PRIMING THE STUDENT LEARNING PUMP http://snipurl.com/km_learningpump

 http://snipurl.com/ms_global

Schools and teachers focusing on the 21st century skill of “global awareness will appreciate this top-quality content. See for example this recent lesson plan for grades 7-12: “Negotiate Peace for India and Pakistan,” which includes standards, cross-curricular activities, and links to literature.

http://snipurl.com/world_lessonplans

http://snipurl.com/mlleader_advisory

GAME-MAKING WITH “SPLODER”

http://snipurl.com/spoder_gaming

http://scratch.mit.edu/pages/educators

ONLINE WORKSHOP: TEACHING THE ARTS

http://snipurl.com/annenberg_artspd

Although the video content features high school students, the principles of good arts teaching put forth in this eight-part series from Annenberg Media apply equally to the middle grades. The content covers visual arts, music, theatre and dance and “is intended for use by mixed groups of teachers from all four arts disciplines, to help them improve their practice.” The first program introduces seven principles of effective teaching; then each principle is explored in depth in a subsequent program. This link leads to a website that includes the video programs, other interactive materials, and a downloadable guide. No-cost registration.

SCIENCE & SOCIETY: EXPLORING YOUR OWN DNA

http://snipurl.com/nytln_redesign

http://snipurl.com/nytln_dnatest

HELPING NET-KIDS LEARN TO MANAGE INFORMATION

http://snipurl.com/bf_managinginfo

– “probably the most important 21st Century skill to teach to our kids.” See how Bill and his colleagues are using these tools to help students discern media bias in Election 2008. ALSO: For another interesting view of transformative web tools, read how a wiki has revitalized a science teacher’s classroom and her teaching:

http://snipurl.com/wikiteacher

FASHION RULES IN GIRLS’ FICTION

http://snipurl.com/nyt_girlsfiction

writes: “As others have, Dr. Johnson questions the female characters’

preoccupation with looks, thinness, fashion, makeup, wealth — we’re talking spoiled, rich middle-school girls from Westchester County.

But what grabbed me as new was her documentation of what she called the ‘incessant litany of brand names.’”

GET PRACTICAL STEPS FOR CHOOSING AND USING FICTION IN THE CLASSROOM

THE NOVEL EXPERIENCE is a handy 32-page flipchart that helps middle-level teachers and students organize a novel program, choose books that match interests & abilities, foster comprehension, process information, and share responses. Includes over 100 book suggestions; only $11. Click here for details:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8200.asp?r=mw081002

SPECIAL RESOURCES FOR NEW TEACHERS

http://snipurl.com/NewTeacherResources

Links to a series of Teacher Magazine’s Teaching Secrets articles; ideas for creating a positive and engaging classroom environment, and one middle grade teacher’s practical advice on developing the “Organized Middle Schooler.” Check back often.

***************************************************

Michael Vitelli - CEO | http://www.gamingkrib.com mvitelli@gamingkrib.com 727-947-7005 Reinventing Learning in the Digital World

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG URBAN M.S. TEACHER
http://snipurl.com/young_urban_tchr

English teacher Ariel Sacks began her career five years ago, after completing a residency program at New York City’s Bank Street College. After a three-year stint in Harlem, Sacks is beginning her second year in a public academy school in Brooklyn. In this essay she reflects on the supports, experiences and strategies that give her the ability to continue teaching in the inner city. Novice teachers will appreciate Sacks’ description of her classroom organization and management structure. “Not only is this structure practical,” she writes, “it also teaches students to be part of a group, to make decisions for themselves and reflect on them, and to begin to take responsibility for the well-being of the class.”

CONFRONTING THE PLAGIARISM PLAGUE
http://snipurl.com/plagiarism-plague

English teacher Kim Bochicchio was distressed to learn that graduates of her school system had a reputation for plagiarism among local colleges. Read this June 2008 story from Edutopia magazine to learn what Bochicchio did to address the issue in her own classroom. “The battle lines (were) drawn, but I waged my war against plagiarism, determined that, for my students’ sake, I would not — could not — lose.”
 
GET STARTED WITH CLASSROOM BLOGGING
http://snipurl.com/class_blogging

Gresham Brown teaches the upper elementary grades, but his advice at the Stenhouse Blog about getting starting with classroom blogging will be helpful to any teacher in grades 4-8 who has wondered whether this particular form of 21st century communication can really serve to advance student learning. Among the pluses Brown cites are writing and thinking-skills development, student engagement, and parent involvement. Brown describes the steps he took to create his blog, gain the necessary buy-in, and assure safety. You can leave questions for him in the Comments section.

