COSEE NETWORK NEWS 2011
July 2011
 In This Issue CNN Vol. 4 No. 7 | July 2011 
Focus On...COSEE Ocean Learning Communities Subscribe
Tools That Work
Working Group Updates
News from Sant Ocean Hall
COSEE at Conferences
Announcements
Center News
COSEE Network Calendar
Resources
COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
Focus On...COSEE Ocean Learning Communities
 
Project COOL middle school girls process water samples in Rick Keil's lab

COSEE Ocean Learning Communities is the July Center of the Month. Find out what’s new!
 Tools That Work
Try CanVis for Ocean Visualization Can’t find that perfect picture to show how sea level rise might affect an area? Or maybe you’re looking for a way to show a child what a beach might look like if people didn’t pick up their trash. CanVis, a visualization program developed by NOAA’s Coastal Services Center, can help you work with a base image to show a wide range of ocean and coastal scenes. CanVis allows you to manipulate your picture and overlay other images to illustrate your point visually. With access to pictures and symbols from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agroforestry Center, the NOAA Coastal Services Center, and the University of Maryland's Integration and Application Network (IAN), users can also create scientific conceptual drawings. The program has many features similar to Photoshop, but it’s free! And The Coastal Services Center provides great online trainings where you actually get to play around with the technology. Contributed by Kristin Uiterwyk, COSEE OCEAN. Tools That Work is a service of the ENTs Working Group.
 Working Group Updates
Adina Paytan 
Adina Paytan
Scientist Engagement Working Group The case study for Dr. Adina Paytan (University of California, COSEE California) is in the process of being approved. The case study for Dr. Peggy Fong (University of California, COSEE West) is almost complete, and the production team just completed a visit with Dr. Jude Apple (Western Washington University, COSEE Pacific Partnerships). A visit is scheduled with Dr. Joel Hoffman (Environmental Protection Agency, COSEE Great Lakes) later in July. Please visit the COSEE Scientists Making an Impact website and contact SEW-G Chair Jessie Kastler with questions, suggestions and comments (228-872--4269).

Screenshot of the COSEE Florida home page
Web Working Group Exciting new features are underway for the Content Management System, including the capability to upload and run videos on the .NET and Center websites, a table generator, and photo album. Also nearing completion: a new set of background images for the .NET homepage. Stay tuned for more! For more information, contact Annette deCharon, WWG Chair.

ENTS Sub-Group The Excellence in Networking Tools Sub-Group (ENTs) is currently working on upgrading the Online Tools Guidebook and developing the next Network webinar. For more information, contact one of the ENTs co-chairs Catherine Cramer and Carla Companion.
 News from Sant Ocean Hall
This summer, off the coast of Curacao, a diverse range of Smithsonian scientists and Curasub crew are exploring the deep and collecting specimens for the Smithsonian Institution’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). You can follow the adventures and learn about the different organisms found, how the science is conducted, and the relevance of the research through blogs posted on the Ocean Portal.
 COSEE at Conferences
AGU-NESTA The application form for a scientist/educator presenter team to participate in the AGU-NESTA Fall 2011 GIFT workshop is now available at AGU’s Education page (see the call box in the right column). The application form will be available until September 6, 2011. Please note that the GIFT workshop in being scheduled for December 5-6, 2011. If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact Pranoti Asher of AGU.
 Announcements
ITEST Conference on STEM Education The NSF ITEST Learning Resource Center at EDC will host “Advancing Research on Youth Motivation in STEM”, bringing together ITEST youth participants and project PIs with leading researchers, psychologists, and sociologists. The goal is to develop a theoretical research framework to guide future research on youth motivation in STEM, with particular emphasis on youth from populations most underrepresented in the STEM workforce. The convening takes place September 9-11, 2011 in Boston. For more information visit the Convening website. Participation in this event is by application only; submit your application by July 15, 2011.

Oceans of Opportunity Education Symposium This year’s Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society OCEANS Conference will be held September 15-18 in Kona, Hawaii. The “Oceans of Opportunity” Education Symposium will be on Saturday, September 17, and will include full day and half-day sessions, lunch, and an Education Plenary on the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. Topics for this free Symposium include Pacific Corals and Climate Change, Sound in the Sea, and Ocean Exploration in the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. For more information and to register for the “Oceans of Opportunity” Education Symposium go here.

NRC Issues Report on Successful K–12 STEM Education A report issued recently by the National Research Council recommends ways to improve K–12 STEM education and calls on policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels to raise science education to the same level of importance as math and reading. The report was developed in response to a request from Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) to the National Science Foundation to identify highly successful K–12 schools and programs in STEM fields. NSF funded the NRC report. Read the NRC report Successful K–12 STEM Education and the Education Week article on the report.

