COSEE NETWORK NEWS 2010
July 2010
 In This Issue CNN Vol. 3 No. 7 | July 2010 
Focus On...COSEE Ocean Learning Communities Subscribe
Tools That Work
Network News
Working Group Updates
Ocean Hall Update
Publications
Center News
COSEE Network Calendar
Announcements
Resources
COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
Focus On...
COSEE Ocean Learning Communities

 
Dr. Patrick Christie lectures at the 2010 COSEE Network Meeting
 
What's new at COSEE Ocean Learning Communities? Visit the July Center of the Month and find out!
 Tools That Work
Tools That Work:Webinars The COSEE Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-group (ENTs) recently held a webinar focusing on Tools for Online Presentations. The webinar explored the use of Elluminate, Moodle, Adobe Connect and long-distance learning. The webinar was recorded and can be accessed from the Online Tools Guidebook. (At the top of the main page, look for Webinar Archive and click on the link provided.) The next ENTs-sponsored webinar will be on Social Media Tools. For more information, please contact ENTs co-Chairs Catherine Cramer and Carla Companion.
 Network News
Invitation to Submit Vision Papers for Community Meeting Preparation The National COSEE Network is soliciting Vision Papers from a broad cross-section of the research and education communities to serve as input into a community-based strategic vision for the future of the COSEE program. Vision Papers will be used to develop the agenda for a Community Meeting to be held on November 3-4, 2010 and will inform a strategic planning document that will be written at the conclusion of the meeting.

COSEE encourages a broad range of individuals and groups, particularly those who are not currently involved in the National COSEE Network, to submit Vision Papers. A variety of disciplinary expertise is sought, including members of the learning science and ocean science research communities, cyberlearning experts, ocean science educators, and education/outreach specialists at major federally-funded facilities. Vision Papers may focus on any topic of relevance to the future of ocean sciences outreach/education, although papers that outline broad, high-priority, and farsighted approaches that engage scientists and educators in effective Broader Impacts efforts are particularly encouraged.

Details on the submission of the Vision Papers are available here, and papers are due by July 30, 2010. An online application for the Community Meeting will be posted later in July. Please email cosee@gso.uri.edu if you would like to be notified when the application is available online. Participants not affiliated with COSEE will be provided with transportation, lodging and meals. Additional information on meeting logistics will be available on the application.

COSEE West Position COSEE West is seeking a program specialist to help manage the COSEE West program at USC. This is a grant-funded full-time position (with benefits) based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. For more information please contact Lynn Whitley.
 Working Group Updates
Screenshot of the SEW-G website
Scientist Engagement Working Group The SEW-G production team is working quickly to complete the case study of Dr. Carrie Thomas (COSEE Southeast, North Carolina State University) as it becomes more effective at soliciting and implementing suggestions from the greater SEW-G regarding the case studies. These suggestions are resulting in changes (large and small) that will improve the quality of presentations while also publicizing COSEE’s role in enhancing scientist education and public outreach efforts.

In June, Drs. Scott Glenn (COSEE NOW, Rutgers) and Michael Kemp (COSEE Coastal Trends, University of Maryland) each donated several days of their time to interviews with the production team. Their case studies, along with that of Dr. Rick Keil, who was interviewed in May, will be developed next.

Please view the SEW-G website. Questions and comments are most welcome and appreciated; please direct them to the SEW-G chair, Jessie Kastler.

Screenshot of COSEE Pacific Partnerships' home page
Web Working Group The WWG spent time this month reviewing the Resources module in anticipation of upgrading the search and filter functionality for our users. Expected changes include increasing the default number of resources that show when accessing the Resources pages (a desired upgrade now that COSEE.net stores more than 165 resources); printing search results in the Resources page layout; and displaying the category search box in the sidebar at all times. Also discussed: finalizing the "look and feel" of the blog pages, including layout of the integrated blogs on COSEE.net. The latter will display the most recent three Center or Network blogs in the box located below the rotating feature slideshow. For more information, contact Annette deCharon, WWG Chair.

ENTS Sub-Group As described above, the Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-Group (ENTs) hosted a webinar in June on Tools for Online Presentations. The webinar is archived and available on the Online Tools Guidebook. ENTs is planning additional webinars in the upcoming months – stay tuned! The Network is encouraged to propose additional requests for training. Submissions for the Tools That Work collection are also welcome. For more information contact ENTs co-chairs Catherine Cramer and Carla Companion.
 Ocean Hall Update
Changing Tides: A Series of Ocean Discussions, sponsored by Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History and COSEE, is a series of talks by ocean scientists about current research and how it is helping to change the tide in ocean science and conservation. Visit the website for live webcasts and links to recordings, and to sign up for the Ocean Portal Newsletter for notification of future lectures. While on the website, check out the beta version of the Educators' Corner, with links to lesson plans and activities, features, and more. For more information on these activities, contact Elizabeth Ban.
 Publications
Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy Requested by Congress, this report, Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean, reviews the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps in understanding, and provides scientific advice to help guide the national ocean acidification research program. The report can be read online on the National Academies Press website.
Contribute to CNN! Send news and announcements of interest to the COSEE Network community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.

 Center News
COSEE Alaska Visit the new Ocean Acidification in Alaska’s Seas resource page. Join SEANET, an informal network of people who communicate about research in Alaska's seas.

