ED32A-01 10:20h
The U.S. Educational Seismology Network (USESN)
Two years ago, a new national science outreach initiative, the U.S. Educational Seismology Network (USESN), was initiated under the auspices of the IRIS Consortium. The mission of the USESN is to promote the use of seismographs and seismic data for science education. This project has emerged out of several independent educational seismology initiatives, whose collective efforts have resulted in the development of a 300+ station national school seismograph network. The USESN effort is envisioned to include support for a full range of educational seismograph options, from display-oriented, stand-alone systems to networked broadband instruments. USESN seeks to provide an organizational structure for the coordination of the numerous educational seismology activities that are developing across the country. In this presentation, we focus on the goals and opportunities for a collective educational seismology enterprise. The primary goals of the USESN initiative are to: (1) promote the installation and operation of educational seismographs and effective use of seismic data; (2) disseminate high-quality curricular materials and educational services that promote the use of seismology in science education; and (3) provide an organizational framework for coordination and advocacy of educational seismology across the country. Based on discussions at a 2003 national workshop, we summarize the primary goals for the initiative in terms of priorities for curriculum development, professional development, technical issues, and organizational structure. Additional information about the USESN initiative can be found at http://www.indiana.edu/~usesn and http://www.iris.edu/.
http://www.indiana.edu/~usesn
ED32A-02 INVITED 10:35h
Teaching with Data: Resources for Designing Effective Activities
Faculty and teachers understand the power of engaging students directly with data and are tremendously enthusiastic about the possibilities of incorporating data-rich activities in their teaching. This enthusiasm reflects the desire to empower students to solve problems, to place learning in an exciting and authentic real world context that motivates learning, and to illuminate students' understanding of the nature of science. Data-rich activities provide abundant opportunities to motivate students to engage in learning, to integrate learning of facts and skills, and to build on prior knowledge. These are all factors that are identified by research as fundamental to the learning process (How People Learn, 1999, NRC). Data-rich activities can place learning in a context that enhances students' ability to use information in new situations. Seismological data offer many opportunities due to students' familiarity with and interest in earthquakes, and its use to probe the internal structure of the Earth. Three of the most challenging aspects of teaching with data are 1) presenting data with analysis tools that can be quickly mastered, 2) designing learning activities to match the level of student expertise with data analysis and critical thinking, and 3) creating assessments that capture learning beyond factual recall. The Using Data in the Classroom website (serc.carleton.edu/usingdata) helps faculty excel at teaching with data by providing easy access to a wide range of data, discussion of the ways in which data can be effectively used in the classroom, examples of data-rich activities at a variety of educational levels across a range of geoscience topics, and references to pedagogic information. The Earth Exploration Toolbook (serc.Carleton.edu/eet) supports teachers' use of particular datasets and tools by providing step-by-step instructions in the context of an example. The Investigating Earthquakes chapter focuses specifically on use of GIS to analyze USGS earthquake data (serc.Carleton.edu/eet/earthquakes).
http://serc.carleton.edu/usingdata
ED32A-03 INVITED 10:50h
Seismic Sensors to Supercomputers: Internet Mapping and Computational Tools for Teaching and Learning about Earthquakes and the Structure of the Earth from Seismology
The Internet has become an integral resource in the classrooms and homes of teachers and students. Widespread Web-access to seismic data and analysis tools enhances opportunities for teaching and learning about earthquakes and the structure of the earth from seismic tomography. We will present an overview and demonstration of the UNAVCO Voyager Java- and Javascript-based mapping tools (jules.unavco.org) and the Cornell University/San Diego Supercomputer Center (www.discoverourearth.org) Java-based data analysis and mapping tools. These map tools, datasets, and related educational websites have been developed and tested by collaborative teams of scientific programmers, research scientists, and educators. Dual-use by research and education communities ensures persistence of the tools and data, motivates on-going development, and encourages fresh content. With these tools are curricular materials and on-going evaluation processes that are essential for an effective application in the classroom. The map tools provide not only seismological data and tomographic models of the earth's interior, but also a wealth of associated map data such as topography, gravity, sea-floor age, plate tectonic motions and strain rates determined from GPS geodesy, seismic hazard maps, stress, and a host of geographical data. These additional datasets help to provide context and enable comparisons leading to an integrated view of the planet and the on-going processes that shape it. Emerging Cyberinfrastructure projects such as the NSF-funded GEON Information Technology Research project (www.geongrid.org) are developing grid/web services, advanced visualization software, distributed databases and data sharing methods, concept-based search mechanisms, and grid-computing resources for earth science and education. These developments in infrastructure seek to extend the access to data and to complex modeling tools from the hands of a few researchers to a much broader set of users. The GEON SYNSEIS system, for example, allows a user to access the IRIS seismic data center from an interactive map interface and to retrieve earthquakes, seismic stations, and corresponding seismic waveforms. A 3D crustal structure model is then drawn from a different web service. The user defines earthquake source parameters and then generates a synthetic seismogram using validated software running on a remote supercomputer. As this information technology matures and becomes a part of everyday Internet infrastructure, tools such as this will have the potential for significant impact on education and research.
