General Public Course on GIS

Greetings GIS Colorado Community!

 

Looking for a fun and easy way to introduce your friends, family, and co-workers to the wonders of GIS?  Route them to my upcoming “Maps Still Matter” course offered through the University of Denver’s Enrichment Program.  The full course description and link to register is here.

Offered over 3 evenings in September 2015.  This is a face-to-face course with lots of lively hands-on demos and discussion.

To learn more, see this video. 

 

Note that this course is for the general public  - it is designed to get people excited about spatial analysis and spatial thinking in a fun and interesting way.  Think of it as a “low carb, gluten free” way of introducing folks to the field that we all love!

 

Joseph Kerski

History Colorado Teacher Workshop Opportunities now through October

Take a look at upcoming Teacher Workshops and other learning opportunities from History Colorado here!  See scheduled events starting today until late October.  Opportunities include History Day Teacher Workshop, Four Corners Region National History Day Teacher Workshop, Integrating the Social Studies Across Colorado History, and more!

Project Learning Tree is looking for pilot testers for 3-8th grade activities

National PLT is looking for pilot testers for new 3-5  and 6-8^th grade activities…..Apply before July 31^st

 

New Online Units – Seeking Classroom Teachers for Pilot Testing
National PLT is looking for classroom teachers to pilot test PLT’s two new online units. Grades 6-8 Grades 3-5 “Energy in Ecosystems.”

• Classroom teachers interested in participating in this formative evaluation should complete a brief pilot test application form at http://pltpilot.org by July 31.

Teachers will be asked to test the lesson content with their students this Fall, as well as provide feedback on the online navigation and website design. National PLT will confirm teacher participation in August, before the onset of the school year. Classroom teachers of Grades 3-8 will be given priority, and stipends will be available. Please promote this opportunity to your networks, and contact Jackie (jstallard@plt.org) with any questions or concerns. 

Opportunity to Contribute to Green Teacher

Call for Proposals – Place-based Education issue  

Contribute to a special issue of Green Teacher on Place-based Education!

What inspires teachers to take students out of the classroom to learn? What are the challenges? What are the rewards?

Scheduled for publication in the Summer of 2016, this special issue of Green Teacher will address the particular rewards and challenges teachers encounter while learning with their students outside of the classroom. Articles will encompass how educators (classroom teachers and non-formal educators) orchestrate place-based learning worldwide. We welcome contributions about the history of this practice, inspirational tales, how students meet standards, logistics of learning outdoors, and so on.

Teachers, students, and providers of professional development are invited to send in a proposal. Send outline of proposed article to: Amy Demarest at abdpbegt@gmail.com.

Deadline for submitting outlines: August 1, 2015.   (For more general information about contributing to Green Teacher, (click here.)

Guest editor: Amy Demarest, (Our Curriculum Matters) author of Place-based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards Through Local Investigations and GT 106 cover story Reading the World, Not Just the Words.

The Spring Issue is Here

 

Although the blooms of spring have passed, we hope the following news about Green Teacher’s Spring issue will nonetheless be of interest.  The Spring issue showcases engaging articles on a wide variety of fascinating topics. From bees to caves to youth farm projects and using photography as an educational tool, our Spring Issue has something to offer all teachers and non-formal educators. .

As with all issues of our non-profit magazine, two of the articles are fully and freely available to non-subscribers.  And everyone can read the first few paragraphs of each article, to help decide whether they might want to purchase the issue or take out a subscription. And it is worth noting that we’ve dramatically expanded the benefits of subscribing:  all subscribers have full access to over 50 webinars and 300 articles and activities from past issues, that have been catalogued according to topic and age levels. . 

 

You can preview the issue here, or peruse the table of contents below, find links to the free articles – and glean details of Greening School Grounds, our newest ebook.

Project Learning Tree Upcoming Workshops

As much as we hate to admit it, the start of the new school is rapidly approaching.  Are you still looking for a meaningful professional development experience to refresh and renew your teaching? Our resources are standards-based and promote 21st century skills; use environmental education to renew and energize your teaching toolbox!

On August 8 at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood, Colorado Project Learning Tree will offer a workshop for k-8 teachers focusing on resources to teach about energy. In addition to learning PLT activities to teach such topics as renewable vs. nonrenewable resources, sustainability, and conservation, participants will be introduced to PLT's Service Learning investigations GreenSchools! and the Energy & Society kit that integrates learning with music and dance. PLT-trained teachers and first-timers alike are invited to this day of multi-disciplinary, student-centered investigations all about energy!

