#2 Seminar Premiere on Wed 4/14/10

Time: 12:30-1:00 pm Wednesday April 14 2010
Place: Warf-Pickle 209 E
Presenter: Dr. Chih-Che Tai (Tai's CV)
Topic: Two Collaborative Projects:
1. Application of Free Web-platform into P-12 Learning Environments
2. Green Course Project: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Powerpoint: Tai's PPT

Abstract:
Project One: Application of Free Web-platform in P-20 Learning Environments

Currently, I have involved all of the students (28) in the discovering science course at Walters State Community College using blogs to accumulate their work. Here are the students' links:
Alex, Allison, Andrea, Angela, Ashlee, Ashley, Carla, Cassie, Erin, Falon, Heather, Jessica, Jody, Julie, Kayla B, Kayla W, Latoya, Megan, Samantha, Sarah, Tabbatha, Tiffany, Tonya, Amy, Brittany, Ketti, Meghan and Trisha.

Generally, the students (pre-service teachers in the ISED program) presented and accumulated their science work online. This practice implies that the free web-platform can potentially work for most of the teachers and may change the instructional methods that we are used to applying in the education community. Several CUAI faculty and staff have formed a team to investigate the possibility of department-wide implementation. Also, I would like to expand the pre-service teachers' project to in-service teachers' classrooms, particularly with the collaboration of the University School.

Project Two: Green course- a collaborative project in the interdisciplinary communities

The green course (details see the Green Course Blog) will be offered as an interdisciplinary course Summer 2010. The instructional team includes faculty members of chemistry, environmental health, science education, technology, the ETSU facility office and the sustainability group at Eastman Chemical. Also, we will use the ETSU Green Fee (paid by ETSU students) to conduct several action researches with an idea that ETSU is a sustainability lab.
The current targeted subjects are ETSU students. However, in the future (next year) we hope that we could involve in-service teachers by providing them with sufficient knowledge and skills so they can help their K-12 students conducting green action researches in the schools.

The purpose of presenting these two projects is to seek for more collaboration in the COE community. I look forward to having your suggestions, comments and interests of collaboration.