NASA Aerodynamics resources - good for all classes!

NASA's Glenn Research Center has a huge amount of resources for teachers to use in class. The Aerodynamics section is truly amazing. 


They have Science Fundamentals (Newton's Laws, Equilibrium, Torques, Phases of Matter), Math Fundamentals (Area, volume, vectors, trigonometry...), Airplane parts, Aerodynamics, Model Rockets, and much more. 


Many of the topics are set up in a lesson type format. Students can just click "next" to proceed through the section. There are even interactive demos and simulations available. And all of it is for free.


They also have the Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics (BGA) which was created as a Web-based "textbook." The creation of the BGA is a research project to explore the use of the personal computer and the Internet to present educational materials to students, teachers, and lifelong learners in a more interactive way than a printed, bound textbook.

The material is good for Middle and High School students, but teachers can use parts of it for any level of class. 


I use it as a great primer on Newton's Laws, and also use it for our Rocket's lesson at the end of the year. The nice thing is that when you apply all of these topics to aerospace topics, the students are more engaged than they would be by the topic itself. 

Some more NASA Education Sites:

NASA's Main Education Site

Kennedy Space Center Education Site

NASA Grade 9-12 Educator Resources

NASA Education Resources covered on Ed Tech Guy

Share your NASA resources with us!

NASA - NASA eClips™

NASA eClips is another great site by NASA for educators. The site contains short video clips that can be used to engage students and excite them about different topics, explain a topic, or generate a discussion.

The videos are sorted by grade level (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) and have educator resources available. There is also a Teacher-to-Teacher blog and a teacher toolbox to help teachers use the video clips in class.

The videos are well done and relevant to many different subject areas. Give them a try.

Related Posts:

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/nasa-educators-resources.html

Sputnik anniversary

October 4th is the anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the first man made satellite, by the Soviet Union.

Tech&learning has a great link to a timeline about Sputnik's launch and the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States.

NASA has a great site about Manned Space Flight, and some great timelines of the history of Spaceflight.

NASA Careers web site

NASA has some excellent educational resources, including a site with information about careers at NASA. This is a great way to show students what types of things NASA does and who does them.

There is information on what each type of job is and does, intern opportunities for students, profiles of NASA employees, job opportunities and job descriptions, and posters about jobs at NASA.

It's a great resource to get students interested in science, math and engineering. I use NASA and the space program as a way to get students excited about STEM topics and careers using the "wow" factor.

Some other posts about NASA's educational resources:

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/06/nasa-flash-videos-of-future-plans.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/nasa-educators-resources.html

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/nasa-and-microsoft-release-3d-viewer-of.html

NASA - Flash Videos of future plans

NASA has a great web site with flash videos of the Constellation program. This program is the basis for NASA's return to the moon and eventual manned missions to Mars.

The site has some great flash videos and resources about the program and was very interesting.

More information for educators is available HERE.

I plan to use this next year as a way to introduce space into my Physics class, and then use it to keep the students interested. I'm hoping that the space program resources that NASA has will also keep my students engaged in physics as they see some of the applications of the physics concepts.

End of the year fun / madness?

(cross posted at Tech&Learning magazine)

As the end of the school year approaches, we, as teachers, have a lot of things to deal with. I can only speak about high school, but I'm sure the middle and lower grades have similar issues.

At the high schools we first have the issue of AP Exams at the beginning of May. Once the exams are done, many AP Students feel that they are done for the year. As an AP Physics teacher, I keep them engaged and learning for the rest of the year with fun projects. They start with a web quest about rockets and then build and launch their own model rockets. They love it! Then, they do a web quest on aerodynamics and then design, build, and fly their own gliders. They learn some great physics topics while having a lot of fun.

The next issue we run into is prom season. Prom's and Ring Dances equal early dismissals on those days for the students attending (need to do hair, makeup, tux, limo, etc.). On these days, I do fun learning activities with the students that are here. The activities are web based, which they enjoy. But this also means that I can have the absentee students make up the assignment on their own later.

I teach 90% seniors. Senior skip day is another day where I have some students and I do the same thing as the prom day.

Then the inevitable end of the year assemblies, parties, and events start interfering with class time. I have learned to finish the majority of the material by AP Testing time so that I'm not pulling out my hair with all the interruptions to class time at the end of May and beginning of June.

My class plan for May and June is all projects. In this way, class interruptions and absences don't really affect the class. Students can work on the projects on their own when they miss class, and the rest of the students are engaged. They very quickly get senioritis and can not, and will not, sit for very long. Group projects keep them learning and engaged while allowing them the socialization and change in pace that they all want.

Another nice part of projects is the fact that they give the teacher more time to mingle with the students during the day and really get a feel for how the class went and how much the students have learned. It is also easier than correcting problem sets or essays!

I use web quests, videos from Discovery Streaming, and projects to keep my students learning during a time of distraction. Think of projects related to your curriculum that would be great to do at the end of the year and use that instead of lectures, problem sets, or standard labs.

The rockets project is my favorite and my students favorite. The web quest incorporates elements from NASA's web site. The students are applying multiple areas of physics during this project: energy, chemical reactions, fluid dynamics, forces, Newton's Laws, and more. They get to work in a group and do something hands-on and creative (they get to decorate the rockets any way they want and they are also able to do different fin designs). The best part is launch day. The students get to go outside and launch rockets. I handle the actual launching so that I can ensure safety, but the students love the countdown and watching the launch. They also have to chase down rockets that drift in the wind. Who wouldn't want to be outside launching rockets on a beautiful Spring day?

Rockets resources:

NASA's Beginners Guide to Rockets: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/rocket/index.html

Estes Model Rockets - Educator Page: http://www.esteseducator.com/

Apogee Rockets - http://www.apogeerockets.com/ (click on "Educational")

National Association of Rocketry: http://www.nar.org/teacher.html

Fly Rockets: http://www.flyrockets.com/

I also use a music video to get them inspired for the rockets project - "Countdown" by Rush. The video is on YouTube and you can find the lyrics on line on a variety of web sites.

The song was written after the band attended a Shuttle launch in the 80's. The song and video are very powerful and really show the excitement and achievement of the space program.

Many of the science teachers in my school also use projects at the end of the school year and do many of them outside. Next year, we are thinking of doing a science field day outside in May, and have a cookout for lunch. I am working on some ideas for projects now. For physics, I was thinking of the rockets, catapults, bridges, mousetrap cars, and boats.

The end of the school year has many distractions for students and teachers need to be creative in how they keep students learning and engaged during this crazy time.

NASA Educators Resources

NASA has a Space Education Web site for educators to use. 

The resources are sorted by type and grade level. 

There are videos, lesson plans, resource links, news and interactive sites on NASA programs and projects. There is also a Student site that students can explore. 

I've used many resources from the site and find them well thought out and easy to use.

The one I have used the most is the Rocketry resources. I do a final project at the end of the year in my Physics classes where they research rockets and the physics of rockets and then build and launch their own model rockets. The students can just go through the Rocketry site and learn about all the different aspects of rocekts. Its a fun, interesting way to end the year.

NASA and Microsoft Release 3D viewer of International Space Station

NASA today released an interactive, 3D photographic collection of internal and external views of the International Space Station and a model of the next Mars rover. This project was done in cooperation with Microsoft using Microsoft's Photosynth technology and Virtual Earth.

The site is a great, fun way to explore the ISS. Kids will love it.