The Eyes in the Sky II Team

Carla McAuliffe, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Project Director, Professional Development Specialist, and Curriculum Developer

Carla_McAuliffe@terc.edu

Dr. Carla McAuliffe is a professional development specialist, curriculum developer, project director, educational researcher, and evaluator at TERC, a non-profit research and development organization based in Cambridge, MA. She has taught junior high life and physical science, high school Earth science and biology, and various instructional technology courses for college. Dr. McAuliffe holds a Ph.D. in Learning and Instructional Technology and has facilitated numerous workshops and professional development experiences for teachers using visualization technologies. She has extensive experience developing instructional materials, including handbooks, workshop guides, classroom lessons, and online Web courses. In addition to serving as PI on the Eyes in the Sky II project, she is PI on the EET Workshops project and Project Renewable Energy Data Investigations (REDI) and Co-PI on the Promoting STEM Career Interest in the Classroom: An Exploratory Study Linking Teacher Professional Development with Changes in Teaching Practices and the Transforming Instruction by Design in Earth Science (TIDES) projects.

Hi Everyone,
Hello from sunny Arizona! Although I work for TERC in Cambridge, MA, I actually live in Tempe, AZ. I am very excited to meet and work with all of you in this program! I look forward to "talking" with you and getting to know you. OK.......a little bit about myself. I love reading, walking, and spending time with the family. I have a 14-year old son (Jacob) who is a freshman in high school, a 10-year old daughter (Lily) who is in fifth grade, and a husband (Joe) who is an ecologist with the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. I am absolutely crazy about the color turquoise. Welcome to Eyes in the Sky II!!



Erin Bardar, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator, Professional Development Specialist, and Curriculum Developer

Erin_Bardar@terc.edu

Dr. Erin Bardar is an experienced curriculum developer and education researcher. As a NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP) fellow at Boston University, she developed the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory for introductory college astronomy, was a major contributor to the NSF-funded Project LITE (Light Inquiry Through Experiments), and received a U.S. patent for a binocular spectrometer. She was an invited presenter at two NSF/NASA sponsored College Astronomy Teaching Excellence Workshops and has made multiple presentations at professional conferences. She was a lead curriculum developer for the EarthLabs project, in which students use satellite imagery, numerical data, and computer visualization software to explore Earth system processes. Erin was also a lead developer for the Investigating Astronomy project and NASA's Citizens and Remote Sensing Observation Network (CARSON) citizen science guide, and is currently writing a chapter for the Earth Exploration Toolbook.


Hi Everyone,
This is Erin, checking in from TERC in Cambridge, MA. After reading through all of your applications, it's clear that we have a great group of teachers and an amazing opportunity here to explore lots of creative ideas for using NASA data in the classroom and getting kids excited about learning science. I'm really looking forward to "meeting" all of you this week and getting this course under way.



Sarah Hill, Administrative Assistant

Sarah_Hill@terc.edu

Sarah Hill is an experienced administrative assistant. She holds a degree in English Literature with a concentration in creative writing. Ms. Hill worked in the AmeriCorps VISTA program for one year in Montana. She also lived and worked in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand over three years as a factory worker, housekeeper, milkmaid, migrant farmer, and EFL teacher.

Larry Kendall, Professional Development Specialist and Curriculum Developer

larrykendall@verizon.net

Larry Kendall has extensive teaching, teacher training, curriculum development, and technical support experience. After teaching science, mathematics, and technology for eleven years at the middle school and community college levels, he went on to develop GIT-based curriculum materials, lead teacher enhancement workshops, and present at major conferences. As part of the SAGUARO Project at the University of Arizona, Mr. Kendall co-authored the NSF-funded GIS Investigations for the Earth Sciences curriculum series, including Exploring the Dynamic Earth, Exploring Tropical Cyclones, and Exploring Water Resources, Exploring the Ocean Environment. Currently, he teaches Integrated Technology and Robotics - what he calls a "20-ring circus" - at Sitting Bull Middle School in Apple Valley, California. In his "spare time," he develops technology curriculum materials.



Hey y'all,

Larry here, representing Southern California's "high desert." Folks who know me or have visited my Lab know that I'm a tool nut, and you and your students are going to love the new tools you'll be bringing into your classroom. Students love the challenge of using the same tools and data that scientists use in their research. Unlike expensive lab equipment, I encourage everyone to play with these tools - heck, not even middle schoolers can break them. I guarantee you'll make many exciting discoveries! (FYI - I only wear a tie one day a year - most days they're a safety hazard in my Lab!)



Anita Palmer, Professional Development Specialist and Curriculum Developer

anita@gisetc.com

Anita taught middle and high school technology and social studies and has authored and taught over one hundred technology institutes and classes for K-12 teachers focusing on integration of GIS technologies throughout the curriculum both in the USA and in the international arena over the past ten years. She is co-author of the original Mapping Our World: GIS Lessons for Educators, the community based Community Geography: GIS in Action! Teacher's Guide, the newly released Mapping Our World Using GIS and Analyzing Our World Using GIS as well as the first online mapping book GeoTools and Going Places with GPS. Anita was a member of the development team for the NASA-funded Exploring the United States: A Bird's Eye View! primary school curriculum and was one of three developers and teachers of the Eastern Michigan University GIS Masters Certificate program for educators.


Hello all,
This is Anita here and I want to welcome you all to the Eyes in the Sky II program. I know we are all going to have an exciting time together both virtually and in person. I love these types of opportunities because not only do you all get to learn new uses of cutting edge technologies, but I also will get to learn from the time you spend in your classrooms. Enjoy!



Roger Palmer, Professional Development Specialist and Curriculum Developer

roger.gisetc@gmail.com

Mr. Palmer has taught high school chemistry, physics, Earth systems and environmental/field science. He has been involved with NASA initiatives from the upper mid-west through Texas using NASA generated imagery to teach math, science, and geography to K-12 students. He holds an M.S. in Chemistry and conducts research with students in the use of GIS to model integrated approaches to environmental problems. Roger has conducted GIS institutes for teachers and GIS/science camps for students in the USA and in the international arena for the past ten years. He is the coauthor of the newly released, Mapping Our World Using GIS and Analyzing Our World Using GIS as well as the first online mapping book GeoTools and Activities with GPS. Other projects include being a member of the development team for the NASA-funded Exploring the United States: A Bird's Eye View! primary school curriculum. He has conducted past GIS trainings at NASA Ames and was one of three developers and teachers of the Eastern Michigan University GIS Masters Certificate program for educators.

Welcome aboard,
What a day we live in when we can find what it looks like from the sides of space craft miles above earth in regular time spans. The questions we will spur each other on to ask will be a treat to experience. I truly think we are living in a time as great as those of past explorers! So here's to discovering something new every time we come to a different source of imagery. I also want you to know that your questions and experience are the perfect prerequisite to our work this semester regardless of where your experience has been. So wade in, ask questions, look for patterns and help us all learn new things from our efforts.

Roger

David Reider, External Evaluator

david@educationdesign.biz

Mr. Reider, Principal partner of Education Design has conducted program evaluations for K12 initiatives for over ten years, many focusing on increasing STEM skills in youth, including recent projects, Expanding the Data Cycle with TERC and Mayor's Technology Youth Corp with EMU (both NSF ITEST), Project WetKids with USM (NSF AYS), and Earth System Science for the 21st Century with USRA (NASA).