From: Geoffrey Haines-Stiles <ghaines@mail.arc.nasa.gov>
Subject: ATTN: SUSAN HURSTCALDERONE: A QUERY ABOUT YOUR POSSIBLE
Date: Fri, 05 Sep 1997 11:49:46 -0400
As you can see, I tried sending this to you last night... but for some reason had the wrong address. Trust this will get to you OK. Best wishes, GHS *** >Date: Thu, 04 Sep 1997 18:06:30 -0400 >To: science@sysnet.net >From: Geoffrey Haines-Stiles <ghaines@mail.arc.nasa.gov> >Subject: ATTN: SUSAN HURSTCALDERONE: A QUERY ABOUT YOUR POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT IN "PET LITE" -- AS A CO-MODERATOR, THIS TIME! > >Hello, Susan: > >I hope your summer was restful and restorative, and that you're charged with energy for the new school year! Looking over the PET archives from last year, it's pretty evident you were very involved then and, reading between the lines, it looks as if your students both had fun and learned a lot. > >In PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE we've always tried to involve teachers very directly -- both in creating and reviewing materials, and in the kinds of online collaborative activity represented by "PET" and "THE GREAT PLANET DEBATE". And as our project grows and we look to the future, we hope to "grow" the relationship with key participants. For "PET Lite" (described below in language >not yet quite ready< to be widely published) we describe what we hope to achieve in Fall 97. This time Jan Wee has other responsibilities (including moderating "discuss-lfm") and we hope to find 2 or 3 teachers whose personal and professional circumstances allow them time to get involved as "Co-Moderators" of PET Lite, working with PTK project staff, and NASA experts, to guide, nudge, and mid-wife the activity to a successful conclusion. > >I'm polling 5 or 6 "vets" (in other words, more than we need) of last year's PET, since I'm sure there are myriad reasons why time and other circumstances might preclude such an involvement. But I'd be interested in finding out whether you might be interested. We know that other teachers have even gotten their students involved in the "Smart Filtering" process which is part of the "Researcher Q&A" process, so it might be possible to make this a teachable moment, involving not just PET but also Internet skills, and not just the teacher, but perhaps also the class. > >We would certainly offer a (modest!) honorarium to those who are available and willing. We'd be happy to respond to questions about what might still be unclear. Depending on whether 2 or 3 folks are availabe, we could divide up time and weeks accordingly. Timetable, in other words, is flexible and can be discussed. > >And while we'd like the "Co-Moderators" to be the chief guides, be assured the PTK staff would be very active behind the scenes and in the wings. > >We think "PET Lite" could be very exciting in its own right, and we'd like to expand the number of people knowledgable about PTK and LIVE FROM who might also be involved in future projects. > >Please let us know ASAP if this is of interest, or if now is not the right time, whether this KIND of thing might appeal in the future. > >In any event, good luck in the new school year, and one way or other, we hope you'll be participating in LIVE FROM MARS (and LIVE FROM THE RAINFOREST later in the year.) > >Best wishes, > >GHS > >(What follows is our draft message, to go out over "discuss", and to be edited into a Web page bulletin some time next week.) > > >>*** >> >>Dear Educators, >> >>Welcome to the 1997-1998 LIVE FROM MARS project. We hope the first days of school have gone well, and that you're ready to think ahead to some unique projects for Fall. >> >>We know many of you were following the astonishing success of Mars Pathfinder over the summer, and the PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE/LIVE FROM MARS team is working hard to allow you to focus some of that excitement into classroom activities this Fall. As you're probably aware, Mars Global Surveyor arrives at Mars September 11th, to begin--we hope--a 2-year mission mapping Mars, and gathering all kinds of orbital data. >> >>Whether you're new to LFM this school year, or following up what we hope were your own educational successes from 1996-97, we trust that "PET Lite" will be one way to bring the exploration of Mars down to Earth, by: >> >>1) helping students engage in a nationwide online activity, designing and debating with their peers, >>2) interacting with NASA's Mars experts, and: >>3) gathering data and comparing and contrasting their results with what Pathfinder has been discovering on the Red Planet. >> >>"PET" and "PET Lite": SOME DEFINITIONS >>First, what's "PET"? This stands for the "Planet Explorer Toolkit", a set of instruments selected by students during a 4-month long online collaboration, which resulted in weather and environmental data collected in Spring 97, shared online, and featured during the second LFM program which aired nationally on April 24th. (for more