COSEE NETWORK NEWS 2012
March 2012
 In This Issue CNN Vol. 5 No. 3 | March 2012 
Focus On...COSEE California Subscribe
National COSEE Office
Network Topics
COSEE Online
Working Group Updates
COSEE at Conferences
Resources
Center News
COSEE Network Calendar
Announcements
COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
Focus On...COSEE California
 

COSEE California is the March Center of the Month. Find out what’s new here.
 National COSEE Office
Plans are underway for the National COSEE Network meeting to be held in San Diego in May 2012. The annual Evaluators Workshop and Best Practices Work Session will be held at the University of Rhode Island September 10-14 2012. The Best Practices Work Session will focus on broadening participation and diversity issues in ocean sciences with a subtopic of broadening participation through informal science education. Sue Cook of COSEE Florida will be leading a steering committee that will develop the agenda for the work session and prepare a paper based on the results.
 Network Topics
Welcome New COSEE Center: COSEE Island Earth Funded in September 2011, COSEE Island Earth (COSEE IE) is a partnership consisting of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of Hawaii Maui College, Hawaii Sea Grant, University of Hawaii at Hilo, and Maui Digital Bus. COSEE IE will build a collaborative network that connects ocean research and teaching with traditional knowledge in order to facilitate active engagement in stewardship by all ocean users. The Ocean Literacy Essential Principles will provide a focal point for culture and research to come together to foster ocean literacy among Hawaii residents and visitors. The strong connection of Pacific cultures to the ocean will provide a foundation for COSEE IE efforts to link traditional knowledge with scientific research, and indigenous and western ways of knowing. Our objectives are to:
  1. Establish a state-wide hub for the purpose of matching the interests and needs of research scientists with those of the education and outreach community. COSEE IE will establish a virtual hub to connect our network of marine researchers with students and educators by providing opportunities for scientist participation in outreach, and expanded community participation in science. The Online Center for Education Alliances and Networking in Ocean Sciences (OCEANOS) will facilitate collaborations between members of the research and education communities.
  2. Enhance the science and ocean literacy of our island and visitor populations. COSEE IE will work with professionals that have direct contact with resident and visitor populations to provide relevant ocean science resources and professional development opportunities. Collaborative groups will include university students, public libraries, ocean-related tour operators, and lifeguards.
  3. Connect scientific research, traditional knowledge, and ocean policy. COSEE IE will develop and provide access to culturally relevant, place-based educational materials and programs that bridge formal and informal education, science and indigenous research, and cultural practices among local communities and visitors.
For more information, contact COSEE IE PI Dr. Judy Lemus.

Best of COSEE Hand-On Activities The Best of COSEE Hands-On Activities is now online! Thanks to contributions from across the COSEE Network, an excellent selection of over 50 proven hands-on activities have been collected. COSEE OCEAN team members have developed a user-friendly online interface and formatted the activities according to subject, grade level, duration, and Ocean Literacy principle. The result is a collection packed with a wide range of hands-on activities that scientists can select from to enhance their classroom visits. The collection is available both online and as a CD. Over 3800 CDs were handed out at the recent Ocean Sciences meeting. Special thanks to Francesco Peri, Kristin Uiterwyk, Catherine Cramer, and Kirsten Feifel. For more information contact Bob Chen.
 COSEE Online
COSEE on Twitter COSEE has been on Twitter for about two and half years and we are going strong! As of the first week in March 2012, the COSEE Network has close to 900 followers. Many of our followers are educators, scientists, and those interested in ocean sciences, many of whom have participated in a COSEE event, seen us at a conference, worked with a Center in some aspect, or simply support the mission of COSEE. Other followers include non-profit organizations, government agencies or other companies in the ocean and marine fields. Our Tweets get regularly “re-tweeted” and we get a good amount of “@ mentions.” Most recently, during the Ocean Sciences meeting, participants attending our sessions sent out feedback through Tweets. Most of the Tweets sent out by COSEE are announcing upcoming events, meetings and sharing resources. Please send any Tweetable content to Romy Pizziconi. Make sure to spread the word and follow @COSEE!
 Working Group Updates
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Dr. Crystal Johnson
Scientist Engagement Working Group The case study of Dr. Crystal Johnson (Louisiana State University, COSEE CGOM) has been approved and is now posted online. The case studies for Dr. Michael Castellini (University of Alaska, COSEE Alaska), Dr. Jude Apple (Western Washington University, COSEE-Pacific Partnerships), and Dr. Joel Hoffman (Environmental Protection Agency, COSEE Great Lakes) are all nearing final approvals. Work on the case study for Dr. Mary Jane Perry (University of Maine, COSEE-Ocean Systems) is nearing completion. Please visit the COSEE Scientists Making an Impact website and contact Jessie Kastler with any questions or comments.

