Blogs

The Vital Signs site is featured today on the Drupal homepage! The Drupal Community has responded enthusiastically with great comments and even one bug report. It's neat to see the list of 13 original custom Drupal modules Shawn has contributed to the Drupal world, all including "VS" or "Vital Signs" in the module names. Check out the Drupal homepage for a neat tech perspective on the hows and whys and ways this site ticks.

“This is one of the best looking Drupal sites I’ve ever seen!”

So who actually built this incredible, open source website anyway?

GMRI partnered with Image Works, a local tech shop specializing in website design, database development, and interactive kiosks, to oversee our tricky design and development process.....

Oh the magic of the holidays, baking cookies, listening to holiday music, visiting with close friends and family, decorating your home with invasive species… What? Yes Virginia, every holiday season people unwittingly help some very aggressive invasive plants gain access to new places and habitats.

At Dirigo Middle School in Dixfield, we found an energetic and unfocused 7th grader practically bouncing off the classroom walls. When it was announced that his class was going outside on a real science exploration with Vital Signs, he enthusiastically ran to the printer to pick up his species card and data sheet and was first to have his coat on and be ready at the door….

The forlorned look on Paul Gregory’s face (Maine Department of Environmental Protection) said it all – the worst of the worst aquatic invasives was indeed found in a small lagoon of lovely Damariscotta Lake near Jefferson, ME. That’s the bad news. The good news is that a volunteer lake monitor detected the infestation early, and so far the extent of the infestation appears limited to this lagoon.

We started a year ago with 13 teacher advisors. In a few short days we're welcoming 17 more. In a few short weeks we'll stir in 21 more. In a few short months we'll welcome their hundreds of students...and their hundreds of students' observations and projects and great ideas and... Wow!

We've been pretty good at keeping track of our Vital Signs development process on a different blogging site. This will ultimately be its new home. Until we move house, please follow our blog here: Vital Signs Hard Fun 2009.

All ready for 37 new Vital Signs teachers to use with their students this coming fall!

Laura Seaver, teacher extraordinare from Old Orchard Beach's Loranger MS, pointed us to this Simpsons episode from 1998.

Petri has started working on the look & feel of the VS website. Your sneak peek....