NASA Education Express -- March 22, 2012
Posted on Mar 22, 2012 02:05:18 PM | Mindi Capp | 1 Comments    |
Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

Virtual Professional Development: Rockets to Racecars
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Dates: Session begins on March 26, 2012

NASA's Digital Learning Network Presents "STEM Through the Eyes, Ears and Heart of a Woman" Webcast Series
Audience: 5-12 Educators and Students

Event Date: March 28, 2012

Educator Resource Showcase Webcast -- NASA Educators Online Network
Audience: K-12 Educators
Event Date: March 28, 2012

Zero Robotics Autonomous Space Capture Challenge
Audience: Anyone 13 years or older who meets eligibility requirements

Contest Begins: March 28, 2012
Registration Deadline: April 20, 2012

Mathematical Models: Black Holes Web Seminar
Audience: 9-12 and Informal Educators
Event Date: March 29, 2012

NASA at the 2012 NSTA Conference
Audience: All Educators
Conference Dates: March 29 - April 1, 2012

Visit NASA Explorer Schools at the 2012 NSTA Conference
Audience: 4-12 Educators
Event Dates: March 29 - April 1, 2012

Electronic Professional Development Network Courses
Audience: K-12 Educators
Technology Integration -- Engage and Educate: Podcasts in the Classroom: May 30 - July 3, 2012
Technology Integration -- Vodcasts: July 11 - Aug. 14, 2012

Mars Student Imaging Project
Audience: 5-12 Educators

________________________________________________________________

Virtual Professional Development: Rockets to Racecars

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the foundation for a successful career in racing, as well as NASA! Like driving a racecar or launching a rocket, mastering these subjects takes some practice. Bring the excitement of racing and the thrill of launching into your classroom. Take a pit stop to learn about the "Rockets 2 Racecars" educational materials and register for free professional development. Learn how to get students “revved up” about STEM.

If you’re interested in receiving professional development activity units applicable toward license renewal, register and complete the four workshops in the series to accumulate five workshop hours.

This workshop series begins on March 26, 2012.

For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/628503main_R2R%20Teacher%20PD%20.pdf.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Karen Ricks at Karen.Ricks@nasa.gov.

________________________________________________________________

NASA's Digital Learning Network Presents "STEM Through the Eyes, Ears and Heart of a Woman" Webcast Series

In honor of Women's History Month, NASA's Digital Learning Network is pleased to invite you and your students to take a look into the intriguing world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics from a woman's perspective.

This free webcast series titled "STEM Through the Eyes, Ears and Heart of a Woman" will feature a female NASA STEM professional, along with a high school senior from NASA's Women in STEM High School Aerospace project, also known as WISH.

This hourlong webcast will take place each Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern during the month of March.

For more information and to watch the webcasts online, visit the DLN website at http://dln.nasa.gov.

Inquiries about this webcast series should be directed to Caryn Long at Caryn.Long@nasa.gov.

________________________________________________________________

Educator Resource Showcase Webcast -- NASA Educators Online Network

Join presenter John Weis from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for an hourlong free webcast on March 28, 2012, at 3 p.m. EDT. This webcast will provide an overview of the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON, learning community. Learn how this worldwide community of educators, scientists and engineers can provide you with support, training and resources. This session will emphasize the steps to join and how to make the community work for you.

For more information and to view the webcast, visit
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/index.html.

To learn more about NEON, visit
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/NEON.html.

If you have any questions about the webcast, please email them to Renee Elias at
RElias@lcjvs.net .

________________________________________________________________

Zero Robotics Autonomous Space Capture Challenge

NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT's Space Systems Laboratory are offering the opportunity to design experiments that will be tested in space aboard the International Space Station.

The Zero Robotics Autonomous Space Capture Challenge is a programming tournament that uses bowling ball-sized spherical satellites aboard the International Space Station. These Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES, are used inside the space station to test maneuvers for spacecraft performing autonomous rendezvous and docking.

This challenge opens the SPHERES satellite research platform to the general public for the first time. The goal of the tournament is to write a computer program to control a satellite to dock with a space object that may be tumbling through space. The best algorithm submissions from simulation competitions will be tested in microgravity on real SPHERES satellites aboard the International Space Station.

The Zero Robotics Autonomous Space Capture Challenge is open to anyone 13 years of age or older who meets eligibility requirements. Participants may work individually or in teams of up to 50 members to write their own algorithms to fly the satellites in the station.

The contest runs March 28 - April 25, 2012. Registration is now open and teams must join the competition by April 20, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.zerorobotics.org/web/zero-robotics/tournament-details?tournamentId=6.


The Zero Robotics project, a component of the ISS National Laboratory Education Project, or NLEP, is facilitated by MIT, TopCoder and Aurora Flight Sciences, continues the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, focus of the SPHERES facility. The Zero Robotics Autonomous Space Capture Challenge expands on a pilot program performed in 2009, 2010 and 2011. By making the benefits and resources of the space program tangible to high school and college students, Zero Robotics is designed to inspire future scientists and engineers. Students will have the opportunity to push their limits and develop skills in STEM. This program builds critical engineering skills, such as problem solving, design thought process, operations training, team work and presentation skills.

MIT's Space Systems Laboratory started operations of SPHERES in 2006 to provide DARPA, NASA and other researchers with a long-term test bed for validating technologies critical to the operation of future satellites, docking missions and satellite autonomous maneuvers. The satellites provide opportunities to test a wide range of hardware and software at an affordable cost.

