We have an exciting, media rich, new distance course entitled Explore Alaska, which we developed through a National Science Foundation grant. The teachers who pilot tested it last Spring gave it rave reviews. We have scholarships to offer the first thirty teachers who enroll before September 21st. The course is designed for teachers in a variety of subject areas in grades 4-12. Please forward this information to your teachers and principals and encourage teachers to apply. Details below:

Explore Alaska! Alaska Native and Western Perspectives on Land & Climate http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/exploreak

EDUC 58025 • 3 credits • Alaska Pacific University • Graded A-F
Dates: Monday, October 04, 2010 - Monday, January 10, 2011

Scholarships in the amount of $375 for tuition reimbursement are available. You must apply for this scholarship online by September 21. This class is limited to 30 participants.

Place-based, culturally responsive instruction works! Explore the earth sciences using materials and content developed especially for Alaskan classrooms.

This course fuses the natural and social sciences by integrating traditional Native knowledge with Western scientific information on a variety of topics, from earthquakes and Arctic sea ice to volcanoes and climate change.

Learn how to use the new, free, easy-to-use, web-based media that are embedded throughout this online course in your classroom. Classroom resources include short videos and interactive graphics featuring Alaskan issues, educators, elders and students that were developed especially for this course by PBS on their Teachers Domain website. You will also learn to use Google Earth and Blogger.

Topic Outline
* Integrating Native and Western ways of knowing Plate tectonics, landforms and cultural connections
* Google Earth introduction
* Volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and cultural connections
* Ocean system mechanics, climate and cultural connections
* Atmospheric system mechanics, climate and cultural connections
* Climate change history, carbon and cultural connections
* Arctic sea-ice system mechanics and cultural connections
* Terrestrial ice system mechanics and cultural connections

Instructor: Clay Good
Target audience: Teachers from across a wide spectrum of grade levels and specialties, focusing on grades 4-12.

Funding provided by The Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG) Program of the Directorate for Geosciences, National Science Foundation.


Thanks for your help in spreading the word.

Kelly
********Working Together To Make Schools Better*******
J. Kelly Tonsmeire, Director
Alaska Staff Development Network
2204 Douglas Hwy, Suite 100
Douglas, AK 99824
Phone: 907-364-3802
Fax: 907-364-3805
Website: www.asdn.org