Many of you are wanting to download the resources from the conference in Philadelphia. Here’s how.
Highlights of stimulating conversations taking place right now on our listservs:

• Chemistry—iron titration, how to deal with dangerous chemicals, and what incoming freshman need to know;
• Earth Science—Friday, May 28th, being celebrated as the 2,595th “birthday of science,” and combining science with art;
• Elementary—lots of recommendations for books to use to teach the Simple Machines;
• Physical Science—conduction radiation activities;
• Physics—the discussion on grading and homework continues, as well as discussions on ferrorfluids.

In NSTA’s online professional learning communities, there is activity in the Tennessee Chapter group (discussing the implementation of a new state framework for science K–12), the Massachusetts chapter has posted their flyer on their upcoming conference, and don’t forget to download all the presentation resources for our Philadelphia Conference–even if you didn’t come, as a member of these communities, you can access all the handouts and session materials! Click here to access a short video that teaches you how to get the handouts.
On our “core site” (www.nsta.org): read about National Lab Day and get involved!
On Facebook, lots of videos and images being shared on fun experiments for families and microscopic imagery.
On LinkedIn, more direct posts from NSTA’s Career Center, and discussions on getting groundwater science education into schools.
And of course, on our Twitter stream, science educators are tweeting and re-tweeting the latest from NSTA Press!
Renew Your Membership!
Now is the time to insure that you don’t miss a single journal issue or one minute of the time you use to network and build professional connections here in these online communities. Click the link above to renew your membership and insure that NSTA stays in your corner for your science education career!

As a SciLinks user, you have access to thousands of websites in the database. An intrepid group of reviewers called NSTA Webwatchers—made up of science teachers—work behind the scenes to search for potential entries and review them for inclusion in SciLinks. Let’s meet a few of them.

 

Anne Wolff

Anne Wolff, a graduate of Sacramento State University, is credentialed in multiple subjects and special education in both California and Washington. She is an independent consultant, and has been a SciLinks reviewer since 2003. Anne was team leader for a “Webwatchers Summer Institute,” and is an alumnus of the NASA/New program. In 2002 she was awarded a Lysol grant for her lesson plan “Wash Your Hands!” Anne is proud to be part of the SciLinks team. “SciLinks brings the best of the web to teachers and students. It’s a real timesaver and essential part of any science curriculum.”
Carol Sue Laskey has been a SciLinks reviewer for NSTA since 1999. She graduated from Clarion University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education majoring in Special Education/Rehabilitative Sciences with a minor in Gerontology. She also earned a Masters of Education in Special Education. Carol Sue has been an elementary learning support teacher with the Titusville Area School District since 1999. A native of McConnellsburg, PA, she currently resides in Oil City, PA. The most important aspect of her life is her family.  Her hobbies (when she’s not reviewing websites) include crossstitch, reading, and woodworking.
Michael Calhoun is a veteran science teacher and hosts an online science website. Over the years Mike has studied trends in science, education, and finance, conducting research, developing programs, and writing articles on these topics. Mike is a graduate of the City University of New York and New York University and has also completed post-graduate level training in classroom technology applications and interactive web-based e-learning design at the University of Virginia. As a resident of the Gulf Coast of Florida he enjoys the warm, sunny weather, the beaches, and has a passion for cross-country cycling.
 

Norma Holowach

A SciLinks reviewer since 2002, Norma Holowach is a National Board Certified Teacher with 24 years of experience. Over that time she taught biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and general science. Her students ranged from grades 7–12 in urban and rural districts. She is currently teaching biology and chemistry at Lakeview High School in Cortland, Ohio. A graduate of Youngstown State University, Norma earned a B.S. degree in biology with minors in chemistry and education. She received her Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Ashland University. In addition to her formal education, she has traveled to many of our national parks and loves learning about the natural world. “I have a deep appreciation for nature and enjoy activities that allow me to expand my knowledge of the stars, wildflowers, and birds.” In addition to reading and traveling, Norma collects fossils and minerals.
 

Mary Bigelow

Mary Bigelow has been a SciLinks reviewer since 1999 and has over 35 years of experience as a science teacher (grades 7–12) and in professional development. She is a graduate of Penn State’s science education program and earned a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Penn State. The most recent adventure was “retooling” (not retiring) and spending more time writing for NSTA, hiking and birdwatching at state and national parks, and volunteering at a nearby nature center. “SciLinks is a wonderful tool for teachers, and it’s been great to see it evolve and expand over the years. As a reviewer, I really enjoy learning about new topics in science.”

A local laboratory is relocating, and the company is offering to donate materials and equipment to our high school. Our principal says this looks like a good deal, but we science teachers are a little cautious. What precautions should we take?
—Marcial, Reno, Nevada
On it’s face, this may seem like a great offer. What science teacher wouldn’t want free materials? Your principal is probably thinking of the cliché: Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. But there’s another old saying that may apply: If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
First, find out if your district has a policy or guidelines on accepting donated materials. If you accept things, sight unseen, you may get “leftovers” the company doesn’t want to move. They may be well intentioned, but I’d still ask for an inventory (or, better yet, a chance to check out the gifts onsite) with the right to refuse anything that is not in working order, not useful in a school setting, or potentially hazardous.

