Lab Out Loud

This week, Lab Out Loud welcomes IRIS (the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) to the show. Michael Hubenthal (senior education specialist) and John Taber (Director of Education and Public Outreach) join co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler to talk about the educational opportunities in seismology and earth science available from IRIS. Listen to Lab Out Loud to learn how you can use IRIS's recent earthquake teachable moments, earthquake browser, and how you can search for seismology lessons and demonstrations. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/11/episode-134-iris

Many science teachers will recognize that AAAS (the American Association for the Advancement of Science) publishes the respected peer-reviewed journal Science. As the world's largest general scientific society, AAAS also promotes science literacy with the goal that all students receive a high-quality science education. That's why co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler are delighted to welcome Suzanne Thurston and Maria Sosa (both from the AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources Program) to the show. Listen to Lab Out Loud to hear Suzanne and Maria discuss how AAAS is working to enhance science education with such initiatives as Science NetLinks, the Active Explorer App, and other resources for science education. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/10/episode-133-aaas

As Lab Out Loud has been showcasing science videos lately, they decided to investigate what it takes to make a good science video. To that end, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler invited Derek Muller, creator and host of Veritasium: An Element of Truth to the show. Veritasium is a YouTube channel of science and engineering videos featuring experiments, interviews, demos, and other cool science topics. Listen to Lab Out Loud to hear Derek discuss his work with Veritasium, what he has learned from the experience, and learn a few hints at how to make a good science video. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/10/episode-132-veritasium

To kick off season nine of Lab Out Loud, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler welcome Sal Khan to Lab Out Loud. As founder of The Khan Academy, Sal is encouraging students age 13-18 to submit a 10-minute video to the Breakthrough Junior Challenge. Presented by The Breakthrough Prize and The Khan Academy, The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is currently seeking innovative videos from students that explain a challenging concept or theory of mathematics, life sciences, or physics. The winner will earn a $250,000 scholarship, a $50,000 education grant for the winner's teacher, and a $100,000 cutting-edge science lab designed for the winner’s school. Do you have an idea for a submission? Listen to the show to hear more about the competition and how students might create a video to open up everyone's mind. But hurry - video submissions will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Oct. 7! Show notes: http://laboutloud.com/2015/09/episode-131-breakthrough-jr-challenge

From the Smithsonian Science Education Center, Lab Out Loud welcomes Marjee Chmiel (Associate Director of Curriculum and Communications) and Jean Flanagan (Science Education Research Specialist) to showcase Good Thinking! - a new animated series that explores topics in science, cognition, and pedagogy. Using peer-reviewed research, Good Thinking! addresses common student misconceptions with short, animated episodes specifically geared towards science educators. Listen to the Lab Out Loud to find out more about Good Thinking!, and discover a fantastic (and fun) professional development resource. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/08/episode-130-good-thinking

To close their eighth season at Lab Out Loud, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler welcome Clifton Roozeboom to the show. Lab Out Loud first met Clifton at the NSTA 2015 Conference in Chicago, where they noticed The PocketLab in the exhibit hall. Built to be a small, rugged wireless sensor platform, the PocketLab can measure acceleration, force, angular velocity, magnetic field, pressure, altitude, and temperature while simultaneously reporting to a device for data visualization and analysis. Clifton joins Lab Out Loud to talk about sensors, the PocketLab (and the app), and how your students can use it to build science experiments for exploring their world. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/05/episode-129-thepocketlab

Inspired by a session at the NSTA 2015 Conference in Chicago, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk with Plot.ly founder and COO Matt Sundquist. As a relatively young graphing program, Plot.ly makes it easy to collaboratively analyze and visualize data. Matt talks to Lab Out Loud about Plot.ly, how it can be used in the science classroom, and how you can even import real data into this powerful online tool. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/04/episode-128-plotly

Prompted from listener feedback, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler welcome Dr. Kate McNeill and Dr. Joe Krajcik to Lab Out Loud. As authors of Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing, Kate and Joe talk about using the claim, evidence and reasoning (CER) framework as a method to guide students towards explanations in science. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/04/episode-127-claim-evidence-reasoning

Co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler welcome John Timmer to Lab Out Loud. As senior science editor for Ars Technica, John has been paying particular attention to state legislatures that, in the first few month of each year, tend to propose bills that attempt to dictate how science is taught in their schools. Listen to the Lab Out Loud to hear what bills might affect teaching science in your state. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/03/episode-125-ngsschat/

Have you wanted to reach out to other science teachers with your questions about NGSS? Lab Out Loud guests Fred Ende and Tricia Shelton can help. Using Twitter, Fred and Tricia moderate #NGSSchat - an online forum to learn and share around the Next Generation Science Standards and great science teaching. Listen to the Lab Out Loud this week to find out how you can "lurk", learn and contribute to #NGSSchat. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/03/episode-125-ngsschat/

