Welcome to our workshop on Polar Science and Education!!! This blog aims to create a forum of discussion between workshop participants and organizors to access information on our workshop that will take place between 26-28 March 2013 at the University of Coimbra! Welcome!!! José Xavier and Inga May
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
What do you expect from the workshop?
HEY
Feel free to share here your expectation about the upcoming Polar Educator Workshop and to maybe also plan some activties with other participants!
I'm looking forward to meeting other polar educators and sharing how we can continue to raise people's awareness in our home countries about the importance of the polar regions. I hope, too, that we can work together to find ways to communicate the urgency and need to meet the challenges of climate change--both mitigation and adaptation.
I totally agree with that. We need to determine a number of methods we could use, to initiate action plans for the implementation of polar studies in education at all level.
I agree as well and with our school-slogan 'Climate crisis: do something about it!' I can say that we do everything to make our pupils aware of global warming. But above all we inspire them to act. We already do it since 2002 at our school and I must say I missed the ‘ACTION’ component at the Montreal-conference a little bit.
I also agree and think that all feel the same. It's really urgent to create this awareness in our students and the surrounding community. If we add our ideas and our forces will certainly achieve a better result. I think it is important for our students to have the perception that this is a global problem and we all have the same concerns and duties. A simple way for students to understand that we are all in "the same boat" is to show that this concern happens in various parts of the world. How about we create a project where students from various countries were involved?
That is fantastic idea Patricia. Let’s think about it ourselves and we can already do a brainstorm with our students. When the idea comes from them they are more motivated because it's their 'thing'. We can discuss all the different proposals in March and derive the best one.
I think it would be a good idea that we present briefly each what we do at our school. Let’s say max. 8-10 minutes. It could be a good base to start on. I already suggested this in the opening mail to Inga and Josée. Josée said we had to do this for sure after my presentation at APECS-BENELUX in Ghent.
As I am still new as a polar teacher, I hope to find a lot of ideas to use in my classroom. I am really looking forward to hear what you are already doing and also to create new strategies together. In particular it would be great to see or develop examples how I can visualize these important topics, as I am teaching younger students (between 5 and 10).
Hello all I expect to get some examples and ideas about how we can get the students to think seriously about the climate change and how they can do something about it themselves. We want to increase opportunities for the new generation to gain proper information about the polar region and what can be done about problems arising there.
By what means can we do that? One way could be to make a small model on the web about the simple positive feedback of the decreasing ice cover in the Arctic and increasing solar energy in the area. We could do more simple models about for ex. water, ocean, vegetation, fauna etc. how one variable affects another. That is what I have been thinking about and I want the children to know more about this subject than they do now. If we put this material in pictures and interative models they can play with, they will gain more information about it. Regards from Iceland Kolbrún
Just to introduce my self. I'm Jack Kauw, a chemistry teacher in The Netherlands. Coming summer I organize for the 7th time a "Polar expedition" for 15 of my 16-17 year old pupils to a remote and partially glaciated area on Spitsbergen. For an impression, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsXW-V8NO1M. It is made by one of my pupils who joined last year. Just skipp the first minute: a lot of airport...
The video your pupils made could have been taken in Iceland, except we don't have to take the gun with us on a trip because we don't have polarbears. They have visited us occasionally but they are not on the top of the glaciers. I want to share with you a photosynth I made while I and my husband were measuring annual variation at Kötlujökull outlet glacier: http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=85c8441b-b524-4078-9261-588b27d90432 And here is another one from Snaefellsjokull (1450 m elevation): http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=6aa4e457-fae5-4517-aad9-193752784371. Enjoy Kolbrún
Really nice way to present panorama pictures! Thanks. I visited Iceland twice and it is a great and beautifull country! On the Vatnajokull (Svinafjellsjokul?) I learned how to walk on glaciers by crampons. I do not know if you visited Spitsbergen, but I see several differences, beside the polar bears. Both islands have things in common, but I think Spitsbergen is even more authentic and unspoild as Iceland. No roads, no signs, no people (beside 3 small settlements)and also no thermal pools :-( And... no Icesave. ;-)
I'm looking forward to meeting other polar educators and sharing how we can continue to raise people's awareness in our home countries about the importance of the polar regions. I hope, too, that we can work together to find ways to communicate the urgency and need to meet the challenges of climate change--both mitigation and adaptation.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with that. We need to determine a number of methods we could use, to initiate action plans for the implementation of polar studies in education at all level.
