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Constructing New Knowledge Any worthwhile field trip, traditional or innovative, provides new perspectives and attitudes, and increased knowledge about specific subjects. It's rare, however, that on any field trip all student or teacher questions will be answered. In fact, the most successful field trips create an interest and awareness that continues to challenge the mind back in the classroom. We hope that you and your students return from your electronic field trip to Antarctica with a more extensive understanding of scientific content and concepts and the process of scientific investigation. We also hope you and they have acquired a curiosity about the new and unknown. Contact on Computer Networks After the televised Live from Antarctica programs, students can use computer connections to remain in contact with some of the Antarctic researchers seen in the videos. They can ask questions or follow up on the work that was introduced in the videos. Some researchers will stay connected for several weeks after the field trips (depending on field schedules, but at least through January 31, 1995), giving students time to reflect on and share what they have learned. The results of the hands-on activities and experiments of the "Classroom Co- Investigators" (described more fully on-line) will be available to all schools over computer networks. This work might inspire similar projects for your own students. Classroom Activities Depending on the interests of your students, some of the activities already described may serve as follow-up projects. For example, designing and building a new South Pole research station using the information in the "Gamma Station Project" could be a way for students to consolidate their ideas. This section of the Teacher's Guide will provide you with some more ideas for encouraging your students to reflect on what they have seen, heard and "virtually" experienced. Educational research has shown that it is important that students review their experiences and organize and reflect on what they have learned.
Wrap-Up Activity 1: Science Reports from Antarctica If your students wrote Research Proposals for a specific area of study (see Opening Activities for a complete description of this activity) then summarizing their work after "returning" from Antarctica would make a good closing activity. Writing Have students reflect back on the topics they selected. Did they learn enough to write a more complete report? Ask them to imagine that they were writing to the granting agency to report on the progress of their expedition. (The LFA team can tell them from personal experience that NSF and NASA are tough but fair reviewers. If you want to do scientific field research, you've got to learn to think clearly and write well!) Encourage them to think about how the actual work needed to execute their plans would be done, and to describe in personal terms some of the hardships that would be involved in this field work. The Field Journals of the scientists (whether sampled from the online connections or brief Researcher Updates accessible on the Live from Antarctica Hot-Line [1-908-273-4108]) and the televised programs should help your students write from the perspective of someone who has actually been to Antarctica. If this seems too fantastic for some of your more hard-nosed students, tell them how Albert Einstein started his epochal reformulation of theories of time and space by "thought experiments" such as "What would it be like to ride upon a beam of light?" and that American rocket pioneer Robert Goddard had his first inspiration for space travel while day-dreaming high up in a tree about what it would be like to look down on Earth from orbit!
Wrap-Up Activity 2: Creating Symbols Objective To have students design a flag for Antarctica Engage The continent of Antarctica has no "national" flag because it has no native peoples and no government. However the continent is a symbol of an exciting new global alliance among nations to preserve and protect this frontier. (You can find out more about the Antarctic Treaty on-line.) In 1959, twelve nations created and later signed the Antarctic Treaty to ensure that all activity in Antarctica would be peaceful and protect the unique character of the continent. Since that time an additional 27 nations have signed the Treaty. This represents 2/3 of the population of the world. The nations with research stations in Antarctica (remember the flags that surround the Ceremonial South Pole, as seen in Program Three?) meet and continue to forge a formal legal structure for making recommendations for the conservation and preservation of the Antarctic region and resources. These recommendations are adopted by each of the countries that maintain research sites on the continent. Flags serve as symbols representing a group of people. Suppose the international Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research decided that Antarctica was to have a flag. Assume that school children across the planet have been asked to design such a flag and that your class is responding to this opportunity. -Explore: Symbolic Design and Writing Activity Begin this project by having students research the history of flags from their city, state, region, province, and/or country. Why do people have flags? What do the graphic elements of your flag symbolize? How were they selected? Was there any discussion or alternate designs? Who approved the flag? Has the flag changed over time (like the U.S. flag) or has it remained the same? Ask your students to use the information about Antarctica that they have learned through their participation in the Live from Antarctica project. Encourage them to think about shape, colors, symbols, and overall design. Each of these elements can carry meaning. Have them design their Antarctic flags. Explain Once students have completed their flags, ask them to write an essay about their design. Younger students may want to write a descriptive essay explaining their decisions about what to include in a flag. Older students might want to write a persuasive essay to convince the scientific committee that their particular design should be adopted. Expand Since Antarctica is governed by international treaty, no nation is entirely able to "go-it-alone," and no nation could ever dictate what the continent's flag might be. Suggest that your students go on-line and find other students at 5 to 10 remote schools, in different regions of America, and try to come up with a design that all students love (or at least which all can happily live with). This experiment in collaborative learning might inspire them to deploy much of what they have learned and come to feel about the continent, while refining their telecomputing skills.