Continuing an exploration of art in science, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler invite author, illustrator and math/science teacher Dale Debakcsy to the show. Every two weeks, Debakcsy writes and illustrates about important women in science. Now that he has now completed half of his two-year project, Debakcsy has compiled the first 26 portraits into a book called The Illustrated Women in Science: Year One. Listen to Lab Out Loud to hear about how Debakcsy started making science comics, the importance of showcasing women in science, and how you can use his art in your classroom. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2015/02/episode124/

Artist and Scientist Dr. David Goodsell join co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler on Lab Out Loud this week. As Associate Professor at the Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Goodsell splits his time on research and science outreach. His science outreach includes artwork featured online, in a variety of media and even in science museums. Listen to the show to learn how Dr. Goodsell makes his art, how accurate science is reflected in this art, and how you can use it to teach molecular structure and function. art, biology, books, online resources Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2980

The Bad Astronomer (a.k.a. Phil Plait) has been busy since we've last had him on Lab Out Loud. As astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author, Phil can now add YouTube host to his resume. Working with Hank and John Green (Crash Course) and PBS Digital Studios, Phil has been writing and filming a new series on YouTube called Crash Course Astronomy. Listen to the show to hear about the show and how you might properly use it in your classroom. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2968

This week Lab Out Loud welcomes journalist Mark Johnson to the show. As medical and science journalist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, researching and communicating science to the public is the core of Mark's work. Excelling in long form journalism, Mark joins co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler to talk about his experiences with science journalism, including the Pulitzer Prize winning story of Nicholas Volker and a new series in the lab of Dr. Murray Blackmore. Listen to the show to see how you might use science articles in the classroom to learn science content, discuss ethical issues and examine examples of real scientific research. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2955

According to our Lab Out Loud's guest, Einstein thought like an artist, and Picasso thought like a scientist. As Professor emeritus of history and philosophy of science at University College London, Arthur I. Miller has been exploring the intersection of art and science. His new book Colliding Worlds: How Cutting-Edge Science is Redefining Contemporary Art tells the story of how art, science and technology are fusing in the twenty-first century. Listen to the Lab Out Loud to learn about how you might encourage art in your science class "…leaving the door open for the next as yet unimaginable avant-garde". Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2937

As science educators, we are likely to recognize Sputnik as the first satellite in space. But what has happened with satellites since Sputnik? How many satellites are even out there, and how do we rely upon them? To help answer some of these questions, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler welcome Dr. James Clay Moltz to the show. As author of Crowded Orbits, Dr. Moltz examines the conflict and cooperation in space with the growing number of satellites managed by public, commercial and even private entities. Listen to Lab Out Loud to learn about our history with satellites in space, what the future of satellites might look like, and what that could mean for our students today. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2926

To prepare for this episode, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler had to do a little homework: see the movie Interstellar. After seeing it, they knew they had to invite Kip Thorne back to Lab Out Loud. As Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology, Thorne was the scientific advisor and executive producer of Interstellar. Dr. Thorne joins Lab Out Loud to discuss Interstellar, the science in the movie, and how it might inspire us to dream about our future. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2904

As webmaster for the ENSI (Evolution and the Nature of Sciences Institute) website, Larry Flammer has helped to provide a number of free, student-centered, interactive lessons focusing on the nature of science. So Larry wrote Science Surprises: Exploring the Nature of Science - a text supplement available as an eBook that helps teach the nature of science, with lessons for practicing scientific argumentation, and critical and skeptical thinking. Listen to the episode as Larry talks to us about the nature of science, and learn how his eBook could help replace (or at least supplement) the standard introductory chapter in any secondary science textbook. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2893

This week Lab Out Loud turns their attention to science demonstrations. And who better to talk about demos than Steve Spangler. Famously known for his Mentos+Diet Coke experiment, Steve is an engaging and entertaining speaker and YouTube sensation. Steve joins co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler to talk about how demonstrations can engage students, while promoting safety, fostering critical thinking and providing suggestions for science you can do at home. Listen to the show for some inspiration on how you might use more demos and videos in your classroom and at home. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2878

As founder of BirdBrain Technologies and maker of the Hummingbird Robotics Kit, Tom Lauwer has been busy infusing robotics into classrooms of all types. In fact, Tom hails from the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute’s CREATE lab (you might remember the CREATE lab when we talked about robots with Illah Nourbakhsh) where he focused on the process of designing hardware and software to support learners and educational environments. A few years later, Tom's Hummingbird has been successful in helping teachers enrich their curricula with creativity using robotics. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2856

Season eight of of Lab Out Loud starts with our thoughts turning towards climate science. As Programs and Policy Director for the National Center for Science Education, Mark McCaffrey boasts an impressive resume in climate and environmental science. Mark helped lead the development of the Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) and has testified before the House Subcommittee on Research about climate and environmental education. As the author of the recently published book “Climate Smart & Energy Wise” (Corwin Press), Mark argues how humanity’s greatest challenge is missing from American science classrooms. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2835

Episode 113 - Teaching Pseudoscience in the Classroom For the final episode of season seven, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler invite Rodney Schmalz and Steven Lilienfeld to Lab Out Loud. Schmalz and Lilienfeld recently published an article discussing the use of pseudoscience in the science classroom to help give students the tools needed to differentiate between scientific and pseudo-scientific or paranormal claims. Listen to the episode to learn how you might use pseudoscience appropriately in your science instruction. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2803

This week co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler welcome journalist Amy Harmon to Lab Out Loud. Harmon recently wrote an article for the NY Times in which she examined a county council in Hawaii that wanted to ban genetically modified organisms. Listen to the show as Harmon unravels the intersection of politics and science in this heated debate, and you will discover many resources that you can bring back into your classroom to discuss genetically modified organisms. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2782

This week Lab Out Loud welcomes Neil Shubin to the show. As paleontologist and anatomy professor at the University of Chicago, Shubin has had some fantastic opportunities to hunt for fossils and use them to communicate stories of our own evolution. In 2008, he wrote these stories into Your Inner Fish – a national bestselling book that has now been adapted into a three-part series on PBS. With contagious enthusiasm, Shubin talks to co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler about his experiences as a scientist, teacher, and in communicating science. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2764

Elementary science has been on the minds lately of Lab Out Loud's co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler. So it is fitting that their guest this week has been working hard helping elementary teachers tackle the Next Generation Science Standards. As Coordinator for Elementary Science in Baltimore County Schools, Eric Cromwell has the task of moving a large number of schools and teachers into an NGSS based curriculum. Listen to the show to hear of Eric's experience in this transition as Lab Out Loud discusses how elementary schools can embrace the NGSS. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2757

Join Lab Out Loud this week as hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk to Illah Nourbakhsh, author of Robot Futures. As Professor of Robotics at The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Illah has been building and thinking about robotics for most of his life. Illah joins Lab Out Loud to talk about his book, our potential future with robots and how students should be inspired to learn with purpose. Show notes at: Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2735

Co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler invite Karen Worth to the show to discuss NSTA's recent adoption of a position statement in Early Childhood Science Education. In addition to helping write the position statement, Worth serves as faculty member at Wheelock College where she teaches courses in elementary education and science education to pre-service and in-service teachers. Listen to Lab Out Loud to learn about the what the position statement says about young children and science learning, and why this is a unique and progressive statement. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2722

Join co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler and they talk about Snowy Owls with Ryan Brady. As research scientist with the Wisconsin DNR, Ryan serves as the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative Bird Monitoring Coordinator. Listen to Lab Out Loud as Ryan talks about this winter's snowy owl irruption, how to connect with other birders, and how you might be able to find snowy owls in your own region. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2705

This week we welcome Fred Ende back to the show. Fred recently had an article published in the Science Scope (January 2014) discussing the use of stories in assessments. Fred talks to us about his experience with story assessments, his student results and how you can create your own story assessments. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2686

As the nation thaws out from record lows, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler thought it would be a good time to chat with meteorologist Jeff Last about our cold weather. Jeff is a Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Green Bay, WI. Listen to Lab Out Loud as Jeff explains the Polar Vortex, and discusses our cold weather and atmospheric phenomena that can be observed at these low temperatures. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2673

As professor of physics at Georgia Tech, Schatz has been running a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) for introductory physics with laboratory. Schatz talks to Lab Out Loud about his experience with the class, how the online lab requirements work, and his plans to expand it. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2661

Imagine the chemistry set of the 21st century; that's the idea behind a new competition. SPARK, The Science Play and Research Kit competition, is a project of the Society for Science & the Public, in collaboration with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. To learn more about the competition, Lab Out Loud contacted Janet Coffey - program officer at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Listen to hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler to learn how you can submit an idea or prototype for the competition. Show notes at:http://laboutloud.com/?p=2648

This week hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler explore the world of sensors by talking with Mark Wagner - engineer and designer of Sensordrone. Sensordrone is a handheld sensor that wirelessly connects to your smartphone to measure temperature, humidity, light, carbon monoxide levels, and other environmental conditions. Listen to the show to hear Mark talk to Lab Out Loud about Sensordrone, the history and potential future of sensors, and how they could be used in the science classroom. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/2013/11/episode-102-measure-your-world-with-sensordrone/

This week hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler explore everyday science found on BrainStuff with guest Cristen Conger. As host of BrainStuff and Stuff Mom Never Told You, Cristen talks to Lab Out Loud about her work as a writer and host, and how she gets her ideas and does her research. Listen to Lab Out Loud and explore everyday science explained on BrainStuff. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2621

For our 100th episode, we welcome Glenn Branch to the show. Glenn is the Deputy Director for the National Center for Science Education. Glenn talks to us about the center, how they support climate change education, and how the NCSE can defend science in your classroom.

This week Lab Out Loud welcomes Rhett Allain back to the show. As an Associate Professor of physics at Southeastern Louisiana University, Rhett is an avid blogger for Wired Science at Dot Physics. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2585

To kickoff season seven of Lab Out Loud, hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk with science teacher Paul Anderson from Bozeman, Montana. Paul has been creating videos for science education for many years, and recently has made a collection of videos to guide science educators through the Next Generation Science Standards. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2563

For Lab Out Loud's final episode of the season, hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk with Exo Labs CTO and co-founder, Jeff Stewart. As a new startup in science education, Exo Labs recently released their Focus microscope camera and iPad App. Replacing the eyepiece on any standard microscope, the Focus camera streams a high quality image to the iPad screen where it can be recorded and shared. Jeff talks to Lab Out Loud about the Focus camera, its use in classrooms and engineering applications, and how you can help support their Kickstarter effort. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2535

This week we talk about LEGO Mindstorms with Caroline Hanson. As teacher and member of the LEGO Education Advisory Panel, Caroline routinely uses LEGOs to teach her enrichment courses in reading, math, academic competition, and STEM topics to students at Aspen Middle School in Aspen, Colorado. Catherine talks to us about her experience with LEGO Mindstorms in the classroom and gives us a preview of the new LEGO Mindstorms EV3. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2510

This week hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk with David Delgado, lead of the Imagine Mars project from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Imagine Mars Project gives students a chance to work with scientists and engineers to build and design a future human community on Mars. Listen to Lab Out Loud to learn about the project and other educational outreach opportunities from JPL. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2486

We catch up this week with Deborah Blum. Blum first joined us on Periodicity to talk about science journalism. Since then, Blum has written "The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York." Blum talks to us about poisons, forensic medicine, and literacy in the science classroom. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2427

Prompted by listener feedback, hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler talk week with Sherri Smith Dodgson. As "Miss Science," founder of Discover Science 4 Kids, and co-founder of SciPreneur, Dodgson has been a science educator both in and out of the classroom. Dodgson talks to Lab Out Loud about her experiences working with getting kids interested in science. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2419

Listen this week as we talk with Doug Paulson - STEM Integration Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education. Doug gives us insight into Minnesota's statewide initiative to increase STEM content in primary classrooms.

This week we talk with Dr. Yan Wong - evolutionary biologist and co-host of BBC's "Bang Goes the Theory". Dr. Yan joins us to talk about the show (now available on BBC America), tell us about doing science in public, and gives us some of ideas of science demonstrations you can do in your classroom.

To prepare for this week's episode, Dale and Brian had to do some homework: spit into a tube. Carrying our DNA, this tube was mailed to 23andMe for analysis. Now that we have our results, we were able to talk with Emily Drabant - a research community manager (with a PhD in neuroscience) at 23andMe. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2343

With the recent release of the the Next Generation Science Standards second draft, co-hosts Brian Bartel and Dale Basler caught up with Ted Willard, Program Director for NSTA. In his role at NSTA, Ted supports teachers in the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards. Ted guides Lab Out Loud on the important points of the second draft, where to find more resources and how to review and comment by January 29, 2013. shownotes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2330

To kick of the new year, we caught up with Dr. Ken Roy to discuss safety in the science classroom (and throughout the school). Serving as the Safety Compliance Consultant for NSTA, Ken often writes about safety for the Science Teacher and for Science Scope. Ken talks to us about OSHA's recent adoption of the Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), which includes a change from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and the use of standardized pictograms and harmonized hazard statements. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2315

Our guest this week may have some insights for you. We talk with Randy Bell - co-author of "Technology in the Secondary Science Classroom," and Associate Dean and Professor of Science Education in the College of Education at Oregon State University. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2296

This week we talk to Christian Eatough, a science teacher from Sydney, who is getting students to ask the questions (using the Question Formulation Technique) and using the questions as the basis of practical work (rather than formulaic textbook activities). Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com

This week we learn about a new digital resource called NASA Wavelength. Organized by topic and audience level, NASA Wavelength delivers a powerful search of Earth and space science resources funded through NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Show notes at: http://laboutloud.com/?p=2254