Changing predictions - 4 to 8 inches by Thursday 10am

I'm leaning toward cancelling because of the amount predicted, the ratio of streets to plows, and the re-freezing due to overnight temperatures.  

That said, I don't want to cancel until we see just how much snow falls.  If it's over 4 inches, it's likely to stick around until Saturday.  If it's only two inches, it may melt and dry in the Friday sun, or of course it may melt into ice.

I'll post an announcement on http://www.nnps-secondary-stem.blogspot.com/ and send an email on Thursday around 10am unless some other official declaration influences us.

03:34pm, Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Click here for

• Current radar (10 minute delay): LINK
• Southeast map:  (30 minute delay):  LINK

Weather on Saturday

I'll rely on some of you folks to guide us on how to manage weather in your area.  Is there some metric we might use on whether to meet?  Friday closure?

Preparing for Saturday, February 27

We'll keep an eye on weather, closings, etc., and I'll suggest an alternative plan if necessary.  Currently weather predictions look unpleasant through Friday morning, but clearing quickly.

Thanks to all that have shared their STEM Notebook templates.  Keep them coming.  We'll invite some presentations on Saturday and allow time for you to share.

Our primary objectives for Saturday are:

1. Review resources for integrative STEM activities 

I'll share some hands-on interactive STEM ideas for middle and high school students, and we'll talk about scaling up or down for different ages. We'll then categorize a list of resources, including learning activities, classroom and personal technologies, and sources for funding.

Please feel free to bring an activity or resource to share.

2.  Developing engineering design challenge activities and 7E lesson plans

We'll individually and collaboratively develop your ideas for engineering design challenge activities that support the Newport News curriculum.

We'll then work on formatting your ideas within a UbD lesson plan format suitable for observations or publishing your lessons.

Consider this design process

Consider this design thinking process from the Nueva school, promoted by the KQED Mind/Shift blog last year.  How does it fit with other design processes you've explored and embraced?

Design Thinking, Deconstructed

Tina Barseghian | October 16, 2013 | 

At the Nueva School in Hillsborough, Calif., design thinking is built into students’ and teachers’ everyday lives. The process, which is an approach to learning that includes considering real-world problems, research, analysis, building by hand, and lots of experimentation, is documented and shared among staff.

The infographic (click on the image to see the full PDF) was created by Kim Saxe, director of Nueva’s iLab, and one of the champions of design thinking. To learn more about the process, readWhat Design Thinking Looks Like In School,  How to Apply Design Thinking In Class, Step By Step, and our entire collection of articles about design thinking.

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If you write about this on your blog, the citation for this can be:
Barsenghian, T. (2013). Design Thinking Deconstructed.  KQED Mind Shift.  Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/10/design-thinking-deconstructed/

Consider animation and video in online STEM notebooks

Online or other digital versions of STEM notebooks allow for videos and animation.

Pythagorean Theorem:

Source: giphy

Exterior angles of polygons ALWAYS add to 360 degrees:

                             Source: math.stackexchange

Pi:

Source: imgur

Slides from Saturday

Here are the slides.  Use them as you wish.

Saturday, January 24 details

Here are some helpful details for our face-to-face meeting on Saturday, January 24:

Time:   8:30am to 3:30pm

Location:
National Institute of Aerospace, 100 Exploration Way, Hampton, VA
Map - Link for directions

Laptops:  You will likely want a keyboard and mouse, so bring a laptop rather than a tablet.  Wireless will be available.  If you have an ethernet cable around, bring it too for fastest most reliable connectivity.

Internet / Cloud-based computing:  I strongly encourage cloud storage.  Come with passwords to email and your preferred storage (Google, Dropbox, iCloud, etc.).  I will eagerly help you create accounts if this is new to you.

Attire:  Saturday casual and comfortable.  Heat or AC may be on Saturday mode.

Coffee:  I'll bring regular and decaf coffee.  Consider bringing a water bottle.  Vending machines are available.

Lunch:  Bring your own, or we can decide to order pizza or other food.  I'd like to have you working independently or in teams through lunch. There is nearby fast-food, but I don't want to budget more than a few minutes for lunch travel if possible (there is a Wendy's and Sonic within 0.5km).  Let me know if you have a recommendation.

Call me with questions:  571-482-8298