COSEE California will be participating in the CSTA conference in Sacramento later this year. The Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) course developed by COSEE California will be given at University of Hawaii Maui College on August 7-9.

COSEE Coastal Trends Check out the Coastal Trends blog.

Sampling the Great Lakes
COSEE Great Lakes A week-long scientific investigation of the quagga mussel invasion in Lake Michigan was sponsored by the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Great Lakes WATER Institute, COSEE Great Lakes and the National Science Foundation Divsion of Ocean Sciences. Click for more information on the Aquanauts Workshop and principal investigators Dr. Russel Cuhel and Dr. Carmen Aguilar.

Shipboard and Shoreline Science Workshops on the R/V Lake Guardian July 6-12, 2010. A participating teacher is keeping a blog. The Lake Ontario Exploration Workshop runs from July 25-30. The Tropical Marine Ecology Workshop for teachers runs from August 7-14. COSEE Great Lakes is providing scholarships for educators.

COSEE Ocean Systems Oceans in the News is an editorial service from COSEE Ocean Systems populated with current ocean research and news articles, compiled monthly. Visit Oceans in the News. Teaching Physical Concepts in Oceanography: An Inquiry Based Approach is now available in Spanish. Download here.

Burke Museum poster
COSEE Ocean Learning Communities Former director of COSEE Ocean Learning Communities, Véronique Robigou, returned to the University of Washington to study scientific illustration. Véronique's art will be on display in UW's Burke Museum. The exhibition, A Celebration of the Natural World, opens at 6:30 pm on July 21.

COSEE Pacific Partnerships The Community College Faculty Institute takes place August 23-27 at the Shannon Point Marine Center, Western Washington University, Anacortes, Washington.

COSEE SouthEast Basic Observation Buoy Workshop in the news.

COSEE West The Satellite Educators Association education conference is being held August 12-14 in Los Angeles. COSEE West is a host. Catch up on the COSEE West blog.
 COSEE Network Calendar
For the up-to-the-minute list of upcoming COSEE events, visit the COSEE.net Events page.
 Announcements
Hurricane Science and Education Symposium The University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, in partnership with the Louisiana State Museum, invite both formal and informal science educators to submit an application to participate in the Hurricane Science and Education Symposium to be held at Tulane University in New Orleans on October 25, 2010. Airfare, meals, and lodging costs for formal and informal science educators will be covered by a grant from the National Science Foundation and support from the Louisiana State Museum. The symposium will bring together leading U.S. hurricane scientists and educators to discuss:
  • The state of scientific knowledge on hurricanes, including the relationship to climate change and hurricane forecasting.
  • The appropriate hurricane science content for integrating into curricula and public programs.
  • Current advances in risk mitigation and preparation.
  • Lessons learned from recent hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina.
The symposium is being planned as part of the launch events for a new comprehensive website Hurricanes: Science and Society (to be launched on October 25, 2010) and a new exhibition at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans (to be opened on October 26, 2010). Participants in the Symposium will end the day at an evening reception at the Museum for a preview of the exhibition, Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond.

If you are interested in participating in the Hurricane Science and Education Symposium, please submit an application online. Application Deadline is July 27, 2010. We will be selecting the participants and announcing the results in mid-August. Please feel free to forward this message to your colleagues.

NSF RAPID Response Grants Issued to Study Oil Spill To date, NSF has awarded 39 RAPID Response grants, totaling nearly $4 million, for scientific study of the gulf oil spill. For a regularly updated list of RAPID oil spill awards, see here.

Symposium on Gulf Oil Spill On June 3, 2010 more than 200 scientists convened on the campus of Louisiana State University (LSU) to discuss the urgent issues regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The symposium was sponsored by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. All of the presentations and a synopsis are available here.
 Resources
Observing the Ocean Video on School Tube Presentation by University of Maryland Scientist Dr. Bill Boicourt on ocean currents and the technologies that scientists use to study physical aspects of the ocean. Watch the video.

World Ocean Radio A weekly series of five-minute audio essays on a wide range of ocean issues. Available for RSS feed, podcast, and syndicated use at no cost by community radio stations. Check out World Ocean Radio here.

EOL Podcasts Latest podcasts from Encyclopedia of Life include the Chinook salmon and red mangroves. Listen to the Chinook Salmon podcast. Listen to the Mangroves podcast, meet the featured scientists, learn about organisms that live in the mangroves and find relevant educational resources at the Encyclopedia of Life Learning + Education website.

Capitol Hill Ocean Week The theme of the 2010 Capitol Hill Ocean Week was Clean Energy and a Healthy Ocean: Navigating the Future. The symposium highlighted the intersection between ocean and energy issues. Webcasts of the presentations are available online.

DeepWater Horizon Oil Spill Portal Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab is working with partners from federal agencies, companies, universities, and non- profits to develop a portal that consolidates many data streams to help response efforts for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The portal offers a blog, real-time IOOS glider positioning and links to visualization web pages, links to other response sites, and much more. Visit the portal.


 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, Institute for Marine Mammal Studies)
COSEE Coastal Trends (Laura Murray, U of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)
COSEE Great Lakes (Rosanne Fortner, Ohio State University)
COSEE NOW (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)