Biographical Information

Mike is a PhD student majoring in Water Resources at Iowa State. As part of his research assistantship, Mike has been co-developing with Eugene Takle a course on the Internet titled, Global Change: A course on our environment in transition. The course was recently given a 1996 Iowa Educational Technology Showcase Award for outstanding use of the Internet in education. Currently, Mike is working on implementing student managed portfolios into the global change course. Before coming to Iowa State, Mike was a sixth grade teacher of Math and Science at Panorama Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he was involved in field testing the Biological Science Curriculum Studies (BSCS) Science and Technology: Investigating Human Dimensions new middle school science curriculum. In addition, Mike was a staff development instructor on the use of technology in the classroom and recognized by his peers as 1994 Teacher of the Year for his school. Mike's PhD research involves a micrometeorological investigation on surface energy fluxes for wetlands. The focus of his research is, "The Importance of Heat Storage in the Surface Energy Balance for a Constructed Wetland."

Office: 3010 Agronomy Hall
Telephone: (515) 294-4758
Fax: (515) 294-2619
E-mail: mtaber@iastate.edu

Education

• B.A., Geology, The Colorado College, 1986
• M.A.T., Secondary Earth Science Teaching, The Colorado College, 1987
• Ph.D. Candidate, Water Resources, Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, planned graduation December 1998.

Awards

• Global Change Scholarship to attend the 7th Symposium on Global Change at the 76th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, January 28-February 2 1996, Atlanta, GA.
• 1996 Iowa Educational Technology Award for Global Change, a Web based course for the Department of Atmospheric Science.
• 1994 Teacher of the Year, Panorama Middle School, Harrison SD 2, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Employment

• 1994-present. Research Assistant for Global Change, Department of Geological and Atmospheric Science.
• 1997-present. Administrative Assistant for Development of Educational, Web-based materials, International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics.
• June 1997. Instructor on HTML and instructional design for the joint UNIDATA/COMET 1997 Workshop on Using Instructional Technologies and Satellite Data for College-level Education in the Atmospheric and Earth Sciences. Co-Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the UCAR COMET program, Boulder, Colorado, 22-27 June 1997.
• Co-Chair for First Annual Symposium on Methods and Tools for Improving Post-Secondary Education Network Enhanced Learning: Vision 2000. Iowa State University, 24 February 1996.
• August 1990-July 1994. Sixth grade science and math teacher, Panorama Middle School, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• August 1988-July 1990. High school physics, biology, and physical science teacher, Hanks High School, El Paso, Texas.

Professional Memberships

• American Water Resource Association
• Iowa Groundwater Association

Current Research and Related Activities

• Dissertation research: Evaluating heat storage in the energy budget for a wetland in Central Iowa.
• Takle, E.S. and M.R. Taber, 1998. Translation of Global Change Course Materials into Spanish and Portuguese. A proposal funded by the Global Environmental Facility, the International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics, and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research.
• Takle, E.S., R.C. Seagrave, and M.R. Taber, principal investigators, 1995: A global-change course on the Internet for graduating seniors. A funded proposal for the Internationalization/Globalization Initiative offered by the Council on International Programs, Office of the Provost, Iowa State University.

Publications, Seminars, and Conference Presentations Since 1994

• Taber, M.R., and E. S. Takle, 1995: Global change course project - World Wide Web and ABC. Workshop on Networks for Use in Math and Physical Science (NUMAPS). Sponsored by the International Institute for Theoretical and Applied Physics. January, 1995.
• Taber, M.R., and D. Fils, 1995: Internet teaching in the physical sciences. Iowa State University Department of Geologic and Atmospheric Sciences Seminar. February, 1995.
• Taber, M.R., and E.S. Takle, 1995: Classroom teaching with the World Wide Web. Iowa General Chemistry Network (IGCN) Workshop. June, 1995.
• Yarger, D. N., E.S. Takle, and M.R. Taber, 1995: Workshop on Cu-SeeMe and Collage: tools for bridging the distance. Bridging the Distance, Distance Education Conference and Professional Development Seminar. July, 1995.
• Yarger, D. N., G. S. Takle, M. R. Taber, and D. R. Fils, 1995: Distance learning on a tight budget. Proceedings Bridging the Distance, Distance Education Conference and Professional Development Seminar, July 6 - 9, Iowa State University. Also, An Electronic Dialog from participants who attended the workshop on The Bridges: Cu-SeeMe and Collage. Two useful and inexpensive technologies to help achieve distance learning on a tight budget.
• Takle, E. S., and M. R. Taber, 1995: Teaching on the Internet: Experience with a Course on Global Change. Ag Bioethics Forum, Vol. 7, No. 1, 6-7.
• Yarger, D. N., J.P. Boysen, M. R. Taber, 1996: Use of computer technology to restructure an introductory meteorology course. Submitted for presentation at the Fifth Symposium on Education, Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, January 28-February 2, Atlanta, GA. Paper J1.4
• Takle, E. S., and M. R. Taber, 1996: Use of the Internet as a platform for a university course on global change. Submitted for presentation at the Fifth Symposium on Education, Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, January 28-February 2, Atlanta, GA. Paper J1.11
• Fils, D., and M.R. Taber, 1996: Technology on the horizon. Presented at the First Annual Symposium on Methods and Tools for Improving Post-Secondary Education Network Enhanced Learning: Vision 2000. Iowa State University, 24 February 1996.
• Takle, E. S. and M. R. Taber, 1996: Global Warming: Evaluating Alternatives. A learning module published by Peregrin Publishers.
• Takle, E. S., and M. R. Taber, 1996: Use of the Web as a Tool for Interactive Learning. Presented at the World Conference of the Web Society, October 16-19, 1996, San Francisco, California.
• Taber, M. R., E. S. Takle, and Douglas Fils, 1997: Use of the Internet for Student Self-Managed Learning. Submitted to the Sixth Symposium on Education, Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, February 2-7 1997, Long Beach, California. Presentation is now available.
• Taber, M. R., E. S. Takle, and Douglas Fils, 1997: (Presentation slides) Presentation for models of effective distance teaching. A satellite program presentation for Faculty Development in Distance Education, March 11, 1997, Iowa State University. distance teaching. A satellite program presentation for Faculty Development in Distance Education, March 11, 1997, Iowa State University
• Taber, M. R., D. Yarger, P. Boysen, E. S. Takle, D. R. Fils, 1997. Technology-Based Teaching. PAGE focus group presentation, Boulder Colorado, 17 October 1997.
• Taber, Michael R., E. S. Takle, and D. Fils, 1998. Global Change Course Project. Presented at NUMAPS 1998 workshop at the International Institute for Theoretical and Applied Physics. 16 June 1998.
• Takle, Eugene S., M. R. Taber, and D. Fils, 1998. Interactive Courseware on Global Change Issues for Universities and Policymakers. 2nd International Conference on Climate and Water, Espoo, Finland, 17 - 20 August 1998.
• Yarger, D. N., W. A. Gallus, Jr., M. R. Taber, J. P. Boysen, and P. Castleberry, 1998. A Forecasting Activity for a Large Introductory Meteorology Course. Paper submitted to Bulletin of American Meteorological Society. January 1998.

Scientific research

• Taber, M. R. and J. Prueger, 1997. Evapotranspiration from a Constructed Wetland. Paper number C-0081 to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Water Resources Association, October 22, 1997, Long Beach, California.
• Taber, M. R., 1997. Surface Energy Fluxes from a Constructed Wetland. Water Resources Seminar, Iowa State University. 17 November 1997.
• Taber, M.R., J. Prueger, and E.S. Takle, 1998. Evaluating Heat Storage in the Surface Energy Budget for a Wetland in Central Iowa. Geological and Atmospheric Sciences Departmental Seminar. 3 March 1998.
• Taber, M. R., E. S. Takle, 1998. Pressure and Wind Perturbations Around Shelterbelts: Model and Measurement Comparison. Water Resources Seminar, Iowa State University. 26 November 1998.