NOAA Seeks Public Comments on Scientific Integrity Policy NOAA's draft scientific integrity policy is available for public review and comment until Aug. 15, 2011. The policy incorporates the principles of scientific integrity contained in guidance from the White House, and addresses how NOAA ensures quality science in its practices and policies and promotes a culture of transparency, integrity and ethical behavior.
 Center News
COSEE Alaska Podcasts of three presentations at the Communicating Ocean Science Workshop in January, 2011are available here. COSEE Alaska is co-sponsoring the National Marine Educators Association Conference, June 24-28, 2012, in Anchorage, Alaska, with the regional Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME) chapter. The conference theme is North to Alaska's Seas: a confluence of science and cultures. More.

 St. Johns River algal bloom
St. Johns River algal bloom
COSEE Florida Dr. Edie Widder describes how her research on improving water quality monitoring in Florida's Indian River Lagoon can be applied around the world in this short video. In addition, student teachers enrolled in COSEE Florida's Research Experience Pre-service Teachers (REPT) program produced several short audio slideshows meant to address common science misconceptions. View them here. A Water As Habitat Ocean Science Educator Workshop will be held in Jacksonville Florida on August 4. Dr. Cliff Ross and his associates at UNF will introduce the basics of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and the effects they have on coastal ecosystems. More.

COSEE Great Lakes The Shipboard and Shoreline Science Workshop aboard the R/V Lake Guardian takes place July 20-27. More.

 Webinar announcement
 
COSEE Ocean Systems The latest webinar series on North Atlantic Blooms is currently underway, featuring the research of scientists from the North Atlantic Bloom (NAB) Experiment and focusing on key concepts in physical, biological and ocean sciences. The five-part weekly series consists of linked presentations from NAB scientists, and tells the story of the North Atlantic spring bloom and its role in the ocean ecosystem. For additional information, visit here.

COSEE Pacific Partnerships COSEE Pacific Partnerships is offering three week-long institutes for community college faculty in August that draw on the expertise of scientists at COSEE Pacific Partnerships marine station partners. During the Marine Science Institute, August 1-5 at the University of Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, community college instructors from around the country will learn about working with ocean datasets, running experiments in the intertidal, sound in the sea, subtidal and deep sea biology, and the use of remotely operated vehicles in research, education, and industry.

Microbes in the Sea, August 8-12 at the University of Hawaii Kewalo Marine Laboratory, is designed to provide community college instructors from the Pacific Islands with an up-to-date understanding of the many rapid advances that have been made in recent decades in understanding the critically important roles of microorganisms in the ecology of the oceans and the biology of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms that inhabit the seas.

During Marine and Coastal Science of the Salish Sea, August 22-26, 2011 at Western Washington University Shannon Point Marine Center, community college faculty from Oregon and Washington will learn about water quality and hypoxia in the Salish Sea/Puget Sound, the ecology of harmful (and helpful) algae, tidal energy, physical oceanography and estuarine circulation, and salmon and the effects of climate change.

 Sarah DeLand
Sarah DeLand
This summer, COSEE Pacific Partnerships is supporting eleven community college student interns through the Promoting Research Investigations in the Marine Environment (PRIME) program. PRIME internships introduce students to the research environment at a marine laboratory, provide training in research techniques and science communication, and introduce students to the wide range of marine science careers. PRIME interns are working with scientist mentors at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Shannon Point Marine Center, and Kewalo Marine Laboratory. To learn more, visit the PRIME page or read about the interns' projects on the PRIME Blog.

Teacher technology experience outing 
 
COSEE TEK COSEE TEK is hosting three Teacher Technology Experiences (TTEs) conducted at the University of Connecticut Avery Point campus and at the facilities of COSEE TEK partners Project Oceanology and Mystic Aquarium. For each TTE, a small group of formal and informal educators spends a total of four days learning about and implementing novel ocean technologies in coastal Connecticut waters. Details.
 COSEE Network Calendar
For the up-to-the-minute list of upcoming COSEE events, visit the COSEE.net Events page.
 Resources
New Report Offers Roadmap for Success in K-12 STEM Education With funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council reports on effective approaches in teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Read more.

Free Books from National Academies The National Academies Press has made all PDF books free to download, including over 4,000 titles. Read more.

Hurricanes: Science and Society Website On May 19, 2011, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center released their 2011 Atlantic hurricane season outlook. Details and a link to NOAA’s 2011 Atlantic hurricane season outlook can be found on the homepage of the Hurricanes: Science and Society website. The information on the website is based solely on published scientific research and has undergone thorough peer review by a panel of scientific experts. The Hurricanes: Science and Society website and educational resources have been developed by the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Funding has been provided by the National Science Foundation.
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, Institute for Marine Mammal Studies)
COSEE Coastal Trends (Laura Murray, U of Maryland Center for Environmental Science)
COSEE Florida (Edwin Massey, Indian River State College)
COSEE Great Lakes (Rosanne Fortner, Ohio State University)
COSEE Networked Ocean World World (Janice McDonnell, Rutgers University)
COSEE OCEAN (Bob Chen, University of Massachusetts)
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 TEK (Ivar Babb, University of Connecticut)
COSEE West (Linda Duguay, University of Southern California)