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Bringing Students and Satellites
Together
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10.07.04
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Forty K-12 educators from the United
States and France participated in an 11-day NASA-sponsored
workshop this past summer aimed at bringing real-life science
experiences into the classroom.
Image to right: Various NASA programs
collaborated on a hands-on workshop for educators. Credit:
NASA
The workshop, hosted by Colorado State
University in Fort Collins, Colo., was for instructors and
administrators who will work with NASA's CALIPSO, CloudSat and
Aura satellite missions to involve students in reporting
atmospheric data such as cloud observations and aerosol and
ozone concentrations through GLOBE.
Sponsored by NASA,
GLOBE is a student observation campaign and science education
program that involves participants from more than 100
countries. Students record their measurements of the
atmosphere, land, water, and plant and animal life, and submit
their observations to the GLOBE Web site for use by students
and scientists around the world.
CALIPSO is a joint
mission between NASA and the French Space Agency, which
sponsored two teachers to attend the workshop from France.
CloudSat also has an international partner --
Canada.
"This international aspect of the workshop has
created friendships and encouraged future worldwide
collaborations among educators and their students," said
Dianne Robinson, CALIPSO outreach director.
CALIPSO and
CloudSat will join Aura, launched earlier this year, in a
group of satellites known as the "Afternoon Constellation," or
"A-Train." By flying in close proximity, satellites in the
A-Train are combining to provide detailed observations of the
Earth system, helping to answer questions about the potential
impacts of global warming and other phenomena.
Workshop participants learned how to
collect data with a sun photometer, entered cloud observations
at the GLOBE Web site, developed problem-based learning
modules, gathered environmental data at Rocky Mountain
National Park, and interacted with NASA
scientists.
Image to left:
Educators from the U.S. and France participated in an 11-day
workshop this past summer. Credit: NASA
"This
workshop will have a huge impact in my classroom," said Betty
Strong, science teacher at the Navajo Preparatory School in
Farmington, N.M. "I gained a new understanding and
appreciation for Earth science as a whole
system."
During the fall teachers will share lessons
they developed for the workshop at the CALIPSO Web site, will
lead regional workshops in their home states, and will collect
environmental data with their students.
Next summer's
workshop will take place at Hampton University in Hampton,
Va., home of the CALIPSO outreach team, which developed the
workshop along with the CloudSat outreach program at Colorado
State, and with contributions from Aura and GLOBE.
Applications will be available soon at the CALIPSO and
CloudSat outreach Web sites.
CALIPSO Web site
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View site
CloudSat Web site
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View site
Related
Resources
GLOBE
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View site
Aura
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View site
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