Surfing for FOSS Information: A New Look for LHS/FOSS and FOSSweb
By Susan Jagoda, FOSS Developer, Lawrence Hall of Science

If you have looked for information about FOSS on the familiar websites during the past few months, you probably noticed some big changes. Or, at least they were big to the FOSS staff renovating the old FOSS sites at the Lawrence Hall of Science on www.FOSSweb.com. FOSS has had a "web presence" for over a decade, and it was time to refashion the web-based information to reflect the updates and additions to the FOSS program that have occurred over that time.

There are two websites that provide FOSS program information.

lhsfoss.org. This is the FOSS project site and provides information about the project based on the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley. FOSS is a research-based science program for grades K–8 developed at LHS with support from the National Science Foundation and published by Delta Education. Educators seeking information about the FOSS program goals, features of the program, standards correlations, or effectiveness data will find the lhsfoss.org website useful. Specific information found on this site includes strategies and materials for full engagement of students with disabilities, research projects related to FOSS in classrooms, and information about science and literacy.

FOSSweb.com. This is the FOSS users' website. The research, development information, and issues found on lhsfoss.org are closely linked to FOSSweb.com. FOSSweb is designed to provide enrichment for students and support for teachers, administrators, and families who are actively implementing and enjoying FOSS program materials. Teachers will find tips for enhancing specific modules or courses; FOSS-approved print, video, and web-based resources; classroom management ideas; and plant and animal care. FOSSweb will also be of interest to administrators and curriculum specialists in search of a calendar of professional development opportunities, implementation strategies, and materials management tools. Parents and families of students using FOSS will enjoy the module-specific student activities for grades K–2 and 3–6 now on FOSSweb.

In many ways the two websites—lhsfoss.org and FOSSweb.com—function as one. You will also find links to a third FOSS-related website at Delta Education. At the Delta site (www.deltaeducation.com/foss/index.html), you will find information about purchasing FOSS materials and replacement items and the name and contact information for your regional FOSS representative.

Access to all of the FOSS website resources is instantly available by extensive cross-linking. In no time at all, you will learn how to use the links in the headers and footers as well as the sidebar menus to move seamlessly through the information stored in the websites.

So, what's new? If you have a web connection, you might want to bring this article with you to your computer and follow along.

WWW.FOSSWEB.COM

FOSSweb has a new look, especially with the addition of the grades K–2 interactive activities and resources. When you open the FOSSweb link, you will see some of the same organization as the old site with some new links and information. FOSSweb is described as "The offical site for the inquiry-based FOSS science curriculum." In other words, it is the FOSS users' site.

The FOSSweb introduction page includes links to:

• FOSS News
• Grades K–2 Module Activities for Students and Information for Teachers
• Grades 3–6 Module Activities for Students and Information for Teachers
• Middle school resources, activities, and other information (coming soon)
• Information for Schools and Districts
• Information for Teachers and Parents

You will also find links from this home page to information about setting up your browser, minimum requirements for your computer in order to use FOSSweb effective, and terms of use information.

FOSS News
Click on the word "News" in the green bar and travel to a page that includes the latest news and project updates. Check this link often to catch up on the latest news about the FOSS project such as updates to modules and courses. You can also find information about FOSS professional development workshops or access the FOSS newsletter link.

Grades K–2 Modules
Information and activities for grades K–2 have been added to FOSSweb. Clicking on the word "Preview" under the grades K–2 flag takes you to a brief overview of what you'll find on the K–2 site. Clicking on the Grades K–2 icon (a kite) will take you to a menu screen with links to each of the K–2 modules. From here you can choose a module and travel to a wealth of information and activities specific to that module for students, parents, and teachers. Each module page includes a section for students with an interactive activity, a photo gallery, an Ask a Scientist section, websites, and movies. For parents and teachers there is a module summary, a vocabulary list, information about plant and animal care, a link to home/school connections, resources, and tips and tricks for using FOSS in the classroom.

