10-10+eINSPIRE

October 10, 2011

**__VOTING FOR INSPIRE TEAM PATCH CONTINUES__**
By the time you read this newsletter, the INSPIRE Team Patch Design Competition will be in its final round! All Online Learning Community members can vote to select the patch design that will represent the INSPIRE Online Learning Community throughout the 2011-2012 season. The final round will proceed until Noon CT on Thursday, October 13 with the winning design being unveiled during the LiveChat. We want as many community members as possible to be a part of the selection, so don't forget to log in to the OLC and make your choice!

More information on the challenge including full competition rules is available on the Discover page.

__Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award__
One of the goals of INSPIRE is to share with our community opportunities available to challenge and motivate them to reach their highest potential. The RealWorld/InWorld Design Challenge (see below) is one we actively support. Another opportunity is the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award (www.conradawards.org). This challenge enlists students to create innovative products using science, technology, and entrepreneurship to solve real-world, 21st century problems. The Conrad Foundation was created by the family of late astronaut Pete Conrad (Apollo 12), and NASA is a government partner. Two webinars will be available to explain the competition and answer questions:

Innovation Challenge Webinar for Students and Coaches/Teacher Thu, Oct 20, 2011 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDT Registration Web Link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/394893702

Innovation Challenge Webinar for Students and Coaches/Teacher Tue, Oct 25, 2011 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CDT Registration Web Link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/762838214

Interested students are encouraged to sign up on the Conrad website, attend a webinar, and contact a teacher at their school to be a coach. The INSPIRE OLC will support student teams by providing space on the Discussion board to share with other INSPIRE participants in the challenge, and to award 200 points if our students share with us their final project. We encourage our community to participate in this challenge, and look forward to your innovations!

__**This Month’s Theme **__ Earth Month __**Weekly Sub-theme**__ Oceans

__**LiveChats **__
// Date: // Tuesday, October 11, 2011 // Time: // 3:00 PM CT Sign up on the Discussion Board/Other Chat Sign Up now! // Speaker: // Erin McKinley //Topic:// Goddard Space Flight Center

// Date: // Thursday, October 13, 2011 // Time: // 8:00 PM CT Sign up on the Discussion Board/Weekly LiveChat Sign Up now! // Speaker: // Douglas Christopher Morton, Goddard Space Flight Center-GISS //Topic:// Oceans

__RealWorld/InWorld Engineering Design Challenge Sign Up Open__
Teams are now forming for the 2011-2012 RealWorld/InWorld (RW/IW) Engineering Design Challenge in the INSPIRE OLC Discussion Boards. Teams consist of two to four students. You have the choice of selecting your team members or being placed on a team by INSPIRE staff. An information chat with RW/IW challenge manager, Sharon Bowers, will be held on **Tuesday, October 18, at 6:00pm CT** for any new or returning students who want to find out about the challenge or ask questions. Parents are invited, but should attend with their student if possible to allow places for interested students. You can sign up in the OLC Discussion Board through October 18. You __must__ also sign up on the RW/IW website at [] to proceed with the competition.

__OLC Wall of Fame__
The Wall of Fame will be located inside the OLC to honor student accomplishments, including both those who have excelled in the Online Learning Community and those who have won awards at home. If you have received a national, regional, or state level award, let us know! Go to the Wall of Fame dropbox, fill out the form and submit your information in the Wall of Fame dropbox.

__Bloggers Wanted!__
Do you have something you would like to say? Or do you want to report on something going on at school, like your Science Fair or FIRST Team? Write it out and submit to the INSPIRE Blog! You will find the dropbox linked from the Discover page. 10 points will be given for any blog article used (your blog must appear under the INSPIRE Blog on the Connect page). You may submit as often as you wish.

__INSPIRE on Twitter__
If you have a Twitter account you can receive timely messages from NASA INSPIRE. Tweets are sent out notifying our group of new eINSPIRE, upcoming Live Chats, or when an important deadline looms. Search for and follow "@nasainspire."