Back to School

It is good to be back into the swing of things.  Jenn Graves has come back to work this semester and seems ready to go.  There are a few projects that we are going to be working on, so I'll outline each below.

Conferences

CC21 Conference - Jenn and I will submit and abstract (due 9/30) and a poster to this conference under the graduate student category. I want a draft of the 100 word abstract by Friday 9/19.  Also I have to speak with Dr. Chai about Jenn and I registering to attend on 10/24.

Workshop - Dr. Chai mentioned that Annette will be giving two workshops (October and November) on campus here.  I need to email Annette for more information.

World Conference on Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclones & Climate Change - Dr. Chai may be submitting abstract to this conference in Muscat, Oman (March 8-11, 2009).  Other members of the scientific team may be going.  Keep an ear open in case information is needed from our project.

Ocean Literacy Summit - NEOSEC sponsored workshop November 7, 2008 in Boston.  Need to ask Annette about attending. Register by 9/26.

Project

Dr. Chai wants to schedule a conference call with himself, Annette, Joaquim, Jenn and me once we have the project back on track to discuss status, progress, and future direction.  Not only do I want to discuss my ideas of the three components, but I also want their feedback on our mile markers.  Speaking of, I need to set up mile markers/mini goals for the semester.  I want to flesh out a true focus/mission statement. Who am I making this for and why.

Project: Modules

First and foremost we need to add content to the educational module.  I will work on fixing the social implication information from the summer.  Jenn is going to tackle atmospheric.  I've asked her to come up with a plan of attack (which subtopics she is going to focus on, the order, and a level of generality). Given that, we need to designate an appropriate level of content (not too general, not to detailed) for all of the sections. I would like the basic module to be done by the end of the summer.  Jenn and I feel that the module should contain a glossary.  Over the next few meetings we will brainstorm the formats and means of interaction this glossary can take.

Project: Blogging

With today's entry I have begun blogging again.  Jenn will start hers again.  More importantly, though, is to get the General blog active again.  Jenn and I need to pick a topic and I am going to say have the deadline of a post by 9/26.

Project: Video

Dr. Chai and I have talked before about involving new media in the project some how.  I am really liking the idea of creating a video about how science is done, specifically for this research project.  I gathered some ideas from Upward and Outward: Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Plateau video we watch at the C2C MSP meeting last night.  Need to brainstorm.  I hope that it is not too big to incorporate.  I wonder if there is funding in the NASA grant under broader applications that we could apply to this?

Project: Assessment

Need to flesh out the assessment side of this.  We want to test the parts in middle and high school.  Tools of assessment will include Survey Monkey. I am curious to designate a)ocean literacy b)inquiry-based, and c)science atlas/circulum components.

Committee

My thesis committee has been chosen and consists of: Dr. Fei Chai, Annette deCharon, Dr. Joaquim Goes, & Dr. James Wilson.  Joaquim agreed to be on the committee on 9/5.  I have his CV, but I need to follow up on getting his form to add him as an outside member to the faculty.

Jenn

Since Jenn's work on this project may be part of her Capstone and she will be studying abroad next semester, it is important to determine a finished product/goal for this semester.  We will talk about what it will be and set short and long term goals.