Vernier Software & Technology and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) announced the winners of their annual Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards. The seven science and STEM educators—one elementary teacher, two middle school teachers, three high school teachers, and one college-level educator—were chosen by a panel of NSTA-appointed experts for their innovative use of data-collection technology with a computer, graphing calculator or other handheld device in the science classroom.
Each winner will receive $1,000 in cash, $3,000 in Vernier products, and up to $1,500 toward expenses to attend the award conference.
This year’s Vernier/NSTA Technology Award winners include:
Category: Elementary School
Amy Atkinson, Hominy Valley Elementary School, Candler, NC
Amy Atkinson created a project that focuses on healthy lifestyle choices in diet, exercise and relaxation and culminates with a fourth grade health and wellness fair.
Category: Middle School
Susan Brown, Northland Preparatory Academy, Flagstaff, AZ
To help students in grades 6–12 explore how climate change effects lichen growth and diversity, Susan Brown created a long-term research project in partnership with a local arboretum and Northern Arizona University.
Dennis Pevey, Jr., eSTEM Public Charter School, Little Rock, AR
Dennis Pevey engages his students in science education by infusing STEM concepts into projects that focus on the environmental issues impacting central Arkansas.
Category: High School
Kristy Bibbey, Poudre High School, Fort Collins, CO
During a project that introduces the physics of sound, Kristy Bibbey’s physics students—as well as a local musician—bring in an instrument that they play and use the Vernier Microphone to record various wavelengths using the various instruments.
Karlheinz Haas, The Pine School, Hobe Sound, FL
To help make kinematics and dynamics more accessible and relatable to students, Karlheinz Haas adapted a series of commonly used physics labs to incorporate the use of the TI-Nspire CX handheld in combination with Vernier sensors and DataQuest software.
Ann Shioji, William C. Overfelt High School, San Jose, CA
In Ann Shioji’s “Beauty and the Yeast” unit, students explore how chemicals affect their daily lives.
To learn more about the Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards and to find details for the 2016 application, visit http://www.vernier.com/grants/nsta/.
