Best Practices for Teaching and Learning integrates the wealth of institutional knowledge with current educational research. This resource offers research-based strategies for helping students learn in all grade levels and content areas. Through collaboration and contributions from educators across the county, this resource will become an essential tool to help students reach their full academic potential.

Scientists use physical and chemical properties to describe and classify matter. Things like color, shape or texture can tell us about the matter and how that matter behaves. Well, nanotechnology isn't just exciting because it's small but also because of the new properties that emerge. From airplanes to baseball bats, nanomaterials offer a variety of desirable properties such as strength and conductivity. Graphene and Carbon Nanotubes are wonder materials both made entirely from carbon atoms. Innovation Workshop explores their structure of matter and how engineers can build with these new materials.

For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork

With ever increasing cultural diversity in our schools, how do educators establish and maintain effective relationships with those whose experiences and beliefs differ from their own? Dr. Darryle Craig, program manager for Fairfax County Public Schools College Success Program, presents her ideas and strategies for becoming "Culturally Competent.” According to Dr. Craig—cultural competency is “the ability to interact effectively with people from different cultures.” During the program, Dr. Craig defines and examines the importance of cultural competence. Using first-hand examples and questions from the studio audience, Craig advises how to use this important skill to help close the achievement gap, and promote best practices that create success among diverse learners.

Fractured Union is a 60-minute video that examines the complex and often tumultuous relationships between our founding fathers. Historical interpreters — portraying Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Mason — offer students, in grades 9-12, a close look at the presidents engaged in heated discussions. Commentaries from leading historians show why the first presidents’ perspectives led to heated debates. Our guest historians include: Stuart Leibiger — Associate Professor and Department of History Chairman at La Salle University and author of Founding Friendship: George Washington, James Madison, and the Creation of the American Republic; Peter Henriques — Associate Professor Emeritus of History at George Mason University and a member of the editorial board for the George Washington Papers and of the Mount Vernon committee of George Washington Scholars; Ed Lengal — Associate Professor of History at the University of Virginia and Associate Editor of “The Papers of George Washington”; and William Ferraro — Assistant Editor of “The Papers of George Washington”.

Innovation Workshop Student Reporter shows a sneak peek into the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s NanoFab where scientists work in a clean room to build highly structured circuits. Nanoelectronics is how we use nanotechnology to build electronics with nanoscale features. And it’s a field of study where researchers are still creating new methods to build.

For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork

Innovation Workshop Student Reporter Kurien attended the TechConnect World Innovation conference in Washington DC to see how business is driving innovation. Nanotechnology has the potential to impact all areas of our lives.

For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork

History comes alive as the people of America's past come to life to tell their powerful and unique stories. This series of historical snapshots targets significant events in United States history.

Video segments include Jamestown, Explorers, First Americans, Geography of Virginia, Voices of the Revolution, and the Civil War

These video snippets are compatible with mobile technology and can be viewed on many smart phones, Blackberry, Droid, iPhone, IPod, and iPad devices.

Nanotechnology is an innovation with big potential even though it’s small in size. So small, it can’t be seen with the human eye or even your school’s microscope. In 1981, the Scanning Tunneling Microscope was invented and launched the age of nanotechnology. It can see individual atoms and even move them to create advanced nanostructures. Through an interview with Joseph Stroscio at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, students will learn about moving atoms, electron clouds and how temperature effects matter.

For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork

#SugarChallenge! One of the cool things about nanotechnology is that there’s more surface area and more places for chemical reactions. It’s powdered sugar versus granulated sugar to experience the difference in surface area.

For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork

“You don’t ever expect to be hauled out of your house, marched into a gas chamber, and be choked to death,” says Irene Fogel Weiss.

Yet, that is exactly what happened to most of her family in the summer of 1944. Irene was thirteen at the time, and by several twists of fate, she survived.

“There is a life force in all of us that you just want to live another day,” she says. “Let’s survive this. We have to survive this.” Irene shares her story of survival with hundreds of high school students every year. In this program, we listen in on her presentation to Woodson High School students as she shares a personal account of the events that lead to the Holocaust. She discusses her life as a child in Hungary, the changes she witnessed as the Nazis took power, and all manner of degradations imposed on the Jewish people.