Be cautious when accepting technology donations. Ask your district technology coordinator to determine if computers and peripherals are in working order and compatible with the district specifications. The school will have to assume the costs of upgrades and software—if the computers are several years old, it might not be worth the time and expense to update them. In addition, the school would be responsible for disposing of any unusable equipment (I’m speaking from personal experience).
Regarding any chemicals that might be on the list, follow the advice in NSTA’s Inquiring Safely: A Guide for Middle School Teachers:

To save yourself from liability, responsibility, and a lot of expensive and unrewarding work, never accept gifts of donations of chemicals from well-meaning parents, upper-grade teachers, business and industry, or anyone else. You will not have the appropriate MSDS [material safety data sheet] documents, and you cannot be certain of the age, purity, and prior storage conditions of chemicals that are not ordered and received directly from a reliable science supply house. Some donors even make “gifts” only to rid themselves of the responsibility of hazardous waste disposal. Some materials may not be subject to regulations when you first accept them, but may be declared hazardous after you have accepted them. The responsibility and cost for hazardous waste disposal becomes yours. (p. 29)

On the other hand, you may find some gems—microscopes, glassware, trays, balances, hot plates, probeware, field equipment, lab furniture—that will enhance your basic lab inventory. Don’t forget the needs of your colleagues at the middle and elementary levels, too. You just may find a specialized piece of equipment that will help advanced students in their research projects. Whatever you accept should be added to your inventory, stored securely, and, in the case of equipment, relabeled as school property.
If you do accept any donations, a thank-you note on school letterhead to the lab and a notice on the school website or newsletter would be appropriate. Include a few photos showing how the materials or equipment are being used. For your own records, note the reasons for declining any items in case there are any questions from the community as to why you passed up some of these “gifts.”
If your budget is tight and you want to find deals on materials, check to see if your municipality, county, or state has a warehouse or surplus program as part of its general services agency. These purchasing programs—open to schools, nonprofit agencies, community organizations, and (sometimes) individuals—are a bargain hunter’s paradise. My colleagues and I visited our state warehouse when we heard a hospital closed down. We purchased boxes of unopened test tubes, beakers, disposable gloves, and other brand new lab materials for a fraction of the catalog price. We found bargains on a used desk and filing cabinets for the lab storage room, too. And we had the chance to inspect everything before finalizing our purchase.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/329207472/

What’s New for May 17 on NSTA’s various online outposts
Many of you are wanting to download the resources from the conference in Philadelphia. Here’s how.
Highlights of stimulating conversations taking place right now on our listservs:

• Chemistry—STD simulations, designing lab space, and electrochemistry questions;
• Biology—more about Amish Friendship Bread and a Biologist’s Mother’s Day song;
• Earth Science—working with the movie “The Day After Tomorrow,” and extra credit;
• General Science—The Gulf oil spill, and kite-making;
• Physical Science—Conduction radiation activities;
• Physics—Big discussion on grading and homework, as well as momentum.

In NSTA’s online professional learning communities, there is activity in the Chemistry Group (Cobalt Chloride-Ethanol Separation), and don’t forget to download all the presentation resources for our Philadelphia Conference–even if you didn’t come, as a member of these communities, you can access all the handouts and session materials! Click here to access a short video that teaches you how to get the handouts.
On our “core site” (www.nsta.org): read about National Lab Day and get involved!
On Facebook, news about National Lab Day as well as new teacher survey results.
On LinkedIn, more direct posts from NSTA’s Career Center.
And of course, on our Twitter stream, science educators are tweeting and re-tweeting the latest from NSTA Press!
Renew Your Membership!
Now is the time to insure that you don’t miss a single journal issue or one minute of the time you use to network and build professional connections here in these online communities. Click the link above to renew your membership and insure that NSTA stays in your corner for your science education career!

Perhaps you’ve used the “Favorite Websites” feature of SciLinks, in which you can create lists of websites to share with students.
The new Quiz Manager takes this a step further. You can create questions for a particular website in the SciLinks database and assign students to complete them. You would need to have a class roster first, and then you’re ready to start. There are mini-tutorials on SciLinks that guide you through the process of creating question banks and show what the student activity looks like. You can create “selected response” items (multiple-choice, T/F, matching) and short-answer response questions. After the student is finished with the assignment, the teacher gets a report on how students answered the items and can comment and grade the short-answer ones.