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT COLLEAGUES
http://snipurl.com/jb_difficultcolleage

Jane Bluestein, well-known PD presenter and author of helpful books like “The Win-Win Classroom” (Corwin, 2007), offers an essay that can not only help you analyze colleagial conflict but learn ways to get important work accomplished despite personality differences. While you’re visiting Bluestein’s website, explore the articles and handouts she’s specifically tagged as useful to middle grades educators:
http://snipurl.com/ms_bluestein
LOST IN EIGHTH GRADE ALGEBRA?
http://snipurl.com/brookings_algebra

Since the 1990s, we’ve seen a major push to involve more middle schoolers in algebra by eighth grade. Nearly a third of all eighth graders took algebra in 2007, more than any other math course. But a new study from the Brookings Institution, using fine-grained data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, contends that large numbers of middle-schoolers are now struggling in advanced math classes. Reason? They are “woefully unprepared” due to weak basic math skills. In an Ed Week article, some supporters of early algebra question aspects of the study. The research, some note, does not question whether most students can succeed in 8th grade algebra, only that “schools need to recommit to preparing them.”
http://snipurl.com/ew_algebra
NASA DIGITAL LEARNING NETWORK
http://snipurl.com/nasa_digitallearn

Keep up with NASA’S latest education resources and activities at the Digital Learning Network website, which emphasizes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content aligned to national standards. DLN offers a variety of distance learning events for teachers and students designed to educate through demonstrations and real time interactions with experts. In an upcoming live online PD workshop (1 hr., Oct 29) teachers can learn more about NASA’s Lunar Nautics “field trip to the Moon” — a student focused simulation to design, test, analyze and create the budget for a lunar mission from initial concept to conclusion. The program includes 30 inquiry-based activities in which students create solar ovens, microgravity sleds, edible spacecraft, and more.

TIMELY BLOGS FOR MUSIC EDUCATORS
http://snipurl.com/nf_music_carnival

Here’s a great way for music teachers to find kindred spirits in the blogging world. Our friend Nancy Flanagan, who spent most of her 30-year career teaching music in the middle grades, keeps an excellent blog called Teacher in a Strange Land. Nancy recently hosted the Carnival of Music Education, a new monthly round-up of blog postings by musically minded educators. At Nancy’s Carnival post, you can link to a dozen other blogs and find out how to get your blog mentioned in the next Carnival. Don’t have a blog? Time to tune up!

ELECTION SITES FOR KIDS
http://snipurl.com/snwk_elections

Barbara Feldman, author of the popular feature Surfing the Net with Kids, selects four 5-star websites that can help students learn more about the election process and actually participate in a national mock election sponsored by the League of Women Voters. There’s even an interactive map students can use to track election results by state.

THE NEW YORK TIMES TEACHER VOICES PROJECT
http://snipurl.com/nyt_tchr_essays

Alaskan Doug Noon is one of several middle grades teachers selected by the Times to describe the experiences of real teachers to a national audience. In the NYT’s LESSON PLANS project, a group of classroom educators chronicle their experiences during the first weeks of school, “offering first hand accounts of today’s classroom challenges from diverse perspectives,” at a time when “the act of teaching has never been more complicated.” Noon’s posts thus far have emphasized the importance of community, wonder and direct experience of the world. Joseph Santani, a Deaf seventh grade teacher in Manhattan, writes about the challenges of teaching in English and American Sign Language. Highly recommended.

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GET STUDENTS UP, INVOLVED, AND PRODUCTIVE!

3-MINUTE MOTIVATORS is a collection of over 100 simple, fun activities that will help you use “a little magic” to take a quick break, engage students, and refocus them on the task at hand. Browse Chapter 1 online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/8215.asp?r=mw080904
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http://snipurl.com/NewTeacherResources

We continue to add new resources to our special page for teachers who are just beginning their classroom careers. Among recent additions: A link to Teacher Magazine’s Teaching Secrets (including “How to Smile Before Christmas”) and Ask the Mentor pages. Plus the U.S. Department of Education’s helpful guide “What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching,” ideas for content areas, and lots of tips from experts.
 
http://www.gamingkrib.com - Reinventing L-EARN-ing in the Digital World
Check back often.

