1. Junior & Senior Division
Austin Energy Regional Science Festival February 18 – 21, 2015 Palmer Events Center
Teacher Orientation:
Junior & Senior Division
Please make sure you pick up a Science Fest Totebag and Packet of Information.
These materials and this presentation may be downloaded from our website at sciencefest.austinenergy.com.
Feel free to take materials for your fellow teachers who are unable to attend this or a future orientation. A second orientation will be held on September 19—same time—at the Murchison Middle School cafeteria at 3700 North Hills Drive.
We will also hold a Project Display workshop at the Austin Energy headquarters on Saturday, September 29 from 10:30-noon.
These orientations and the Project Display workshop will count toward your required Continuing Professional Education credits.

2. AERSF 2014 Statistics Jr / Sr Division
Projects:                       637
Students:                      725
Schools:                       53
School Districts:           21
Judges &Volunteers:      over 500 

3. Judges & Volunteers
We ask that you send
1 Judge and 1 Volunteer
for every 10 projects
from your school

4. What is new for AERSF 2015? New: School Registration – ONLINE system
Easier navigation
Easier review process (no more limbo projects)
More tools for fair directors
Media Release & State Media Release done online, No more re-registering for state!
Payments can now be done online
Students must log in and confirm that they are attending the fair after your school has finalized
Not new but worth mentioning:
Parking will be free of charge to all participants at the Palmer Parking Garage.
Team Projects are no longer judged separately from individual projects, they are judged in their respective categories.
No project in which the student has used potato guns, compressed air canister, explosive projectile devices or firearms will be allowed in the Jr. Division.

5. What’s New for 2015 Hazardous Materials Activities & Devices
ISEF CHANGES
Hazardous Materials Activities & Devices
• Projects involving consumable alcohol (Ethanol) can’t be done at home.
Form changes
Research Plan- Now includes “Rationale” section

6. Schedule Highlights
Deadline to finalize School Registration Thursday, January 29, 2015, 5:00 p.m.
Science Festival – Palmer Events Center
Wednesday-Thursday, February 18-21, 2015

7. Registration Deadline & Fees
Deadline for all registrations:
Thursday January 29, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
ON TIME LATE (after 5pm, Feb. 3)
Student Project Fee $ $25
School Registration Fee $ $75
No late entry for Scientist Training Students

8. The Flow of Things
School Fair Director registers school online before students start their projects at
Director logs in and updates teacher contact list, this will give teachers online accounts to access projects
Director creates School SRC online
Each and every student will setup their own individual online account before they start their projects.
The system will guide the students start to finish through their projects.
When finished school will select their winners online.
School will have access to all registration and student information and can export data in Excel Format for their own use.

9. Teacher Checklist Highlights
Register your school early!
Update your contacts!
Form an Institutional Review Board (IRB/SRC) at your school. (More on this later!)
Have students begin registration before they start their projects! The system will guide them!

10. Checklist Highlights: After your school fair
Select your winners online and finalize school registration.
Pay your registration fees.

11. School Review Process
Projects that deal with the following will require a School Committee to give prior approval and are more complicated to complete properly:
Human Participants Studies (including surveys, questionnaires, etc)
Vertebrate Animal Studies
Biological Agents (microorganisms, culturing etc..)
Vertebrate (including Human)Tissues, body fluids, blood etc…

12. Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Approves projects that involve Human subjects
prior to start of experimentation
Membership:
Educator
School Administrator
Someone knowledgeable about evaluating risk (MD, PA, RN, psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed social worker)

13. Scientific Review Committee (SRC)
Reviews some projects before experimentation
Vertebrate animals
Hazardous biological agents
Drug Enforcement Agency controlled substances
Required SRC Members (at least 1 of each)
biomedical scientist (Ph.D., M.D., D.V.M., D.D.S., D.O.)
educator
one other member

14. Requirements for Your School’s Review Committee
Minimum Required 3 Members for a combined SRC/IRB
SRC Chair – has degree or equivalent experience and knowledge in the biological sciences. (MS, MD, PhD, DDS etc. preferred)
Human Risk Evaluator - knowledgeable about evaluating risk (MD, RN, BSN, licensed social worker, psychiatrist, psychologist, school counselor)
School Administrator – (Principal, Vice-Principal, School Counselor, School Director, etc.)

