Free Workshops in Data Collection Technology Available This Spring
A software maker will provide free workshops in
scientific
data-collection technology this spring to science and STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) teachers.
Vernier
Software & Technology will give 34 free
four-hour
workshops at different locations around the country beginning February
17 in
Jacksonville, FL, and Memphis, TN. Attendees can earn two graduate
science
credit hours through the Portland
State University Center for Science Education upon completion.
During the workshops, the educators will receive
hands-on
training using Vernier's Go Wireless Temp, a wireless sensor that can be
used
with iPads and other mobile devices.
Along with the workshop training, educators will get
lunch and
an electronic copy of the workshop training manual that will include
ready-to-use
lab handouts for their students.
Examples of content covered by the workshops include:
- Physics
teachers will
learn how to collect data with a motion detector;
- Chemistry teachers will use a colorimeter to
determine the
concentration of a nickel sulfate solution;
- Biology teachers will measure concentrations of
carbon dioxide
during cell respiration;
- Environmental and earth science teachers will learn
about
classroom applications for GPS sensors; and
- And K-8 science teachers will, among other things,
use a heart
rate monitor to measure heart rates before and during exercise.
"The training was exactly what our new science
teachers needed
to get started using the equipment that is available to them," said Lynn
Scheller, who mentors beginning teachers in Hillsboro, OR.
A complete schedule of classes that will take place
from
February through May and registration information is available at Vernier.com.
David Vernier, founder of the company and a former
physics
teacher, said, "Educators can take the skills and best practices learned
in the
workshops and apply them to help students master the ideas and concepts
detailed in the Next Generation State Standards."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.