For example, if you click on Air and Weather, you'll find an activity in which students need to decide what the cartoon bear needs to wear to face the weather that day. The Photo Gallery includes images or various objects and organisms that use air. In the Ask a Scientist section, a question is answered about the direction from which wind blows. As the site develops, students—with help from parents and teachers—will be able to submit questions that may be included on the site. The Movies section includes a movie showing how the weather changed over a day as viewed from the Lawrence Hall of Science.

Grades 3–6 Modules
The grades 3–6 section of FOSSweb for students will appear almost unchanged to those folks who have already become familiar with it. Clicking on the Grades 3–6 icon (the crayfish) takes you to a menu page with links to each of the grades 3–6 modules. From here you can choose a module and browser the activities and information for students, teachers, and parents. For students, each page includes one or two interactive activities, student-created posters, pictures, movies, websites, books/software, and an Ask a Scientist section. For parents and teachers, there is a module summary, information about plant and animal care, a link to home/school connections, resources, and tips and tricks for using FOSS in the classroom.

For example, when you open the Variables page, you can play Blasto! the Subhuman Cannonball Game, view pictures of an ancient catapult, play movies showing sound experiments by NASA scientists, and find out how Robbie Knieval managed to jump the Grand Canyon on a motorcycle in the Ask a Scientist section. The Posters section is in progress. In this section for each module there will be student-generated posters created as part of students' end-of-module projects. (If you are interested in submitting a poster, please contact foss@berkeley.edu for more information.)

Middle School resources, activities, and other information (coming soon
The FOSS Middle School section is still under development. For now, limited information about resources related to the FOSS Middle School courses, such as books, videos, software, and websites, is included in the searchable resource database, located at http://lhsfoss.org/fossweb/teachers/resources/index.html

For Schools and Districts

When you click on the For Schools and Districts icon (the blue box) in the FOSSweb home page banner (or the sidebar menu of the "News" pages), these subheadings appear.

• FOSS Information
• Implementing FOSS
• Sales Info

FOSS Information. Clicking on the FOSS Information subhead allows you to link to the information pages at lhsfoss.org by clicking on the "click here" link in the introductory paragraph. You can easily return to FOSSweb by clicking on "FOSSweb for Students" in the top banner on lhsfoss.org.

Implementing FOSS. This link opens up the following subheads:

• Staff Development
• Materials Management
• Administrative Support
• Communication
• Case Studies
• FOSS in Multiple Classrooms
• Using FOSS Technology
• Schools Using FOSS
• Frequently Asked Questions about the FOSS Program

The first four bullets are the main topics for consideration when implementing the FOSS program in your school or district.

Staff Development provides information gathered from FOSS developers and users to assist you in putting a successful staff development process in place as you implement FOSS.

Materials Management provides a general discussion about managing FOSS materials plus links to

• Tips for Teachers Currently Using FOSS
• Replacement Part Catalog (for both the K–6 and Middle School Programs)
• Materials Safety Data Sheets

The sidebar menu that appears under Materials Management provides navigation to a couple of other pages: Links, which takes you to information about science materials centers located around the United States; Considerations, which includes information about housing and management materials, inventory and replacement of materials, and more; and Software, which includes information about the FOSS materials management software, FOSS/Pro and FOSS/Smart, available from Delta Education.

Administrative Support includes suggestions for administrators to help facilitate the FOSS implementation process. The Communication link provides suggestions for publicizing your successful FOSS implementation and science moments to your parents, school, and community.

Case Studies includes several case studies of schools and/or districts of various sizes that have implemented FOSS. The case studies include information about school and district size, teacher training, and other implementation issues.

FOSS in Multiple Classrooms describes the extra equipment and materials needed to use one FOSS kit in more than one class at the same time. The pages have been updated to reflect the new editions of FOSS grades K–2 and 3–6. Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of these html pages are also available.

Using FOSS Technology provides the technical details you need to successfully access the FOSSweb site, including the animations, games, and other activities. The information in this section will be updated as new information and practices become available.

Schools Using FOSS is a place where schools with websites that include FOSS information can be listed and linked. If your school has such a website, please let us know and we'll include you in the list. Send your information to foss@berkeley.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions about the FOSS program returns you to the same section in lhsfoss.org that will be described later.

