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The Bones - A Virtual Lab |
Learn about eSkeletons!
The Bones - A Virtual Lab Web Seminar
, produced in collaboration with the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) and
the University of Texas at Austin, was held on Wednesday, October 11, 2006, from
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The presenters were Lauri Thompson, from the
University of Texas at Austin and the eSkeletons web site, and from NSDL, Robert
Payo, Education and Outreach Specialist. The presentation focused on the topic of
bones and eSkeletons web site, a virtual laboratory, where educators and students
can explore specimens online that are otherwise hard to access in the classroom,
conduct comparative studies, and manipulate specimens with the help of digital tools.
Resources available at the NSDL web site were also discussed.
Thirty three (33) participants were present in addition to the presenters and the
NSTA staff. Participating educators represented the states of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New
York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. One participant attended
from Canada.
In this presentation educators had the opportunity to learn about the eSkeletons
web site, a virtual laboratory, where bones specimens can be used by teachers and
students in the classroom. The presenters used the example of primate locomotion
and talked about the intermembral index and how this figure is calculated. The intermembral
index provides information about the primate’s locomotion category (terrestrial
quadruped, aboreal quadruped, clingers/leapers, suspensory, or bipeds) and the environment
where it lives. Using the eSkeletons web site, students can select different bones
to measure in order to determine the primate’s locomotion category. All participants
received a copy of NSTA's SciGuide on Organisms, grades 5-8.
Here are some comments provided by the participants at the end of the Web Seminar:
- "Very cool way to learn! Great to try to push teachers to use the newest technologies
-- I sometimes feel like a dinosaur with technology."
- "I like the interactivity and participation for the listeners. Most interesting
was how she used the correct terms and made it easy to understand what she was describing.
I learned about the eskeleton resources and what they offer teachers and students."
- "I got a lot out of it. it was great that I wasn't leaving home. I was able
to have a home life with this sort of presentation, I could plan the check to the
oven or field calls etc and not lose out, and no commute!"
- "I like the use of data most and the ability to get them by measuring on the
web. That the length of fore arms and hind legs says something about the living
environment of animals. Never thought about that before."
Thanks to the participants and the presenters for the learning opportunity, the
interactions, and a job well done!
Web Seminar: Bones - A Virtual Lab - Resources
Archive
See a recorded version
of the Web Seminar.
PowerPoint Presentation
- PC Download: To view online select link below to display in browser.
To download PowerPoint slides to your desktop right click on the link below and
select "save target as" from the drop down menu.
- MAC Download: To download PowerPoint slides to your desktop control
+ click on the link below and select "Save Linked File As..."
- Download File Web Seminar: Bones
PowerPoint Presentation (6.66 Mb)
Websites
For more information contact webseminars@nsta.org
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Underwritten by NSDL |