"Modern Antarctica" Antarctica's most significant influences will reach far beyond the important scientific discoveries made here. Our admiration of Antarctica's awesome, pristine geography, which has taken on mythical proportions as a symbol of an untouched virgin world, is more a product of our imagination than the place. As we probe Antarctica deeper and more aggressively with our modern tools, ecological idealism and capitalistic pragmatism must temper each other. Antarctica is central to our understanding of both the physical systems of our planet and the psychological forces struggling to direct our future path. The United States Antarctic Program is the experiment. McMurdo and the other austral bases are research laboratories for studying the requirements of sustainable populations with minimized footprints. Ultimately, Antarctica will prove to be most important for its unique ability to provide us an alternative perspective from which to examine our collective behavior and priorities. As artist, I place the highest value on the search for, and subsequent expression of, my observations. I work first, for myself, distilling what I have found into the most robust images I am able. Then, if I believe form and substance have been well captured, to complete the communication I pass the results on to others for their consideration. The risks involved with working on my own terms are offset by the eliminations of indebtedness to any employer. On this, my fourth journey to Antarctica, through the dark winter, I know without doubt that my world view has been profoundly changed. Antarctica has become the dominant center of my nearly three decades of work on seven continents. by photographer
Share your work with the Passport to Knowledge Team We are eager to see the work inspired by this inaugural Passport to Knowledge field trip to Antarctica. As the project progresses, we hope to embody many more such opportunities for student creativity. Please send us pictures of students' creations or projects, samples of student work or tapes of student productions. We are also looking for future classrooms to feature on our Passport to Knowledge programs, as live uplink sites, on videotape, or as "Classroom Co-Investigators" in online work. We will select our classrooms for future electronic field trips based in part upon student work in past programs. Another reason to send your work is that student work might be featured in any multimedia productions that may be created to share information about Antarctica with other students and teachers. If we wish to use any of your students' materials we will contact you for specific permission. Send materials to:
Live from Antarctica P.O. Box 1502 Summit, NJ, 07902-1502 (Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want the materials returned.)
Getting On-line... and Connected to the Net "Imagine a planet packed solid with circuitry; a network of computers with eyes that look out at the universe, or at the inner world, or at each other, blinking messages from place to place down optical fiber. It is a world packed with information. If its inhabitants remember that it is a tool for understanding, not an end in itself, it will be a world full of wonders." The Economist, Oct 8th, lead editorial. "And I said with my net I can get them I bet. The Live From Antarctica project invites you to join those educators all across the globe who are using their "net" to get those wonderful Things you have been hearing about in newspapers and magazines! One of our project's goals is to help those of you who are not presently connected to go on-line and help make the experience worthwhile, personally and for your students. The net is often called the Information Super Highway and is best exemplified by what we refer to as the Internet. Live from Antarctica offers many resources through PBS ONLINE'S Learning Link, NASA's Spacelink, or via the "server," or host computer, of NASA's K-12 Internet Project. These include the following:
Getting Connected Access to on-line computer networking has the potential to change teaching and learning dramatically, but to go on-line you will need access to the following:
Teachers unfamiliar with the Internet or e-mail can seek help in getting started from:
Live from Antarctica's On-line Partners Three on-line networks are working with the LFA team: PBS ONLINE's Learning Link, NASA Spacelink, and NASA's K-12 Internet project. Learning Link, is the K-12 educational service of PBS ONLINE, public television's electronic communications and information service. Learning Link is a user-friendly curriculum tool and resource for teachers and students throughout the United States. PBS Learning Link subscribers have access to:
For registration information or customer support for PBS Learning Link, please write or call:
PBS Learning Link Customer Service Department 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 703-739-8464 For information about Spacelink, NASA's primary on-line informational source with offerings for teachers on every aspect of the space program, call (205) 961-1225. NASA's K-12 Internet Project (which will be designing and supporting Live from Antarctica's unique interactive on-line features) has 2 informational videotapes, Global Quest and Connecting to the Future, which can be requested via e-mail to: info-video@quest.arc.nasa.gov. Also on-line is a Guide entitled "Getting Teachers On-line," a state-by-state listing of special dial-up connectivity for teachers. NASA's K-12 Internet Project is helping to establish a system of smart filters to route questions from students to the appropriate experts in Antarctica (or to Antarctic experts back here in the United States) so that all questions will be answered. To start participating on-line, send an e-mail message to listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov. Leave the subject blank, and in the message body write: subscribe updates-lfa. Commercial on-line service providers including America Online (and their on-line service specifically for educators, Scholastic Network), Prodigy, Delphi, and Compuserv all provide Internet access to some degree. These services usually have a monthly fee that includes a fixed number of on-line access hours, usually 5 hours per month. Most schools will find that access is via a local telephone number. -- For more information, call: -- Statewide education networks are found in many states with low cost access for educators. Be sure to contact your state department of education. Well known statewide networks include INFORMNS of Minnesota, TENET of Texas, NYSERNET of New York, and Virginia PEN. There are many others, so check out this option! Helpful Internet Resources While you are arranging for your Internet account, read one or more of the following to help you better understand the Internet and what it has to offer:
What if Internet Is not Available? If you are unable to secure Internet access you still have the option of accessing the Live from Antarctica files. Regularly updated files will be accessible through Richard Seltzer's Please Copy This Disk service. These files will contain all the text files and GIF files mounted on the NASA QUEST gopher server that houses the Live from Antarctica project. $10.00 per disk will allow you to make copies for colleagues and students. A single disk could meet the needs of an entire school. There is no charge for shipping and postage inside the United States ($2.00 per order airmail outside the United States). Disks are shipped by first-class mail. Please Copy This Disk Please Copy This Disk provides plain ASCII text file on plain 3- 1/2" diskettes (IBM/Mac). The average disk contains about 1 megabyte of information. Diskettes containing graphic images in digitized format (GIF files) weill also be available. You will need a GIF viewer to look at these files. Many art/paint software programs have the ability to open GIF files. Address of Please Copy This Disk: Richard Seltzer , B & R Samizdat Express, P.O. Box 161, West Roxbury, MA 02132 e-mail address: samizdat@world.std.com Call 1-908-273-4108 for updated information on on-line components of the project, including the Please Copy This Disk service. You may also leave a message at this number if you have questions.
A Strategy for Building The Pyramid chart that appears on this page (see fig.5.1) shows the various components that make up Live from Antarctica. It also includes those planned for future electronic field trips. We recognize that many teachers currently do not have access to the tools of the Information Super Highway. But we hope that over time, as future Passport to Knowledge projects appear (such as Live from the Stratosphere in October 1995 and Live from the Hubble Space Telescope in spring/summer 1996), more and more teachers and students will participate. Passport to Knowledge Hierarchy of components (Base of "Pyramid" indicates simplest and most accessible resources: peak shows more complex tools and connectivity) (see fig.5.1.) *Live from Antarctica/Themes Project 2061/AAAS
Science Themes Systems Constancy Patterns Evolution Scale Models Of Change 1 Live from Antarctica programs The Coldest, Windiest Iciest Place on Earth X X X X X Life in Antarctica Then and Now X X X X X Spaceship South Pole X X X From Pole to Planet X X X X X X Live from Antarctica/Themes California Science Framework Science Themes Systems & Stability Patterns Evolution Scale & Energy Interactions Of Change Structure Live from Antarctica programs The Coldest, Windiest Iciest Place on Earth X X X X X X Life in Antarctica Then and Now X X X X X X Spaceship South Pole X X X X From Pole to Planet X X X X X X Science Themes Appearing in Live from Antarctica When people know how scientists go about their work and reach scientific conclusions and what the limitations of such conclusions are, they are more likely to react thoughtfully to scientific claims and less likely to reject them out of hand or accept them uncritically. Once people gain a good sense of how science operates, along with a basic inventory of key science concepts as a basis for learning more later, they can follow the science adventure story as it plays out during their lifetimes. The images that many people have of science and how it works are often distorted. The myths and stereotypes that young people have about science are not dispelled when science teaching focuses narrowly on the laws, concepts, and theories of science. Hence, the study of science as a way of knowing needs to be made explicit in the curriculum.
