debate-lfrf-digest/v01.n003

debate-lfrf-digest V1 #3 owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

Debate Archives owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

Backyard biodiversity owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

Survey Design Consensus Begins Next Week! owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

Re: Survey Design Consensus Begins Next Week! owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

THANKS TO ALL owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

central east middle owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

Re: From Size to Time owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

From Size to Time owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)

LFRF Backyard Biodiversity Survey Sign Up From owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)Other ONAIR-LFRF archives

debate-lfrf-digest V1 #3

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: debate-lfrf-digest V1 #3
Date:
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debate-lfrf-digest Tuesday, March 31 1998 Volume 01 : Number 003

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Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 01:30:50 -0500

Debate Archives

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: Debate Archives
Date:
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A warm welcome to our newcomers on debate-lfrf. The website [if you
haven't seen the "new" expanded site, visit at:
http://passporttoknowledge.com/rainforest ] is officially up and running.

The archives of debate can be found on the website by going from the front
into Interact, followed by Collaborative Projects. There you will find a
link to browse DEBATE-LFRF-DIGEST Archives. They are easily accessible and
provide a quick guide to all prior debate conversations and information.

With the teachers' guides on their way, we're all getting excited about the
project. Let us know about your ideas for the Backyard Biodiversity
Survey. Feel free to contact either of us with any questions or problems.
We're looking forward to an energetic online project and debate.

From our backyards.....where the weeds are outnumbered only by the cobbles
and gravel....

Eileen and Susan

Eileen Bendixsen
calderone@sysnet.net (Susan Hurstcalderone)

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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 13:02:40 -0700

Backyard biodiversity

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: Backyard biodiversity
Date:
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Hi! We are students in a charter school in Chandler AZ, a suburb of
Phoenix. We are in a 4th, 5th , 6th grade classroom and we are Kyle,
Adam, Erin, Kristy, Heather, TJ, Andrew, Brianna, Sagan, Ashley, Jake,
Jacqee, Tyler and Ariel. Yesterday, Tuesday, March 24 at 1:30 p.m. MST
we went to a field north of our school. We don't really have a
playground yet. It is under construction as this is the first year of
our school and we are in a strip center. This field has been used
privously for agriculture and is slated for development. Chandler is
located at 33º 17 min 45 sec N, 111ª 54 min 53 sec. W. It was 85ª
yesterday, sunny and warm. We found 3 dad lady bugs and one live one.
We found a lot of grass and ragweed, some small pods, cracked earth
(Unusual because we have had lots of rain this spring) pine needles
(under thepine tree), epbbles, beetle, a huge made-made rock (old
concrete), thorns and bird droppings. We expected to see more bug than
we idd alothough some of the girls collected a bund of tiny green bugs
on their socks. We live in the desert which is as far away from the
rain forest as you can get. Friday we are going on a field trip to a
graden show which will include an 1800 sq ft tent with over 1000
butterflies-at least 12 types. We will let you know what it's like!!
Bye for now.

PS Jake says x=25%

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Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 07:13:04 -0500

Survey Design Consensus Begins Next Week!

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: Survey Design Consensus Begins Next Week!
Date:
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Dear Debate-lfrf Members,

We have one more thing we need to discuss before we begin our discussion
next week on how to put together the final design for the survey. One of
our suggestions for the survey is to have the students go out and take
their survey and then two weeks later go out and take it again to see what
changes they observe. In order to do this accurately it will be important
that the students survey the same square meter. An idea that we came up
with is to replace the meter sticks with string. The groups could then pick
a natural landmark that would remain stationary (a rock or a particular
patch of plants) or place a marker in the ground and use that as the
center. The string could then be placed around the landmark in the form of
a circle. The problem this presents is that it is more difficult for the
students to graph a circle than a square. If we place the string in a
square how important is it that the corners be square? Will the groups be
able to recreate their square meter as easily as they can with the circle?

As we begin to move into the final stages of our survey design it is
important that we hear your suggestions. One of the best things about PTK
projects is their flexibility to be implemented in a wide range of grade
levels and classroom situations. Each classroom has its own unique
characteristics and we want this project to be a rewarding experience for
you and your students. Communication is what helps us accomplish this goal.

If you have any questions or concerns about this activity please feel free
to contact us. Send an e-mail message to Susan Hurstcalderone
or Eileen Bendixsen and we will
promptly respond.

Susan Hurstcalderone and Eileen Bendixsen
Co-Moderators, debate-lfrf

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Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 07:50:43 PST

Re: Survey Design Consensus Begins Next Week!

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: Re: Survey Design Consensus Begins Next Week!
Date:
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Hello,

Our school backs up on the Garden State Parkway and one of the town
recreation fields is on the side. We could not leave out the strings
either. The string would be picked up when you finish collecting your
data at the first visit. We need to come up with an easy way for
students to be able to go back to the same spot to survey the second
time. That is why I suggested the landmark as the center. Something that
would not change in two weeks, so that the students know where to place
the string the second time.

Deb's idea about making maps is an excellent idea. Does anyone else have
any good suggestions that have worked for them in the past?

Eileen

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 18:50:01 GMT

THANKS TO ALL

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: THANKS TO ALL
Date:
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Hi to all,
I just wanted to say Thanks to all who sent me a message, I
really apreciate what you have done.
I am sure your help is going to help me a lot to get the
schoolarship.

For those who couldn't sent me the message (for any reason), they
are on time.

Ok, I think that I have alredy disturb you too much.

