Viewing page 82 of 208

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

6.2.1 Module 1: Viewing Earth from Space

"Viewing Earth from Space" was the first KidSat Module. This module introduces students to the basic skills needed in acquiring, interpreting, and using images to conduct explorations. "Viewing Earth from Space" includes "Going to Space from Earth" (focused on the piloted platforms), "Looking at Images from Space," "Accessing Images from Space," and "Introduction to Mission Operations." Students apply fundamental concepts in science, mathematics, and technology that are relevant to the use of the Earth-viewing instruments in low Earth orbit.

In the "Introduction to Mission Operations" unit, students discover how to request the images for their sites of interest. This entails studying the concepts involved in the acquisition of images from an instrument in space and basic mission operations techniques. Subtopics of this unit include targeting, team building, flight operations, weather, current events, and communications. Upon the completion of this unit, students were able to located a site on a world map, predict when the shuttle would be over that site in the proper attitude, and determine if weather conditions would be favorable for a photograph. Student also learned how to set up and operate a SMOC.

6.2.2 Module 2: The Impact of Water on Earth

"The Impact of Water on Earth" is the first student exploration module. The focus on water relates uniquely to our planet and is an integral part of the middle school science curriculum. Populations, natural resources, and environments--all intricately related to water on this planet--were studied using KidSat images in this module. Natural hazards related to water provided exciting imaging opportunities for the mission. Some students and teachers chose to use images of water to trace the movement of humans along waterways and research patterns of human migration. Subtopics include "Weather," "Landscapes," "Ice and Glaciers," and "Ecosystems." Activities in this module include the water routes of explorers, water resources in cities (ports, rivers, oceans, lakes), local water-related environmental issues, how we see water with remote sensing instruments, scales of water from space, early exploration and development of civilizations along rivers, and natural and human disasters (floods and oil spills).

6.2.3 Module 3: Explorations

The "Explorations" module was designed to allow students to conduct image-based investigations on both individual and group levels. General topics were first introduced to the class as a whole. After general subject instruction and class-based investigations, students were encouraged to pursue independent investigations. The resources for this module were both text-based and located on the Internet. Research skills were emphasized and reinforced throughout this module. "Explorations" consists of three units: "Image Explorations," "Water and Land Explorations," and "Math Explorations." In this module, students created and analyzed three-dimensional images, investigated the great floods of 1993, and calculated environmental changes in images over a period of time.

73