Sales Information
The Sales Info section under For Schools and Districts include phone numbers and URLS that connect you to the sales information at Delta Education. Here you can find a link to K–6 and Middle School replacement parts catalog.

Info for Teachers and Parents
Now click on the Info for Teachers and Parents link in the yellow box on the top right of the page. (If you haven’t been following along on your computer, this link can also be accessed from the FOSSweb home page at www.fossweb.com.) This link goes to these three areas:

• Resources
• Materials Management
• Parents' Corner

The Resources link takes you to the searchable database described earlier in this article. The resource database allows for a search by module or course, title keyword, author, Spanish edition, and/or teacher resource. The database will be updated twice a year and will eventually include entries for video, software, and web pages that relate to all of the FOSS modules and courses. Parents (and teachers) who are interested in finding books or other resources for enhancing their children’s science experience will find this database useful. Teacher Guide duplication masters for Students Sheets and Assessments are available by module from the Resources page. You will need to request a password to access the duplication masters as pdf files. To do this send a message with your contact information (name, school, district, address, grades, and e-mail) to foss@berkeley.edu.

Materials Management provides information for teachers and parents to help with materials management in the classroom. Here you will find information about the organisms used in FOSS modules and courses under Plant and Animal Care, as well as information about obtaining organisms under Sources for Organisms. The Materials Management area also provides links for the Materials Safety Data Sheets (between the green bars below the banner) for chemicals and other materials used in FOSS and for the Replacement Parts Catalog. Read the Materials Management introduction and you will find a section on measurement equipment needed in FOSS modules that you may wish to get instead of depending on the availability of a Measurement Module.

The Parents’ Corner includes links to a Module Summary; a guide to Plant and Animal Care; book, video, and software resources; and Tips and Tricks for teaching the module. Parents’ Corner is the source for pdf files of the home/school connections and math problems used in the FOSS K–6 program. These files can be downloaded for use at home by students and parents. The Parents’ Corner also includes a Where Do I Find section to help parents navigate through the FOSS websites.

FOSS Calendar (aka Professional Development Calendar)

This links takes you to the FOSS Professional Development Calendar. You can link to the calendar from either the FOSSweb welcome or news pges or the lhsfoss.org banner. The calendar includes dates, information, and application materials for professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators. If you have a professional development opportunity involving FOSS that you would like to publicize on the calendar, send a note with the dates and information to foss@ucilnk4.berkeley.edu.

That's FOSSweb in brief. Let's move on to lhsfoss.org. If you in the Newsletter area, click on "Home" in the sidebar. If you are on FOSSweb.com, click on "lhsfoss.org" in the footer.

LHSFOSS.ORG

The FOSS site resides on the Lawrence Hall of Science server. One thing that is new is the address (or URL). The lengthier URL (www.lhs.berkeley.edu/foss) has been changed to lhsfoss.org. This address is more concise and also recognizes the FOSS affiliation with the Lawrence Hall of Science.

What will you find when you get to lhsfoss.org? First, there's a description of what this new FOSS website is all about. We consider this to be the "project" site as opposed to the "users" site on FOSSweb.

Check out the sidebar for these general topics:

• What is FOSS?
• FOSS Components
• FOSS K–8 Scope and Sequence
• Correlations to Standards
• Research on FOSS and Ongoing Projects
• Newsletters
• Science and Literacy
• FOSS Staff

A link is provided in the introductory paragraphs to information about strategies and materials for full engagement of students with disabilities. It also includes a link to the SAVI/SELPH (Science Activities for the Visually Impaired/Science Enrichment for Learners with Physical Handicaps) program at the Lawrence Hall of Science.

What Is FOSS?
When you click on What Is FOSS? in the sidebar, you link to general information about the FOSS program and a short paragraph about the FOSS philosophy concerning hands-on science education. You also open up several more items in the sidebar menu under What Is FOSS?

