Newsletter

Special Interest Articles

• CreatingLearningUnitswithPRISM

Individual Highlights

• FreeGraphingCalculator• NewYorkTimesLessons• Web2.0• NASAYearoftheSolar

System• SpaceScienceInstitute• Exploratorium• TheChildren’sMuseum• PurduezipTrips• QuickLinks• ProfessionalDevelopment

andGrants• WhatPRISMCanDofor

You!

May 2011 Volume 1, Issue 3

hosted by

Creating Learning Units with PRISMIntroducing PRISM LessonsIn conjunctionwith PRISM’s extensive resource library comes a tool for teachers toeasilyintegratetheirfavoriteresourcesintotheirdailylessons.UsingPRISM’slessonplan builder, teachers can create highly detailed plans for implementing interactiveresources into their classroomwhile at the same time letting their distinct style ofteachingshowthrough.Thelessonsaredesignedtofittheteacher’sneedsbystayingportableandeditableatalltimes.

Create your Own Learning UnitsThis tool guides an instructor through a four-step process. Users specify academic standardsandlearningobjectives. Methods,activities,andassessment are augmented with PRISM digitalresources. Finished plans (either printed orelectronic)maybesharedwithcurricularteamsoraddedtoteachingportfolios.Eachplanisuniforminappearanceforease-of-use.

Integrate into MoodlePRISM allows users toincorporateyourfavoritelessonplansdirectlyintoyour Moodle classroomenvironment. Studentwill then be able toaccessthelinkedresourcesbysimpleclickingthelinksinsidetheircourse.

Search and ShareMany instructorsembedthePRISMdigital resources within detailed,inquiry-basedlearningunits. Theseunits both engage and motivatelearners.However,theseeducatorshad no convenient way to storeor publish the rich and innovativeinstruction they had devised.Teachersnowhaveaconvenientwaytosharetheirblueprintsforlearningwithoneanother.Haveyourlessonplans included in this searchablelibrarythatisaccessibletoteachersfrom around the state through oursimpleapprovalprocess.

PRISM News Page 2

Free Graphing Calculator from Microsoft

Using the New York Times in the Classroom

Frombasicmathtoprecalculus,MicrosoftMathematics4.0canhelpyouvisualizeandseemathematicalconceptsasyou’veneverseenthembefore.Thisfreedownloadabletool includes step-by-step instructionsand explains fundamental concepts.Thewiderangeof tools tohelpstudentswith complex mathematics includes afull-featured graphing calculator that’sdesigned to work just like a hand-heldcalculatorandinkhandwritingsupporttorecognizehand-writtenproblems.

The Step-by-Step Equation Solver:Studentscanusethistolearnhowtosolvedifficultmathproblems.

Graphing calculator: Itsfullfeaturesandlarge two-dimensional and enhancedthree-dimensional color graphs canbetter illustrate problems and concepts.Formulas and Equations Library:Studentswill findmore than 100 commonly usedequations and formulae to help identifyandapplyequations.Triangle Solver: Thisgraphingtoolexplainstrianglesandtheirparts.Unit Conversion tool: Students can usethishandytooltoquicklyandeasilyconvertunits ofmeasure, including length, area,volume, weight, temperature, pressure,energy,power,velocity,andtime.

OurmissionistoofferrichandimaginativematerialsforteachingandlearningusingNewYorkTimescontent.Everyweekdayweofferneweducationalresourcesbasedonthearticles,photographs,videos,illustrations,podcastsandgraphicspublishedinTheNewYorkTimes–allforfree.

Weinviteparents,teachersandstudentswhoare13andoldertouseourideasandtools.Wehopethatthroughpostingyourcommentsyou’llbecomepartofanongoingconversationaboutteachingandlearning.

Throughouttheyear,weofferthefollowingregularfeatures:

Lesson Plans—DailylessonplansbasedonNewYorkTimescontent.

Student Opinion—News-relatedquestionsthatinviteresponsefromstudentsage13andolder.Word of the Day—VocabularywordsinthecontextofrecentTimesarticles.Test Yourself —QuestionsbasedonTimescontentthataimtostrengthenliteracyandnumeracyskills.6 Q’s About the News —Anactivityinwhichstudentsanswerbasicquestions(Who,What,Where,When,WhyandHow)aboutanarticle.News Quiz—Interactivedailynewsquizzesoncurrenttopstories.On This Day in History —Listingsofhistoricaleventsandmoreforeachdayoftheyear.Student Crossword—Topicalpuzzlesgearedtowardteens.Fill-Ins—Timesarticlesfromwhichwordand

phraseshavebeendropped.Fillintheblankswithyourownwords,orchoosefromascrambledlistofthewordsthatwereremoved.Poetry Pairings —AweeklycollaborationwiththePoetryFoundationinwhichwefeatureaworkfromitsAmericanLifeinPoetryprojectalongsidecontentfromTheTimesthatsomehowechoes,extendsorchallengesthepoem’sthemes.