http://www.gamingkrib.com/

The www.GamingKrib.com lists Games for Change…

3rd World Farmer
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 URL: http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com
Developer: 3rd World Farmer Team

Description: 3rd World Farmer lets players manage a small virtual farm in a developing country, and thus experience the hardships and dilemmas faced by the poor.
A Force More Powerful
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 URL: www.afmpgame.com
Developer: International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, York Zimmerman Inc. and BreakAway Games

Description: AFMP is the first and only game to teach the waging of conflict using nonviolent methods. Destined for use by activists, the game will also educate the media and general public on the potential of nonviolent action and serve as a simulation tool for academic studies of nonviolent resistance
Ayiti: The Cost of Life
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 URL: CostofLife.org
Developer: Global Kids and GameLab

Description: Ayiti: The Cost of Life is a game that challenges its players to manage a rural family of five in Haiti over four years and keep them healthy, get them educated, and help them survive. Develop in a unique partnership between youth in an after school program and a professional game developer, the game has been played over a half million times since its launch six months ago and has proven to be a hit as both an engaging game and as a tool for education.
Climate Challenge
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 URL: www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/
Developer: Red Redemption Ltd.

Description: �Climate Challenge� is a single-player game about climate change, playable for free on the BBC website. It is a sandbox-style strategy game based on real climate change data, where the player can try out different approaches, learn about the issues and have fun at the same time.
Community Organizing Toolkit
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 URL: www.organizinggame.org/
Developer: Doug Nelson

Description: The Toolkit is a set of resources that supports face-to-face training for residents and community leaders. The computer-based component (the “Organizing Game”) is used to introduce concepts, prompt discussion, and allow residents to practice skills in a safe, non-threatening environment. The initial focus of the Toolkit is teaching Doorknocking, an organizing technique that’s particularly effective in moving issues within a local community.
CONSENT!
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 URL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/GK%20Machinima%20Island/176/212/25
Developer: Global Kids/ Digital Refinery

Description: CONSENT! is a game in Second Life produced with Global Kids Youth leaders in the Global Kids Playing 4 Keeps program that offers a simulation of life as an African-male prisoner confronting five decades of medical racism.
Darfur is Dying
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 URL: www.darfurisdying.com
Developer: interFUEL, LLC

Description: Darfur is Dying is a web-based, viral video game that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. It is designed to raise awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur and empower college students to help stop the crisis.
eLECTIONS: Your Adventure in Politics
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 URL: http://www.ciconline.org/elections
Developer: Cable in the Classroom

Description: eLECTIONS is a powerful online learning experience that demonstrates how broadband technology - with its capacity to deliver video, audio, excellent inter-activity, design and content - can support active, meaningful and memorable learning.
Food Force
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 URL: www.food-force.com
Developer: Deepend Srl for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

Description: Food Force is an educational action computer game that teaches kids about the problem of global hunger and the importance of humanitarian aid work.
Free Rice
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 URL: www.freerice.com
Developer: John Breen

Description: Free rice is a free online vocabulary gain that donates 20 grains of rice to the World Food Programme (WFP) for every correct answer. WFP ditributes the rice to hugry people all over the world.
Global Conflicts: Latin America
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 URL: www.globalconflicts.eu
Developer: Serious Games Interactive

Description: Global Conflicts: Latin America is a 3D-roleplaying game that let players explore key problems in Latin American countries. The region is one of the most turbulent, violent, and poverty-striken places in the world, yet we rarely hear anything about the nations that struggle with paramilitary rule, extreme poverty, and exploitation of the population.
Global Conflicts: Palestine
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 URL: www.globalconflicts.eu
Developer: Serious Games Interactive

Description: Global Conflicts: Palestine is a 3D role-playing game for players to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They will be confronted with issues around human rights, terrorism and the media’s role in conflict zones and will experience situations taken from real life events that are more complicated than outsiders may realise.
Harpooned
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 URL: http://harpooned.org
Developer: Conor O’Kane

Description: Harpooned is a free game for Windows. It is a Cetacean Research Simulator, where you play the role of a Japanese scientist performing research on whales around Antarctica.
Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City
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 URL: http://tempestincrescentcity.ning.com/game
Developer: Digital Creations

Description: Our game is about the everyday people who became heroes during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The player is a resident looking for her mother. Along the way she must rescue people, and help neighbors help each other by distributing local resources and aiding comunication.
ICED - I Can End Deportation
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 URL: www.icedgame.com
Developer: Breakthrough

