SDSC’s TeacherTECH Science Series Workshops to be Aired Locally, Nationally Starting March 1

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego has announced that beginning  March 1, selected workshops from its widely acclaimed TeacherTECH Science Series will begin airing locally on UCSD-TV, and nationally on UCTV, the satellite channel for the University of California. In addition, the segments will be available as streaming videos and podcast downloads at www.ucsd.tv/teachertech , as well as on UCTV’s YouTube and iTunesU channels.

Created in 2001, SDSC’s TeacherTECH program helps educators bring the latest technological tools and technology-enabled science concepts into the K-14 curriculum. In addition to its Science Series, TecherTECH also includes a Technology Tools, Math Series, and Art Series program, and has to-date attracted more than 8,000 teachers from more than 250 area schools, reaching more than 140,000 students annually.

"SDSC’s TeacherTECH helps reduce teachers' barriers to using technology for learning and teaching," said Ange Mason, Program Manager of SDSC’s TeacherTECH program  "This partnership with UCSD-TV and UCTV will help meet our goal of giving every teacher, regardless of where they live, access to essential tools to bring the latest science and technology into their classrooms.”

Two TeacherTECH seminars premiere beginning March 1. “Newton’s Laws and Gravity - From the Terrestrial to the Celestial", will be broadcast on UCSD-TV March 1 at 10 p.m. and March 31 at 8 p.m. Pacific Time; and on UCTV on March 23 at 8 p.m. PT/ET, and March 24 at 4 p.m.PT, which is UCTV’s timeslot called “The Teacher’s P.E.T.” (Professional Education for Teachers). 

The second seminar, called “Earthquakes: Teaching Tools Beyond Static Images and Flat Maps”, will air on UCSD-TV March 25 at 8 p.m. PT; and on UCTV March 30 at 8 p.m. PT/ET, and March 31 at 4 p.m. PT, in the “Teacher’s P.E.T” timeslot. The  "P.E.T." website (www.uctv.tv/teachers) aligns each program with California State Board of Education Content Standards and provides complete broadcast schedules and links to view the programs in an on-demand format.

“This new collaboration between TecherTECH and UCSD-TV will dramatically expand our outreach to teachers who are seeking new ways of integrating technology tools and computational thinking into their teaching, to capture their students’ imaginations and encourage them to innovate and discover through science and technology-related professional pursuits,” added Diane Baxter, SDSC’s Director of Education.

Because of its demonstrated effectiveness, the SDSC TeacherTECH program has impact beyond the greater San Diego area. The program has been shared by colleagues around the country through the annual TeraGrid and Supercomputing conferences. Educator professional development programs with similar missions and complementary approaches are offered by most of the other supercomputer centers that are part of the TeraGrid, a national network of 11 National Science Foundation centers that forms the world's largest distributed cyberinfrastructure for open scientific research.

“The TeacherTECH program has been very successful working with teachers and students in the San Diego area,” according to Scott Lathrup, the TeraGrid Area Director for Education, Outreach and Training.  “TeraGrid seeks to spread successful educational programs and resources throughout the country. This new collaboration with UCSD-TV and UCTV will directly benefit many teachers in exciting and motivating students across the country to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies and professional careers.” 

Specific broadcast information is as follows:

UCTV Channel information:

  • Direct Broadcast Satellite: Nationwide on Dish Network Channel 9412
  • Worldwide on the Internet at www.uctv.tv : Live webcast, "video-on-demand" archives, audio and video podcasts. Also available on iTunesU and YouTube  http://www.youtube.com/uctv 
  • Cable TV: In California and across the country ( www.uctv.tv/cable )

San Diego UCSD-TV channel information:

  • UCSD-TV airs on Cox and Time Warner Ch. 135, AT&T Uverse Ch. 99, and UHF (no cable) Ch. 35.
  • Video archives, podcast downloads, broadcast schedules and more are available online at http://www.ucsd.tv .