Student Research

Overview

In this space, your students will be able to share the results from their research projects and explore projects done by other students all over the country.

Pages containing student projects will be private, much like the Eyes in the Sky II Web Course discussion pages. These pages will only be viewable by other students/teachers participating in the showcase.

Submission Guidelines

Each project will get its own web page on the Eyes in the Sky II website. Students can generate these pages themselves using one of three online forms. Students should submit their projects using the form best suited to how they would like to share their work with the rest of the Eyes in the Sky II community.

In order to submit a project and comment on other projects, students will need to register for an account on the SERC CMS (just like you did at the beginning of the Eyes in the Sky II Web Course). We will provide each teacher with 20 unique "dummy" email addresses and passwords to be used by their students. These email addresses will serve as login names that will give students access to the Virtual Showcase pages. However, they will not be functional email addresses. You can assign email addresses and passwords to your students and create the accounts for them or send an email to the Eyes in the Sky II Team (eyesskyteam@serc.carleton.edu) with a list of student names and we will create the accounts for you.

Depending on how your students conducted their research project(s), they may have a single class project, a few group projects, or many individual projects to submit. You are only required to have one project submitted by your students to fulfill your student research requirement for the Eyes in the Sky II program. However, your students may submit more than one project if you wish. We recommend you limit your class submissions to 20 projects or less. Please send an email to the Eyes in the Sky Team (eyesskyteam@serc.carleton.edu) if you wish to have more than 20 projects submitted by your students.

How to Create Student Accounts

  1. Go to http://serc.carleton.edu/admin. Make sure you are not logged into your own CMS account.
  2. Click on the "Create a New Account" link on the right-hand side of the screen.
  3. Fill in the Email Address field with one of the dummy email addresses designated for your students. You must use one of these email addresses to login or the system will not recognize you. Make sure you use the passwords assigned to each email address and keep track of who each email/password combination is assigned to.
  4. Fill in all of the remaining requested information and click the "Register Now" button.
  5. Repeat for additional accounts.


Suggestions for setting up accounts:

  • Individual Students: If 20 accounts is enough to cover all of your students, simply create one account per student using the instructions above.
  • 2-3 students: If you have more than 20 students, you may want to consider having 2-3 students share accounts. When setting up the accounts on the CMS, we suggest you include each student's name. For example, if you are creating an account to be shared by John Smith and Mary Jones, you might enter "John Smith and" as the first name, and "Mary Jones" for the last name associated with the account.
  • Larger groups of students: If you have more than 20 students and they are spread out across different classes, you might also consider setting up accounts for small groups or even whole classes. For example, "Ms. Smith's 3rd period Ecology class."

Prizes

The best projects will receive cash awards in the amount of $500 for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third place. Projects can be submitted by individuals, teams, or whole classes. In the case of team or class entries, the cash award will be split equally among the winning team/class members. Teachers of first place prize winners will also receive a $500 award. By default, Eyes in the Sky staff members will notify teachers only about prizes. It will then be your responsibility to notify your students and present them with their awards. However, if your students would also like to be notified directly if they win a prize, please have them fill out a Prize Notification Form.

Prizes will be awarded for the following categories:

  • Field-Collected Data Project
  • Most Creative/Innovative project
  • Community-focused project
  • Best incorporation of Eyes in the Sky perspective

Resources for Student Research

Here are some useful resources to help you plan your student research projects.

