Sound Waves: Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS

Open your eyes and your interest in coastal and marine research by exploring this most informative publication. Created by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), this monthly newsletter was started in 1999 to provide the public and other parties with access to timely research findings and updates from the various units of the USGS. The newsletter contains sections such as Fieldwork, Research, Meetings, and Awards. A good place to start is the Recent Highlights from Past Issues area. Some of the gems here include scientific explorations of Hurricane Sandy's long-term effects and the juvenile surf smelt and sand lance populations in Puget Sound. Units contributing news pieces to Sound Waves include the Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana.

http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/index.php

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013.https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

USGS Science Resources for Undergraduate Education

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has brought together a unique blend of materials designed to complement and enhance the experiences of teachers and students seeking to understand the wide world of geology and other sciences including biology and ecology. These items are designed for use in collegiate settings, and each resource is here marked by a symbol that indicates the type of resource, such as a data set, teaching module, or classroom activity. Visitors can scroll through the thematic areas, which include Amphibians, Climate Change, and Maps and Geospatial Data. The Land Use History and Changing Landscapes area is a real pip, and it includes a document on the land use history of North America and a link to "Urban Growth in American Cities," an online publication that illustrates the spatial history of urban growth in 16 areas around the United States.

http://education.usgs.gov/undergraduate.html

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/  

Starting Point: Teaching Entry Level Geoscience

Learn about instructional methods that work with entry-level geoscience students. This site is designed for faculty and graduate students teaching undergraduate entry-level geoscience, environmental science, or related courses. Each section describes a teaching method, why/when it is useful, how it can be implemented, and a set of examples spanning the Earth system that can be used in your class.Topics include Atmosphere, Biosphere, Climate, Earth Cycles, Evolution, Geography, Human Dimensions, Hydrology, Oceans, Solar System and Astronomy, Solid Earth, Surface Processes and Time/Earth History.

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/index.html

Guided Discovery Problems

The folks at the Science Education Research Center (SERC) at Carleton College have worked with a team of colleagues to create these "Guided Discovery Problems." The materials here help students learn about the world of geology via intriguing puzzles, structured hands-on activities, carefully worded leading questions, and crucial hints. The problems were developed by Ann Bykerk-Kauffman of the Department of Geological and Environmental Science at California State University, Chico. On the site, visitors can take advantage of six problems. Their number includes "Phases and Eclipses of the Moon," "Advanced Study of the Moon," and "Density, Buoyancy and Convection." Each one contains a set of learning goals, a context section, and a full description and related teaching materials. Overall, these are tremendously helpful and they can be used in a variety of college classroom settings. 

http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/guided_discovery/index.html

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

Teaching Geology

This rather remarkable website contains a great collection of resources for web-based instruction and demonstrations of geology concepts. The collection includes, under Classroom demonstration, the very useful SeisMac 3.0, which is an application for Mac OS X that turns a laptop computer into a " low-resolution strong-motion accelerometer," or a basic seismograph. It works by accessing the computer's Sudden Motion Sensor in order to display real-time, three axis accelerations graphs. Visitors can use the application to watch the seismic waves go up and down just by tapping their feet on the floor nearby. Other resources include Virtual Earth (an "interactive minicourse on thermal convection") and a link to Geology in the news, which collates important news stories with a geological theme. 

http://www.colorado.edu/geolsci/Resources/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013.  https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

Geology.com

News and information about geology and earth science. Published by Hobart King .... he is "a licensed professional geologist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and has published Geology.com since 2005"

http://geology.com/

American Geosciences Institute: Curriculum Materials and Archives

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has produced high-quality educational materials for decades, and its website is a great resource for educators working in the physical sciences. On the site, visitors can take advantage of collections created to support thematic textbooks or peruse online programs such as EarthInquiry. This particular resource contains a series of web-based and print investigations that allow students "to explore geoscience phenomena using global, national, and local data." The site also contains a physical geology lab manual designed for use in college classrooms and materials for high school students, including an Earth science curriculum complete with classroom activities and quizzes. The site is rounded out by a set of links to content created by other organizations.

http://www.agiweb.org/education/curriculum

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/ 

Earth Science World Image Bank

Provided by the American Geological Institute (AGI), the Earth Science World Image bank website contains over 6,000 images related to the geophysical sciences for use by educators, the public, and the geoscience community. The photos are contained within a few dozen categories, which include coal, weather, volcanoes and paleontology. Visitors can also use the Browse Images link to move around the collection. Each image includes a brief description, along with related information, such as the photographer. Users will find that the archive is updated frequently and return visits will be obligatory.

http://www.earthscienceworld.org/imagebank/index.html

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Spatial Thinking in the Geosciences

Spatial thinking is critical to the analytical work of the geosciences. Navigating unfamiliar landscapes requires a keen understanding of the lay of the land, as does constructing a cross-section through deformed rocks. This set of thematic resources from the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College provides teaching activities, visualizations, and print and online references for educators who wish to incorporate these ways of thinking into their classrooms. In the Teaching Activities area, visitors will find 33 different activities, including "Northwest Passage," which is an investigation of changes in polar regions using Google Earth. Visitors can also look through these activities by type, such as Field Activity or Writing Assignment. The Visualizations area includes data related to earthquakes, seafloor topography, and satellite images. Finally, visitors can subscribe to the spatial thinking email list, or browse through the list's archives. 

