Even More Scanned Issues Available—Back to 1935!

More good news! If you are looking for past issues of the Journal, the full text of back issues—now back to 1935!—is available at JCE Online, delivered as PDF files to every subscriber and at no extra cost. What this continuing project now offers appears below. The table below presents another way of locating articles in past JCE issues.

• issues of the Journal available at JCE Online start with the January 1935 issue
• the full text of articles from 1935 to the present is provided as PDF files
• browsing of issues starts with the January 1935 issue
• you can use the Past Issues link to browse issues from 1935 to present

Back Issues Included with All Subscriptions

Back issues on JCE Online are included with your subscription with no additional charge—another good reason to subscribe to JCE today. Subscribing is as easy as pointing your WWW browser to the JCE Online Store.

The Great Scanning Project—End in Sight!

Scanning and digitizing efforts continue, so expect further expansion of back issue offerings. In fact, we expect to release the final portion of scanned issues—the portion from the Journal’s first issue in 1924 through 1934—before the end of summer 2007.

Awards Announced

2007 NSTA/Vernier Technology Award

Vernier Software & Technology has announced the winners of the 2007 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award, where innovation with data-collection technology reigns supreme. Each winner received $1,000 in cash, $1,000 in Vernier products, and up to $1,000 toward expenses to attend the 2007 NSTA National Convention where winners were formally recognized during the convention’s NSTA Awards Banquet.

High School Winners

Timothy Couillard, teacher at James River High School, Midlothian, VA: “In the Footsteps of Galileo: The James River Pumpkin Drop”

Michael Liebl, physics/chemistry/mathematics instructor, Mount Michael Benedictine School, Elkhorn, NE: “A Flashlight without Batteries! How Does That Work?”

Brent Osborn, science teacher, North Central High School, Spokane, WA: “Investigating Pinecroft Natural Area Preserve”

College Winners

James “Tiger” Gordon, chemistry professor, Central Methodist University, Fayette, MO: “Implementing Data-Collection Technology at Central Methodist University”

Courses, Seminars, Meetings, Opportunities

Teaching Polymers—A Short Course

There is a need for non-polymer chemistry professors to have sufficient training in polymers to allow them to teach an undergraduate, one-semester, introductory-level chemistry course. Toward this end we are offering workshops during national ACS meetings that present enough introductory material to allow professors to offer such a course. The first short course will be given on Monday, August 20, 2007, from noon until 6 p.m. at the ACS Meeting in Boston.

We expect that the course will have 15–30 participants in each session; it is for college and university professors. The only cost to participants is to have a copy of the text for the course, Introduction to Polymer Chemistry (by Charles E. Carraher, Jr.; published in 2006 by CRC/Taylor and Francis), specifically written for undergraduate students; participants are not required to teach from this text. The course will be taught by a team made up of Charles Carraher, John Droske, and Les Sperling. Some of the costs of offering the course will be provided by PolyEd; possible additional costs are expected to be covered by PC/PMSE.

For additional information contact Charles Carraher or John Droske.

Chemistry at the Crossroads: BCCE 2008

The 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) will be held July 27–31, 2008, at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. BCCEs, which are sponsored by the ACS Division of Chemical Education, are the largest gathering of chemical educators in the world and are designed for middle school science teachers, secondary school chemistry teachers, and college chemistry instructors. This conference emphasizes the improvement of chemistry education at all levels, relates modern developments in chemistry and chemical education, and is highly respected in the chemical education community. The Department of Chemistry at Indiana University is proud to host the 20th BCCE, Chemistry at the Crossroads, on the beautiful Bloomington campus. Steven Wietstock is the general chair.

Call for Symposia and Workshops

Proposals for symposia and workshops will be accepted through the conference Web site (accessed Apr 2007) beginning May 1, 2007. Kate Reck and Regina Zibuck, program co-chairs, are looking for symposia that would fit into tracks of laboratory work, chemical education research, advances in pedagogy, green chemistry, computers and technology in chemistry, chemical informatics, global chemistry education, chemistry for the public, discipline specific symposia, and any other topics you wish to propose. One of the themes for our programming centers around the Life Sciences, building on Indiana University’s new Life Sciences Initiative. We anticipate showcasing biotechnology and how chemistry meets at the crossroads of biology. In addition, symposium proposals are being accepted for specific programs for secondary education (program co-chairs Karen Morris and Claire Baker) and two-year college chemistry departments (program co-chairs Amy Jo Sanders, Tom Higgins, and Susan Shih).