I remaind you that anything you could need from me or Argentina,
no doubt in contact me.

Best wishes fromn Salta, Argentina

*-*-*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Gianfranco Martinis
_/ _/ _/_/ _/ E-Mail: cpces04@salnet.com.ar
_/ _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ Home Address: 220 Los Ceibos Street
_/ _/ _/ _/ 4400 - Salta - Argentina
_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/

*-*-*-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

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Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 12:01:22 -0800

central east middle

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: central east middle
Date:
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Hi, our names are Allison and Chelsea. We're from Rancho Santa Fe School.
We're in San Diego county, Rancho Santa Fe is north of San Diego. We have
been having cold (about 50) and hot (about 70) and rain and wind from the
El Nino. Our school buildings are made of stucco with red tile roofs. We
have six buildings. At our school we have a soccer field, track, gym,
basketball court, library, computer lab and music room. Our school has a
lot of grass, trees and flowers. They are blooming because it's spring.
Our latitude is 34 degrdees and our longitude is 170 degrees.

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Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 00:29:57 -0500

Re: From Size to Time

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: Re: From Size to Time
Date:
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I believe we need to do this in 15-20 minute observations if we have
any time limit on them. The main reason I see a need for a time limit
is to not allow too many "mobile" insects to roam around and confuse
those trying to count. Another reason may be to not eat up too much
class time.

The data that should be collected is time, temp, location (lat and
long), surrounding landforms or markers (roads, forests, lakes, etc).

All things living and dead should be included. They were once (and
really still are) part of the ecology and are therefore part of the
biodiversity of the area.

Common name is great, but some family name or genus/species should
also be included because common names vary for the same species from
place to place.

My school is located in North Carolina, and we have Chapel Hill going
to the final four (I think they are going, aren't they?). We are west
of them, however- in the foothills of the Appalachians.
We also have had sunshine for 2 days (no more) in a row, and all my
classes love to go outside every day if they could!

I hope this is what you needed!

Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 18:06:06 -0500
To: debate-lfrf@passporttoknowledge.com

From Size to Time

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: From Size to Time
Date:
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Last time we decided to conduct our surveys using a square meter.....It
seems that many of us still are experiencing a wide range of weather
conditions and those conditions can change rapidly. However, those that
did make it outside used a square meter in which to conduct their surveys.
Now lets look at how long a time period we should spend collecting data
when we do go out to conduct the survey.

How long a time period per observation will you use when you survey your
area?

_____time per observation

Is it important to have everyone using the same amount of time? Why or
why not?

What data should be collected?

Should we count every thing we find?

What if we find something that was living but is not living now? Do we
count it in our survey?

How do we count plants? Is each plant counted separately? Or do we count
only the kinds of plants? For example, grass. Do we record 987 grass
blades or 1 kind of grass? What do you think we should do?

How should data be recorded?
common name
scientific name -- genus and species
family name

This time, can we hear from a class that:

*is south of the Mason-Dixon Line

*falls along the 45 degree of latitude [+ or - 5 degrees]

*lives in an area which has a team in the final four

*has had sunshine for two days in a row

*likes to be outside for class activities

Try to have your posts online by 3:00 p.m. est Wednesday, March 25th.

Have fun........

Susan

Heidi Coleman
E-mail: hcoleman@caa.k12.nc.us
"What a long strange trip it's been"

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Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 05:51:54 PST

LFRF Backyard Biodiversity Survey Sign Up From

From: owner-debate-lfrf-digest@rspac.ivv.nasa.gov (debate-lfrf-digest)
Subject: LFRF Backyard Biodiversity Survey Sign Up From
Date:
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Dear members of the LFRF Discuss and Debate Lists:

The online collaborative activity for this Passport to Knowledge module
is about to begin. Actually, teachers and their students have been
discussing the best ways to carry out the surveys for several weeks.
Now is the time to begin registering your class and undertaking the
actual surveys. Please fill in the following form and email it to:
surveys@mail.edc.org -- this will register your class(es) for the
project and it will help us fine tune future collaborative activities.
Also note that even if you decide not to have your students participate
in the field work phase, you can still participate by using the
accumulated data from other classes to join in on the challenge phase

where the data will be analyzed by students to answer questions and draw
inferences.

=================================================================
Send responses to surveys@mail.edc.org

I plan to participate: Yes___ Not sure yet____ No_____

IF YES, then please complete this short participant profile:

Teacher Name:
School Name:
Grade Level(s):
Number of classes who will be participating:
Total number of students:

If NO or NOT SURE, skip filling in the profile and
please take a moment to check of one or more reasons.

No or Not Sure: for the following reason(s)

___ Not working with students
___ Not appropriate for my age level
___ Not appropriate to the curriculum we are using
___ Not time enough to fit into our spring schedule
___ Not interested in participating in a collaborative
activity at this time
___ Unsure of what is expected or how much time it might take
___ Logistical problems taking students outside
___ Notice of the activity and its steps has come too late
for this semester

Thanks for your help. Remember that even if your class does not
participate in the data collection, you can still use the accumulated
data from the participating classes to join in the final stage of the
activity.

More information about the Biodiversity Backyard Survey and an archive
of all of the messages from the Debate mailing list leading up to the
survey launch can be found on the Live from the Rainforest web site
http://passporttoknowledge.com/rainforest

==============================================================

Robert Spielvogel
Center for Children and Technology
Education Development Center

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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End of debate-lfrf-digest V1 #3
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