Visit out website at http://www.coloradoplt.org for registration information.   Please free to email or call us for more information!

GOCO Inspire Workshops

Great Outdoors Colorado is hosting a series of workshops throughout the state on the New Inspire Initiative, a five-year strategy aimed at inspiring Coloradans, particularly kids, to appreciate, enjoy and take care of our great outdoors. GOCO will be investing in 5 pilot communities (and an additional 10 in following years) to invest in a community process to develop outdoor places and programming taking youth and families from the back yard to the back country.  Attached is a list of community workshops hosted by GOCO that overview the Inspire Initiative and the application process, as well as allow for networking time among coalitions.  Networking time will allow for you to network with coalitions and think about how your individual organizations can get involved in collaborative proposals.

Click on this link to find our more about the initiative or visit the website.

Annual Teacher Training August 6 – 7, 2015

You are invited to the Educator Workshop 

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm August 6th, 2015

8:30 am – 4:00 pm August 7th, 2015

History Colorado Center

1200 Broadway, Denver  

Learn: 

• The benefits of—and how to—incorporate History Day  in your classroom.
• How to navigate & use the Library of Congress digital primary source collections in instruction.
• How to create basic inquiry-based learning experiences.
• How to included Colorado history topics in your History Day instruction and in your classroom, including AP & IB.

Newly available:  Continuing Education or Three Hours of Graduate Credit through CU Denver School of Education and Human Development. This year’s big door prize – 2 scholarships to be given for 3 hours of graduate credit at CU Denver!

CU Denver National History Day in Colorado is now open to 4^th through 12^th grade! 

CU Denver National History Day in Colorado provides lessons and curriculum aligned to Colorado State Standards.

Who is eligible:

• Current, past & future History Day teachers who are committed to using National History Day in Colorado (new teachers will be given priority.)
• Librarians, media specialists, technology teachers, and other school support personnel.

Benefits:

• Travel stipend for those teachers traveling more than 60 miles.
• History Teacher Playbook & flash drive with TPS & History Day classroom materials.
• Recertification Credit
• Graduate & continuing education credit through the University of Colorado Denver.

For more info or to register online: www.nationalhistorydayincolorado.org. Space is limited. Registration deadline: July 31st.

Workshop Opportunity in the Fort Collins Area

Dear Fort Collins Area Educators,

 

Reserve your spot now to participate in the 2015 Educators’ Workshop: Climate Change in the Classroom. 2015 marks the 17th year of the Educators’ Workshop, a free professional development opportunity for both classroom and informal educators hosted by the City of Fort Collins Utilities Education Team. This workshop features local experts to give Fort Collins area educators the opportunity to engage with a variety of scientific topics related to the Cache la Poudre River watershed and collaborate across grade level and discipline. 

 

We are excited to announce the topic of this year's workshop: Climate Change in the Classroom.  We recognize that, more than ever, teachers are seeking ways to engage with issues of climate in an age-appropriate way that promotes learning and empowerment. We seek to provide both information and strategies to equip teachers for these difficult, but exciting conversations.

To better fit the busy schedules of educators, we are offering two unique opportunities to learn about climate change and the Cache la Poudre River watershed. The first session, held August 3^rd from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, features talks on air quality and climate change, along with climate change games and a hands-on air quality testing experiment.  The second session, held at the CSU Mountain Campus from 8:30 AM on August 4^th to 1:00 PM on August 5^th, features talks on local climate impacts on our watershed, along with hiking, games, and more.  Educators can choose to attend just one session, or both.

 

This opportunity is open to any teacher or informal educator working in the Fort Collins area, but enrollment is limited.  See the attached flyer or visit our website for more information, and register today to reserve your space.

 

We are excited about this year’s content and would love to see you there!

View the flyer here!

Proposal for replacement of No Child Left Behind with Every Child Achieves

What is happening with education legislation at the national level?

ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) reports that the Senate will begin debate on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) replacement bill—the “Every Child Achieves” Act (S.1177) on Tuesday, July 7.  This debate is seven years past due, and the bipartisan S.1177 could finally provide schools with the updated guidance and supports that they need.  

If you are interested in the latest information on Congress’s efforts to replace NCLB, visit www.ascd.org/esea.  For minute-by-minute updates, follow ASCD’s Advocacy Manager, Megan, on Twitter at @mwolfe09 as she live tweets the Senate debate, and for opportunities to take action on issues that matter to you, follow ASCD’s Advocacy Information Specialist, Melanie, at @mmolmstead15.