Benchmarks for Science Literacy, Project 2061 American Association for the Advancement of Science Oxford University Press, New York, 1993 We hope you find that the Live from Antarctica series bring these recommendations to life.
Additional Resources The following is a list of resources that includes books, maps, audio and videotapes, CD-ROM, and videodiscs that will enhance and enrich your integration of this program into the classroom. Most of these resources include broad coverage on Antarctica and may be relevant for more than one of the programs. Check your school library (as well as others in your school system) and your public library for these materials. You may want to share this list with your School Library Media Specialist so that materials can be ordered through the school media center. You might be able to loan these materials through your public library. Background Information Resources Titles are listed first for convenience sake. Please see individual program chapters for more titles related to the themes of each program.
The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica. Stephen J. Pyne. University of Iowa Press, 1986. Adequate Earth. Donald Finkel. New York: Atheneum Press, 1972. "Informed by Indifference: A Walk in Antarctica." Barry Lopez. Harpers Magazine, May 1988. Reprinted by permission of Sterling Lord Literistic Inc. "Modern Antarctica." Neelon Crawford. 1993. "Linneaus Terrace/The Ice Falls"--excerpt from artist's sketchbook journal, Alan Campbell, 1993. Books for Middle Level Students
Antarctica: The Last Unspoiled Continent. Laurence Pringle, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1992, 56 p., color illus.. The Arctic and Antarctic. Cass R. Sandak (New Frontiers Exploration in the 20th century), Franklin Watts, 1987, 32 p., color illus. Antarctica (Place in the News series.) Gail B. Stewart, Crestwood House, 1991, 48 p., illus. Investigating the Ozone Hole. Rebecca Johnson, Lerner, 112 p.illustrated with photographs. (Rebecca Johnson may be one of the featured guests on Program 4. Her book is comprehensive and clearly written about ozone research in Antarctica with excellent color photographs, maps, and charts.) Outstanding Science Trade, Books for Children, 1994. Desert of Ice: Life and Work in Antarctica. W. John Hackwell, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991,40 p., color illus. How Did We Find Out About Antarctica? Isaac Asimov, Walker and Company, 1979, illus. Our Endangered Planet: Antarctica. Suzanne Winckler and Mary M. Rodgers, Lerner Publications, 1991, 64 p. Conserving the Polar Regions (Conserving Our World series). Barbara James, Steck-Vaughn Library, 1991, 48 p., color illus. Polar Regions (Exploring Our World series).Terry Jennings, Marshall Cavendish, 1987, 48 p., color illus. Arctic and Antarctic Regions. Francene Sabin, Troll Associates, 1985, 32 p., color illus. The Arctic and Antarctic: Roof and Floor of the World. Alice Thompson, Dillon Press, 1988, illus. Antarctic Explorations: Byrd to Brrr. Adlie to Deep Freeze. Susan Finney and Patricia Kindle, Good Apple, 1985. Books for Older Readers
Voyage Through Antarctica. Richard Adams and Ronald Lockley, Alfred K. Knopf, 1982, 160 pp., illus. Antarctic Science. Edited by D.W.H. Walton, Cambridge University Press, 1987, 280 pp., illus. Antarctic Wilderness at Risk. Barney Brewster, Friends of the Earth, 1982, 125 pp., illus. Antarctica: The Last Continent. Ian Cameron, Little Brown and Company, 256 pp., illus. South to the Pole by Ski: Nine Men and Two Women Pioneer a New Route to the South Pole. Joseph E. Murphy, Marlor Press, 1990. Wild Ice: Antarctic Journeys. Ron Naveen [et