DeleteI agree as well and with our school-slogan 'Climate crisis: do something about it!' I can say that we do everything to make our pupils aware of global warming. But above all we inspire them to act. We already do it since 2002 at our school and I must say I missed the ‘ACTION’ component at the Montreal-conference a little bit.
ReplyDeleteI also agree and think that all feel the same.
DeleteIt's really urgent to create this awareness in our students and the surrounding community.
If we add our ideas and our forces will certainly achieve a better result.
I think it is important for our students to have the perception that this is a global problem and we all have the same concerns and duties. A simple way for students to understand that we are all in "the same boat" is to show that this concern happens in various parts of the world. How about we create a project where students from various countries were involved?
That is fantastic idea Patricia. Let’s think about it ourselves and we can already do a brainstorm with our students. When the idea comes from them they are more motivated because it's their 'thing'. We can discuss all the different proposals in March and derive the best one.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be a good idea that we present briefly each what we do at our school. Let’s say max. 8-10 minutes. It could be a good base to start on. I already suggested this in the opening mail to Inga and Josée. Josée said we had to do this for sure after my presentation at APECS-BENELUX in Ghent.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Patrici and Wim! I am very excited about this!
DeleteAs I am still new as a polar teacher, I hope to find a lot of ideas to use in my classroom. I am really looking forward to hear what you are already doing and also to create new strategies together. In particular it would be great to see or develop examples how I can visualize these important topics, as I am teaching younger students (between 5 and 10).
ReplyDeleteHello all
ReplyDeleteI expect to get some examples and ideas about how we can get the students to think seriously about the climate change and how they can do something about it themselves.
We want to increase opportunities for the new generation to gain proper information about the polar region and what can be done about problems arising there.
By what means can we do that?
One way could be to make a small model on the web about the simple positive feedback of the decreasing ice cover in the Arctic and increasing solar energy in the area.
We could do more simple models about for ex. water, ocean, vegetation, fauna etc. how one variable affects another.
That is what I have been thinking about and I want the children to know more about this subject than they do now. If we put this material in pictures and interative models they can play with, they will gain more information about it.
Regards from Iceland
Kolbrún
Hey,
ReplyDeleteJust to introduce my self. I'm Jack Kauw, a chemistry teacher in The Netherlands. Coming summer I organize for the 7th time a "Polar expedition" for 15 of my 16-17 year old pupils to a remote and partially glaciated area on Spitsbergen. For an impression, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsXW-V8NO1M. It is made by one of my pupils who joined last year. Just skipp the first minute: a lot of airport...
See you in March,
Jack
Hi Jack,
DeleteThe video your pupils made could have been taken in Iceland, except we don't have to take the gun with us on a trip because we don't have polarbears. They have visited us occasionally but they are not on the top of the glaciers. I want to share with you a photosynth I made while I and my husband were measuring annual variation at Kötlujökull outlet glacier: http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=85c8441b-b524-4078-9261-588b27d90432
And here is another one from Snaefellsjokull (1450 m elevation): http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=6aa4e457-fae5-4517-aad9-193752784371.
Enjoy
Kolbrún
Hi Kolbrun,
ReplyDeleteReally nice way to present panorama pictures! Thanks.
I visited Iceland twice and it is a great and beautifull country! On the Vatnajokull (Svinafjellsjokul?) I learned how to walk on glaciers by crampons. I do not know if you visited Spitsbergen, but I see several differences, beside the polar bears. Both islands have things in common, but I think Spitsbergen is even more authentic and unspoild as Iceland. No roads, no signs, no people (beside 3 small settlements)and also no thermal pools :-( And... no Icesave. ;-)
Jack
Hi Kolbrun (again),
ReplyDeleteI was inspired by your two, very special projected pictures. I've done it with two of Spitsbergen. Great results, especially if you zoom in!
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=e53752cf-0cfa-48be-af7a-a060d0450ca4
http://photosynth.net/edit.aspx?cid=df0dfdbf-0676-4ecf-9fc3-d509b4252206
Jack