  • Student Research Presentation (PowerPoint 16.2MB Dec2 10): Power Point outlining features to include in your Student Research Projects.
  • Thacher Environmental Research Contest: The 2011 Thacher Environmental Research Contest, sponsored by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, challenges high school students (grades 9-12) to conduct innovative research on our changing planet using the latest geospatial tools and data, which in recent years have become increasingly accessible to the public.
  • [linkhttps://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2016/11/04/november-2016-living-atlas-community-webinar-recording-available/ 'ESRI Community Webinars' new]: Check out the November 4 Webinar, "Fast Web Mapping with ArcGIS Explorer Online and Community Atlas" about how to use ESRI's free browser-based GIS, ArcGIS Explorer Online to create a Community Atlas with students.
  • EPA's 2008 Report on the Environment: This report uses scientifically sound measures, called indicators, to address fundamental questions relevant to the EPA's mission to protect the environment and human health.
  • Expedition Earth and Beyond: Bring rigor and relevance to your classroom and have your students be transformed into scientists as they explore Earth and other planetary bodies in our solar system. Stunning images are the hook to help students not only want to learn about Earth processes, but to provide them with the opportunity to get involved with NASA in the process of exploration, discovery, and science.
  • Hubbard Brook GIS Mapping Project (Acrobat (PDF) 2.7MB Jul11 10) and Hubbard Brook Maps (Acrobat (PDF) 703kB Jul11 10) for ESRI Community Atlas Project: Service Learning Project done by Ina Ahern and her students in New Hampshire
  • More Student Projects: Environmental MyWorld GIS projects done by Betsy Youngman's science students at Phoenix Country Day School. Topics include Climate Change, Oceanography and Marine Biology.
  • NASA Earth Observatory Experiments: Interactive experiments that can be used to teach all ages about the art and science of space-based remote sensing. The experiments focus on how NASA uses remote sensing to study how and why the Earth changes.
  • GIS Etc. GPS Loaner Program: GISetc and Geological Society of America Education have joined together to offer the GPS Loaner Program. Class sets of Garmin eTrex GPS units are available for a two week loan to educators who would like to introduce GPS technology to their students, but who are not in a position to invest in units.

2012 Research Showcase Winners

Field Collected Data Project

  1. Measuring the Sky Brightness in Rockland, Maine; Mr. Pete Kalajian
  2. Low level mapping with small cameras and hobby airframes; Mr. Vin Urbanowski

Most Creative/Innovative Project

  1. Did the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami Affect the Area of High Particulate Organic Carbon and High Chlorophyll Concentration?; Ms. Caitlin Anderson Everett
  2. Japan Radiation Cloud; Mr. Peter Dorofy

Community-focused Project

  1. The Effects of Water Temperatures near Florida on the populations of the Trichechus manatus latirostris species; Ms. Julie Mankiewicz
  2. Changing Snowfall in Southern California Mountains; Ms. Jeni Williams

Best Incorporation of Eyes in the Sky Perspective

  1. Correlating aerosol optical depth and the total column water vapor near the coast of Africa; Ms. Julie Mankiewicz
  2. Is There a Relationship Between Type of Plate Boundary and Type of Volcanoes?; Ms. Jenelle Hopkins

2011 Research Showcase Winners

Field Collected Data Project

  1. Analyzing the Passaic River: New Jersey's Industrial Waterway; Mr. Billy Goodman
  2. Drinking and Fracking in Bergton, VA: Past Drilling, Present Water Quality, and Future Concerns; Mr. Russell Kohrs
  3. Pecking through the Peckman River: An analysis of water quality; Mr. Billy Goodman

Most Creative/Innovative Project

  1. A Study of the Change in Area of Snow Coverage in October on the Himalayan Mountain Range From 1966 to 2004; Ms. Caitlin Anderson
  2. How has the proportion of +2° Celsius global temperature anomalies compared to -2° Celsius global temperature anomalies changed from 1880 to 2009?; Ms. Caitlin Anderson
  3. Monarch Butterfly Migration 1995-2010; Ms. Danielle Bugge'

Community-focused Project

  1. Odiorne Point State Park: Jewel of the New Hampshire Seacoast; Ms. Ina Ahern
  2. Leaf Area Index; Ms. Jennifer Mott
  3. Radiation Near You; Ms. Danielle Bugge'

Best Incorporation of Eyes in the Sky Perspective

  1. January vs July NO2 Concentrations in Cincinnati, Ohio For the Years 2008-2010 and Possible Reasons for NO2 Concentration Variation; Ms. Jenn Coury
  2. Amazon Rainforest Deforestation from 2000 to 2010; Ms. Caitlin Anderson
  3. Arctic Sea Ice Extent Between 1995-2005; Ms. Caitlin Anderson

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