Screenshot of the COSEE OCEAN home page
Web Working Group The WWG and RWS are currently developing an interactive globe for the home page that will allow users to locate scientists, review their research, and learn more about their collaborations with COSEE. For more information, contact Annette deCharon, WWG Chair.

ENT Sub-Group ENTS members continue to update the Online Tools Guidebook and are developing ideas for Tools That Work and the ENTS blog. For more information, contact one of the ENTS co-chairs Catherine Cramer and Carla Companion.
 COSEE at Conferences
Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, February 20-24, 2012 A full report on COSEE activities during the Ocean Sciences Meeting is posted online. COSEE Network members are welcome to post papers or posters from Ocean Sciences on COSEE.net. If interested please contact Lisa Taylor.

2012 National Science Teachers Association National Conference, Indianapolis, IN March 29 – April 1, 2012COSEE Day@ NSTA is scheduled for Saturday, March 31, 2012 in the JW Marriott, Room 312. Read the full program for the day here.

USA Science and Engineering Festival Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. April 27 - 29, 2012 Don’t miss COSEE at the largest celebration of science in the US! Explore science and engineering with 1500 free, hands-on activities and over 75 stage shows and author presentations. The two-day Expo is perfect for teens, children and their families, and anyone with a curious mind who is looking for a weekend of fun and discovery. Meet Science Celebrities, award-winning Science Authors and Nobel Prize winners from the past and present. This year COSEE will partner with the American Geophysical Union (AGU) to offer hands-on activities to festival attendees focused on the ocean and ocean/atmospheric interactions. Visit here for more information about the USASEF.
 Resources
Mind Open Media Ari Daniel Shapiro has teamed up with other radio and video producers to work with scientists to tell stories about their research and their lives. This new effort is called Mind Open Media. They are partnering with scientists on their broader impact statements to help them formulate and execute ideas for multimedia storytelling about their science. You can hear their first story, which aired on Living on Earth last month, by visiting here. It's called: Here Be Dragons: 400 Years of Icy Exploration in the Hudson Strait. If you are interested in hearing more or have an idea for a possible collaboration, contact Mind Open Media.
 Center News
COSEE NOW will be hosting the 3rd annual Rutgers Ocean Days for MARE educators on April 2-3. More here.

COSEE OCEAN A poster on analyzing education networks using Social Network Analysis was just presented at CompleNet 2012 by Stephen Uzzo. The presentation The 3-Minute Solution: Communicating Your Research in Short, Effective Videos was well-received at the recent Ocean Sciences meeting; a web-based community of video-makers is in the process of being developed. The Ocean Literacy Inquiry Group is developing a Living Catalog of Activities, a wiki-style online list of ocean literacy related programs and resources (curriculum, stand-alone activities, web sites, videos, feature films, etc.).

Sound Conversations poster
COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities On the evening of March 1 co-PI Fritz Stahr spoke to an audience of over 150 guests at Sound Conversations in the Seattle Aquarium’s Puget Sound Great Hall. Sound Conversations is a speaker series targeted to the general public as a way to introduce and inform citizens about science and research related to the health of the world’s ocean and marine life. The series format uses an informal interview-like approach to engage the speaker in a conversation about their career, work and interests. Fritz spoke about his career path in Oceanography and with the Applied Physics Lab at the University of Washington including his work with Sea Gliders and Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs). The evening included a ROV demonstration in the aquarium’s 200,000 gallon Window on Washington Waters exhibit. Fritz also talked about the Ocean Inquiry Project a non-profit outreach program he founded that takes students and citizens out on Puget Sound and engages them in science and research. COSEE-OLC is a sponsor of this year’s series which also includes James Bodkin (USGS, Alaska Science Center), What Can Sea Otters Tell Us About the Ocean? and Lynda Mapes (Reporter, Seattle Times), The Elwha River Undammed: Restoring an Ecosystem. Click here for a preview of Fritz’s talk.