al.], Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990, 223 pp., color illus. The Greenpeace Book of Antarctica: A New View of the 7th Continent. John May, Doubleday, 1988, 192 pp.illus. Antarctica: An Encyclopedia (2 volumes) John Stewart, McFarland, 1990, 1220 pp. Videotapes Lilliput in Antarctica, produced by Jacques and Jean-Michael Cousteau, The Cousteau Society Book Service, 1990, 48 minutes, VHS only. Cousteau and six children chosen from six continents become adventure-ambassadors to the southern ice cap's huge glaciers, humpback whales, playful penguins, and incredible elephant seals. Antarctic Adventure produced by Fenton McHugh in conjunction with Sea World USA, Bennett Marine Video, 1989, 30 minutes, VHS only. (The Blue Frontier Series.) Researchers brave the elements to find the penguins. They attempt a unique experiment in penguin egg incubation in order to better understand and preserve these birds. "Antarctic Wildlife Adventure" produced by National Geographic Society, 1991, 60 minutes, VHS. $24.20, order # A51481. Set sail with a family of real-life explorers for the remote and starkly beautiful continent on earth- Antarctica. Aboard the 50 foot schooner, Damien II, a husband-wife naturalist team and their three sons will guide you on a voyage of a lifetime: rocky coasts, towering icebergs, pristine wildlife. Antarctica produced by National Geographic Society, 1991, 25 minutes, color VHS. (Physical Geography of the Continent Series, gr. 4-9) $110.00, order #A51443. Antarctica: Life in the Freezer, by British filmmaker Sir David Attenborough. Antarctica: Frozen Ambitions, $69.95, available from PBS Video, P.O. Box 791, Alexandria, Virginia 22313-0791 include $8.50 in shipping and handling. Maps
Antarctica, National Geographic Society, 1990, 22" x 29", 1 in. = 140 miles, flat plastic. A20015, $10.90 Antarctica, National Geographic Society, 1963, 1 in = 97 miles, 77 x 101 cm. Antarctica, Central Intelligence Agency, 1990. 37 x 45 cm. Scale: 1:17,250,000. Shipping list number 90-287-P Antarctica Photomap, U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the NSF and US Navy, 1985. 77 x 77 cm. US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia. Laser Videodiscs "Explore Antarctica" produced by Emerging Technology Consultants, St. Paul, Minnesota, Macintosh. This new videodisc provides a wide variety of information in text, still photographs, and motion video. Students and teachers can explore information about Antarctica under the categories: ice, animals, climate, physical environment, living and working in Antarctica. (From review by Luann Johnson, The Computing Teacher, October, 1994.) Vol.3: "South America and Antarctica" (STV:World Geography Series) by National Geographic Society, CAV videodisc for Macintosh. Level I ($235.00) and Level III ($325.00) available. Computer Software SimEarth, IBM (640K) or Macintosh (2M), 1990. The ultimate experience in planet management. Students can create and manage their own planet, while learning about atmosphere, geology, climate, and life processes. AudioTapes Polar Shift: Benefit for Antarctica featuring music by Vangelis, Yanni, Chris Spheeris, Paul Voudouris [et al.] produced by Anna Turner and Terence Yallop, 1991, EarthSea Institute, P.O. Box 2164, Sausalito, California 94966 Cassette: $10.98; CD: $16.98, shipping and handling $2.00. Note: This is a beautiful tape produced as an effort to protect Antarctica. A portion of the proceeds go to the Cousteau Society and other environmental groups working to establish Antarctica as a Natural Reserve dedicated to peace and science. "Antarctica" by Vangelis, Polydor, 1983, compact disc. Music from Koreyoshi Kurahara's film.