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/spatial/index.html 

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Earth Exploration Toolbook

The Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) was created "to support access to and effective use of scientific datasets and analysis tools by the educational community." The chapters of the Toolbook provide educators step-by-step instructions for using Earth system science datasets and scientific analysis tools. Visitors may wish to begin by exploring the "How can I use the EET?" section. After this, they can click on the "Chapters in the EET" area and start using one of the resource’s 43 chapters. Chapters include "Analyzing the Antarctic Ozone Hole," "Climate History from Deep Sea Sediments," and "Evidence for Plate Tectonics." Also, it is worth noting that the "Tools" area on the right-hand side of the page allows users to look for specific tools, such as online mapping, image analysis, and data portals.

http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/more.html

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students

Students in the engineering and science fields need to communicate a broad set of often highly technical materials to lay audiences. This process can be challenging, and this nice set of materials from Pennsylvania State University will be a boon to students in these fields. The site has five main sections: Introduction, Presentations, Correspondence, Formal Reports, and Other Documents. The Introduction area contains three helpful documents that provide insights on crafting the style of any given document and assessing the audience. Moving along, the Formal Reports area gives helpful suggestions on composing laboratory reports, theses, and dissertations. The site is rounded out by a glossary of writing and composition terms and additional references and resources.

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Teaching Petrology Using the Primary Scientific Literature

Designed as part of the Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty series at Carleton College, this particular set of resources is designed for those teaching students about petrology. For those who might be unfamiliar with this discipline, petrology is the branch of geology that studies the origin, composition, distribution, and structure of rocks. The materials on this site are divided into two primary sections: Teaching Strategies and Recommended Readings. In the first section, visitors can view a range of materials, including exercises to teach scientific reading comprehension and mineralogic concepts as well as a nice piece on how to review a journal article. Further along, visitors can take in several of the recommended readings. Some of the readings are available in their entirety, although others are only cited and may require an academic library to access. 

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology/literature.html 

The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012.
http://scout.wisc.edu/

Lecture Archives - Environmental Science Institute

The Environmental Science Institute (ESI) at the University of Texas at Austin is dedicated to "fostering environmental research, education, and outreach across disciplines." To this end, the ESI has developed a set of resources for educators, including a nice series of lectures dating back to 1999. This section of the site provides interested parties with access to 77 of these talks, which address topics like fracking, dark energy, the evolution of human vision, and autonomous robots. Visitors can browse through the lectures at their leisure, and will find supplementary materials accompanying most of the talks. Users are encouraged to use these lectures in a variety of ways, and it is easy to imagine that the talks could be used in the classroom or in other informal settings.

http://www.esi.utexas.edu/hot-science-cool-talks/lecture-archives

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

American Geological Institute Educational Resources

http://www.agiweb.org/education/resource/index.html

The American Geological Institute (AGI) has assembled a mix of resources for earth science educators, including promotional videos such as "Why Earth Science?" and a world image
bank. The image bank can be found at the "Earth Science World Image Bank" tab, and it contains over 6,000 images. Visitors can browse the images or type in keywords. The site also includes videos which originally appeared in the online version of "Earth" magazine. These short subjects cover "Black Gold Agriculture", "Platinum from the Deep", and "State of the Nation's Ecosystems". Visitors can also read their publication "Pulse of Earth Science Education", which offers an overview of the trends in the field.

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Teaching Geochemistry

http://www.oercommons.org/courses/teaching-geochemistry/view

This resource from Macalester College provides a tutorial of the analytical techniques commonly used to characterize geological materials. The goal is to help novices "gain an understanding of mineralogical, petrological and geochemical analytical techniques." The materials here include definitions and descriptions of standard topics like balancing metamorphic reactions and user-friendly tutorials for modern thermodynamic modeling programs. Additionally, the site also contains phase diagrams for teaching, such as animated versions that guide students through these chemical reactions.

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2011.http://scout.wisc.edu/

British Geological Survey: Learning

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/education/home.html

This page contains information and resources for anyone interested in geology for educational or leisure purposes. Sections include "Popular geology", which includes "Britain beneath our feet", an interactive atlas of geology, resources, and land quality. This section also contains graphics about climate change and earthquakes. The second section is titled "Educational resources". Here visitors can ask scientists at the BGS specific questions and they can also download several free posters. The third section is called "Educational news and events" and it features upcoming events at the BGS and links to their free magazine, "Earthwise". The fourth section is "From the BGS Archives". Here visitors can view historic geological photographs and also view field sketches and watercolors by Alexander Henry Green, the celebrated Victorian geologist.

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Teaching Geoscience Online

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/online/index.html

Geoscience teaching resources from Carleton College include a list of resources divided into sections such as "pedagogy" and "online activities and courses". The materials include titles such as "Student Motivation and Engagement in Online Courses", "Using Data to Teach Geology in College-Level Online Classes", and "Course Platforms for Teaching Online". A number of these resources could be used by anyone teaching online courses, not just those in the field of geoscience.

From The Scout Report. Copyright Internet Scout 1994 - 2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Earth Science Teaching Plans and Classroom Activities

http://geology.com/teacher/

Created by geology.com, the site's materials are organised into 9 thematic areas, including Volcanoes, Water, Weather, Erosion and Plate Tectonics. The resources featured within each area are taken from institutions including the Smithsonian, Harvard and the National Science Foundation. Each area also features a news section featuring topical news and updates.

From The Scout Report. Copyright Internet Scout 1994 - 2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Geologic Time: The story of a changing earth

The Smithsonian Institute of Paleobiology has created an interactive annotated time line summary of the ages of the earth. Information includes dates and geological evidence for each era.

http://www.paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/index.htm