15th High School Ocean Science Orca Bowl Competition
On March 3, COSEE-OLC collaborated with WA Sea Grant at the 15th High School Ocean Science Orca Bowl Competition held on the University of Washington campus. It was an exciting day of competition involving 16 teams. The day concluded with an awards celebration held at the Seattle Aquarium for 180 guests who heard inspiring speakers and enjoyed the exhibits, special animal feedings and behind the scene tours.

15th High School Ocean Science Orca Bowl Competition

COSEE-Ocean Systems COSEE-OS has developed a new tool for embedding concept maps in web pages. This interactive feature allow users to move around a map and view assets (videos, images, resources, and news) associated with concepts without having to leave the page. Archives for NASA's Aquarius webinars (presented by JPL scientists and hosted by COSEE-OS) now feature this tool:Two presentations about COSEE-OS work were given at the 2012 Ocean Science Meeting in Salt Lake City in February:

Using Data From Autonomous Vehicles and Drifters to Support Education and Outreach. University of Maine School of Marine Sciences post-doc Ivona Cetinic's presentation focused on the North Atlantic Bloom (NAB) Webinar Series that featured the research of scientists from the 2008 NAB Experiment. This five-part weekly series was presented by the NAB scientists, who told the story of the North Atlantic spring bloom and its role in the ocean ecosystem via concept maps aligned to National Science Education Standards. Ivona represented seven scientists from four institutions.

COSEE: Using Evaluation to Measure the Impacts of Education/Outreach COSEE-OS External Evaluator Dr. Ted Repa, representing four COSEE Centers (California, NOW, Ocean Systems and West), shared end-of-workshop evaluations from the Graduate Student / Faculty Collaborative workshop series conducted by these Centers in 2010 and 2011. These concept-mapping collaborative workshops paired ocean scientists with graduate students in an effort to improve student teaching and research capabilities. Formative and summative evaluation results indicate that the workshops promoted more peer to peer interactions between faculty and graduate students and more familiarity with Ocean Literacy and Climate Literacy principles. In a 2012 follow-up survery, 98% stated that they were satisfied with the faculty interaction and 90% would recommend the workshop to peers/colleagues (n=66%).

COSEE-Pacific Partnerships COSEE-PP is co-sponsoring the following workshop as part of a new NSF-funded project, Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education in the Two-Year Colleges. Preparing Students in Two-year Colleges for Geoscience Degrees and Careers, University of Washington-Tacoma, July 18-21, 2012. Application deadline: March 19, 2012. This workshop will develop resources, strategies, and recommendations for preparing students in two-year colleges for geoscience careers, either as geotechnical graduates or as geoscience majors at four-year colleges and universities. In addition, the workshop will explore the scope and potential for geoscience technical training (e.g., earth resources, environmental management, marine technology). For more information visit the workshop webpage.
 COSEE Network Calendar
For the up-to-the-minute list of upcoming COSEE events, visit the COSEE.net Events page.
 Announcements
PCAST Report The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recently released this report: Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Download here.

Encyclopedia of Life Education Innovation Challenge The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) announces the EOL Education Innovation Challenge, an international competition to foster development of educational software tools, services, or games using EOL content. The challenge is to use EOL content and services to create an engaging and educational application that will promote global learning activities focused on discovering and understanding the living world.

The competition will award funding to the most scalable and innovative applications. Target audiences can include the general public, citizen scientists, and learners of all ages in both formal and informal settings. The platform can be the web and/or mobile devices.

The Challenge is a two-stage process. In Stage 1, applicants submit a product idea that includes an overview of the concept. Applicants who are selected to continue to Stage 2 will be asked to submit a development plan and budget required to complete a working product. One or more prizes will be awarded to successful Stage 2 proposals.

The prize total is $50,000 USD, which may be divided among one or more successful applicants. In addition to the cash award, the winners' work will be promoted and distributed by EOL. For more information about deadlines, guidelines and eligibility, please visit the EOL Innovation Challenge page.

International Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute will support the attendance of up to ten educators at the upcoming Third International Symposium on the Ocean in a High-CO2 World, September 24-27, 2012 in Monterey, California. The symposium will offer scientists working to understand ocean acidification opportunities to share their research results and develop new research collaborations; hundreds are expected to attend. Registration and other expenses will be covered; travel and housing costs will not. The deadline for application is March 31, 2012. Details here.
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 (Robin Dublin, COSEE Alaska)
COSEE California (Craig Strang, UC Berkeley)
COSEE Florida (Edwin Massey, Indian River State College)
COSEE Island Earth (Judy Lemus, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology)
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)