Daryl Sibble (center), graduate student working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), demonstrates to area teachers how GPS can be incorporated in the classroom and for outdoor lessons. Teachers in photo include Eric Good from William Blount High School (left), Sherilyn Dawson from Concord Christian School and Judy Pearson from Heritage Middle School (back to camera) during last week’s workshop at ORAU’s Center for Science Education. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

Teachers participate in GPS workshop

More than 190 elementary, middle school, and high school educators from East Tennessee gathered in ORAU’s Center for Science Education last week to participate in a variety of technology professional development workshops. The free workshops offered educators the chance to enhance their STEM knowledge and curricula through hands-on experiences.

One of last week’s workshops focused on how GPS could be used during an outside exercise. Workshop participants took an excursion outside for a hands-on activity where the first three participants to locate a hidden GPS device using provided coordinates actually won a GPS device.

“I learned a great deal about GPS, because I was a total stranger to GPS before this workshop,” said Arnold “Rocky” Warren from Morgan County Career and Technical Center. “I have some GPS devices in my classroom, but I did not know all the ways I could use them. Now, I feel confident I can instruct my students on how to use them in my physics class.”

The workshops are designed so teachers can take the information back to their students and use it immediately. The Twitter Workshop proved popular as well. [Read more…]