ED32A-04 11:05h
AS1 Seismographs in the Classroom
The IRIS E&O program has distributed nearly 90 AS1 seismographs to schools and science centers across the US in the past 4 years. The AS1 seismograph is a low cost (\$600), stand-alone system that is capable of recording 1-4 teleseismic earthquakes per month, depending on the site. Local earthquakes, mining blasts, and cultural noise can also be recorded. The data are displayed using the AmaSeis software developed by Alan Jones. IRIS has promoted the use of seismographs in several ways and encourages other groups to develop independent activities to leverage and expand on IRIS resources. Consortium members have created new classroom activities with some assistance from small seed money grants. Available exercises include instrument calibration, magnitude and location estimation, and analysis of seismograms. The AmaSeis software can also be used without a seismograph to display, analyze and interpret seismograms downloaded from the Internet. While AS1 seismographs have the advantage of being independent units that do not require a network connection, it is valuable for teachers and students to be part of a larger group. Information can be shared between teachers using a listserve and data can be shared via the SpiNet site maintained by Science Education Solutions. Near-real-time helicorder images can be shared via school or science center Web sites. Teachers explore the basics of AS1 operation as a small part of a 1-day earthquakes and plate tectonics workshop that is presented several times a year at national and regional science teacher meetings, after which they can apply for a seismograph. This year we have initiated an additional 1-day workshop focused solely on the use of the seismograph. The goals of this workshop are for teachers to become more experienced with the operation and calibration of the AS1 and to improve their ability to use data from the seismograph as part of their seismology/plate tectonics instruction. The workshop also provides an opportunity for experienced teachers to demonstrate how they use their seismograph and promote the sharing of data between schools. Where possible, a seismologist visits individual schools after the seismograph has been installed to help answer any questions they may have about the use of the instrument, about other IRIS-supported software, and about seismology in general. The school visits have been very well received and have helped the teachers to become more involved in the program. The IRIS AS1 program allows teachers to bring active seismology into the classroom. It is easy to use and its design makes it effective to teach about how a seismometer works and to install in a classroom for immediate and continuous viewing and use. In addition, it can be a catalyst for teachers and students to communicate with other schools about their mutual earthquake recordings.
http://www.iris.edu/edu/AS1.htm
ED32A-05 INVITED 11:20h
1994-2004 : Ten years of European effort for education in Seismology
Following trends of the pioneer PEPP project in USA, an European group has investigated since 1994 how to promote physics and earth sciences and, more specifically, how to educate scientifically and socially young generations to environmental hazards. Seismology has been selected as the vehicle for a prototypical ten-years experience of teaching and learning sciences in European high schools accounting for the specificity and differencies of educational systems in each country. This general purpose has required competences and strong interactions of both teachers, researchers and high school students. Over ten years of continuous activities, these people have found that the target was very ambitious and that both high-tech efforts as well as very focused teaching procedures must be set on. Dedicated instruments were developped in two years through interactions between researchers,teachers and students in order to fit both the scientific quality but also pedagogical features and were installed in different parts of Europe. The sequence of Colfiorito Earthquakes in September-October 1997 was the first data collected simultaneously in different European schools. Since then, more thant 50 stations have been deployed over Europe and data have been made available for education purposes. Data from these seismic stations have been used as the back-bone for interactions between students/pupils, teachers and researchers leading to the development of dedicated teaching and learning materials as software tools for data analysis, simple experimentations and so on. The framework for such an European initiative has been provided by Italian and French national funds and put together under the banner of the so-called EDUSEIS projet. This EDUcational SEISmological European Network (http://www.eduseis.org/) has shown that indeed environmental education is possible with its typical feature of long-term efforts. Funding through Europe will certainly increase the cohesion of this experience and will be very welcome. Taking into account the number of schools in Europe where modern communication tools are available and not used during the night, one may foresee that a large number of multi-parametric data acquisition could be installed and operated in schools with a relatively small man-power and hardware resources. Based on the EduSeis experience, an operational team composed by teachers and researchers could deploy in schools 1K prototype systems for continuous monitoring of environmental parameters as soil vibrations, air gas composition, temperature, atmospheric pressure, rainfall ... The expected huge data-flow should be carefully analyzed, handled and processed in order to make it available for educational purposes and for actions aiming at the increasing awareness about environmental problems. One may hope that an international coordination should appear because the required level of interaction is the whole Earth planet on which we all are living.
