Making Waves pools the resources of a diverse team of experts:  middle school teachers have worked directly with marine scientists from the University of South Florida (USF) and their graduate students.  This innovative project truly is a step in the right direction toward interactive teaching!

We started publishing a series of 6 fun and informative articles on a medley of ocean topics in the September/October 1998 issue of InterActive Teacher magazine. CALL KRISTEN at 727-553-1638 for a FREE COPY OF THE MAGAZINE.  Each article we publish references this web site, which offers an easy-to-use curriculum guide based upon the article topic (you'll also find the article itself).  Don't worry if your school classrooms are not on-line yet.  We'll be glad to send you the information the traditional way - in an envelope.  We also want to stress that while the curricular materials are designed for middle school students, the articles and web sites will provide compelling new aquatic vistas for all.

The curricular guides have been designed by our team of diverse experts, but teachers have led the way to ensure that they are guides designed for teachers, by teachers, and the materials are in sync with formal educational guidelines.  Linkages to other addresses are also provided.  Also be sure to take a trip to the Jabber over Java Chat Room, a forum for your comments and suggestions.

What ocean science topics can you expect to sponge up?  By reading the articles and following the guides, you'll hear about how El Niño really works, and how it affects you.  You'll also learn about global warming and how it may lead to higher sea levels, increased beach erosion, coral reef bleaching, and much more.  You'll read about disasters such as hurricanes, thunderstorms and earthquakes. We'll talk about harmful algal blooms too, also known as red or brown tides, and learn that some of them are actually helpful to the ecosystem.  You'll even learn about how scientists study the ocean, from the minute (tiny plankton sampling) to the mammoth (satellites that take measurements of the whole earth). We want everyone to realize that oceanography is a lot more than Flipper and Jacques Cousteau!

Just as the ocean is a treasure of hidden wonders, there is a much greater depth to oceanography than meets the eye.  In Making Waves, a cadre of scientists from all major disciplines - physics, chemistry, geology and biology - have pitched in to help unravel the mysteries of the deep.  Oceanography's multidisciplinary nature makes it a versatile and fun tool to teach science and math in school.  In our other outreach projects we have discovered something you probably already appreciate - learning about the oceans sparks students' imaginations and fuels their interest in science at large.

So keep reading up, logging on, and diving in to make some waves!

*Note:  A slightly altered version of this article appeared in the September/October 1998 issue of InterActive Teacher magazine to herald our "Making Waves" debut.