Description: Breakthrough’s video game, ICED – I Can End Deportation, (www.icedgame.com) puts you in the shoes of an immigrant to illustrate how unfair immigration laws deny due process and violate human rights. These laws affect all immigrants: legal residents, those fleeing persecution, students and undocumented people.
Karma Tycoon
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 URL: www.KarmaTycoon.com
Developer: 9mmedia (and Do Something)

Description: Karma Tycoon is an online strategy game in which players solve community problems, such as homelessness, in cities across the US. Players learn the ins and outs of the not-for-profit world as they apply for grants, receive donations and have to manage their budget efficiently. It is available free of charge at KarmaTycoon.com
McDonald’s Video Game
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 URL: www.mcvideogame.com
Developer: molleindustria

Description: McDonald’s video game is a business game that aims to demonstrate the social and environmental unsustainability of the fast food industry.

My US Rep
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 URL: http://www.boogaholler.com/myusrep/
Developer: Red Aphid

Description: Now you can role play your favorite US House of Representative with My US Rep! Your mission is to increase your rep’s popularity while you navigate a game space of legislation, lobbyists and media. Learn how your rep voted on key bills, then cast your own vote.
PeaceMaker
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 URL: www.peacemakergame.com
Developer: ImpactGames

Description: PeaceMaker is inspired by real events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It challenges players to succeed as a leader where others have failed: bringing peace to the Middle-East. Playing both perspectives, players could experience the joy of winning the Nobel Prize or the agony of plunging the region into disaster.
Pictures for Truth
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 URL: http://www.picturesfortruth.com
Developer: Florent Guinier, Karim Osman, Patrick Boutot, Vincent Theriault

Description: Pictures for truth is a full 3d adventure game where you play a journalist in China. You will take picture and publish article to help about human right related trouble.
Planet Green Game
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 URL: www.planetgreengame.com
Developer: Tree Media

Description: Starbucks and Global Green USA have teamed up to encourage individuals to learn about global climate change and smart solutions with the launch of Planet Green Game (www.planetgreengame.com). Planet Green Game offers real-world examples of how individuals can change their own behavior and also influence the actions of community, political and corporate leaders to engage in the effort to stop global warming.
Play The News
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 URL: www.playthenewsgame.com
Developer: ImpactGames

Description: An engaging, community-driven experience - imagine fantasy sports meets the evening news. Play the News is a web-based platform that changes the paradigm of news consumption from passive reading to active engagement.
Pos or Not
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 URL: www.posornot.com
Developer: VPI
RePlay: Finding Zoe
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 URL: www.metrac.org/replay/en/index.html
Developer: METRAC in partnership with Susana Ruiz, Huy Trong, Ashley York

Description: The RePlay video game is geared towards promoting healthy, equal relationships between youth aged 8 to 14 years old. It challenges mainstream gender stereotypes that children learn from a young age, and that often lead to the social proliferation of violence against women and girls.
The Arcade Wire: Airport Security
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 URL: www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/airportsecurity.jsp
Developer: Persuasive Games

Description: Airport Security offers a satirical critique of airport security practices circa early fall 2006, when security agencies in the US and abroad changed their policies to prohibit common items like toothpaste and hair gel.
The Arcade Wire: Oil God
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 URL: www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/oilgod.jsp
Developer: Persuasive Games

Description: You are an Oil God! Wreak havoc on the world’s oil supplies by unleashing war and disaster. Bend governments and economies to your will to alter trade practices. Your goal? Double consumer gasoline prices in five years using whatever means necessary.
The Redistricting Game
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 URL: http://www.redistrictinggame.org
Developer: USC Game Innovation Lab

Description: The Redistricting Game educates, engages, and empowers citizens around the issue of congressional redistricting. As is illustrated in the game, our system is subject to a range of manipulations and helps fuel long-term political polarization in the U.S. Those empowered to change the system – congress - have the least incentive to do so.
The Vinyl Game
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 URL: http://www.vinylgame.com/
Developer: Zelian

Description: Can you manage an industry sustainably? The Vinyl Game requires you to deliver shareholder profits whilst taking socio-economic and environmental decisions. The consequences of playing purely for economic growth become apparent as EU legislators levy fines, consumers boycott products and the trade unions vote to take strike action!
Wasteland Adventure
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 URL: a.parsons.edu/~cpeng/wastelandadventure/game.swf
Developer: Ching-Yun Peng (Grace)

Description: Wasteland Adventure is a game to help people raise the awareness of the concept of recycling and how this simple activity can teach sustainability and protection of our eco-system.
World Without Oil
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 URL: http://worldwithoutoil.org
Developer: Writerguy LLA

Description: WORLD WITHOUT OIL invited people worldwide to contribute “collective imagination” to confront a real-world issue: the risk our thirst for oil poses to our economy, climate and quality of life. It’s a milestone in the use of games as democratic, collaborative platforms for exploring possible futures and sparking future-changing action.

