This week, I embarked on a new journey into learning that involves an online graduate course from the California University of Pennsylvania. This opportunity came about because one of my list serves posted that there were spots left for this course. It would be an opportunity to review all the oceanographic and climatology information I learned in college and graduate school, but with new and updated information. This information would then be a great way to enhance the quality of the programs I produce.
Marine CSI began its journey as a vision of helping teachers find fun and exciting hands-on activities, that did not require a lot of time and energy on their part, and did not require the use of internet on the students part. It has since evolved (see our business information) into something bigger than we imagined. Our newly developed program, Watershed Walkabout: Cape Fear, takes some of the lessons and localizes it so that I can go into the classrooms and teach students what I know and love about our ocean planet.
This course, DataStreme Ocean, is a unique opportunity for me to continue my own investigations and learning experience as science progresses with new technology. Although the lessons we teach are a basic format, and are designed to reach a broader spectrum of students, we still need to make sure the information we disseminate to them is the newest and most up-to-date. Our job is to take this information and create lessons that are adapted for their locale and their school setting. Our main goal is to give students a sense of place and a reason to conserve the wildlife and ecosystems they live in.
So as I embark on this part of our journey, I will share my experiences as well as some of the information I'm learning. On our Facebook page, we have begun to post our "themed" days and some of them will include information from the course. We will also be formulating a teacher module that will include how to break down some of this information and teach it to students throughout the year as part of the science curriculum.
