Keystone Weekly
volume 4, issue 14        January 6, 2003

This week's Key Points: *Web Pick of the Week,* *Awesome Science!,* and *Technology in Science Conference*
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Your students may be gazing out the window at the falling snow today, and this fun site offers you a way to turn that curiosity about snow into an interactive science lesson.

Winter Storms, created for teachers by Scholastic, offers several rich subsections that teach all about the science behind the creation of winter weather; an interactive weather maker that allows students to craft weather conditions and see the results; a winter storm timeline that showcases major storms over the past three hundred years; and a special ask-the-expert section where a meteorologist will answer your students' questions.

Also, if you can, why not go outside? Students can make guesses about how the texture of the flakes might relate to the temperature at the time; discuss the size and appearance of specific flakes, comment on the rate of fall; look at where the snow ends up in the schoolyard; and what conditions are needed for the snow to "stick."

If you're looking for more specific local weather information, don't forget about the Philadelphia Weather Data available on The Franklin Institute Online here:
http://www.fi.edu/weather/data/index.html.

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Surprising researchers, a bonobo seemed to be using special sounds to indicate very specific meanings, such as those for requesting certain foods, or desiring to leave his cage. This is the first known example of such a primate demonstrating specific sounds and syntax of its own devising, in contrast to past studies when primates have learned and used American Sign Language.

This bonobo has grown up in captivity around humans at Georgia State University in Atlanta, and understands at least some spoken English, but these sounds are something else altogether, something humans have not taught him. Whether or not he's trying to imitate human speech is not yet known, but his researchers are still attempting to find out.

Please see the article above for the rest of the story.

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This conference is intended for teachers, curriculum coordinators, professional developers, and school or district administrators who want to increase their knowledge of technology integration in K-16 mathematics and science instruction.

Participants will have the opportunity to participate in two general sessions and many small group sessions. They will receive valuable hands-on information on the educational uses of technology in mathematics and science, including computers and computer software, basic and graphing calculators, scientific probes, Internet use in planning lessons, Internet use with students in the classroom, developing your own free classroom website, distance learning, and much more!

Registration will be first-come, first-served until the conference is fully subscribed. Please contact Wendy Coffman at coffman@rbs.org with any questions you may have.

This conference is being provided by Research for Better Schools and the Pennsylvania State Team of the Eisenhower Consortium for Mathematics and Science Education, with support from Texas Instruments and Carnegie Learning.

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9819641.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

webteam@keystone.fi.edu

© 2003. All rights reserved.