion by the ENTS sub-group of the Web Working Group. (see below)
Evaluators' Workshop The CCO is making plans for an Evaluators' Workshop this September, which will be followed by a workshop on best practices within the Network. |
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| Working Group Updates |
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Messaging and Marketing Work Group COSEE representatives (Paula Keener-Chavis, Gail Scowcroft, and Sharon Walker) made a presentation to the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP) on April 7, 2009. The Education Subcommittee Chair, Dr. Jeffrey Reutter, subsequently requested more detailed information from COSEE for "successful implementation (to benefit) the National COSEE Network and all the ORRAP Partners." Dr. Reutter was asked to consider the key outcomes developed during the COSEE Strategic Business Planning Workshop held in March 2009. These outcomes are associated with the three major strategic goals, in the areas of capacity building, proliferation of best practices, and penetration into the broader community.
Web Working Group The WWG resumed regular telecons in July with a review of next steps and a tentative schedule for completing pending actions. It is anticipated that the first full upgrade of our software, which will take care of the highest priority fixes identified by the WWG over the winter, will be completed by the end of September. COSEE webmaster Lisa Taylor has developed a tutorial for the CMS (Content Management System, used by the new COSEE websites), which is appropriate and very useful for any of the Centers using the CMS. The WWG also formed the Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-Working Group (ENTS-WG or "ENTS") (see below).
Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-Working Group A "Web Developers and Administrators" group met during the "Different Center, Same Boat" session at the COSEE Network Meeting in May. Participants discussed how several COSEE centers have implemented - or have considered implementing - social networking tools to enhance or supplement their existing web pages or programs. During this session, Center representatives agreed that they want more support and guidance in improving the use and efficacy of these types of tools.
As a result, the Web Working Group (WWG) was introduced to the idea of - and is supportive of - the formation of an "R & D focus group," tentatively named the "Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-Working Group" (ENTS-WG or "ENTS"). A subgroup of the WWG, the ENTS would act as a vehicle for ongoing dialogue regarding the uses, development and implementation of social networking tools. The ENTS would report to the Council through the Chair of the WWG. Proposed charter for the ENTS: "Explore new ways to broaden the reach of COSEE by using virtual networking tools to increase internal / external collaboration, communication, and exposure." For more information contact ENTS co-chairs Carla Companion and Catherine Cramer. |
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| New Media of Interest |
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Scientific Visualization Studio NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio facilitates scientific inquiry and outreach within NASA programs through visualization. The studio works with scientists in the creation of visualization products, systems, and processes in order to promote a greater understanding of Earth and Space Science. Animations include hurricane upwelling, island underwater flybys, beach erosion, and much more. |
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| Center News |
COSEE-Great Lakes Catch up on recent activities by reading an overview of this summer's School for Scientists and the Lake Huron Exploration Workshop blog.
COSEE-Networked Ocean World Listen to the latest installment of the COSEE-NOW podcast series Ocean Gazing. Read the latest in the collection of Stories from Ocean Observing Systems. A live online seminar on Broadening Your Impact for researchers was held on July 28, 2009. NOW team members gave several presentations at NMEA 2009.
COSEE-Coastal Trends e-newsletter is available online.
COSEE-Ocean Systems In July, Margaret Merrill, a doctorate student in education at the University of Maine, joined forces with COSEE-OS and held a pilot workshop for K-5 educators focused on phytoplankton investigations. The workshop - The Ocean-Climate Interactive Supported Science Workshop - was created to enhance meaningful learning and teaching through phytoplankton investigations and the use of technology
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| Notes from the COSEE Council Chair |
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COSEE Network News (CNN) brings information about Centers, Network developments and resources to the COSEE Council, National COSEE Network and people who are interested in the COSEE vision as it is brought to life. This note is a brief introduction to the Council, from my perspective as COSEE Council Chair. The Council ties our various Centers together into a Network that can develop collaborative projects and identify crossover themes to support all of us. It creates the ability to make the sum greater than its parts.
As current Chair of the Council, I have the privilege of working more closely with Past Chair Annette deCharon, Chair-Elect Linda Duguay, Director of the National COSEE Network Gail Scowcroft, and NSF program officers Lisa Rom and Don Elthon. We talk or email at least once a week, part of the time spent planning for the monthly “Check In” calls for the Council. These calls form the basis of communication with the Center representatives, other Council and CCO members and chairs of specific working groups. Right now we are discussing the agenda for the November Council meeting in Washington DC. What are the critical and important issues that we should address, and what is the optimum way to bring the right people and partners into our conversation in order to take the best action?
Two items are upfront in Council business. One is the development of the COSEE Strategic Implementation or Operating Plan - our Network agenda. Billy Spitzer is leading that effort. The other is the longer term preparation for the NSF Decadal Review, led by Linda Duguay. This effort will eventually involve all of us in order to document what the investment that NSF has made in COSEE has accomplished since 2002, and, equally important, what evidence supports the rationale for the continuation of NSF support.
