The NEED Project promotes energy consciousness and education

Educating students about energy teaches them about the idea of transformation and change, as energy intrinsically changes from one form to another. But the theme of change by way of energy can be expanded externally as well, as kids explore and brainstorm ways that energy can enact social change in the form of newer, more efficient energy technologies. New types of technology and new ways of applying existing energy technologies are always fun to explore in the classroom, and some products in development may surprise you. For example, there is a current project to develop roads implanted with solar panels in order to melt snow. This type of idea may initially sound far-fetched, but it and other nascent energy technologies are actual products in development with exciting possibilities.

The resources selected this week focus on energy and force, two concepts that produce change. Each resource was created by The NEED Project, a nonprofit association dedicated to promoting energy consciousness and education. The NEED Project was launched in 1980 with a physics teacher from New York at its helm, and it works to bring balanced energy programs and curricular materials to U.S. schools. All of The NEED Project’s lessons are aligned to national education standards, and each unit contains a teacher’s guide as well as several labs and hands-on activities for students.

This week’s Joann’s Picks column on the Gateway’s home page, www.TheGateway.org, focuses on resources to help your students learn about energy and force. Peggy’s Corner will discuss online tools and providers that can help you tackle this important subject with your students. Additional resources on the topic will be presented and discussed on the Gateway’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Discussions will also continue on last week’s theme of the Leonardo da Vinci on both pages. All of the weekly Gateway columns and resource selections are archived on the following blog site: http://thegatewayto21stcenturyskills.blogspot.com/.

Resources covered in this week’s columns include:

Exploring Magnets
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-02-05.5201119282
Subjects: Physical sciences
Grade: 1-4
Students explore the concepts of atoms and magnetic force with a variety of magnets and experiments, making predictions, recording observations and data, and drawing conclusions. The unit includes teacher demonstrations and center-based explorations for students.

Science of Energy
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-02-05.7926741661
Subjects: Physical science
Grade: 5-8
In this unit, students learn about the different forms and sources of energy, how it is stored, transformed, and what it enables us to do. Students will also trace the energy flow of a system.

Secondary Science of Energy
http://www.thegateway.org/browse/dcrecord.2011-02-05.9898676815
Subjects: Physical science
Grade: 9-12
This unit explores the various forms and sources of energy, the main things that energy enables us to do, and how energy is stored. Students will also explain energy transformations and trace the energy flow of a system. The unit includes a teacher demonstration and six lab stations

About The Gateway to 21st Century Skills
The Gateway has been serving teachers continuously since 1996. It is the oldest publicly accessible U.S. repository of educational resources on the Web and the oldest continuously operating service of its kind in the world. The Gateway is sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA) and supported by over 700 quality contributors. The Gateway to 21st Century Skills is the cornerstone of the Global Learning Resource Connection (GLRC) which is a JES & Co. program.

About Joann Wasik- Author of Joann’s Picks
Joann is the Metadata Cataloger for The Gateway for 21st Century Skills. Her primary responsibilities for The Gateway include locating and cataloging standards-based K-12 lessons and activities for The Gateway, as well as writing the “Joann’s Picks” weekly column. Before joining The Gateway in 2006, Joann had been involved with numerous projects at the Information Institute of Syracuse at Syracuse University, including virtual reference with the Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) project; virtual reference competencies and education with the Digital Reference Education Initiative (DREI) project; and metadata cataloging with the Gateway for Educational Materials (GEM). Her previous experience also includes technology training and positions in academic libraries. She also conducts freelance research for business and educational clients. Joann holds B.A. and M.A.T. degrees in English from Boston College, and an M.L.S. degree from Syracuse University.

About Peggy James- Author of Peggy’s Corner
Peggy received her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from The University of Arizona, and continued on to earn her M.Ed. from the U of A as well. She has taught Physical Science and Chemistry at the high school level. She is working toward her endorsement in Gifted Education, and has been actively involved in coaching and volunteering in Odyssey of the Mind and Academic Decathlon. She has a passion for teaching critical thinking and creativity in the classroom. She has done work evaluating and aligning lesson plans to standards as a curriculum consultant with the National Education Association Health Information Network. She is very excited to help create a collaborative environment for educators to discover new resources that will enhance their teaching!

About the GLRC
The Global Learning Resource Connection (GLRC) is a public-private collaboration which brings to fruition ongoing work between JES & Co., a U.S. 501(c)(3) education research organization, corporate sponsors and education agencies worldwide. Leading the initial corporate involvement are founding worldwide partners Microsoft, Cisco, Cengage/Gale, the National Education Association (NEA), and other leading corporations in process. The GLRC ties together several significant semantic web technologies developed through funding from the National Science Foundation and is designed to support cyber learning. The GLRC supports the implementation of the mapping of major collections of learning resources in systems around the world to the machine-readable expressions of the learning outcomes based on the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) modeling and technical framework. The work will implement the international linking of those resources through trans-jurisdictional mapping of learning outcomes by means of Semantic Web/Linked Data principles for teacher/learner access and use. For more information about the GLRC, contact Terry Smithson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit us www.JESandCo.org.

About JES & Co.
JES & Co., a publicly funded 501(c) (3) education research organization, is a leader in research and deployment of education programs based on open standards. With 20 years of experience in interoperability and portability of educational resources, organizations around the world come to JES & Co. for leadership and guidance on education programs and initiatives. Since its establishment in the early 1990s, JES & Co. has led and managed The Achievement Standards Network (ASN), The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, The Gateway to 21st Century Skills (formerly known as GEM), the Dell Academy, the Intel Student Certification Program, and Microsoft’s Partners in Learning. For more information about JES & Co. or the Global Learning Resource Connection, visit www.JESandCo.org.