15. Adult Sponsor/Teacher
Has solid background in science
Maintains close contact with student during the course of the project
Oversees that project is within rules and guidelines
Responsible for guiding student with health and safety concerns and managing their project
Completes Form 1 – Checklist for Adult Sponsor

16. Qualified Scientist
Required only for some projects involving human subjects, vertebrate animals, hazardous biological agents, or DEA-controlled substances
Must have advanced degree or expertise related to student’s area of research and be familiar with rules governing that area of research
May reside in another state (in that case, a Designated Supervisor must oversee student’s experimentation)
May be the same person as the Adult Sponsor
Completes Form 2 – QS Form

17. Designated Supervisor
Supervises project experimentation when Qualified Scientist cannot directly supervise
Need not have advanced degree, but must be thoroughly familiar with student’s project and trained in the area of research
“Animal Care Supervisor” for animal projects
Supervises projects using Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices

18. Intel ISEF Forms
Forms that ALL students must complete(managed by online system):
Form 1 – Checklist for Adult Sponsor
Form 1A – Student Checklist
Form 1B – Approval Form
A Research Plan
An Abstract
Media Release

19. Human Participant Studies
Involve living individuals with:
Intervention or interaction with subjects or manipulation of their environment including surveys
and/or
Collection of identifiable private information
Not Human Subjects studies
Student Invention testing using him/herself only and does not pose a health or safety hazard
Review of publicly available data
Observations at unrestricted public settings

20. Human Participant Studies
Require IRB review and approval of research plan before experimentation begins
IRB evaluates and determines
Risk level
Requirement for informed consent
Requirement for Qualified Scientist

21. Activities that Might be more than minimal risk (Risk level to be determined by the school’s IRB)
Exercise
Ingestion, Smelling, or Tasting
Emotional stress – survey, stimuli
Invasion of privacy
Breech of confidentiality

22. Restrictions - propulsion, hazardous materials or activities
Jr. Division students may NOT conduct a project that includes:
• the students use of a firearm, air pressure canister device, or potato gun;
• chemicals hazardous to student health, or radioactive materials;
• any other activity or substances that present a danger to the student.
Sr. Division students who design experiments that include:
• discharging a firearm or air pressure canister devices;
• any other activity or substance that presents a danger to the student
…must carefully follow the Intel ISEF Rules and Guidelines.

23. ISEF SRC 101 PowerPoint
We highly recommend you view the presentation made available by the ISEF SRC.
Share with your IRB and SRC members, teachers, parents, and others interested in finding out more about ISEF Rules.

24. Scientist Training Program
For special populations of students
Available in all divisions for individual or team projects
The basic rules and guidelines are the same, but the paperwork requirements may differ
Notify us if student has specific requirements
Students may not advance to the state fair

25. Special Awards & Sweepstakes
Austin Energy Best of Fair
Austin Energy Best Use of Electricity
Austin Energy Best Use of Renewable Energy
Austin Energy Science, Math & Engineering Scholarship
Austin Energy Sweepstakes Award and Scholarship
Broadcom Masters

26. SXSWedu – 6,000 educators, administrators, entrepreneurs & policy leaders
2013 – Future Plans College & Career Fair – Re-imagined college & career event for 1,000 Central Texas students
2014 – Becomes the Education Expo, “a celebration of Central Texas’ hunger and passion for lifelong learning, from cradle to career and beyond.”
Brought 4,500+ Attendees

27. SXSWedu will be inviting Top 3 winners from each of 17 categories in Middle & High School competitions
2014 – Showcased 32 winning projects at the Education Expo – FANTASTIC RESPONSE
EdExpo is held Tuesday, March 10, 2-8pm, Austin Convention Center
Sponsoring teachers of invited projects will be provided gratis registration to SXSWedu!

28. 2015 Sponsors

29. More Special Awards American Meteorological Society
American Psychological Assn.
Association for Women Geoscientists
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association
Intel Excellence in Computer Science Service
MU Alpha Theta
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Society of Professional Engineers
Society of Women Engineers
Synopsys Intel ISEF Travel Award
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
Yale Science and Engineering Association

30. Fair Dates Summary February 18-21, 2015
Austin Energy Regional Science Festival
Austin Texas
March March 3 - 6, 2015
SXSWedu
Austin, TX
March , 2015
Texas Science and Engineering Fair
San Antonio Texas
May 7- May 11, 2015
ISWEEEP
Houston Texas
May 10-15, 2015
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
Pittsburgh, PA

31. Resources—Web
Austin Energy Regional Science Festival
Intel ISEF – rules, info, etc.
Austin Science Education Foundation– Non-profit created to help support Science Fest
Science Fair support – ideas and “how to” for projects

32. Resources—Real People!
Russell Cowen, Regional Fair Director
(512)
Advisory Committee Members:
Barbara tenBrink
Michele Mann
SueAnn Decuir
Lisa Rogers
Ingrid Weigand

33. Requirements for an Online/Paperless system.
Students and teachers must have Internet Access
All paperwork required for uploads MUST be in PDF format!
Browser and PC must be able to view PDF files! Java Script must be enabled. Pop-ups must be allowed.
Every user must have a unique address.
Students with no can create an account with us.
Students whose parents have no computer access can sign the Media Release and Approval Form and have it uploaded by the teacher.

34. Advantages of New System
No more Forms!!
Save a whole rain forest every year
Save schools & students the headache of choosing, signing and filling out forms
Ability to use the registration data for school fairs
Teachers have access to student project data to aid the student
Step by step process, easier to follow, easier to understand
Seamless advancement to higher fairs with less errors
Integrated guidelines for students and SRC reviewers
More difficult for students to make paperwork mistakes

44. Reviewing a Project

45. Reviewing a Project

49. Student Screen