The IRIS Education and Outreach Program has provided high quality, content-based professional development for grade 5-12 teachers and college and university faculty since 1999.
Recent Workshops
Thursday, March 27 9:30-10:30 AM
Shaking Up Classrooms with a Simple Seismograph: The IRIS Seismographs in Schools Program
Explore how seismographs record earthquakes and learn how to obtain a free seismograph for your classroom! Teachers already running seismographs can get technical help!
Presenter(s): Lawrence W. Braile (Purdue University: West Lafayette, IN); Alan Kafka (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA)
Friday, March 28 9:30-10:30 AM
NESTA Geology Share-a-thon
The Westin Boston Waterfront, Grand Ballroom B
Friday, March 28 9:30-10:30 AM
Locating Earthquakes Using Recent Seismic Data
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Room 260
Do your students locate earthquakes by picking P and S arrivals from old textbook seismograms? Come learn how to access online data from newsworthy earthquakes.
Presenter(s): John Taber (IRIS: Washington, DC); Michael Hubenthal (IRIS: Washington, DC);
Friday, March 28 12:30-1:30 PM
Earthquake Prediction and Forecasting: How Likely Are Damaging Earthquakes in the Northeast U.S.?
The Westin Boston Waterfront, Commonwealth A
Need answers to "Can earthquakes be predicted? and Could an earthquake happen here?" Discover how to explore this topic with students using easily selected data sets.
Presenter(s): Alan Kafka (Boston College: Chestnut Hill, MA); John Taber (IRIS: Washington, DC)
Friday, March 28 3:30-4:45 PM
Civilization Exists by Geological Consent
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Room 050
Geologic events like volcanic eruptions and ocean circulation changes are now known to be responsible for sudden changes in climate, which in turn have shaped the course of human civilization. Author Michael Wysession will examine how the Fall of Rome, the Black Plague, the French Revolution, and our westward expansion were all triggered by geologic events. Attendees will receive a FREE PresentationExpress CD-ROM.
Presenter(s): Michael Wysession (Washington University in St. Louis: St. Louis, MO)
Saturday, March 29 9:30-10:30 AM
Making Waves: Seismic Waves Activities and Demonstrations
The Westin Boston Waterfront, Commonwealth A
We will demonstrate and practice several activities for teaching about seismic waves. Hands-on activities include using the slinky, the human wave, online seismic wave animations, and software.
Presenter(s): Lawrence W. Braile (Purdue University: West Lafayette, IN); Sheryl J. Braile (Happy Hollow Elementary School: West Lafayette, IN)
Saturday, March 29 2:00-3:00 PM
Explore Earthquakes and Seismic Waves Using a Mac Laptop as a Classroom Seismograph
The Westin Boston Waterfront, Webster
Turn your MacBook into a seismograph using SeisMac, a free Mac application, to teach your students about earthquakes and seismic waves.
Presenter(s): Michael Hubenthal (IRIS: Washington, DC); Daniel T. Griscom (Suitable Systems: Wakefield, MA)
Saturday, March 29 3:30-4:30 PM
Determining What Is Beneath Our Feet: Applications on Reflection and Refraction of Waves
Explore how seismic refraction surveys reveal shallow Earth structure by participating in innovative activities designed as extensions to your current wave/optics labs.
Presenter(s): John Taber (IRIS: Washington, DC); Michael Hubenthal (IRIS: Washington, DC)
November 28th, 2007 - EPISD/UTEP Partnership
Earthquakes: A one-day workshop for teachers
Objective(s):
To increase teachers' confidence when teaching topics earth science
Teachers will increase the time spent on seismology related instruction
Teachers will increase the number of activities that have a "higher level of cognition" and include seismic data
Teacher's background knowledge of Earth Science topics will increase
November 15th, 2007 - CAST Conference
Using Earthscope Data in the Classroom
Come learn how your students can access GPS and seismic data over the Internet from the largest ever Earth science experiment. The data can be used in the classroom to discover the processes underlying tectonic plate motions and to understand Earth structure.
January 13th & 14th, 2007. AS-1 Users Workshop (Level 1)
For teachers who have an AS-1 seismograph and have not previously attended a users workshop
Objectives:
Teachers will be able to set-up, calibrate, operate and troubleshoot their AS-1 seismograph
Teachers will be able to use data collected from their AS-1 seismograph as an integral part of their seismology/plate tectonics
instruction. Teachers will be able to participate as part of a larger community of educational seismograph users. (e.g. Data sharing via SPINET, the near-real time web images and collaboration, etc