see: quest.arc.nas.gov/mars/address TK) >> >>Why "Lite"? Because we wanted to take advantage of all the good thinking that's already done, Pathfinder's actual results from Mars, and suggest a much shorter, more focused activity, while still retaining the most unique and rewarding aspects of the full "PET" project. >> >>This note lays out the basic structure and timetable, but we invite you and your classes to research, brainstorm and share your ideas, and so become true "co-llaborators", co-creators of the kind of project which only the Internet makes possible, and which benefits immensely from the direct involvement of the very same scientists who work on NASA's Mars Pathfinder and Global Surveyor missions. >> >>THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION >>Is it worth it to become involved? Listen to some teachers' comments from last school year: >> >>"I thought that... the PET projects were the best use of the Internet that I have ever experienced. The students had to use thinking skills to come up with the answers, and they have enjoyed the time on the computer--even though I have only one in the classroom and must teach the content of my science course." >> >>"The PET was a big hit with all five of my classes... I will definitely repeat this activity next year." >> >>"The PET Activity was excellent. I hope that you can continue with this next year with a new crop of students..." >> >>Well, as in many other aspects of PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE, we take your input to heart and try to respond. So, now, here's what we have in mind for "PET Lite". >> >>THE CHALLENGE >>PET and Pathfinder: >>Pathfinder and the Sojourner Rover have done an amazing job of characterizing the rocks surrounding its Ares Vallis landing site. But Pathfinder (renamed the Sagan Memorial Station, in honor of astronomer Carl Sagan, 1934-1996) is also a weather station, recording temperature, wind speed and direction, and pressure. Along with the clouds, and dust storms, frosts and volcanoes, we think the fact that we can receive daily weathercasts is a major reason Mars seems so real: like Earth, like our home states, it's a place with familiar phenomenon. >> >>RESEARCH WEATHER AND WEATHER INSTRUMENTS ON EARTH AND MARS >>So here's the challenge: classes should research the weather data which Pathfinder is gathering on Mars, and compare and contrast that with weather data which they could gather for their own neighborhoods. (For Pathfinder see: give best Web addresses, which should include the University of Washington's LIVE FROM EARTH AND MARS project which has the best--and most regularly updated--time series of Pathfinder temp. and other data.) >> >>Perhaps their school has its own weather station. Or maybe they could gather together a set of inexpensive instruments (using last year's PET as a baseline) to gather weather data. Perhaps they and their teachers might think that consulting the National Weather Service, or local newspapers or newscasts, would give them the best coverage (though we think that some kind of direct hands-on design and data gathering results in the most powerful learning.) >> >>GO ONLINE AND SHARE IDEAS WITH PEERS >>Then we invite them to go online, and share their ideas and suggestions with other participating classes around the nation (and--we hope--some international participants as well.) >> >>INTERACT WITH NASA EXPERTS AS ONLINE MENTORS. >>During this debate phase, LIVE FROM MARS will enlist some of NASA's own experts on Martian meteorology who will comment on student suggestions, relate student ideas to what's being done on Mars with actual spacecraft, and provide that real-world connection which we've found is so important. >> >>REACH A CONSENSUS ON THE "PET LITE" INSTRUMENT PACKAGE >>LIVE FROM MARS will broker a final consensus on instruments and procedures, and publish the results online. >> >>GATHER THE "PET LITE" PACKAGE AND MAKE YOUR OBSERVATIONS. >>Teachers and students assemble the instruments, practise procedures, and "take data." >> >>SUBMIT DATA, AND WATCH YOUR RESULTS TAKE SHAPE ONLINE AND BE FEATURED IN THE NOVEMBER 13TH LIVE FROM MARS BROADCAST! >>As in previous PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE projects, students' results will be assembled into a nation- and/or world-wide "map", with every contributing school listed by name. Then, as further validation of student efforts, we'll feature the process and the results during the final planned LIVE FROM MARS broadcast, which will also provide live interaction, direct from NASA/JPL, with key scientists from the Pathfinder and Global Surveyor missions. (Evaluation has shown that students find such real world validation of their efforts to be extremely motivational, and just as during the last school year, we'll try to showcase some of "America's Most Scientific Home Videos" submitted by as many classes as time allows.) >> >>Those are the steps: here's the timetable: >> >>1) by SEPTEMBER 