“Who would have thought that the subject of homework would turn out to be our site’s most read feature? Good stuff! But methinks we need less heat and more light.
Let’s start with some hard data. MetLife devoted its major annual report on teachers and the teaching life last year to homework. Here is what they found:
Most teachers, students, and parents believe in the value of homework:
Eight in ten teachers (83%) believe that doing homework is important or very important.
Eight in ten parents (81%) believe that doing homework is important or very important.
Three-quarters of students (77%) believe that doing homework is important or very important.
However, sizable numbers of students say that their homework is not relevant to their current schoolwork or their future goals.
One-quarter of students (26%) agree that their homework is busywork and not related to what they are learning in schools.
Over half of students (55%) do not think that their homework assignments are interesting. Secondary school students, in particular, hold this view (62% vs. 44% of elementary school students).
Four in ten parents (40%) say that a great deal (9%) or some (31%) of the homework assigned at their child’s school is just busywork.
While three quarters of teachers with more than 20 years of experience
feel extremely or very prepared to create engaging homework assignments, only 58% of new teachers (5 years or less experience) feel this way.
The full report can be found here.
http://www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/10124301191202765628V1FTeacherSurvey…
An NPR report on the survey can be found here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19055522
Clearly, when about half of our parents and students think that homework is really busywork or uninteresting and unhelpful, we have a problem. Even a sizable minority of teachers think that, in general,
there is too much busywork assigned (though not in my class, of course!). In theory though, everyone agrees that homework is important.

So, the debate about whether to assign or not to assign homework begs a crucial question: What is the point of homework, done right? Or is the belief in the importance of homework in theory a piece of wistful
nonthinking?

Sorely absent from the discussion is a consideration of the concept itself – what is homework and what is its purpose? When we argue for reinforcement or extension of learning, what are we calling for – and
what right do we have to call for it?

But let’s start with simpler questions. Note that there are three venues of work – in class, outside of class but still in school, and outside of school. So, every teacher and administrator should ponder
often and clarify with parents and students the three questions:
What is the optimal use of our limited time together in class? What work is best done in class?
What is the best use of time out of class (but still in school) in support of one’s education, and the goals of individual courses? What worthy course goals can only be met by assigning work out of class but
in school (such as library research or project work in free periods)? What assignments outside of school greatly help learners meet key course and program goals (even as we are mindful of the student’s
right to a life outside of school)? I admit to being prejudiced. As a former high school English teacher I
simply cannot imagine an education that does not require students to read and write outside of class, so that great discussion and coaching can occur in class. I am flabbergasted to go into some high school
classes and see teachers and students reading texts aloud in place of homework – what a waste of time. Nor can I fathom an education – as I have seen in many places – that does not assign homework in high
school because kids just won’t do it. That sets those kids up for failure later; it is abdicating our professional responsibility.
Here are the things I think we can all agree on, regardless of our place in the system:
The best use of class time is not mostly teacher talk or one-way worksheets and activities, but vital opportunities for students to try to learn and get coaching and feedback from teacher and peers. In a
world of ipods and Internet, using precious class time for teacher talk is nuts. Mere busywork is unacceptable. Homework should explicitly help students meet key unit and course goals, and should be
justified in writing as such on course syllabi. Mere piling on of more work after school is unwise and ultimately counter-productive. The student has a right to down time, family time, social time.
Homework should rarely involve the student trying to learn new things on her own (without anyone to help) but should be needed reinforcement or practice in already-understood lessons, or quiet, reflective work
best done on one’s own (like reading and writing).
Outside reading, especially in upper-level courses, is a vital component of a good education, and essential preparation for college and adult life.
Excellence in research and in writing can only occur if upper-level students are asked to write papers outside of class. From this vantage point, the disputes in this lively set of blog entries perhaps obscure the areas of agreement that exist under the surface. And so, what we must do is act professionally: faculty should engage in formal fact-finding and discussion, culminating in clear and enforced policy at the local level, about homework done right. To allow each teacher to free-lance homework policy, as we do now, is a
recipe for failure and frustration, as the research and common sense make clear.”  Grant Wiggins

It takes a Village!

