10-17+eINSPIRE

October 17, 2011

__NEW INSPIRE TEAM PATCH - Winner!__
Congratulations to Kieran Taylor, a freshman from Rensselaer, New York, for his winning entry in the INSPIRE Team Patch Challenge. His patch uses stars to spell out 'inspire' with a research rocket taking the place of the second 'i'. Surrounding the patch is the binary code for 2011-2012 and INSPIRE. You can see the patch below.

The patch design will be featured on the OLC, INSPIRE promotional material, and emails. Congratulations, Kieran, and thanks to all students who submitted a design!

__Virtual Visits - Learn About New Careers__
An addition to our short activities will be a recurring feature called 'Virtual Visits.' These activities utilize short videos of NASA engineers, scientists, and managers who discuss their backgrounds and careers. The videos were produced by the NASA Digital Learning Network, and can be found at []

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

__**LiveChats **__
// Date: // Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 // Time: // 6 p.m. CT Sign up on the Discussion Board/Other Chat Sign Up now! // Speaker: // Sharon Bowers, Hampton, Va. //Topic:// RealWorld/InWorld Design Challenge Information Chat

// Date: // Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011 // Time: // 8 p.m. CT Sign up on the Discussion Board/Weekly LiveChat Sign Up now! // Speaker: // Steve Zornetzer, Ames Research Center, Calif. //Topic:// NASA Going Green

__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, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. 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 Oct. 18. You __must__ also sign up on the RW/IW website at [] to proceed with the competition.

__Conrad Spirit of Innovation Award__
One of the goals of INSPIRE is to share with our community opportunities available to challenge and motivate you to reach your highest potential. The RealWorld/InWorld Design Challenge (see above) is one such activity 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 Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. CT Registration Web Link: []

Innovation Challenge Webinar for Students and Coaches/Teacher Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. CT Registration Web Link: []

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

__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 LiveChats, or when an important deadline looms. Search for and follow "@nasainspire."