COSEE NETWORK NEWS 2009
July 2009
 In This Issue CNN Vol. 2 No. 7 | July 2009 
Focus On...COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities Subscribe
New Collaborations
Ocean Hall Update
COSEE Presence at Conferences
Central Coordinating Office Update
Resources and Announcements
Center News
FREE Science Communication Resources from COSEE-Coastal Trends
COSEE Network Calendar
Online Courses
COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
Focus On...
COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities

COSEE-OLC
What's new at COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities? Visit the July Center of the Month and find out!
 New Collaborations
COSEE-Great Lakes and the UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute Invasive Species Workshop for Teachers Invasive species research, focusing on Quagga Mussels in Lake Michigan, aims to understand how non-native species disrupt aquatic food webs. The work emphasizes that "all Great Lakes are not the same" and explains through physical, chemical, and geological perspectives why Lake Michigan reacted so strongly to this particular invader.

In this 5-day workshop (27-31 July 2009) participants will work with Drs. Russell Cuhel and Carmen Aguilar of the UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute in Milwaukee WI. Initial hypothesis development will be followed by a day of shipboard collections at a natural reef ecosystem; a day of laboratory measurement, analysis, and discussion; a second day of shipboard work utilizing remotely operated vehicle technology on a surprise site; and two final days of research interspersed with activities demonstrations and application of the experience to standards-based classroom use. For more information contact Russell Cuhel.
 Ocean Hall Update
The Smithsonian and the Sant Ocean Hall team is looking for lesson plans and other educational resources to be featured in our educator’s section of the new Ocean Portal website. We are specifically looking for COSEE-developed or COSEE-approved lesson plans (K-6, 6-9 and 9-12th grades) that fit into national science standards and ocean literacy principles. We will credit your organization and the authors on the Ocean Portal if we use your lesson plans. We are looking for lessons and resources for the following topics or related ideas:

Ocean Life North Atlantic right whale, giant squid, sea jellies, Chinook salmon, Riftia worms, great white sharks, polar bears

Ocean Ecosystems Coral reefs, the Poles, mangroves, beaches

Human Connections Sustainable seafood, climate change

The Ocean Through Time Top predators, whale evolution, shifting baselines

Science in Action Deep sea exploration

If you have any lesson plans or educational materials that you would like to have on the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, please contact Elizabeth Ban, 202-633-1087 . We thank you for your help! Submissions made by July 31 would be greatly appreciated.
 COSEE Presence at Conferences
In an effort to increase the visibility of the National COSEE Network (NCN) within target audiences, an organized COSEE presence at various national science and education society conferences/meetings will be established. The definition of the term "presence" will vary according to the opportunities available within existing infrastructure and culture of these national conferences/meetings. However, in broad terms, a COSEE presence is defined as a series of presentations by NCN members, a COSEE booth in the conference/meeting exhibit hall, and potentially a social activity (luncheon, reception) that features ocean scientists.

Several national conferences/meetings have been identified as serving high priority audiences. They are organized according to the COSEE target audiences and themes:

Ocean Scientists
American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, December 14 – 18, 2009, San Francisco, CA

AGU/ASLO/TOS Ocean Sciences Meeting, February 22 – 26, 2010, Portland, OR

Diversity
Society for the Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), October 15-18, 2009, Dallas, TX; September 30 – October 3, 2010, Anaheim, CA

Public Outreach
Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), September 12-17, 2009, Portland, OR

Science Educators
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA, March 18–21, 2010, Philadelphia, PA

Workforce Development
Marine Technology Society (MTS), October 26–29, 2009, Biloxi, MS

For more information about COSEE's presence at conferences, contact Liesl Hotaling.
 Central Coordinating Office Updates
NMEA conference
COSEE at NMEA Over 20 presentations by COSEE Network members were made at the recent National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) meeting held in California. Many Centers shared classroom ideas, evaluation results and general information with conference participants [more]
 Resources and Announcements
Seawater Sampling Videos Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is a peer reviewed, PubMed-indexed journal devoted to the publication of biological research in a video format. JoVE recently published three videos of interest to CNN readers on seawater sampling and collecting, and filtration of coastal seawater samples. The videos are high-quality, and produced in conjunction with Steven J. Hallam, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia. However, be aware that JoVE does charge a subscription fee in order to view the library of videos, many of which are of a highly technical nature. There is a free one-day trial subscription available. Preview the seawater sampling video.