As the BCCEs are times for education and sharing, the BCCEs have historically offered a number of hands-on workshops relating to chemical education—laboratory, computer applications, chemical education research, etc. This tradition will be continued at the 20th BCCE at IU. Guidelines for workshop proposals are available on the 20th BCCE Web site. Questions about workshops can be directed to Lori Watson, workshop chair (at the BCCE email address, below).

Visit and bookmark the 20th BCCE Web site for specific information about the conference. This site will be continuously updated with information pertaining to the technical program, registration, housing, and social events as we approach July 27, 2008. If you are still wondering what a Hoosier is, then we invite you to come to the 20th BCCE at IU and see them up close! Any questions, program ideas, or general suggestions for any of the BCCE program chairs can be sent to the BCCE via email.

Gordon Research Conference

Apply now to attend the Gordon Research Conference on Chemistry Education Research and Practice to be held June 24–29 2007 at Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. This limited-enrollment conference features 22 speakers engaged in research on student learning, curriculum, and assessment. Sessions are focused on

• Cognitive Science and Chemistry Education
• Understanding the Nano World
• Student Thinking and Performance
• Inquiry, Epistemology, and Knowledge Construction
• Methodologies for Understanding Learning
• Curricula in Context
• Learning within Cultural Contexts

Applicants should be engaged in scholarly activity and are strongly encouraged to present a poster about their work at the conference. The unique Gordon Conference format of off-the-record presentations, common residence, common mealtimes, presentations in morning and evening with afternoon free for spontaneous interaction, a full week of engagement provides substantial opportunity for challenging intellectual discussion and professional networking. The conference fee ($775) includes room and board for the week on the campus of Bates College. Further information regarding the on-line application process, the conference program, travel, and the conference site are at the Gordon Conference Web site (accessed Apr 2007). Space is limited and is filling quickly. Christopher Bauer is the conference chair. Thomas Greenbowe is the vice-chair.

Hands-On AP Chemistry Workshops

Vernier and Flinn Scientific will co-host three AP Chemistry hands-on technology workshops. During these 2-day summer workshops, teachers will do many of the 22 experiments recommended by The College Board. These experiments will center around Vernier and Flinn equipment, supplies, and kits, and are from the Vernier–Flinn lab book, Advanced Chemistry with Vernier, a copy of which is included with the $99 registration fee. The workshop schedule is:

Dallas, TX: June 27–28, 2007

Chicago, IL: July 18–19, 2007

Washington, DC: August 8–9, 2007

For more information, go to the workshop Web site (accessed Apr 2007).

PASCO Hands-On Workshops

Summer Institutes

PASCO will sponsor several Summer Institutes for high school chemistry teachers in 2007, from two to seven days in length and across the U.S. and in Costa Rica.

There are these Technology-Centered Programs: Xplorer GLX and PASPORT Probeware; 2-Day DataStudio and PASPORT Probeware; 3-Day DataStudio and PASPORT and ScienceWorkshop Probeware.

Science-Centered Programs are: Environmental Studies with GIS, in Costa Rica; General Chemistry through Guided Inquiry; Physics Labs for AP Teachers; GPS, GIS, and the Xplorer GLX: Mapping the Environment.

For more information about the Summer Institutes go to the Web site (accessed Apr 2007).

Chemistry Labs for AP Teachers

There will be a 3-day Summer Workshop for AP teachers held from July 10 through 12 at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA. These are probeware-based chemistry lab workshops that conduct ten probeware-based labs recommended by the College Board, use collaborative problem-solving strategies, and provide guidance in converting traditional labs to guided inquiry labs. For more information, go to the Web site (accessed Apr 2007).