With a wide range of topics, the 2013 Smithsonian Online Education Conference Series provides an online space for students to engage with Smithsonian experts–from historians, art educators, scientists, anthropologists and more—and make connections from textbooks to today’s world. In each online conference in the series, you will join with students and teachers to interact with curators, researchers, and educators from various disciplines at the Smithsonian. Special sessions will be dedicated to teachers in a “virtual teachers’ lounge” to highlight Smithsonian learning resources related to conference topics and offer an opportunity to discuss them with fellow teachers. And be sure to check out the Resources page for other activities and learning opportunities, including the Smithsonian Quests program, for use before, during and after the conference sessions.

January 7:  Inauguration Series: Teacher Preview Session
January 10:  Inauguration Series: Teaching the 57th U.S. Presidential Inauguration, Q&A with Smithsonian Experts
February 13:  Civil Rights Series: From Lincoln to Today
March 13:  Civil Rights Series: A Will of Their Own
April 10:  Americans All Series: From Where I Stand, A Closer Look at Understanding Immigration/Migration Experiences in the United States
May 8:  From Where I Stand: Immigration/Migration Stories in the Classroom
June 12: Understanding Astrophotography: Where Science and Art Meet
July 10: Do It Yourself Astrophotography: Applications for the Classroom and Beyond

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will be hosting the National Youth Summit on Abolition on February 11, 2013 at 12 pm EST. Experts, scholars, and activists will join together with high school students from around the country and the world in a moderated panel discussion to reflect upon the abolition movement of the 19th century and explore its lessons for ending modern-day slavery and human trafficking. The program will feature excerpts from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE documentary The Abolitionists, which weaves together the stories of five of the abolition movement’s leading figures: Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimke, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown.
Register here: http://americanhistory.si.edu/nys/abolition

Oh Freedom! Online Conference: Teaching Civil Rights through Smithsonian Collections
LIVE! Free Online Conference
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Explore Civil Rights and Smithsonian collections with curators, experts, and educators in live presentations, demonstrations, and moderated forums. Join any of the live sessions and come back any time to view the archived conference at africanamericanart.si.edu/conference.

Presented by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and featuring the Oh Freedom! website, this conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required to participate. Registration opens in December.

Water Matters in 2012:
Join us in February, March, and May, as we look at water, the most essential of subjects, from the Smithsonian's many points of view, from marine biology to American history. Explore both water quality (how we can ensure that water is safe for ourselves and for the environment) and water quantity (how we can manage crises of too much water and not enough water).

We invite you to take part with your class, or on your own as professional development. Our new Smithsonian Badges program offers recognition to students for taking on challenges and to you for facilitating them. The program as a whole addresses curriculum standards for ecological, social, and economic systems; human impact on the environment; and civic responsibility. View archives of all the 2012 events.

February 7-8: Online Conference #1
March 21: Teacher Preview Session #2
March 26-27: Online Conference #2
May 2: Teacher Preview Session #3
May 16-17: Online Conference #3
Teacher Preview Session #1 (archive now available)

You can’t believe everything you read online. How do you evaluate the reliability of a website? Join the National Air and Space Museum for an interactive discussion on critical thinking, the Internet, and primary sources. During this conference, historians from the Museum, and guests from the Department of the Navy and National History Day evaluate four major events in aerospace history using the historical method: The Apollo Moon landings, Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, UFOs, and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Check out Conspiracy Theories in Aerospace History: A Lesson in Critical Thinking for the Internet Age.

Connect online to interact with experts in the field, share ideas, and collaborate with people around the world who, like you, are committed to solving environmental challenges. Shout gives participants a framework for success, with resources and tools for exercising social responsibility while building the 21st-century skills of collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking. When students are connected through technology and empowered to build activities in their own way the learning experience extends far beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Connect with online events that feature some of the world’s leading scientists and environmental experts as well as representatives of other fields who bring diverse perspectives to the issues at hand. Sessions can be watched live in real time or in archived format in order to accommodate all time zones.

Live with the Land: November 16, 2010
Study the Land: January 26, 2011
Change the Land: March 16, 2011
Sustain the Land: May 18, 2011
Value the Land: July 13, 2011
Celebrate the Land: September 21, 2011

This multi-disciplinary two-part online conference featured live presentations, moderated forums, and demonstrations of how Smithsonian specialists use critical thinking skills to solve problems in their areas of expertise. An online exhibit hall allows participants everywhere to experience virtually the world of the Smithsonian and the wealth of its resources. Check out Smithsonian Online Education Conference: Problem Solving with Smithsonian Experts. Access session recordings, topic discussions, and related resources to explore Smithsonian research and collections related to four areas of exploration: Understanding the American Experience, Valuing World Cultures, Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe, and Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet.

The Smithsonian is addressing the global challenge of climate change with special exhibitions and ongoing research. You can participate in these investigations and deepen your understanding through the Smithsonian Online Education Conference: Climate Change. Access session recordings, topic discussions, and related resources to explore Smithsonian research and collections related to the evidence, impact, and response to climate change.

Join experts from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for the Apollo Space Program Virtual Conference. Forty years ago the Apollo Space Program met President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon, one of the most significant achievements of the 20th Century. Access session recordings, topic discussions, and related resources that present the challenges of the Apollo Program and examine the remarkable technologies that made the moon landings possible.

Have you ever wanted to meet one of the Smithsonian’s curators? Or wished you could ask a question of one of our researchers? Starting in February 2009 the Smithsonian launched a series of Online Education Conferences that will let you do just that. The Smithsonian is honoring Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial with special exhibitions and programs, and you can participate in the national celebration through the conference archive and virtual exhibits of the Smithsonian Online Education Conference: Abraham Lincoln.