For additional information about NASA and MIT's Zero Robotics program, visit www.zerorobotics.org.

For additional information about DARPA, visit http://www.darpa.mil.

Please email any questions about this opportunity to zerorobotics@mit.edu.

________________________________________________________________

Mathematical Models: Black Holes Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools and Learning Environments and Research Network, or LE&RN, projects are hosting a 60-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on March 29, 2012, at 8 p.m. EDT. Misconceptions about black holes will be addressed, as participants learn background information about the structure and behavior of one of the universe’s most mysterious and spectacular bodies. Learn how to derive the equations used in the Black Hole Math problem set for students to better understand the physics of black holes.

For more information and to register online, visit https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-mathematical-models/.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

________________________________________________________________

NASA at the 2012 NSTA Conference

Make NASA a part of your National Science Teachers Association, or NSTA, experience this year! The 2012 NSTA’s national conference is being held March 29 - April 1, 2012, in Indianapolis, Ind. Dozens of NASA presentations, workshops and short courses are scheduled during the conference. To find NASA sessions that fit in your schedule, visit
http://bit.ly/nsta2012.

Also, stop by the NASA exhibit booth (#2159) to learn about exciting new NASA programs and products.


________________________________________________________________

Visit NASA Explorer Schools at the 2012 NSTA Conference

If you are attending the
2012 National Science Teachers Association National Conference on Science Education in Indianapolis on March 29 through April 1, be sure to stop by NASA’s exhibit booth #2159 in the exhibit hall. NASA Explorer Schools, or NES, representatives will be there to share information and answer your questions.

If you are not yet a participant in the NES project, you can obtain detailed information about NES by visiting the booth or attending a NES presentation. The session, "Teach STEM? NASA Explorer Schools Can Help!", takes place on Fri., March 30, from 11 a.m. - noon in the Cabinet Room of the Westin Indianapolis.

Everyone is invited to attend any of the additional NES lesson-related sessions:
-- The "Virtual Lab and NASA Explorer Schools" session takes place on Friday, March 30, from 4 - 4:45 p.m. in room 142 of the Convention Center.
-- The "NASA Engineering Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System" session takes place on Sat., March 31, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m., in room 111/112 of the Convention Center.

Attend one of these presentations and see how NES helps teachers by packaging everything needed to deliver an exciting NASA-related lesson to students!

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit
http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to
NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

________________________________________________________________

Electronic Professional Development Network Courses

NASA’s Learning Environments and Research Network and the Georgia Institute of Technology have teamed up to create the electronic professional development network, or e-PDN, an initiative dedicated to preparing K-12 teachers to engage their students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, through the use of NASA-developed learning materials and resources.

If you are looking for a way to enhance your instructional skills, meet your professional development goals or find new and exciting resources to use in your learning environments, apply to one of our free courses today!

Applications are now open for the following courses:

Technology Integration -- Engage and Educate: Podcasts in the Classroom May 30-July 3, 2012

Participants will examine how podcasts can be integrated into the STEM classroom. In this course, the benefits, as well as obstacles, of podcasts will be discussed and you will be introduced to the tools and techniques of creating podcasts. You will finish by creating your own podcasts using NASA resources. This course is aimed at beginners who have little or no experience with podcasts.

Technology Integration -- Vodcasts July 11- Aug. 14, 2012
Participants will use various audio and video editing software tools to create video podcasts, or vodcasts. Each participant will begin by creating an enhanced podcast and build up to a vodcast through the creation of video and audio files. During the course, you will examine and use many of the NASA public domain resources for infusing STEM concepts into your projects.

To learn more about these free courses and to apply online, visit http://nasaepdn.gatech.edu/course_schedules.php.

For more information on the e-PDN and the resources it offers to K-12 teachers, visit www.nasaepdn.gatech.edu.

Questions about these courses should be directed to Kristen Anderson at kristen.anderson@dlpe.gatech.edu.


________________________________________________________________

Mars Student Imaging Project

The Mars Student Imaging Project is seeking educator applicants to participate in a virtual experiential opportunity for the 2011-2012 school year and the summer of 2012. Students will have the opportunity to ask a research question about Mars, use real Mars data to answer the question, interact with Mars scientists and target a brand new image of Mars using a special camera on the Mars Odyssey Spacecraft. This is an opportunity to do authentic research, build science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, experiences, and possibly make a new discovery on Mars!

For more information about the project and to apply online, visit
http://marsed.mars.asu.edu/msip-home.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Jessica Swann at
jlswann@asu.edu or Anthony Zippay at jzippay@asu.edu.

________________________________________________________________

Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html.

Visit NASA Education on the Web:
For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub



Tags : Opportunities for Educators, Student Competitions, Webcasts  

Post a new comment (comments are moderated for this post)

Comment notes

Keep comments relevant. Inappropriate or offensive comments may be edited and/or deleted. Avoid adding Web site URLs.

Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br/>. Quotes, apostrophes, and double-dashes are automatically converted to smart punctuation. Be careful when copying and pasting portions of entries or other comments.


 * :Type the characters you see in the picture.
 Word verification image
   Refresh

Avoid clicking “Post” more than once. Response may take a few seconds.

1 Comments so far ( Post your own )
1 On Mar 23, 2012 03:25:28 AM  Tony  added a comment on your blog post. 

Thanks for the information. It's great to see that NASA has got an eduction program for kids. Kids will be able to things like robotics, rockets, race cars, .

Search Blogs
 
 
Browse by Author