Earth Institute Events

Featured Events

Thursday, October 2

CERC Information Session: Evening Certificate in Conservation Biology
Speaker: Catherine Tissot, Program Manager, Evening Certificate Program in Conservation Biology, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC)
Time: 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Schermerhorn Extension, Room 1015
Contact: Desmond Beirne, djb2104@columbia.edu or call (212) 854-0149
Web Site: http://www.cerc.columbia.edu/education_certificate.html

Saturday, October 4

LDEO Annual Open House
Speakers: Various
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Contact: LDEO Events, events@ldeo.columbia.edu or call (845) 365-8998
Web Site: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu

Monday, October 6

MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Open House
Speaker: Steve Cohen, Director, MPA in Environmental Science and Policy, Executive Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Time: 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, 1512 International Affairs Building
Contact: Office of Academic and Research Programs, ei-students@ei.columbia.edu

This Week’s Events

Wednesday, October 1

Office of Academic and Research Programs: Climate Change Variations in the Last Two Centuries: How Do We Reconstruct the Past?
Speaker: Alexey Kaplan, Doherty Research Scientist, Division of Ocean and Climate Physics, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Time: 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, 801 International Affairs Building
Contact: Ali Frohman, afrohman@ei.columbia.edu
RSVP: Register

Thursday, October 2

IRI Seminar Series on Impact Evaluation for Development Projects
The Earth Institute’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) presents the second seminar in its series on Impact Evaluation for Development Projects. Speaker, Emmanuel Skoufias, of the Research Group at the World Bank, will speak on “Experiments and quasi-experimental methods for ex-post impact evaluation.”
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont Campus, Monell Building Auditorium
Contact: Maria Rise C Fullon, mrf2102@columbia.edu
Web Site: http://iri.columbia.edu/events/seminarseries

IGERT Joint Program Fall Colloquium: Melting at the Core-Mantle Boundary and the Structure of the Ultralow Velocity Zone
Speaker: Sash Majumder, University of Maryland
Time: 2:45 to 3:45 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Seeley W. Mudd Building, Room 214
Contact: Jennifer Cho, jc2305@columbia.edu
Web Site: http://www.appmath.columbia.edu/igert

CERC Information Session: Evening Certificate in Conservation Biology
Speaker: Catherine Tissot, Program Manager, Evening Certificate Program in Conservation Biology, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC)
Time: 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Schermerhorn Extension, Room 1015
Contact: Desmond Beirne, djb2104@columbia.edu or call (212) 854-0149
Web Site: http://www.cerc.columbia.edu/education_certificate.html

Friday, October 3

Division of Ocean and Climate Physics Seminar Series: Ocean Re-analysis - Prospects for Climate Studies
Speaker: James T. Carlton, Director, Williams-Mystic, Maritime Program, Williams College and Mystic Seaport
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Gary C. Comer Geochemistry Building, First Floor Seminar Room
Contact: Xinfeng Lian, xliang@ldeo.columbia.edu

LDEO Earth Science Colloquium: The Role of Science in Natural Disasters: The Case of the Cameroon Killer Lakes.
Speaker: George Kling, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan
Time: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Monell Building Auditorium
Contact: Natalie Boelman, nboelman@ldeo.columbia.edu
Web Site: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/events/colloquium

Saturday, October 4

LDEO Annual Open House
Speakers: Various
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Contact: LDEO Events, events@ldeo.columbia.edu or call (845) 365-8998
Web Site: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu

A Preview of Next Week’s Events

Monday, October 6

MPA in Environmental Science and Policy Open House

Tuesday, October 7

IRI Workshop: Technical Issues in Index Insurance

Office of Academic and Research Programs: Malcolm Pirnie Information Session

Thursday, October 9

IGERT Joint Program Fall Colloquium: Modern Weather Forecasting: A Status Report and Scientific Opportunities

Friday, October 10

LDEO Earth Science Colloquium

“But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.”
Obama Speech at DNC 08′

The Gaming Krib’s innovative portal software/hardware includes a whole new learning paradigm which begins this fall/winter 08’ for more than 3 million parents, children and educators. For the first time, an internet-based and electronic (hardware based interaction) way to balance a child’s learning and social needs, via the cell phone, TV and Internet. We all welcome you to the Gaming Krib!