Classroom and Educational Outreach, US Coast Guard Healy scientific research cruise in the Bering Sea, May, 2006

 

The following information is meant for teachers and students interested in our research project in the Bering Sea that will take place aboard the US Coast Guard science icebreaker Healy in May 2006. We are planning opportunities that will be available for teachers and students to be involved in learning more about shipboard research activities. Participation by teachers and students is welcome, at no cost to the schools and classrooms that participate, and it is supported by the National Science Foundation program TREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating)

 

Janet Warburton is the project contact at the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) for TREC who is helping us coordinate the participation of classrooms in our research program. For any classroom participation, please contact her by e-mail at warburton@arcus.org or by phone at (907) 474-1600 to get the latest information on ways to be involved.   Two teacher participants will be aboard the ship with us as part of the science team, Samantha Barlow, a middle school teacher at the Oakwood School, Greenville, North Carolina, and Patricia Janes, an executive editor for Scholastic Inc.'s Science World and Super Science Magazine.  In addition, a 5th grade student, Ruth Cooper, from St. John Neumann Catholic School in Farragut, Tennessee, is also participating as part of the science team and she will be sharing some of her experiences. 

 

What is the science project?

 

"Climate-driven changes in impacts of benthic predators in the northern Bering Sea" is the formal project title as funded by U.S. National Science Foundation.

 

What is being studied?

 

We are studying ecological changes that are occurring in the northern Bering Sea as seasonal sea ice decreases and the climate warms.  How will this affect this productive ecosystem?  Currently a number of large animals such as walruses, gray whales, diving sea ducks, and bearded seals dive to the bottom of this shallow sea to feed on the rich animal life that is present in the bottom sediments. However, there is evidence that fish that until now have been limited in the northern Bering Sea by cold water temperatures, are moving north and may be  starting to compete significantly with these air-breathing diving animals for the same food in the mud on the bottom of the northern Bering Sea.  This ship-based research project is determining if fish are increasing in importance and what food they are eating.  It is also continuing past studies of the status of populations of marine invertebrates in the Bering Sea as they respond to changes in oceanographic conditions and the biological productivity of the overlying waters.

 

How and when will school classes participate?

  

The research cruise work and educational outreach will start after we leave Dutch Harbor, Alaska on May 7, 2006, and will continue until we return to port on June 5, 2006.

 

E-Mails to the Science Team and Teacher Blogs

 

It will be possible to send us e-mails with questions at any time and the teachers aboard will also be posting web-based logs on the TREC website to explain what is going on. Information on e-mail addresses for members of the science team aboard the ship will be provided at the TREC website.

 

Podcasts

 

We will also be podcasting (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting for more information about what podcasting is) short sound programs and narrations directly from the ship on a regular basis to provide information about shipboard research operations and other activities.  A webpage link to subscribe to these podcasts will be posted soon on the TREC web page and it will also be possible to simply download the sound files once they are available.  In order to subscribe and listen to the podcast programs, you will need podcasting software on your computer (or mp3 player).  One of the best-known programs that supports podcasting is i-Tunes from Apple Computer; it is free and available in both Windows and Mac OS formats at http://www.apple.com/itunes/download, but there are many other software options available.  Once the sound file is transferred to your computer or mp3 player, you will need software that can play a .mp3 format sound file.  I-Tunes fulfills this function as does the Windows Media Player software that is bundled with Windows XP; a free version of Windows Media Player is also available for Macintosh computers.

 

Web-based Programs

 

The TREC office will be helping us coordinate web-based research presentations from the ship, and these will be of particular interest for classes that wish to interact with the research team on a real-time basis.  Please contact Janet Warburton at the contact e-mail address or telephone number above for the latest information on dates and times for classroom participation at appropriate grade levels. We provide some background information here to help teachers insure that their classes will be able to participate, but the TREC office needs to be aware of all classes planning to participate ahead of time. 

 

Generic Instructions for Participating in the Web-based Programs:

 

The web-based classroom presentations will use an interface available at http://channel.horizonlive.com All participants must first run their computer(s) through the Horizon Wimba "Setup Wizard" prior to the "webinar" to ensure proper computer configuration and settings. Instructions for accessing the wizard and for calling in/logging into the webinar can be found below.

 

We ask that you log in to the webinar 10 minutes early so that we can ensure proper connections before we begin.

 

Informal testing sessions will be available prior to the actual events so that you may log-in to the Horizon Wimba interface, test the functions, and get comfortable with the technology. Contact the TREC office for the schedule for these test sessions.

 

To join the webinar, participants will log-in to the Internet presentation AND call in through a toll-free teleconference line.

 

SETTING UP HORIZON WIMBA:

 

Well before the webinar, make sure that the computer you will be using is properly configured by going to<http://channel.horizonlive.com>and clicking on "run the Setup Wizard" on the right side of the screen.

 

 *You will need POP-UPS enabled.

 *Your computer WILL need to accept cookies.

 *You will NOT need QuickTime or a microphone for the webinar, so proceed

 even if you fail that part of the test.

 

 LOGGING INTO HORIZON WIMBA FOR THE WEBINAR

 (1) Go to: <http://channel.horizonlive.com>

 

 (2) Select "Participant Login"

 

 When the log-in screen loads, enter:

 

 Room ID: ARCUS_Live

 

 (Room ID is case sensitive!) Make sure you have the underscore between

 "ARCUS" and "Live".)

 

 Name: Enter your full name. (Names are not case sensitive.)

 

 (3) After the page loads, select the room: "Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS)". It may take a few moments for the page to load. You should see a welcome slide on the main screen and your name will be listed near the bottom right of the interface.

 

 JOINING THE CONFERENCE CALL

 1. Dial: 1-800-315-6338

 2. You will be prompted to enter your code: TREC# (8732#).

 This will connect you directly to your conference.

 

* If you have any difficulty, please hold for operator assistance.

* While on the call, you can dial *0 for the operator at any time or call

 ARCUS at 907-474-1600.

* You may mute your line by dialing *6. To un-mute, simply dial *6 again.

 

NEED HELP DURING THE WEBINAR?

Contact ARCUS at: 907-474-1600or Laura Slater <laura@arcus.org>

 

LOGGING OUT

After the session is complete, exit Horizon Wimba by clicking on the "Exit" link located near the lower right of the Horizon Wimba screen and hang-up the phone.

 

Return to Arctic Research at the University of Tennessee

 

Additional information for accessing information from TREC ca be found at

TREC website information:  www.arcus.org/trec
Click on "2006 Expeditions"
Click on our project title, "Ecological Change in the Bering Sea: USCGC Healy"
For questions, please post to the "Ask the [teacher, writer, Ruth or the Scientist]" sections.

People can now subscribe to the TREC podcasts.
In iTunes, for example, go to the "Advanced" menu... "Subscribe to Podcast..." then enter...    http://www.arcus.org/podcasts/trec/TRECPodcasts.xml