Isn’t connecting what teaching is all about? We connect with students,
parents, administrators, and each other. The first three are obvious, but the
with each other is a different story. Bill Carroll, President of the American
Chemical Society (ACS), has joined with the Division of Chemical Education (DivCHED)
and JCE to offer a new opportunity for secondary school teachers at
a significantly reduced price! This opportunity is called the “Chemistry
Teacher Connection” (CTC). Becoming part of the largest professional society
of its kind in the world has attracted some high school teachers, but others
may feel that the cost is just too much for what they get in return. CTC has
been created especially for high school teachers who feel that way. To become
a charter member of this “connection” between the ACS, CHED, and JCE today
go to the JCE Online
Store. When you join you will get online access to JCE’s CLIC
(Chemed Learning Information Center) and affiliate membership in DivCHED (and
ACS). Your subscription grants you online access to all articles and accompanying
supplements shown on the CLIC Web site. This includes all published JCE items
from 1996 to the present that have been designated in a print issue’s table
of contents as being of interest to secondary school teachers—the ones
with triangles next to them in the table of contents. CLIC is a rich online resource
for all teachers. As an affiliate member of DivCHED you will connect with other
members, vote in CHED elections, and even be able to run for elective office
(except for ACS Council). If you are reading this column, then you probably already
subscribe to the whole Journal, so help us connect to the other chemistry
teachers out there!
Professional Connections for Summer 2005
Professional connections for this summer abound! Listed below are a few of the major ones. Link to the URLs and obtain information about each conference along with the registration information (all URLs accessed Apr 2005).
This is the “must-attend” conference for all chemistry teachers. From July 31–August 4, 2005, the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, will host our major international conference for chemistry teachers. Expect to see more than 1000 friends from 50 different countries—a wonderful opportunity to connect with chemistry teachers from around the world. There’s nothing like being in Canada during the summer months and Vancouver is in a beautiful location. ChemEds are great for learning new things and getting the opportunity to share as many classroom and laboratory ideas as possible with others who hold interests like yours.1 JCE will be there as well, sharing great Journal resources both at its exhibit booth and at two workshops, “Getting Published: The Journal of Chemical Education” and “What Are JCE Classroom Activities?”
Make plans to visit Washington, DC on August 28 and attend High School Day. JCE staff will share two presentations with attendees: “Chemistry Teacher Connection: A Super Bargain for High School Teachers” and “JCE Classroom Activities: How To Use Them and How To Publish One”.
These workshops are scheduled to run in June and July. Each of the six workshops is a week long and will be held at various universities across the contiguous U.S.
On July 5–9, visit the University of North Texas in Denton to help ACT2 pilot ChemEd 07: Lone Star Solutions, scheduled for July 29–August 2, 2007.
Time to Disconnect
Yes, we all need some time for leisure and attitude adjustment. With all the traveling you need to do over this summer, you’ll need to take some books to read on the road or at the airport. See the eclectic reading list. The reviewers have found something for every taste, from war to peace to religion to the unknown to the classroom. Many of these selections sound very interesting and some are completely over the top. Note well that the fifth edition of Van Nostrand’s Encyclopedia of Chemistry is now available. Franklin, Pienta, and Fry also know that their students need to depart from the routine. These authors relay their ideas about engaging students in learning relevant chemistry by exploring a molecule of the week. Pearson presents a very interesting history of Millikan’s Oil-Drop Experiment. I was amazed at how accurate Millikan’s “by-hand” calculations were when today’s fancy calculators are used. Did you know that Millikan’s group observed one drop for 4.5 hours! Talk about getting involved—I’m sure someone could have said they connected with that drop!
Note
- The ChemEd 05 Web site describes the history of the international ChemEd conferences. (accessed Apr 2005)
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