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August
14, 2007
NASA WEB PAGE, VIDEO GIVES
EDUCATORS AN
IN-DEPTH LOOK AT HURRICANES
Educators will have the
opportunity to bring a hurricane expert into their classroom with the
release
of a new NASA Web page and video. The Web page and video were created
from a
1.5 hour live, interactive lecture with a NASA hurricane expert and
teachers
that occurred in 2006, using Internet-2 technology.
Both the Web page and the 58-minute video can be used by teachers in
classrooms. The Web page will contain the most information, including
35
separate, 1-4 minute long, video segments that were derived from the
live
program.
The live program was recorded on the November 20, 2006, at the University of Pennsylvania
for the Franklin
Institute
Science Center
in Philadelphia,
Penn.
The Franklin Institute hosted a
professional development event for in-service teachers of science. The
event
connected twenty teachers (grades 6-8), from the Philadelphia
metropolitan
region, with Professor Jeffrey Halverson of the University of Maryland
–
Baltimore County's (UMBC) Department of Geography and
UMBC/NASA’s Joint Center
for Earth System Technology (JCET). This activity was part of an
ongoing
National Science Foundation grant inquiry by the Franklin Institute
into the
use and efficacy of emerging cyber-infrastructure —
particularly Internet2 — as
a new channel for teacher professional development, specifically within
a
science center environment.
The
Web site will be the primary tool for educators. It will contain short
pre-produced video segments, teaching segments, and Question and Answer
(Q&A) sections, all of which are packaged for use by teachers
and students.
"The Education Office is pleased to make this hurricane information
available in a visual format as a tool for teachers, students, museums
and
science centers in addressing the national science standards," said Bob
Gabrys, Chief Education Officer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt,
Md.
Broken down by key concepts, each segment is linked to national
education
standards. An index describing each segment, the media content and
linkages to
national standards is provided. The pre-produced videos give an
overview of
topics. The teaching segments include Halverson explaining and using
the
scientific visualizations to teach concepts about hurricanes. Each of
the
teaching segments contains a "factoid" at the end that gives
additional related information in the form of a graphic. The Q
& A,
generated in part by the teacher audience during the original event,
help
clarify additional questions.
The video segments and the media content, which includes
visualizations,
graphics and images used by Halverson during the presentation, are
described
and available for viewing and download on the Web page. Much like a
television
meteorologist, the images are projected on a "green screen" behind
Halverson.
The Web page is located on NASA's Hurricane Resource Web Page at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/features/hurricane_educ_links.html
The 58-minute video, which is an edited version of the whole program,
will be
running on NASA's Education Channel and educators can record the
program. It
may also be available on DVD. Teachers interested should contact Sarah
Dewitt
of NASA-TV at 301-286-0535, or Sarah.L.Dewitt@nasa.gov.
To produce the original 1.5-hour live, interactive lecture, members of NASA Goddard
Spaceflight
Center’s
Public Affairs and Education offices teamed with members of UMBC JCET
Goddard
Earth Science and Technology
Center, the
Imaging
Research Center and
New Media
Studio at UMBC. The team included a practicing scientist; a Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math education specialist; a science video
producer
and a senior media producer, developed the visually and intellectually
immersive presentation around myriad scientific visualizations produced
by NASA
Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio in support of NASA missions.
To access this Hurricane Education event Web page, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/features/hurricane_educ_links.html
To access NASA's Hurricane Resource Web Page, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hurricane
##
Contact:
Rob
Gutro
NASA
Goddard
Space Flight
Center
301-286-4044
Robert.J.Gutro@nasa.gov
This
text is derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/educ_hurricane.html
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