On the Web: Start the Year Off Right

SciLinks®

SciLinks® is a web-based service from NSTA that provides online content chosen to augment printed articles and books. It does so through keywords; the keywords for this issue are:

• Assessment Strategies
• Enzymes

NSTA Calendar

The NSTA Calendar lists the following opportunities relating to Start the Year Off Right. To learn about other science-education events and opportunities, click here.

• Environmental Inquiry
  The Environmental Inquiry website offers ideas and downloadable resources for high school students working on projects in environmental science. Features include specific research protocols; forms that can help students design experiments and then analyze, interpret, and present their results; discussion boards; and an online peer review forum. There are many resources that support the books in the Cornell Scientific Inquiry Series published by NSTA Press: Assessing Toxic Risk, Invasion Ecology, Decay and Renewal, and Watershed Dynamics.
• ANOVA Science Website
  The ANOVA Science website includes examples of inquiry projects designed and conducted by students and teachers and a bulletin board devoted to discussions on science education and scientific inquiry. The site is focused on the Research Investigation Process, a research-based critical-thinking process that addresses state and national standards for science education by placing the student at the center of instruction.
• Student Experiments at Sea
  The Student Experiments at Sea (SEAS) is a web-based program for middle and high school students studying Earth science, life science, oceanography, and related subjects. The SEAS activities use real examples and recent data from deep-sea research, along with interactions with scientists, to teach about the scientific-inquiry process. Learning outcomes address the Standards and participation is teacher-directed.
• Institute for Inquiry
  Through its Institute for Inquiry, the Exploratorium offers guides for professional development workshops, a library of recommended resources, and other tools that can help the science-education community reap the benefits of the institute’s decades of experience with inquiry-based teaching and learning. The institute seeks to support the effort to provide high-quality science-education programs for students at all levels.
• Science, Math, and Technology Newsletter
  The American Association for the Advancement of Science’s initiative on science, mathematics, and technology literacy—known as Project 2061—has an electronic newsletter for educators. Each issue of Project 2061 Connections offers an in-depth look at current research, results, and ways the findings, tools, and resources can be applied to teachers’ efforts to advance science literacy.
• NoteStar Research Aid
  NoteStar helps students cite online sources in their research papers. Designed for grades 4–12, the program has a NoteCards tool students can use to take notes from online sources. After notes are gathered, students can organize their notes to suit their project’s goals. Once teachers have assigned a NoteStar project to students, they may return to monitor students’ progress at any time or answer student questions, which are posted directly on NoteStar. Based on a student or group’s progress, the teacher may provide feedback.
• Garriott Engineering Design Challenge
  Students design their own skyscraper or suspension bridge that can withstand structural flexing. They apply a force such as wind or shaking to show that their structure can survive. Students then submit videos of their project and experiment to the Challenger YouTube site. This science challenge focuses on architectural engineering, as students can use a variety of materials to build their structures.
• President’s Environmental Youth Awards
  The President’s Environmental Youth Awards recognize young people across America for projects that demonstrate their commitment to the environment. K–12 students (sponsored by an adult) submit evidence of a completed project to their local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional office. This program is available to individuals, classes, and youth groups. Awards are presented in each of the EPA’s regions, and one project from each region will receive a national award in Washington, DC. Applications are due October 31, 2008.
• Internet Science and Technology Fair
  The Internet Science and Technology Fair was created to afford students in grades 3–12 a chance to experience the excitement of researching solutions to real-world problems involving science, engineering, and other technical fields of study. Students primarily use information and communication-technology tools to conduct their online investigations. They work as a team, communicate with professionals, apply science inquiry, and present their research findings in a professional manner.