Whether you're a fanatic conservationist or not, every teacher should take a day to help students recognize the interdependency of life on Earth. Earth Day is a great opportunity to do so. Don't leave it to the science teacher - it's not just about science!

Use the resources to the right from PBS to explore the beauty of our planet and environmental issues. (Click the Grab It button to add this bar to your own class page.)

Also view amazing images of our world at the Earth Science World Image Bank and discover the diversity of life our Earth supports at www.Arkive.org.

Need some ideas on how to incorporate Earth Day into your curriculum? Click the activities tab in the sidebar for lesson ideas from PBS. Or, read a great book, try these math problems, explore the history of America's conservationist efforts, and check out Thinkfinity's list of Earth Day related resources.

TMI? Improving Students' Research Practices
When your students need to locate information do they start with Google or Wikipedia? Do they have difficulty filtering through all the information on the Internet to find what is really valuable and credible? In this presentation, I define the information literacy skills and offer strategies to help students research more effectively. Move your students' research experience from TMI (too much information) to TRI (the right information). 

The resources from this session are available online.

If you can't see the presentation above, click this link to access it in a new window.

Welcome, NOYCE teachers! Today's presentation offers a broad look at integrating technology in math and science. This session is designed to be a teaser - you can then take any of the ideas presented and delve into greater exploration on your own.

All the resources from the session are available on the Using the Internet in Your Classroom page.

If you have trouble viewing the presentation above, click here to access it in a separate window.

1. eSTELLAR Mid-Year Data Review: Data from the midyear teacher survey was discussed. Leads were provided site level data. Some significant points:
    
   
   • Objective 1a - student technology literacy: measured by average of teacher-reported student use. Need to increase student use of Inspiration, PowerPoint, and Probeware. Internet use is high.
      
   • Objective 1b - student achievement: waiting for data from science benchmark. May have to re-administer benchmark at end of the year to capture growth. Benchmark is being revised based on feedback at January meeting. It will also be divided into 3 sections next year and administered after each section on the timeline (Physical, Earth, Life).
      
   • Objective 2a - teacher technology literacy: only 27 of the 61 teachers say they use 10-14 of the targeted skills. We need to increase this to at least 49 teachers by the end of year. We also may need to clarify the skills - Noelle will provide a list of examples for each.
      
   • Objective 2b - teacher integration of technology: This is measured by teacher-reported student use of three or more targeted technologies. Only 59% of teachers have met this goal.
      
   • Objective 3a - student-to-computer ratio: We have met this goal. To maintain our status, schools need to be sure classroom computers are less than 4 years old in eSTELLAR classrooms.
      
   • Objective 3b - teachers with student resources on a class webpage:  Only 57% indicated they have a class webpage. Only 49% say they have resources for students on the page.
      
   • Objective 3c - students using reference databases: 59% of students say they have not used any of the reference databases.
      
   • Objective 4a - teachers using a class webpage to communicate with students and parents: Only 26 teachers said they have posted information for parents on their class page.
      
2. Additional Information:
   • eSTELLAR teachers were approved for 50 hours of professional development time. The average participation has been 14 hours.
      
   • Round 7 has not received any equipment yet. Their progress is limited to available resources. Equipment is beginning to arrive and will be distributed in the next month.
      
3. Plan of Action:
   • Lead teachers will meet with eSTELLAR teachers and help them set up a class page, post links for students and parent letter.
     • In the resources section of the class page, choose to Add a webpage. Then copy-paste the parent letter into the webpage. This will allow eChalk to translate it.
        
   • Leads will renew efforts to conduct collaboration meetings at their school sites to achieve goals of the grant. Signin sheets, agendas, resulting work products must be sent to Noelle.
      
   • Leads are encouraged to develop simple lessons integrating the use of Inspiration and PowerPoint in the upcoming Life Science unit for each grade level. Probeware will be presented again at the April inservice.
      
   • Leads are asked to verify that each teacher conducts at least one lesson using each of the 4 targeted technologies (Inspiration, Internet, PowerPoint, Probeware). Note: Round 7 will use probeware next year.
      
   • Mary Bruno and Brenda Leatherwood will conduct model in-class lessons prior to CST. 4th Grade will be Rocks and 5th Grade will be Periodic Table.
      
   • Noelle will submit a proposal offering compensation for completion of online training using the professional development system. This will allow teachers to use some of their eSTELLAR time to develop personal proficiency on their own time.
      
   • Leads recommended conducting TLC sessions after testing.
      
   • Noelle will prepare a document listing the teacher technology skills and examples for each. Leads can use this to discuss areas of growth with participating teachers. << This is done - download the "Grant Goals Overview" below!
      
4. Reminders:
   • Lead teachers need to update their logs on iGoogle.
      
   • Site administrators need to conduct monthly classroom observations of lessons integrating teacher and student use of technology.
      
   • There are only 3 months left to achieve benchmarks! Failure to achieve benchmarks means we will not receive 3rd year follow-up grant to keep professional development going!
      
   • Next meeting: April 9th at Preston