HR: 14:40h
AN: ED13A-05    [Abstracts]
TI: "Live from IPY"—Connecting Students, Teachers and the Public to Polar Research
AU: * Breen, K
EM: breen@arcus.org
AF: ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AU: Warnick, W K
EM: warnick@arcus.org
AF: ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AU: Warburton, J
EM: warburton@arcus.org
AF: ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AU: Fischer, K
EM: fischer@arcus.org
AF: ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AU: Wiggins, H
EM: helen@arcus.org
AF: ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK 99709, United States
AB: PolarTREC–Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating is a three-year (2007-2009) teacher professional development program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) that pairs K-12 teachers with researchers to improve science education through authentic polar research experiences. Each year of PolarTREC, approximately 15 teachers spend two to six weeks in the Arctic or Antarctic, working closely with researchers investigating a wide range of topics such as sea-ice dynamics, terrestrial ecology, marine biology, atmospheric chemistry, and long-term climate change. PolarTREC is funded by the National Science Foundation. While in the field, teachers and researchers communicate extensively with their colleagues, communities, and hundreds of students of all ages across the globe, using a variety of communication technologies and tools to appeal to broad student and public engagement in polar science. Through the PolarTREC website (www.polartrec.com) teachers connect from the field through the use of online journals and forums, photo galleries, podcasts, and learning resources. "Live from IPY," a key activity of PolarTREC, is a free, interactive, distance-learning experience that virtually transports students and the public to unique and remote polar locations through a live Internet interface. Rather than relying solely on the asynchronous elements of online journals, forums, photo albums, and podcasts, "Live from IPY" allows real-time interaction by adding elements including live voice, video, chat, application sharing, polling, and whiteboards, but requires only telephone and/or Internet access for participants and presenters to connect. "Live from IPY" and the online outreach elements of PolarTREC convey the excitement of polar research experiences to a broad audience far beyond the classrooms of the PolarTREC teachers, allowing anyone to join a global network of scientists, teachers, students, and communities and actively participate in the International Polar Year. Since January 2007, over 20 "Live from IPY" events have been held with more than 1700 participants, primarily K- 12 students, from 43 states across the US as well as international participants from 45 countries. "Live from IPY" has allowed educators to multiply the educational value of their expeditions, demonstrating the value that technology can bring to education by igniting thousands of young imaginations to the wonders of polar science.
UR: http://www.polartrec.com
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0830 Teacher training
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
DE: 0855 Diversity
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting