This NSF-funded project seeks certified West Virginia science teachers with a strong interest in local watersheds and desire to use geospatial technology for student instruction.  Please review the requirements of the school administration and teacher below before proceeding:

Your Principal must agree to the following:

• GIS software and CMAP will be installed on a minimum of 10 computers (each with at least 512 mb of RAM and Pentium 4 processors), and the teacher participant and his/her students will have ready access to these computers during the field-testing of their project unit.
• During the 2011 Fall semester, Teacher-participant will receive either two full days or four 1/2 days addition planning time surrounding the implementation/revision of his/her watershed study unit.
• As part of school time devoted to training teachers: Teacher-participant has at least a three hour (1/2 day) period to provide inservice on this project
• Teacher-participant will receive release time to attend and present at WVSTA annual meeting in (and, ideally, school district will fund the registration fee of ~$100)

Teacher-participant agrees to complete all requirements of the two (2) college courses associated with this project (six credits, graduate level).  These requirements include:

• Significantly strengthen and expand your understanding of watershed science (including the impact of land use) and strategies/resources to develop student understandings;
• Develop computer literacy in CMAP and concept maps on watershed dynamics;
• Develop computer literacy in GIS and associated tools / software / web-based resources;
• Develop, field-test, and revise a watershed study unit of at least two (2) weeks duration that includes field-study of a local stream;
• Maintain an electronic reflective journal for the duration of the project that includes responses to questions from the instructor;
• Be an active on-line participant of the project learning community, which includes use of communication tools (e.g., threaded discussions, WIMBA live classroom, reviewing colleagues’ work);
• Complete all surveys and reports.