If you want to know more about what the Council is doing, what is discussed in the Check-In calls, or about the annual Council, Network and National Advisory Committee meetings, check out the COSEE File Manager on the COSEE website. All of the minutes, reports, and, in some cases, actual presentations are posted there. This is our depository of past and current operations.
Lundie Spence, Ph.D.
Director, COSEE-SouthEast
Current Chair, COSEE Council |
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| Announcements from NSF |
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The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program seeks to encourage talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The program provides funds to institutions of higher education to support scholarships, stipends, and academic programs for undergraduate STEM majors and post-baccalaureate students holding STEM degrees who commit to teaching in high-need K-12 school districts.
The Tribal College and Universities Program provides awards to enhance the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and outreach programs at Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaskan Native-serving Institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.
The Alliances for Broadening Participation in STEM (ABP) solicitation includes the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, Bridge to the Doctorate (LSAMP-BD) Activity, and the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program.
The Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program is a major research and development effort that supports innovative partnerships to improve K-12 student achievement in mathematics and science.
CEOSE Mini-Symposium on Women of Color in STEM will be held October 27-28 at NSF Room 1235.
STEM Education Recommendations to the Obama Administration [PDF] The National Science Board recommends a set of actions for the new Administration to implement starting in early 2009 to advance STEM education for all American students, to nurture innovation, and to ensure the long-term economic prosperity of the Nation.
The Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science (MS PHD’S) ® Professional Development Program provides professional development experiences that facilitate the advancement of minorities committed to achieving outstanding Earth system science related careers. |
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| COSEE Network Calendar |
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August 2009
COSEE-West Lecture, Wave Maker, August 4, Aquarium of the Pacific
COSEE-OLC Celebrate Summer and Ocean Science Education, August 4, Seattle Aquarium
COSEE-Coastal Trends Coastal Trends Workshop, August 4-6, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
COSEE-California Teacher at Sea: Plastics in the North Pacific Gyre, August 9-21, onboard R/V New Horizon
COSEE-West Ocean Observing Systems Institute for Teachers, August 10-14, various sites around Los Angeles
COSEE-Great Lakes Exploring the Link Between Invasive Species & the Erie Canal, August 26, Spencerport, NY
COSEE-West Lecture, Shortfin Mako and Common Thresher Sharks, August 26, Aquarium of the Pacific
September 2009
COSEE-CGOM Informal Education Workshop, September 11-13, Indian River Lagoon, Ft. Pierce, FL
October 2009
COSEE-Ocean Systems Educator-Scientist Collaborative Workshop, October 9-10, University of Connecticut Avery Point Campus
COSEE-Great Lakes Lake Erie Teachers Workshop, October 14, Tifft Nature Preserve |
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| Resources and Announcements |
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Why Do We Explore - Online Join the College of Exploration and NOAA’s Ocean Explorer for the free online teacher workshop, Why Do We Explore, October 5-16, 2009. This is the second workshop in a series of teacher professional development opportunities focused around NOAA’s new ship, the Okeanos Explorer. Scientific keynote presenters and education facilitators will work with participants to delve into the benefits of ocean exploration targeting climate change, energy, human health and ocean health. The workshop will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Harmful Algae Digital Library The Harmful Algae Digital Library from the National Sea Grant Library contains a collection of downloadable Sea Grant documents arranged by subject area: red tide/PSP, brown tide, ciguatera, killer algae, and Pfiesteria.
Winning Ocean Video The Living on the Ocean Planet video contest announced the winner, Our Oceans, Our World, by Lexington (MA) High School students Eric Kao and Jorie Heilman. The winning video will be on display at the Smithsonian’s Ocean Hall throughout the year. The contest was sponsored by the National Ocean Science Bowl and the Census of Marine Life.
Ocean Leadership Calendar View the Ocean Leadership Calendar. If you have any additions, send email submissions to Gregg Schmidt. |
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Contribute to CNN! Send news and announcements of interest to the COSEE Network community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.
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| COSEE Centers and Council Representatives |
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| COSEE-Alaska (Nora Deans, North Pacific Research Board) |
| COSEE-California (Craig Strang, UC Berkeley) |
| COSEE-Central Gulf of Mexico (Sharon Walker, Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium) |
| COSEE-Coastal Trends (Laura Murray, U of Maryland Center for Environmental Science) |
| COSEE-Great Lakes (Rosanne Fortner, Ohio State University) |
| COSEE-Networked Ocean World World (Janice McDonnell, Rutgers University) |
| COSEE-New England (Billy Spitzer, New England Aquarium) |
| COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities (Phil Bell, University of Washington) |
| COSEE-Ocean Systems (Annette deCharon, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine) |
| COSEE-Pacific Partnerships (Jan Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology) |
| COSEE-SouthEast (Lundie Spence, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium) |
| COSEE-West (Linda Duguay, University of Southern California) |
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