Ocean Policy Task Force Established On June 12, President Obama issued a presidential memorandum establishing an interagency ocean policy task force. The memorandum calls for the task force to deliver recommendations for a National Policy for the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. Read the memorandum.

JOVE
Earth Science Literacy Principles Framework Published The Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI), funded by the National Science Foundation, has gathered and codified the underlying understandings of Earth sciences into a succinct document. The resulting Earth Science Literacy framework will become part of the foundation of a larger geoscience Earth Systems Literacy effort, along with similar documents from the ocean, atmosphere and climate communities. Read about Earth Science Literacy.

Survey Results on Ocean Topics New public opinion research was recently commissioned by The Ocean Project, in collaboration with Monterey Bay Aquarium and National Aquarium. Over 22,000 Americans were surveyed on a comprehensive range of ocean- and environment-related topics. The survey results - America, the Ocean, and Climate Change: New Research Insights for Conservation, Awareness, and Action - are now available via a website, which offers downloadable files, including the executive summary, a PowerPoint presentation, key findings, and more.
 Center News
COSEE-Great Lakes PI Rosanne Fortner
COSEE-SouthEast invites you to view an exciting new Creature Feature on the lionfish! The feature includes a brief description of the lionfish and its impacts on the southeast, as well as links to additional lionfish resources. View the Creature Feature

COSEE-Great Lakes The summer issue of Sweetwater Seascape for COSEE-Great Lakes and GLEAMS is now online. While you are on the COSEE-Great Lakes website, be sure to check out new information on the Fresh and Salt curriculum, news about the School for Scientists, and the weblog from the Lake Superior workshop on the R/V Lake Guardian.

NEOSEC (New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative), which grew out of COSEE-New England, announces Ocean7, Voyage of Discovery, an invitation for families to travel throughout New England and learn about Ocean Literacy. A beautiful banner (designed by COSEE-Ocean Systems associate Carla Companion) displays the 7 Ocean Literacy essential principles, and will be placed at ocean science learning centers throughout New England. A Google Map will point the way. The website will include the use of COSEE-NOW's Flash interactive. Materials and resources for the website would be greatly appreciated! Contact Pam DiBona for more information.

COSEE-Ocean Systems Jennifer Albright and Amy Holt Cline presented Linking our Ocean and Climate: Learning Connections Through Hands-on Activities and Innovative Web-based Tools at the 2009 NMEA Conference in Pacific Grove, CA on June 30 [more]

COSEE-Coastal Trends e-newsletter is available online.

COSEE-Pacific Partnerships This summer, COSEE-Pacific Partnerships is supporting six community college student interns through Promoting Research Investigations in the Marine Environment (PRIME). PRIME interns develop research, communication, and outreach skills through hands-on experiences working with scientists and informal educators. Interns also learn about the wide range of marine science careers.

In addition, COSEE-PP is offering the first Summer Institute for Community College Faculty from July 20-24, 2009. The purpose of the Institute is to provide community college faculty with knowledge about marine habitats with a focus on the Pacific Northwest, to provide classroom-ready materials and field and laboratory activities related to the topics, and to establish a network of community college faculty that teach marine science. Habitats to be covered include Estuaries, Rocky Shores, Open Ocean, the Deep Sea, and Islands and Seamounts. For more information contact Coral Gehrke.

COSEE-West will be presenting a special session at the AAAS meeting in February 2010, Building Bridges Between Ocean Scientists, Educators and Students. For more information contact Linda Duguay.

COSEE-Alaska supported a field trip to continue the connection of students with seal research at the Vancouver Aquarium. In addition, COSEE-Alaska is providing outreach and education to Sound Predictions 2009: The Alaska Ocean Observing System Field Experiment in Prince William Sound.