http://www.eduseis.org
ED32A-06 INVITED 11:35h
UTIG's Contributions to Seismology in K-12 Classrooms
The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) conducts research in many areas of seismology, including the study of earthquakes, the structure of Earth's interior and targeted geologic settings, and the development of methods to monitor nuclear explosions. In addition, UTIG scientists engage in educational outreach that takes seismology and its applications into K-12 classrooms. Activities include (1) the development of standards-aligned, inquiry-based curriculum materials that use real seismic data to convey concepts in earthquake seismology and which introduce modern technologies based on the principles of seismology; (2) a year-long teacher professional development institute that incorporates seismology and teacher workshops at which scientists, GK-12 Fellows and teachers team up to deliver science content and learning activities; and (3) a "Teacher in the Field" program through which teachers have participated in marine geophysical cruises to study tectonic processes in the Bransfield Strait, Hess Deep, Terror Rift in the Ross Sea, the southeastern Caribbean, and the Blanco Fracture Zone. UTIG has supported these efforts through grants from the NSF and state agencies, and by partnering with other programs and organizations. For example, teacher workshops were organized around public lectures by IRIS/SSA Distinguished Speakers Roger Bilham (Global Death and Construction: Earthquakes on an Urban Planet) and David Wald (Rapid Earthquake Information: Citizen Science and New Tools for Emergency Response) and presented as part of The University of Texas Environmental Science Institute Outreach Lecture Series.
http://www.ig.utexas.edu/outreach/ttif/
ED32A-07 11:50h
Seismic Research and High School Physics
Through a series of summer workshops, seismologists at Indiana University have trained secondary physics and earth science teachers in fundamentals of seismology and basic concepts in seismic research. Teachers and students then gain hands on experience in science research through operation of a research quality seismic station sited at the local schools. Physics and earth science students have operated the Northview High School Seismic Station since 1998. Data from the Northview seismometer are stored locally and also transmitted over the Internet to a database at Indiana University. Students have access to local data as well as seismic databases accessible through the Internet to use for research projects. In this presentation, I will describe how these projects have been incorporated into the physics and earth science programs at Northview High School. I will discuss how our teachers and students have benefited from the opportunity to take part in hands-on collaborative scientific research under the guidance of university faculty. In particular, I will describe our participation in a regional seismic network through seismic data acquisition, data analysis using seismological software, and students' experiences in a university-based student research symposium. I reflect on the some of the successes, such as increased student and community interest, resulting from our work with the seismic station. I comment on some of the barriers, such as time constraints and unintended interference from school personnel, to high-school teachers' and students' involvement in scientific research programs. I conclude with a discussion of a successful student seismology project, an examination of blasts from local surface coal mines, that was a finalist in the 2003 INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair
ED32A-08 12:05h
UPSeis - Visiting Seismographs for K-12 Schools
Upper Peninsula Seismic Experiments in Schools (UPSeis) is an educational program developed to engage K-12 students in hands-on activities learning about earthquakes and Earth science. The system is intended to enhance teaching earth sciences to students, typically using teleseismic and regional earthquakes recorded directly in the classroom. This seismograph is computer-based and self-contained, requiring no hook-ups to the Internet or to advanced timing devices. It is easy to operate and relatively inexpensive to purchase. The UPSeis curriculum is designed so that a seismograph operates in a classroom for two or three months at a time, allowing the recording of at least 2 to 3 very large earthquakes somewhere in the world. The system comes with classroom activities, which are broken into several units, such as 'Seismic Waves', 'The UPSeis Technique' and 'Earthquake Hazards'. Within each unit, activities are rated for the appropriate grade level. All of the units have also been correlated to the Michigan Content Standards, and are easily adaptable to other state educational content standards as well. Our intention is to assist teachers and volunteers with bringing earth science into the classroom, by making it easier to obtain and operate seismographs. Ideally, a sponsor (University or Company) will pay for a system and any related costs. We further plan to train volunteers at conferences and meetings (such as AGU or SEG) in order to train them on a system and provide them with the knowledge required to assist teachers in the classroom. The volunteer would be available to come into the school and work with the teacher and students on some of the activities, particularly after they have recorded an earthquake. In addition, the volunteer would rotate their system between local area schools every 2 or 3 months. This allows teachers to use the system for a few months without the concern for maintenance of a permanent system. For schools interested in having a permanent system, they would be referred to IRIS, MichSeis, PEPP, or similar group.