Glossary
Bandwidth A range of frequencies available for signaling or transferring information. Benthic Pertaining to the bottom of the ocean or a body of water. Digital data Information coded and transmitted in the form of discrete energy pulses. Downlink The transmission signal from a communications satellite that is received by a station on Earth. Ecosystem A community of organisms and the physical environment around them. Exobiology Study of life beyond Earth. Exobiologists study environments that may resemble those on other planets. Fiber optic cable A bundle of hair-thin, flexible, transparent rods through which light is transmitted. Food chain A sequence of feeding relationships within an ecosystem. Food web A network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem. Geographic South Pole The point where all the lines of longitude meet. Ice cap The thick layer of ice and snow covering a land mass. Ice shelves Sheets of ice projecting out into the ocean, floating slabs of thick land ice. Invertebrates Animals without a backbone. Krill A shrimp-like crustacean that is a source of food for baleen whales. Magnetic South Pole The point to which the "south" end of a magnetic compass points. McMurdo Site of McMurdo Station, America's main research outpost in the Antarctic. Network Communications devices arranged to pass information back and forth; all interdependent parts of a communications system, including uplink and downlink. Plankton Minute plant and animal life that floats in the ocean. Remote Sensing The capability to receive info from space via satellites and telescopes. Satellite An object that orbits another object, traveling in a fixed path. An artificial satellite is an object placed in orbit around the Earth. A natural satellite is a natural object that orbits a planet, e.g., the Moon. Time Delay The time lag that occurs during communication over great distances. Transponder A radio or radar transceiver (a radio receiver and transmitter combined in one unit) that automatically transmits electrical signals in response to specific activating signals. Uplink A transmission signal sent to a satellite from an Earth station.
Teacher Evaluation Form Live from Antarctica is intended to be the first in a series of Passport to Knowledge electronic field trips. Your response, and that of your students, is very important to us. Please take a few moments to provide us with feedback on how you used the video, print, and on-line components so that we can learn from your experiences. Filling out this survey will also enable you to enroll for future opportunities. (A form to be copied for your students follows.)
I. Live from Antarctica QUESTIONS? Please contact: GEOFF HAINES-STILES PRODUCTIONS: fax: 908-
277-9590 e-mail: ghstiles@ll.pbs.org
Live from Antarctica Student Evaluation Form
Class __ Male __ Female __ 1. I watched 1 2 3 4 of the Live from Antarctica programs. 2. Our class prepared for our "virtual field trip" by (list any classroom activities that you did to prepare): 3. The best classroom activity we did either before or after the programs was: 3. I liked this activity because: 4. The best part of the Live from Antarctica video was: 5. The part of the video that I found least interesting was: 6. The most interesting thing I learned from the whole experience was: 7. I learned many things about Antarctica including (describe one thing that you learned in each area listed): Geological history: Life forms: Climate patterns: South Pole: Astronomy: Future predictions: 8. Here is how I would rate my learning in different areas: a. Learned factual information about Antarctica No Maybe Yes b. Learned important concepts in science No Maybe Yes c. Gained a greater appreciation of scientific process No Maybe Yes d. Increased awareness of science as potential career No Maybe Yes e. Developed ability to go "on-line" and use e-mail No Maybe Yes f. The researchers made science seem like a lot of fun No Maybe Yes g. Other area: 9. I still want to learn more about: 10. Places that I want to visit via television and computer are: Rain Forest No Maybe Yes Mount Vesuvius (volcano) No Maybe Yes Dinosaur Dig No Maybe Yes Stratosphere (about NASA flying astronomical observatory) No Maybe Yes Space Shuttle No Maybe Yes Particle Accelerator (physics experiments) No Maybe Yes Listening for Extraterrestrials No Maybe Yes Hubble Space Telescope No Maybe Yes Diving with Whales and Dolphins No Maybe Yes Other: (please suggest) 11. The part of the overall project that I would change is: 12. When doing this unit next year, my teacher should:
Map of Antarctica (see fig.5.2) NASA Science Internet/NSF Communications Network from Antarctica (see fig.5.3)
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