The moment many have worked toward for months is here. The Educational Outreach Program launched today at 4:45 PM CST! The Black Bear Boxes are now available online for scheduling. There are lesson plans and resources for download, and additional resources available online. Check out the offerings at http://www.bear.org/website/introduction-from-dr-lynn-rogers.html .
The EO Program began with nearly 500 teachers submitting online questionnaires to bear.org. Teachers stepped forward to glean ideas from the questionnaires and develop them into lesson plans using factual information from bear.org. Helen Schwarz, who emerged as the steadfast leader of the curriculum team, said today, “Between us there is a profound, shared vision that we can and must make a difference in students' as well as bears' lives!”
Other educators worked to develop the Black Bear Boxes and test them in classrooms. One Lily fan remarked, “Education about the truth, is no longer merely a dream...it's now a reality...in a Box!” Leader Trish Kirk let her ‘football fan’ side show through when she said, “it sure took a lot of collective blood, sweat and tears to get ready for kick-off!”
She is right. A huge amount of work went into developing ideas, reviewing everything for scientific accuracy, and upgrading the technology to make products that we all can be proud to have on bear.org. Sue Mansfield said, “We each brought our own areas of expertise to the group. What one couldn’t do, another could.” It was truly a team effort, and it continues. We aren’t done yet!
We welcome your feedback on curriculum ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and the Black Bear Boxes ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
Most of the people who worked on the Educational Outreach projects are pictured in the update for Dec 19, 2010 http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/daily-updates/1131-solar-panels-are-generating-power-.html .
Now, a new group is forming under Lisa Boesen to develop educational computer games.
This all could be big. The nearly 500 questionnaires we received were probably the tip of the iceberg regarding classroom use of the Den Cam. One district administrator emailed that all 37 schools in her district were using the Den Cam in their classrooms.
On a different subject, David Hoole of KBJR-TV in Duluth posted another report at http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/iron-range/Nature-Matters-Den-Drama-116183269.html
And to top off an already wonderful day, you reduced the Bear Center’s debt to near $88,000!
Thank you for all you have done and are doing!
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
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