19TH. Publish the "Invitation to Participate in the LIVE FROM MARS 'PET Lite' Activity" online. We'll feature the activity on "discuss-lfm", in the weekly Updates, and via short bulletins widely shared on educational mail lists. Interested parties are invited to subscribe to "discuss-" and "debate-lfm ". >> >>2) by SEPTEMBER 26TH. PTK/LIVE FROM MARS responds to teacher questions and comments via "discuss-lfm", our online teacher discussion forum. Revised instructions published online. >> >>3) SEPTEMBER 26TH. Teachers present "PET Lite" to students, and suggest research strategies. Classes debate, brainstorm, revise and refine off-line, asking for guidance online as required. >> >>4) OCTOBER 10TH. Classes submit their suggestions for "PET Lite", what data should be gathered, what instruments should be used, and what data-collection processes should be followed. >> >>5) OCTOBER 10-31ST. "THE GREAT PET LITE DEBATE" Students interact with each other and NASA mentors about instruments, data, plans and find out more about how weather is recorded on Earth and Mars. >> >>6) OCTOBER 31ST. PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE/LIVE FROM MARS publishes the consensus instrument package and procedures. (The 4th LIVE FROM MARS program to air on October 30th features the ongoing activity, but we assume most interested teachers and students will already have found out about it online. However, even latecomers will be welcome to adopt the PET Lite consensus and gather data using it.) >> >>7) NOVEMBER 1ST THROUGH 10TH. GATHER AND SUBMIT DATA >>The LIVE FROM MARS Web site will provide full information about how to submit each class's results. >> >>8) NOVEMBER 13TH: RESULTS PUBLISHED ONLINE AND ON CAMERA during the 5th LIVE FROM MARS program. >> >>*** >> >>OPEN ISSUES FOR CLASSES AND TEACHERS TO DEBATE AND DECIDE! >>One of the strengths of PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE is that our previous projects have given us sufficient confidence in the value of such collaborative activities that we feel comfortable inviting participants to help shape "PET Lite." We hope teachers will help students explore the wealth of weather data returned by Pathfinder to figure out what information should be gathered down here on Earth. >>But we don't have to mirror Pathfinder in all aspects. >> >>For example, Pathfinder's meteorology mast has temperature sensors at 3 different heights, since researchers wanted to measure the great variations that come with relatively small variations in height above the Martian surface. Perhaps students will want to see how temperatures on Earth vary (or don't) over such distances, or will decided to forego this set of data altogether. >> >>Again, temperatures on Mars vary greatly by day and night cycle, and by season. If students want to plot night-time temperatures, they and their teachers (or parent volunteers) will have to figure out how to capture that data (unless they have automated weather stations.) In the past, enlisting parent involvement has been a welcome by-product of these still non-standard projects. >> >>Perhaps students in America's desert regions will recognize this diurnal cycle as similar to their own, and come up with an activity which will use graphing and math to challenge other participants to find out which reporting site on Earth has the most similar ratio of high and low temperatures to Mars. >> >>Knowing the creativity of many PTK/LFM teachers and students we're sure they'll be many more suggestions. But remember, as the LITE in the title suggests, we're hoping to make this a shorter, more focused activity than was the full "PET" project, making it easier for many to get engaged and then follow through with the full project, relating results all the while to the actual data returned from Mars. >> >>We hope this sounds intriguing! The PET Lite forum will be co-moderated by 2-3 teachers who been part of previous PTK projects, and know what it takes to nudge students along, while providing enough but not too much data and input form the real world. "Discuss-lfm", moderated by Jan Wee, will be available for questions, and be assured we'll be providing NASA experts to interact at key points in the process. >> >>We think this will be exciting, even challenging, for you and your students. But as the comments quoted above indicate, this new kind of learning experience is uniquely powerful in relating school work to the real world. >> >>We hope you'll journey with us, Onwards and Upwards, to Mars and beyond. >> >>GHS >> > Geoff Haines-Stiles Project Director, PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE & the LIVE FROM... specials "electronic field trips to scientific frontiers" Real Science, Real Scientists, Real Locations, Real Time vox: 973.656.9403 * fax: 973.656.9813 * mobile: 908.305.7061 alt. e-mail: ptkghs@aol.com http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/interactive Antarctica... Stratosphere... Hubble... Mars... and more