Teachers can work together to create and share a common item bank for a website, or you can choose to keep the questions just for your class.
I’m thinking of how I would use this feature. I was never a big fan of the “read the chapter and answer the questions at the end” type of assignment, unless the students knew there was a specific purpose (e.g., review or preview). While taking a SciLinks “quiz,” the student can have the web page open, so questions for which you expect the students to have memorized the answer would not be appropriate. But I could see this used as an application assessment:

• Apply a unit concept or vocabulary to information on the web. What type of rock is pictured here? a. igneous  b. sedimentary c. metamorphic
• Interpret a graph. The independent variable in this experiment is ___.  a. the elapsed time b. the height of the plant   c. the amount of water provided.
• Gather student reflections, feedback, or questions about the information on a site. What characteristics did this scientist exhibit in her study? or What do you think was the most difficult part of this simulation

Feel free to add a comment with other suggestions for using this tool!
Extra value alert: The tutorials were created with Jing—a free online application that captures screens, cursor movements, and voice and creates a file that can be added to a website or blog. I’ve used this for tutorials and demonstrations. The basic version is free (and fun to play with).

I read Jean Craighead George’s My Side of the Mountain at just the right time in my life—young enough to believe that I could live in the woods like Sam and old enough to try some of the living-off-the-land strategies he used (while I still lived comfortably at home). Her writing and illustrations taught me while transporting me to another place and I’ve also learned from and enjoyed her other books.
She has been awarded the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Books and Films Lifetime Achievement Award.  Adults and older children will enjoy listening to a podcast interview with Jean Craighead George on the AAAS’s Book Talks.
Peggy

I’ve just been hired for my first teaching position as a high school biology teacher. I’m excited, but a little apprehensive. What can I do now to get ready, before I get access to the school?
—Grace, Little Rock, Arkansas
Congratulations, and welcome to the teaching profession! You’ll get your class lists and the key to your classroom/lab. But there are many things you can do now before your official start (this is also true for readers who are looking for a position). There are many books and websites with tips for new teachers, but science teachers have additional challenges in terms of managing a laboratory, maintaining inventories, following safety requirements, and staying current with the content.
Ask for a copy of the district science curriculum and copies of the textbook and teacher guide. Familiarize yourself with the content topics, big ideas, essential questions, learning objectives, activities, and assessments. Highlight the equipment and materials you’ll need for the first unit, so you can make sure you have what you need to get started when you have access to the building. Explore NSTA’s SciLinks to start your own lists of websites related to the curriculum to share with your students. If you notice any gaps in your content knowledge, check out NSTA’s Learning Center for Science Objects, archived webinars, and podcasts on a variety of topics.

Download a copy of your state’s academic standards for science to learn what the expectations are for your subject or grade level. Your state probably has a site that summarizes the standardized test scores for your school, too. Look for the school’s “report card” that describes its Adequate Yearly Progress and demographic data.
Find out what basic safety equipment is in the lab. This affects what kind of activities you can plan. Ask ahead of time if notebooks and other consumable materials have been ordered. Once the school year starts, it’s often hard to get things that are not in inventory. Ask what technology will available to you in the classroom, such as an interactive white board, “clickers,” probeware, cameras, or projection attachments for microscopes. If the school does not provide a laptop you can take home, invest in some USB flash drives you can use to take files to work on at home.
Use the district website to learn about your school and the other schools in the district. Look at the current calendar to get a sense of when events such as open houses and holiday breaks occur. Check out the student and faculty handbooks if they are online to learn about the procedures you’ll have to follow. Look at how other teachers have structured their district webpages. Start to plan what you’ll put on yours, including an introduction to your professional background and your interests related to science.
Visit the community if you’re not already familiar with it, both in person and online. Learn about the local history and explore any museums, parks, or nature centers in the region. Check out the science programs and resources at any nearby colleges and universities. Note the location of the public library and whether your students have access to it.
Begin to assemble your professional resources. Some science teachers like to wear a lab coat or apron, and you may want to have your own goggles rather than use the student ones. If you’re not already a member, take advantage of NSTA’s discounted membership rate for new teachers. You’ll get a subscription to The Science Teacher and access to NSTA’s other journals and archives, NSTA Reports with news updates and resources, and access the NSTA Communities and email lists. Even if you lurk for a while, you’ll learn from the amazing teachers who post there. Browse back issues of The Science Teacher for ideas and suggestions. Create your professional library with titles from NSTA publications and add these to your summer reading list. There are so many to choose form—I’d recommend starting with Investigating Safely: A Guide for High School Teachers, NSTA Guide to Planning Science Facilities (which has suggestions for organizing materials as well as safety guidelines), The Biology Teacher’s Handbook, and Science Formative Assessment.
This would also be a good time to purge any social media sites of inappropriate information or photos. Whether we like it or not, teachers are considered role models and held to a higher standard of decorum and behavior.
I’ve heard the most important goal of a first-year teacher is to become a second-year teacher. You’ll have lots of challenges, but you have a community of science teachers who are willing to help. You’re wise to start preparing now.
Any other suggestions for Grace? Add a comment.
Photograph: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/12/18636595_f09160199c.jpg

As the revision of the national science education standards gets started, many educators, administrators, parents, and other community members will be concerned not just the final product, but how the final product will be decided.
Henry Kepner, Jr., president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, shared his observations from the development of the Common Core Standards in Mathematics—and possible implications for science educators—in the May issue of NSTA Reports.
Read “A Math Perspective on the Common Core Standards Initiative” online now.