Theaward-winningLearningNetworkwascreatedinthefallof1998.InOctober2009,were-launcheditasaTimesblog.Wehopeteacherswilluseourblogtogetandexchangeideas,parentstosharehownewsstorieshaveresonatedathome,andstudentstoexpressthemselvesoneverythingfrompoliticstopopularculture.

www.microsoft.com/education/products/student/math

www.learning.blogs.nytimes.com/about-the-learning-network

PRISM News Page 3

Free Web 2.0 Professional Development

NASA - Year of the Solar System

Space Science Institute

The Teacher Challenge is made up offree 30 day professional developmentchallengeswhereparticipantsaresteppedthroughweekly tasks that increase theirskillswhileworkingtogetheraspartofaglobalcommunity.

The Challenge is open to anyone whowants to increase their skills –blogswillbeusedforreflectingyourprogresswhilelearningandconnectingwitheachother.We’ve observed success of any use ofonline technology is strongly related tothe teacher’s abilities. The greater wesupport and increase a teacher’s skills,

he better they are able to support theirstudentsuseofweb2.0technologies.It’s all about you choosing when youwant to learn,while being supported byacommunitythatwillassistyouwiththeprocess!

Learn to use Wallwisher, Self-gradingQuizzes, Bitstrips for Schools, Classtools.net, Edmodo, DoInk, Kerpoof, Glogster,ToonDoo,Wordle,Skype,Animoto,VoiceThreads, PhotoFiltre, Livebinders,WeeBehave,DropBox,Jing,Audacity,LearnBoost and Wetoku from fellowteachers.

NASA’sjourneyshavedeepenedhumankind’sunderstandingoftheuniverse,advancedtechnologybreakthroughsandexpandedthefrontiersofscientificresearch.Theseaccomplishmentsshareacommongenesis:education.Acommitmenttoexcellenceinscience,technology,engineering

andmathematicseducationensuresthenextgenerationofAmericanscancontinueshapingthefuture.NASAcontinuesitstraditionofinvestingineducationprogramsandsupportingtheeducatorswhoplayakeyroleinpreparing,inspiring,exciting,encouragingandnurturingtheyoungminds

oftodaywhowillbetheworkforceoftomorrow.ThematicTopics-WhatWeExplore-EarlySolarSystem-PlanetaryProcesses&Weather-Astrobiology-HowWeExplore

SSI’s Education & Public Outreach program is innovative, fosters collaboration, andhasstrategicimpactonthecommunitiesweserve.Wetakegreatprideinsuccessfullybridgingtheworldsofcuttingedgeresearchwiththemulti-facetedrealmofengagingandenlighteningsciencecommunication.

The results are dynamic and pioneering E/PO programs that span a wide range ofaudienceneedsandlearningmodalities:fromweb-enabledinteractiveexperiencestofullyimmersivemuseumexhibitions;fromhands-onteachingmaterialsandstandards-basedcurricularsupplementstoability-enhancingpartnershipsbetweenscientistsandeducators,andmuchmore.

We are also building upon our areas of expertise and striving to expand into neweducational frontiers, such asmassmedia projects. Togetherwith key partners, weareleadingthewaytomoremeaningful,moreeffective,andmoreinnovativescienceeducation.

www.solarsystem.nasa.gov/index.cfm

www.spacescience.org

www.teacherchallenge.edublogs.org

PRISM News Page 4

After School Science with Exploratorium

The Children’s Museum Units of Study

Purdue zipTrips

Afterschoolprogramsprovideanidealsettingforstimulatingchildren’sinterestinandcapacityfordoingscience.

Mostofthehands-onscienceactivitiesyou’llfindherecanbedoneinshorttime-frameswithlow-costmaterials.Youcanincorporatetheseactivitiesintomultidayormultiweekinvestigationsofaparticularareaofscience,oryoucanusethemasone-timeexplorationsofaphenomenonsuchassoundvibrationsorreflection.

Exploresomeofourmanyresources:

•hands-onactivities•digitalvideos•professional-developmentmaterials•programsupportresources•researchpublications•conceptmaps•teachingtips

CheckoutTheChildren’sMuseumwebsiteforunitsofstudy.Thesestandardsbasedunitshavehands-onactivitiesforstudents.

