MY NASA DATA E-note (Number 5)
December 2006

Greetings MY NASA DATA Alumni and Newslist members!

The monthly E-note is sent to anyone who is interested in learning 
more about or keeping up to date with the MY NASA DATA project.  
If you know someone who is interested in this information, the sign-up can be found at:
http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/HPDOCS/email_registration.html

1) Coming Soon! New Land Mask tool
As an outcome of a discussion at the 2005 workshop, we are pleased to 
announce that we have developed a land mask tool that will be 
available very soon!  It consists of an Excel file with three 
worksheets.  You can generate parameter data from the Live Access Server 
(LAS) and import it into the first worksheet.  The third worksheet 
will then display only those data points that fall over land.  
This tool is being offered as an extension to the "Comparison of 
Snow Cover on Different Continents" lesson by DeAnn Scearce.  
It will also be posted under the Tools link.  Comments on the 
tool and directions for its use are welcome.

2) MY NASA DATA Summer Workshop 2007
Plans for our third MY NASA DATA Summer Workshop are underway! 
Please share the announcement (included below and on our website) 
with your colleagues, especially with those who want to 
learn how to use data sets in their classroom instruction.

3) Thacher Scholarship
The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is now 
accepting entries for the 2007 Thacher Scholars Award, to be given 
to secondary school students designing and conducting the best 
projects using satellite observations of the Earth.  U.S. 
students in grades 9-12, including U.S. citizens attending schools 
in foreign countries, are eligible.  Entries must be postmarked by 
April 2, 2007. For more information on the Thacher Scholars Award, 
including contest rules and guidelines, please visit 
http://www.strategies.org/ThacherScholars. 

CONTACT
Dan Stillman
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
(703) 312-7138 (Phone)
(703) 312-8657 (FAX)
E-mail: dan_stillman@strategies.org

4) Question for this month
As the third component of our MY NASA DATA website, we are developing 
an Live Access Server (LAS) interface for the grade K-4 community.  
Please take a look at the draft website at 
http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/las4/servlets/dataset.    
Do you think this has potential? Feed free to share the 
link with your Grade K-4 colleagues. As always, comments are appreciated!


Workshop Announcement (mentioned above)

     MY NASA DATA Summer Workshop 2007

NASA Langley Research Center will host a hands-on workshop designed for 
the Grade 6-12 Educator.  The workshop will focus on the implementation 
and use of Earth System Science data sets developed for the pre-college 
education community as part of the MY NASA DATA program. A major component 
of the workshop will be the development of lessons incorporating one or 
more data sets. The data sets are derived from the archive of remotely 
sensed data retrieved from NASA's Earth Observing System satellites.  
Participating teachers will explore topics in Earth system science 
(especially atmospheric science), educational application of data sets, 
and hands-on classroom activities. Participants will experience meaningful 
field trips and benefit from the expertise of nationally recognized 
atmospheric researchers.  Participants will also explore how data sets 
can be used to enhance their curriculum and how students can utilize 
these data for inquiry-based learning and research. Participant feedback 
and curricular contributions will be enlisted as further development of 
data sets continues.  Earth Science educators are particularly encouraged 
to apply. 

Goals:  Participants in the MY NASA DATA teacher workshop will:
… access microsets of Earth system science data
… access and explore model lessons which utilize microsets of data
… participate in interactive seminars and tours led by scientists discussing selected methods of data collection and analysis
… develop, individually or as a group, at least one new lesson incorporating data sets

Key Outcomes:  During the school year following participation in the MY NASA DATA teacher workshop, teachers will:
… use the MY NASA DATA website and Live Access Server to access microsets of Earth system science data
… implement lessons or other teaching strategies which incorporate microsets of Earth system science data

Important Dates:  Application must be postmarked by April 30, 2007
Notification of acceptance will be sent by e-mail on or before May 18, 2007
Workshop dates will be July 29-August 3, 2007

Contact Information:
MY NASA DATA Workshop
Attn: Joyce Fischer
Mail Stop 927
NASA Langley Research Center
Hampton, VA 23681-2199
Phone (757)827-4848
E-mail: j.d.fischer@larc.nasa.gov
Web:  http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov