 |
      
    
 
  
|
|
Live from the Hubble Space Telescope
UPDATE # 3C
PART 1: The Online resources
PART 2: Other general tips for successful electronic
field trips
PART 3: The ball is in your court now
The Online Resources
Passport to Knowledge provides educators and students with access to
online resources via electronic mail, the world wide web, and the Please
Copy This Disk service. Most individuals receiving this file are already
a member of the two mailing lists, updates-hst and discuss-hst.
Updates-hst serves to inform participants of late breaking news, announcements,
and field journals of key scientists and researchers, while discuss-hst
provides a conference or discussion forum for the purpose of exchanging
ideas about integrating this project into the classroom.
To join either list, send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov
Leave the subject blank In the message body, write: subscribe updates-hst
Add a line for discuss-hst: subscribe discuss-hst
A wide array of on-line resources are presently available at our web
site, including Project background and welcome files, Video broadcast
schedule, Biographical information about our key Hubble scientists and
researchers, Photo Gallery, Featured Events, Teachers' Lounge, and Kids'
Corner.
Visit Live From the Hubble Space Telescope at this URL:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/livefrom/hst.html
Those teachers interested in collaborating with other members of this
project are encouraged to register on-line in the Teachers' Lounge database.
You might even send off a note to one of your fellow project members by
using the web email capability of your web browser!
For those educators just joining the project, visit the archive of the
discuss-hst forum and catch up on the interaction that has taken place
since December, 1995.
Weekly WEB CHATS are now scheduled for each Tuesday at 3-4PM Pacific
time in the web chat area (select Teachers' Lounge). Please join Marc
Siegel and Jan Wee as we discuss the Live From the Hubble Space Telescope
project, answer your questions and respond to your concerns. (Other times
to have students interact with Sapce Telescope folks will be arranged
and announced soon.)
For those educators with video conferencing capability, a schedule of
pre-arranged opportunities for live video conferences with key Hubble
guests and members of the Passport team will be posted.
For educators who LACK access to the on-line resources, a service is
provided by B & R Samizdat express called "Please Copy This Disk." Richard
Seltzer, owner, provides up-to-date IBM or Mac diskette copies of our
on-line resources. For more information about this service, call our number
at 908-273-4108 and access mailbox 6.
- Plan how you will schedule time to download email, use the computer
lab or Internet-connected computer. Plan how you will access the televised
programming. For example, do you have access to satellite feeds or cable
TV? Will you need to ask a local university, hospital, parent, etc.
for help accessing the programming. Be PRO-ACTIVE! Remember suggestions
offered in Step One.
- Discuss with your grade-level unit or team how other teachers might
be involved. Be prepared to answer the question, "Where does this experience
tie to the existing curriculum?" Are there opportunities for related
interdisciplinary projects? How might you make this project cross-curricular....
are there opportunities to integrate language arts, social studies,
math, technology education, etc.?
Activities 1A through 1C provide many opportunities to include other
grade level team members!
- Will you need a source of funding for related local field trips, special
guest speakers, special events? How might you involve parents and the
community in this learning experience?
Inviting a special guest speaker, such as a local astronomer, member
of the local astronomy club, planetarium educator, or weatherman can
make your Live From the Hubble Space Telescope experience more relevant.
- Plan the expected student outcomes ahead of time. Will your students
work in small groups to prepare a multimedia presentation, an oral report,
use a desktop publishing program to share their experiences schoolwide
through a newsletter, write daily personal journals, prepare bulletin
board displays, or create a model? Plan ahead to allow students to share
their work with younger students, especially Activities 1 A through
1-C.
- Do you need to sharpen your own technology skills to help the students
achieve these outcomes? Are you comfortable with your school's computer
network, Internet connection, software programs that you will use to
create student produced projects? Do you know how to work with graphics,
on-line resources, use a web browser (if available). If you have questions,
be sure to check with your local building/district level expert. If
you still have questions, contact Jan Wee, Education Outreach Coordinator,
at 608-786-2767 (daytime, 8am-4pm Central), fax: 608-786-1819, or email
at janw@quest.arc.nasa.gov or wee_j@mail.uwlax.edu
- Organize students into collaborative learning groups with unique responsibilities
and have them teach each other or younger students what they learn during
the experience. Thinking about effective groupings now will help you
prepare for the Opening Activities!
- Start out with realistic expectations for both yourself and your students.
Be selective, don't feel that you have to do *every* activity, download
every e-mail message, etc. Pick and choose based on your students' needs
and the time you have available. With each electronic field trip, expand
your level of involvement to fit your comfort level. You may not be
able to partake in Web Video Conferencing now, but you might want to
think about and research the required components of this leading edge
Internet application.
- Publicize your involvement. Write articles for the local and school
newspaper. Write a summaries of your experiences and share them with
your principal, board of education, and parents, etc. Invite parents,
administration, and school board members to participate and help support
your extra efforts to integrate technology. Passport to Knowledge will
provide a Press Release Kit in the upcoming weeks to assist your efforts!
- Be enthusiastic, positive, and flexible. Be prepared to accept less
than a 100% successful experience; there will be some disappointments
along the way. Keep the POSITIVES in mind and your expectations realistic.
Look at new experiences as opportunity for your own professional growth,
not just as opportunities for student growth! While your students are
gaining new knowledge, so are you!
- Think about how you will evaluate student learning and provide input
to the Passport team. Offer constructive criticism. Keep a log of your
involvement detailing what worked and what did not. Take photos/video
of students at work, special events, etc.
Fill out evaluation forms and return them and be sure your students do also.
You will find Evaluation Forms included in your print copy of the Teachers'
Kit and will also be made available on-line in the upcoming months. Providing
input empowers both the educator and the project planners!
I hope that this information has provided you with a starting point
for your "ACTION PLANS" to implement Live From the Hubble Space Telescope
into your own unique learning environment.
In the upcoming weeks, more integration ideas and resources will be
shared via our updates-hst and discuss-hst mail lists.
Please share any input you have regarding this file by posting your
comments to discuss-hst. Send your comments to: discuss-hst@quest.arc.nasa.gov
Sincerely,
Jan Wee, Education Outreach Coordinator
Passport to Knowledge
|
|