COSEE-Networked Ocean World Listen to the latest installment of the COSEE-NOW podcast series Ocean Gazing. Read the latest in the collection of Stories from Ocean Observing Systems.
 FREE Science Communication Resources
 from COSEE-Coastal Trends
NMEA conference
One of the partners of COSEE-Coastal Trends is the Integration and Application Network (IAN, at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science). IAN has developed a series of visual tools and resources to help communicate scientific concepts to broad audiences, and these have been used in the development of the online curricula resources developed by COSEE-Coastal Trends.

One is a library of 1500+ vector symbols of everything from rockfish to oil tankers that can be used to make diagrams, posters, handouts or classroom activities (primarily using Adobe Illustrator). The IAN site also contains tutorials, handy hints, and an online help forum.

Another resource is an image library that has nearly 3000 high resolution photographs, video clips and diagrams which are also free to download. Included are aerial photographs, images of impacts and human activities, and a search on ‘conceptual’ will return a series of conceptual diagrams summarizing key ecosystem processes in tropical and temperate ecosystems around the globe.

For more information on these resources please contact Tim Carruthers at COSEE-Coastal Trends.

NMEA conference
 COSEE Network Calendar
July 2009
COSEE-Coastal Trends Ocean Science Course Workshop, July 7-10, Horn Point Laboratory

COSEE-Great Lakes R/V Lake Guardian Shipboard Workshop, July 7-13, Lake Superior

COSEE-Great Lakes Lake Erie Exploration Workshop, July 18-24, Lake Erie basin locations

COSEE-Pacific Partnerships Community College Faculty Institute, July 20-24, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

COSEE-SouthEast Ocean Sciences Education Leadership Institute, July 20-25, Baruch Marine Lab

COSEE-Great Lakes R/V Lake Guardian Shipboard Workshop, July 25-31, Lake Huron

COSEE-Ocean Systems Educator-Scientist Collaborative Workshop, July 27-29, Darling Marine Center

COSEE-Great Lakes Collaborative
Aquanaut Program Collaborative Workshop with UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute on aquatic invasives, July 27-31, University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee

August 2009
COSEE-Coastal Trends Coastal Trends Workshop, August 4-6, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

COSEE-California Teacher at Sea: Plastics in the North Pacific Gyre, August 9-21, onboard R/V New Horizon

COSEE-West Ocean Observing Systems Institute for Teachers, August 10-14, various sites around Los Angeles
 Online Courses
Distance Learning Certificate in Informal Environmental Education The University of South Florida is offering a new online graduate certificate in informal environmental education. The program is for professionals who educate the public about science, and science teachers who want to go beyond traditional coursework and delve into the field of informal science. Courses can be used toward Ph.D., M.A. and M.Ed. degrees. Course descriptions are available here. For more information contact program director Dr. Barbara Spector.

Fundamentals of Environmental Education Online Course The University of North Carolina Wilmington will offer a fundamentals of environmental education online course this fall, beginning August 19, 2009. The course is appropriate for both classroom teachers and for non-formal educators who work with students and/or teachers. The course was developed by the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP) in collaboration with national EE experts, and will be taught by Dr. Rosanne Fortner. Contact Dr. Fortner for more information.
Contribute to CNN! Send news and announcements of interest to the COSEE Network community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.

 COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
COSEE-Alaska (Nora Deans, North Pacific Research Board)
COSEE-California (Craig Strang, UC Berkeley)
COSEE-Central Gulf of Mexico (Sharon Walker, Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium)
COSEE-Coastal Trends (Laura Murray, U of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)
COSEE-Great Lakes (Rosanne Fortner, Ohio State University)
COSEE-Networked Ocean World World (Janice McDonnell, Rutgers University)
COSEE-New England (Billy Spitzer, New England Aquarium)
COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities (Phil Bell, University of Washington)
COSEE-Ocean Systems (Annette deCharon, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine)
COSEE-Pacific Partnerships (Jan Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology)
COSEE-SouthEast (Lundie Spence, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium)
COSEE-West (Linda Duguay, University of Southern California)