TheChildren’sMuseumofIndianapolisisanonprofitinstitutiondedicatedtoprovidingextraordinarylearningexperiencesthathavethepowertotrans-

formthelivesofchildrenandfamilies.Itisthelarg-estchildren’smuseumintheworldandservesmorethan1millionpeopleacrossIndianaaswellasvisitorsfromotherstatesandnations.Themuseumprovidesspe-cialprogramsandexperi-encesforstudentsaswellasteachingmaterials

andprofessionaldevelop-mentopportunitiesforteachers.

Toplanavisitorlearnmoreabouteducationalprogramsandresources,visittheTeach-ersectionofthemuseum’sWebsite,http://www.Childrens-Museum.org

What is a Purdue zipTrip™?

APurduezipTripisanelectronicfieldtrip.That’sright.Electronic!

Let’sfaceit.Kidslovefieldtrips.Thechancetogoplacesbeyondtheirownclassroomsandseeforthemselveshowtheworldworks.

Butnoteverydestinationiscloseenoughforadaytrip,andyoumaynothavethetimeorresourcestocommitafulldaytoonefieldtrip.That’swherewecomein.

WhenyousignuptotakeyourclassonaPurduezipTrip,thefieldtripcomestoyou!!

Purduescientistswillsharetheirexcitingworkwithyourmiddle-schoolstudents,with-outmakingthemlatefortheirafter-schoolactivities.

www.exploratorium.edu/afterschool/

www.childrensmuseum.org/units-of-study

www.agriculture.purdue.edu/zip-Trips

PRISM News Page 5

Quick Links

Professional Development & Grants

What PRISM Can Do For You!

Mathematics IlluminatedProfessionaldevelopmentforteacherswithemphasisonthe“why”ofmath.Websitehasmedia-intergratedresourcesforteachersexploringmajorthemesinmathematics.www.learner.org/courses/mathilluminated/

Interactive Resources for StudentsMath,Science,Language,HistoryandtheArtsarefeatureslinkswithgreatinteractivelearningopportunitiesforstu-dents.Quizzesattheendcheckforstudentunderstanding. www.learner.org/interactives/

• Easilyfindtheperfectteachingandlearningresourcesfromourlibraryofover2,700.

• Savealistofyourfavoriteresourcesforquickretrieval.

• Createandsharelessonplansthatteachyoursubjectsutilizingyourfavoriteresources.

• Developonlineclassroomswithinteractiveassignments,lessons,quizzesandmore!

• Joindiscussionswithstudents,parents,orother

teachersinsidechatsandforums.

• Storeyourclassroommaterialsonlinesothattheyareavailabletoyoufromanycomputer.

• Reachyourstudentsmoreeffectivelybyusingwebmediaforthedigitalage.

• EarnCRUsbycompletingPRISMledonlineMoodlecourse–eitherBeginningMoodleorIntermediateMoodlecoursesareavailabletoyouatnocostseveraltimesthroughouttheyear.

• Selectfromfreelearningresourcesthatemphasizevisualization,richcontext,staged-problemsolving,andelectronicallyenabledcollaboration/communication.

• Augmentyourowndynamicpresenceintheclassroomwithteachingtoolsthatmirrortheskillsneededforsuccessinhighereducationandthe21stCenturyworkplace.

Through our strong support from the Lilly

Endowment and others, we are constantly growing

and improving.

Check our site regularly to see what new resources

you can use in your classroom.

www.rose-prism.org

www.rose-prism.org

PRISM isa freewebsite thatprovidescollectionsofonline resourcesforIndianaeducatorsinthefieldsofscience,technology,engineering,and mathematics (STEM). The primary collection of digital teachingmaterialsisindexedaccordingtotheIndianaAcademicStandardsfor6th,7th,and8thgradeandsecondaryeducationcourses.

Aquatic Ecosystem Sampling for Middle and High SchoolTeachers,FirstSummerSession:June6-10,2011,9:00am–5:00pmeachday,BIO401-501/3credithours/undergraduateorgraduateWebsite:www.bsu.edu/web/mpyron/501/outline501.html

Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants areawardedannuallytoteachers/educatorsofgradesK-12tohelpimprovetheeduca-tionoftheirstudents,schooland/orcommunityinthescienceofmeteorology.Website:www.nwas.org/grants/solhirsch.php

Write for The Hoosier Science Teacher,contactJudeBingham,EditorWebsite:www.hasti.org/publications/publications.html

The Children’s Museum of IndianapoliscreatesavarietyofprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforteachersinIndiana.Website:www.childrensmuseum.org/professional-development