Alaska: A Bird's Eye View 

Follow Tutangiaq, a Canada Goose as he flies over Alaska and describes aspects of the state from his unique perspective in the sky. Alaska: A Birds' Eye View provides an introduction to remote sensing concepts and how the technology is used to better understand Earth's features. The website is geared to middle school students and was reviewed and approved by the NASA Earth Science Enterprise Education Product Review Panel.
 

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Alaska K-12 Science Curricular Initiative (AKSCI)

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute under contract to the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development designed the Alaska K-12 Science Curricular Initiative, or AKSCI, to help bring teachers cutting-edge science to their K-12 classrooms.

The online resource features more than 300 physical, earth and life science lessons based on research conducted throughout the state. Lessons were created to address the state's science grade-level expectations and incorporate Alaska Native culture and traditional wisdom. 

AKSCI offers a three-year curriculum map that school districts can adopt to provide a cohesive K-12 science instruction. The curriculum enables students to revisit content areas and to build upon knowledge they have previously gained.

The AKSCI database is set up as a searchable website so teachers can use the entire curriculum or just the lessons that meet their individual classroom needs. In addition to the lessons, the website offers a variety of multimedia materials to support classroom work and online access to 29 UAF scientists willing to mentor teachers.

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Alaska Lake Ice and Snow Observatory Network (ALISON)

K-12 science and mathematics teachers, teachers' aides and university faculty working together to learn about the nature of scientific inquiry and the variability of lake ice, snow and conductive heat flow in the State of Alaska.

The goal of ALISON is to create a professional learning community that:

-Increases knowledge and understanding of scientific inquiry and promotes polar science in the classroom;

-Contributes to scientific knowledge and understanding of lake ice and snow;

-Reduces teachers' physical and professional isolation and

-Improves ties and understanding among K-12 educators and university faculty.
 

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Alaska Tsunami Education Program (ATEP)

K-12 science and math lessons from both the Western and Indigenous perspective. The Alaska Tsunami Education Program (ATEP) addresses Alaska science and math GLEs and Alaska standards for culturally responsive schools.

ATEP includes:

-Interactive multimedia components,

-Lessons available for download in PDF files,

-Online scientist mentor network and

-Scientist lectures on DVD.

Created by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, ATEP addresses Alaska Native students' unique cultural, academic and dropout prevention needs by providing progressive K-12 standards-based instruction, geospatial information technology training, professional mentorship and place-based inquiry that benefits rural communities and draws upon the knowledge of Elders.
 

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Alaska Volcano Explorer

The Alaska Volcano Explorer is an interactive website that teaches students in grades K-6 about Alaska's volcanoes. The site includes lesson plans, resources and more. 

 

 

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Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ACMP)

The research-based Arctic Climate Modeling Program (ACMP), funded by NSF, is a curriculum-based resource designed with input from 21 scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Resources include:

-K-12 inquiry-based classroom lessons,

-A student network for observing arctic weather,

-Digital lectures and

-An interactive multimedia learning system on DVD.

 

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Aurora Alive

The Aurora Alive science education program teaches the science behind the Northern Lights with hands-on classroom lessons and an exciting multimedia DVD that features hundreds of interactive activities, photos and movies of the aurora. The program is perfect for both classroom and homeschool use.

Created by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute with support from the U.S. Department of Education.

 

 

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Cryospheric Connection to Understanding Climate Change

The Cryospheric Connection to Understanding Climate Change is a NASA-funded two-year program that began in Fall 2009. The goal of the program is to develop an online professional development course for secondary teachers to increase climate literacy and knowledge about Earthy system science. The thematic focus of the course is on permafrost and examining how this changing element of the cryosphere affects Earth as a whole.

A NASA Global Climate Change Education project, Cryospheric Connection provides instruction that mimics NASA climate science research and makes use of NASA resources, data and technology.
 

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Earth System Science Education Evaluation Toolkit

The Evaluation Toolkit offers examples of how evaluation and assessment are/have been used in Earth System Science courses and programs. The goal is to help instructors recognize different types of tools and uses that have proved useful in these courses and provide models for designing assessments in new courses. The Evaluation Toolkit is of use to instructors designing undergraduate Earth System Science Education.

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Girls on Ice 

Girls on Ice is a unique, FREE, wilderness science education program for high school girls. Each year a team of nine teenage girls and three instructors spend 11 days exploring and learning about mountain glaciers and the alpine landscape through scientific field studies with professional glaciologists, mountaineers and artists.

For general information, contact Erin Pettit at pettit [dot] erin [at] gmail [dot] com.

 

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Investigations in Cyber-Enabled Education - Snow COVER

Investigations in Cyber-Enabled Education - Snow COVER is a science professional development course for educators. It features a collaborative network for teaching and learning about the role of snow in global climate. Course participants interact with a suite of online lessons and are given access to a wealth of snow-related data and resources appropriate for classroom use.

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MapTEACH

MapTEACH stands for "Mapping Technology Experiences with Alaska's Cultural Heritage." It is a collaborative ITEST Project (Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) and is currently funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The program researches potentials and practices for integrating geospatial information technology proficiencies constructed upon a foundation of local traditional knowledge of the landscape. Participants synthesize concepts from Native American cartography, geomorphology, topographic and geologic map interpretation, remotely sensed data interpretation, geographic information systems and capstone field research experiences.

 

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Traveling Planetarium Program

The Geophysical Institute and the University of Alaska Museum of the North have partnered to bring the state's only digital portable planetarium to communities in rural Alaska.

Visit the Traveling Planetarium Program's page here for more information.

 

 

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Treasure Hunt in Alaska

Treasure Hunt in Alaska is an education product funded by the Alaska Space Grant Program, the national Space Grant Program and NASA. The interactive website is designed to introduce students to synthetic aperture radar remote sensing data. The target audience is Alaska students in grades 4-5.

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Uniting Native Indigenous Traditional Education and University Science 

The Uniting Native Indigenous Traditional Education and University Science curriculum, or simply UNITE US, focuses on Arctic climate and interweaves Native and Western perspectives with the ultimate goal of instilling cultural pride, increasing climate literacy as a path to academic success and graduation for Interior Alaskan students in grades seven through 12.

 

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Volcanoes Alive

The Volcanoes Alive curriculum is bilingual and features two comprehensive teacher's manuals -- one in English and one in Hawaiian. An associated bilingual, interactive multimedia DVD brings hands-on curriculum to life.