These include:

• Program Goals (which include Science Literacy, Instructional Efficiency, and Systemic Reform)
• Program Features (including research-based and nationally field-tested program materials; classroom testing; the use of hands-on science and inquiry methods; the assessment system; subject-matter integrations, technology; and program support)
• Frequently Asked Questions about the FOSS Program (questions asked by district administrators, curriculum committees, parents, and teachers are answered by the FOSS developers)

FOSS Components
You will find details here about the FOSS components for grades K–6 and for middle school, as well as components that are incorporated onto both programs. For grades K–6 there is information about teacher guides, equipment kits, preparation videos, and Science Stories. For Middle School FOSS, you will find information about teacher guides, equipment kits, lab notebooks, resource books, and the CD–ROMs. Information about the FOSS assessment system and FOSSweb is found under the category of General FOSS Components.

FOSS K-8 Scope and Sequence
The introduction page to this link includes a Scope and Sequence chart for the 33 modules and courses in the FOSS K–8 program. From here you can link to html or pdf versions of module summaries: four–page module summaries, including correlations to the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for grades K–6 modules and eight-page course summaries, with correlations to the NSES for Middle School courses. You can also download matrices for the Earth, Life, Physical, and Scientific Reasoning and Technology strands. These are also available as pdf documents.

FOSS Correlation to Science Standards
The FOSS curriculum is a resource for elementary and middle–school teachers to use to achieve many versions of science standards. Correlations have been created between the FOSS program and a number of science standards, including the National Science Education Standards.

Here you can link to the following correlations:

• National Science Education Standards
• California Standards
• Other state and city standards

The correlation documents are included as pdf documents. Please note that some of these documents are quite large and may not download within your web browser. To get around this, try "Save as" from the File menu or "Download link to disk." Then open the file in Acrobat Reader. PDF documents included on lhsfoss.org and www.fossweb.com will open in a new browser window, which should eliminate many problems for most users.

Research on FOSS and Ongoing Projects
FOSS is an ongoing research project dedicated to improving the learning and teaching of science. Assessment is a major research focus on the FOSS staff. From the sidebar you can connect to two new webpages.

The Recent Projects page includes information about two projects that are supported by the National Science Foundation to explore assessment through FOSS—the ASK Project and the FAST Project. As these and other projects mature, we will make results and products available through this website.

The Bibliography page provides a link to a pdf version of the FOSS Research Bibliography. As we continue developing the lhsfoss.org site, the bibliography will transform into a searchable online database that will include the various research documents, master projects and dissertations, and other articles that support FOSS and the use of hands-on, inquiry-based science instruction.

Newsletters

The new FOSS site allows you to view html and pdf versions of the current and previous newsletters. Articles from older FOSS newsletters have been placed in the FOSS Newsletter Archives. Articles are archived under these categories:

• Grades K–2
• Grades 3–6
• Middle School
• Technology Issues K–8
• Students with Special Needs
• Safety Issues
• English Language Learners
• Life Science
• Earth Science
• Physical Science
• Science and the Community
• Professional Development
• Science and Literacy
• Philosophy
• Science Connections
• Materials Management
• Assessment
• Implementation
• FOSS International

We have already received feedback from users about how easy it is to find useful articles in the archive database. As time passes, we will continue to prepare articles for the archive and possibly expand the topic areas.

There is also a search function included under the Newsletters heading. This function allows you to search for terms in the FOSS newsletter articles and hopefully yeild and abundance of information.

Science and Literacy
The FOSS Resource Database is found under the Science and Literacy heading, along with information about FOSS Science Stories, Research Related to Literacy, and Student Notebooks. A description of the resource database is included earlier in this article.

Under the Research Related to Literacy subhead, you can link to several articles concerning FOSS and literacy. Information about Student Notebooks will appear soon, beginning with the article you will find in this newsletter.

FOSS Staff
Who is currently working to develop and maintain the FOSS program? You can find all the arties involved listed on the FOSS Staff page. If you want to contact any of hte staff, send an email to foss@berkeley.edu, and we'll make sure your message is forwarded.

That's it in a nutshell, albeit a big nutshell - all of this information is what now appears on www.fossweb.com and lhsfoss.org. Take time to explore the two sites. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas for updating the information! Send us a note at foss@berkeley.edu.