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**NASATalk Online ETE Collaborative** The NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future program at the Center for Educational Technologies (CET) at Wheeling Jesuit University (WJU) in Wheeling, WV, invites you to attend a hands-on workshop to be presented later this week at the 2011 National Science Teachers Association conference in San Francisco. The goal of this workshop is to stimulate discussion and capture ideas from teachers about how they integrate global climate change problem-based learning (PBL) modules into their curriculum. Three global climate change PBL modules will be used to focus the breakout sessions. We will use the [|NASA//Talk//] online collaborative to facilitate the sessions. Each breakout group will use NASA//Talk// to guide discussions about how to plan, adapt, and implement the global climate change problem-based learning modules provided.
 * [[image:http://www.nasatalk.com/images/stories/nasatalk_web.jpg width="263" height="99" align="left" link="http://www.nasatalk.com"]]Adding Value to Instruction with Strategic Use of **

** Presenters: ** Laurie Ruberg, Ph.D., associate director, CET, WJU Debra C. Burkey Piecka, Ed.D., educational researcher/instructional designer, CET, WJU Manetta Calinger, former science teacher, curriculum writer, CET, WJU

** Anticipated Outcomes: ** This workshop presents guidelines to support teacher integration of NASA global climate change education resources. While the workshop is being presented face to face, we will be using the online collaborative discussion tools to facilitate and guide the teacher idea sharing within each group. Participants in this workshop will have facilitated access to NASA//Talk// to collaborate with other teachers about how they would adapt and implement three global climate change problem-based learning modules into their curriculum. The final part of the workshop will involve teacher ratings and reviews of the extent to which the online collaborative tool was helpful in supporting teacher discussion and cooperative work. Applying the findings-related research about effective use of virtual collaboration communities, we present guidelines to help science educators see how online environments can be used to enhance integration of their coursework and professional training.
 * Summary: ** A growing component of education and curriculum development involves the inclusion of online services for support, interaction, and expanded content. This workshop makes use of an online collaborative designed to enhance live events and structured professional development. In this case the online collaborative focuses on STEM educational resources provided by NASA education. Participants will use components of the NASA//Talk// collaborative to review case profiles from virtual communities set up to support teacher professional development in the areas of podcasting, vodcasting, and global climate change problem-based learning education.

After having time to use the NASA//Talk// collaborative in the breakout discussion groups, participants will come together as one group to share their ratings on the collaborative as a resource to support course development and professional training. The closing discussion will address the following questions: 1. What are the features, functions, and capabilities for supporting virtual social arrangements and identity development in this collaborative? 2. What are the features of meaningful learning contexts that accommodate socially mediated sharing of knowledge? 3. What are the possibilities and problems regarding giving access to content for a community of geographically distributed and diverse educators?

** Participants Who Attend This Session Will Be Able To: ** · Use the guidelines provided from the research as metrics to evaluate collaboratives. · Expand participation in existing opportunities by offering virtual discussion venues that are more interactive than traditional web-based FAQ pages. · Make greater use of user tracking tools available in online environments to see what information stimulates the most interest (hits). · Identify ways to involve colleagues in online groups that share common interests, expertise, and ideas and offer ways to collaborate with each other. · Learn how to write meta descriptions, meta key words, and tags to increase access to online communities. · Identify ways to improve and expand work within and across virtual communities. · Recognize fellow educators who demonstrate leadership in online communities. ** For More Information Contact: ** Laurie F. Ruberg, Ph.D. Center for Educational Technologies Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, WV 26003 Tel: 304.243.2480 Cell: 304.215.3201 E-mail: lruberg@cet.edu