Green Teacher 2011 Webinar Series

Posted by on February 14, 2011

Green Teacher 2011 Webinar Series

We are very excited to announce the launch of Green Teacher’s 2011 Webinar series. We hope you’ll join us in one or more of our 30 FREE webinars on various environmental education topics this year. Almost 800 non-formal and formal youth educators filled out our online survey and helped us choose the topics for these webinars. Each session will feature a 20-30 minute presentation, and 30-40 minutes for you to ask a question of our presenter.

The topics and dates for our first four webinars are below. For more details, and information on how to register, please visit http://greenteacher.com/webinars. Once again, these webinars are offered free of charge, and we hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity to explore these current popular topics in environmental learning with us.

We’ll be announcing more webinars very soon, so check back frequently – OR please visit http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/gt-news and join our listserv to receive email notices of upcoming webinars.

Webinar Series 2011

Welcome to Green Teacher webinars!  Almost 800 non-formal and formal youth educators filled out our online survey and helped us choose the topics for our series of 30 webinars.  We hope you enjoy these one hour sessions, lead by innovative and experienced educators.  Each session will feature a 20-30 minute presentation, and 30-40 minutes for you to ask a question of our presenter.

The webinars are free, but donations to our unprofitable non-profit would be MOST welcomed.  All you need to participate is a headset and a good internet connection.

Don’t wait until the last minute to register for your first webinar, as your computer may need time to download “cookies” from Wimba, the system we are using for the webinars. (You will receive details about this once you register.)

We’ll be announcing more webinars very soon, so check back frequently – OR click here to join our listserv to receive email notices of upcoming webinars.

February 17, 2011, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  “Sustainability 101: Teaching the Ecological Footprint”
Presenter:  Susan Santone

Looking for ways to effectively teach sustainability “basics”? This webinar will highlight strategies and activities for teaching fundamental sustainability concepts using the Ecological Footprint as a context. Preview examples of hands-on, engaging activities to teach human-environmental impact, the Commons, interdependence, policies, and other topics essential to effective instruction on sustainability.

Who should attend? Educators interested in getting started with or reviewing essential sustainability concepts.

Susan Santone is the founder and Executive Director of Creative Change Educational Solutions, a nonprofit focused on sustainability education based in southeast Michigan. A former classroom teacher, she specializes in instructional design and training for sustainability, ecological economics, and cultural issues. As head of Creative Change, she has led multiple curriculum reform and teacher education initiatives, working nationally with public schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations. She is also an adjunct instructor in Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University, where she has taught “Schools in a Diverse and Democratic Society” and “Teaching Ecological Economics.” She earned teacher certificates in social studies, music, and TESOL; and has a Master’s degree in Intercultural and International Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.

To sign up for this event, go to:  http://greenteacherwebinar1.eventbrite.com/

February 22, 2011, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar Topic:  “How to Create Engaging Environmental Education Programs
Using a Narrative, Storyline Approach”
Presenter:  Alan Warner

Stories organize and provide meaning in our lives, yet educators typically teach through outcomes and activities. Young people become more engaged when they come to the learning context with a purpose or role that is meaningful to them, where they become the actors or leaders in a story (e.g., detectives, aliens, adventurers, entrepreneurs, teachers, leaders, etc.). This webinar presents the framework for a storyline/narrative approach to program design, enabling participants to apply the concepts and develop storyline ideas for their learners in their classroom, outdoor or community learning contexts. The result is adventurous, meaningful and engaged learning.

Alan Warner has been designing, directing, and evaluating environmental education programs for more than 30 years with children and youth in Nova Scotia. He is known for creative and transformative program development and teaching, andreceived the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication award for excellence in 2007. He is an associate professor at Acadia University in Wolfville Nova Scotia and teaches in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Recreation Management and Community Development. He has written numerous articles and books on creative program development, and has been a frequent contributor to Green Teacher.

To sign up for this event, go to:  http://greenteacherwebinar2.eventbrite.com/

February 23, 2011, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar Topic:  “Two-Eyed Seeing: Building Cultural Bridges for Inclusive Science Education”
Presenter:  Annamarie Hatcher

Two-Eyed Seeing, from a Mi’kmaq Elder named Albert Marshall, is an expression that refers to the importance of looking at the world through two sets of eyes: those of Western sciences, and those of Indigenous sciences. In her presentation, Annamarie Hatcher will describe the challenges for marginalized students in the school science classroom, which is dominated by the Western eye. She will provide some ideas for teachers to help them bridge the cultural gap between these two worldviews, through some hands-on activities.

Annamarie Hatcher has been a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Integrative Science & Health at Cape Breton University since 2008. She came to Cape Breton in 2005 as an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department, teaching various MSIT (Mi’kmaq word meaning ‘everything’) and Biology courses both on campus and in the community.She obtained her BSc and MSc degrees in Biology from Dalhousie University and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Western Australia. She has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles in several disciplines including Biology, Geology and Education and taught in classrooms ranging from pre-primary to post-graduate in Canada, Australia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

To sign up for this event, go to:  http://greenteacherwebinar3.eventbrite.com/

February 24, 2011, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST
Webinar topic:  “Energy Education: How & Why?”
Presenter:  Pat Higby

At the outset, Pat will explain why energy education is especially important at this moment in history.  Then she will share some simple experiments that you can use to convince others of its importance, before directing us to some of the best energy education resources for youth educators. Note: Pat strongly encourages all participants to have on hand – at the beginning of the webinar – 2 styrofoam coffee cups full of warm water and 2 ziplock bags large enough to place a full cup inside.

Pat Higby has been Energy Educator at the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy & Environmental Education for ten years. She began her career as a science/math/physics teacher then discovered that non-formal education in science museums is more challenging, because your audience can leave if your presentations are boring! Pat and her husband John have two grown children, two grandsons, and a dog that likes to go to work with her. She enjoys bicycling, gardening, and spending time with her family.

To sign up for this event, go to:  http://greenteacherwebinar4.eventbrite.com/