Preview: NSTA & NGSS are Coming to SA!

That's right, NSTA's National Conference all about Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the learning, literacy and living behind them will be in the Alamo city this April! NSTA aims to bring together science education leaders and professional development experts with thousands of educators to immerse themselves in the finest industry resources, providing content, concepts, strategies, techniques and information on the critical issues in science education today. Not to mention all the cool things you'll get to see while you're there!

This conference's featured presentation is - you guessed it - a Next Generation Science Standards Town Hall Meeting. Since the final version of NGSS will be released sometime in March, speaker Stephen L. Pruitt will talk about what's next. He'll address how the next standards will affect science education, including classroom instruction, professional development, curriculum materials and state assessments. We went to Pruitt's presentation in Phoenix and he didn't disappoint. Not only did he deliver valuable information on the progress of the NGSS drafts, he was hilarious and brought what could have been a very dry presentation to life. You don't want to miss him when he's in San Antonio in April!

The headquarter hotels for the conference are the Grand Hyatt San Antonio and the Marriott Rivercenter. Conference registration along with exhibits and the NSTA Science Store will be at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Most sessions and event have been scheduled at the Convention Center as well as the Grand Hyatt, Marriott Rivercenter, Marriott Riverwalk and the Hilton Palacio del Rio. 

The conference begins on Thursday, April 11 bright and early at 8 a.m. and runs through Sunday, April 14 at noon. Find more information on NSTA's website. 

Schools Going Digital by 2017

The debates over going entirely digital in the classrooms of today's and tomorrow's students can get pretty heated these days. A good percentage of educators and other advocates of e-textbooks are pushing for the transition. The opposition is standing its ground just as firmly, though. 

In a report released by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) in September titled, "Out of Print : Reimagining the K-12 Textbook in a Digital Age," it was said that textbooks should be a thing of the past by 2017. The report goes on to suggest that states and districts begin making the transition from print to digital instructional material with the next major textbook adoption cycle (which could be soon!), completing the transition by 2017.

Today's youth loves the digital realm and are being introduced to it at an ever-increasing younger age. Just a couple weeks I was in Toys-R-Us shopping for my nephew when I saw a toddler-proof iPad cover. I stood there for a second before telling myself, "You really shouldn't be surprised here." Take a look at the thing for yourself. This just shows that it's never too young to go digital.

Process this for a second: currently, states and districts spend around $5.5 billion on instructional material each year and many students are using textbooks with content that is seven to 10 years old. With the adoption of digital content, schools would be able to update material without any extra print costs. Hello, cost effectiveness!

Further, digital material can be more interactive than print material. Instead of being limited to text and a few illustrations, students can now access video clips, animations and virtual labs. Even better, content can be personalized to accommodate individual student learning needs and abilities. For instance, there are options to hear the text read aloud, instantly look up unfamiliar words and change the font size.

Now, to the teachers. There are major benefits for them too. With digital material, teachers won't be tied down to a singular textbook and the lessons it provides. They'll be able to bring different lessons together and will have the opportunity to get involved in creating and refining their classroom content. That has to sound good to almost every teacher out there!

The 2017 adoption target date was made so schools and districts could create a realistic plan for implementation. So of you oppose the idea of digital textbooks, it looks like they're making their way into classrooms whether you like it or not. Jumping on board might make the transition a little easier. 

Science Classes of the Future

We've all heard it at least once in our lives: "When I was a kid..." Sure, there was once a time that you sat in a science classroom and watched your teacher scrawl on the board, drew a few pictures yourself on a worksheet and called it a day as the bell rang. Once you got home, you opened your textbook and studied more images of what was taught that day in class and that was that.

Now, there's much to be said about these teaching methods, but walk into a science classroom next year and as students learn how chemicals combine to form new substances they're manipulating foam or paper mache models to show how bonds are made, or moving electrons around on a computer screen or tablet, testing what happens when a transfer occurs.

As John Martin on CNN illustrates, science classrooms across America will begin to change next year when 26 states expected to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) implement the new standards in their classrooms. How students effected by NGSS learn will even be different than their older siblings did. 

The goal of NGSS is to have students gain an understanding of science, technology, engineering and math that makes them competitive on a global scale. So what does this mean? It means that students of the next generation will be making models, solving problems and getting messy - hands-on activities that lead to self-discovery and better understanding of subject matter.

Not surprisingly, the most noticeable differences will be seen in classrooms. Listening to lectures and then drawing a model or two will become a thing of the past. Instead, students will create models that represent a cell or an atom - often on a computer - and then use that representation to collect data and make predictions.

Now, if you're worried about the dollar signs that come along with NGSS, don't be. NGSS isn't about fancy, cutting-edge equipment; instead, it's about getting students engaged, involved and excited about STEM fields. Hopefully this will increase their likelihood to pursue STEM careers upon graduation from high school. 

Read Martin's entire report on the future of science classrooms and NGSS.

(And make sure you check out the video embedded in the article. Pay close attention to the first few seconds of the video and you'll see Swift scopes!)