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UPDATE # 90 - September 3, 1999 PART 1: Space Team Online 1999-2000 Special note: You should have received my e-mail about the interruption of service this weekend. It will affect some but not all functions of NASA Quest, so feel free to browse. Registration for chats will be suspended until service is restored. Thanks! SPACE TEAM ONLINE 1999 - 2000
Welcome to a new academic year with NASA Quest's Space Team Online (STO).
We hope that you will make us a part of your routine this year. We have
planned several events that may make this easier to schedule on a regular
basis. (See the Fall Features below.)
Unlike the typical Updates Newsletter, at the onset of each new school
year we like to give newcomers an overview of this project and remind the
rest of us of the multiple facets of STO.
The usual content of this Updates Newsletter will be heads-up alerts to
upcoming events and stories written by the men and women behind the
scenes who work in NASA's human spaceflight program.
I'd like to introduce you to the NASA Quest team who contribute fairly
frequently to the STO project:
Arlene, our LTC WebCast technician
Brandt, our Kennedy Space Center correspondent
Chris, our multiple Lists manager and Smart Filter manager
Dan, our QuestChat software technician
Linda, that's me! I'm your STO chief cook and bottle washer
Lori, our Johnson Space Center correspondent
Marc, our peerless NASA Quest project manager
Oran, our QuestChat manager
Kate, our Learning Technologies Channel manager
We always enjoy hearing from you. Please feel free to send your comments
and suggestions to me
and I will share them with the rest of the team.
We're looking forward to making 99/00 the best yet!
Thanks for joining us,
Linda
FALL FEATURES
* KSC Shuttle Countdown: Landing to Launch
Building on our Kennedy Space Center Behind-the-Scenes series last year,
we have been developing a regular combination of WebChats and WebCasts to
explore the processing of the Orbiters. This series will include teacher's
resources to be used in the classroom in preparation for each segment. The
majority of the live events will be held on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.
Pacific Time. The developing schedule can be found at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ksc99
* Focus: the International Space Station
Coupled with the monthly tours from the Johnson Space Center, we will be
hosting chats with team members from JSC who are working on the ISS. The
developing schedule can be found at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/iss99
* Mars Millennium WebCast: Okay, I know that's about Mars, but because I
have the opportunity to play a part in this one on September 28th, I
wanted to share it with you. See: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/mars
CHATTING WITH ENTHUSIASTIC NASA EXPERTS
One of our most exciting and basic activities on NASA Quest is the opportunity for students to "chat" live with the Space Team Online experts. It's exciting because students begin to connect the online profile with a "real" person who responds to their questions in real time. It's basic because you only need simple connectivity through a web browser to participate. Even if all you have is one computer in the classroom, there are many ways to use this part of STO. To help you with this process, QuestChat manager Oran Cox has developed a NASA QuestChat Information Center complete with regularly scheduled practice chats so that you may get familiar with the technology. It is located at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats Our chats provide the security of NASA Quest team moderation. If you plan to actively participate in a chat, you will need to register for the event ahead of time. Everybody is always welcome to observe the chat (no RSVP is required). A great example is our upcoming chat with Steven Daugherty. This is a part of the Focus: the International Space Station series coming to you from Johnson Space Center. See http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/jsc99 Add to the QuestChats a video component (yes, on your computer) so that students can see the expert with whom they're interacting and you have the Learning Technologies Channel WebCasts. The above Fall Features include monthly WebCasts, so if you're a first timer you'll want to get acquainted with the technology and download the necessary (free) software beforehand. Kate has provided a section of the LTC website to help: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/check.html Hint: If technology scares you assign a student to help you! BIOGRAPHIES AND FIELD JOURNALS
Autobiographical profiles of the men and women of the Space Team Online project provide the core reading material that brings to life the real world excitement of America's space program. Each participant shares a bit of the path that led them to their present position. Personal information about family, pets, and hobbies puts a human face on the "rocket scientist" impression youngsters have and helps your students to visualize themselves on a similar path. The so-called "Field Journals" are stories that describe in detail the work it takes to make the shuttle and space station come to life. The format will vary and may include "what I did today," or "a problem I recently solved," or a "problem I wish I could solve," or "my goals for the next month." Regardless of the style, the stories bring to life for your students the diversity of skills and people needed for NASA's space program to work. These materials are identified by reading difficulty to assist teachers in selecting appropriate levels for the classroom. Often the software evaluates them higher than necessary due to NASA acronyms, so don't be put off by these assignments categories. We hope that these snippets of NASA's world will be useful as reading exercises and to illustrate related topics within your curriculum. The team page is at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team and the journals are at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/journals E-MAIL QUESTIONS GET PERSONALLY ANSWERED
The opportunity to send e-mail questions to the men and women of NASA's STO team is available. In most cases, you will receive a reply within ten days to two weeks. K-12 students and teachers can e-mail questions to NASA engineers, scientists, and support staff. This interaction is supported by a "Smart Filter" who protects the professional from Internet overload by acting as a buffer. A database of replies to previously asked questions is provided online. We believe that the e-mail Q&A service is a good complement to the bios, journals, and other materials. Students have an opportunity to follow up on any Space Team Online information or they can pursue their own lines of interest. Instructions may be found at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/ask/question.html STUDENTS PUBLISH ON NASA'S WEB
Students are the primary reason for Space Team Online, and seeing them take an active role in this project is one of our primary goals. We'd like to get pictures of your students at work or samples of their work we may publish on NASA's website. Many kids will be very excited to point their browser to NASA and see themselves at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/kids We can accept submissions electronically as e-mail, Web pages, or file transfers. If it is easier, send us faxes or mail us hardcopy. For details about how to get your material to us, see http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/posting.html Students are also invited to interact with each other in the Student Stumpers area. Students make up challenging questions about this project that they think would be difficult to answer, and other students respond directly to the author of the question. We have received several entries this summer and invite your students to respond at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/kids/stumpers.html
The classroom can be an isolating environment, and, at times, teachers express the feeling that they are the only ones struggling to lead in the challenge to incorporate the exciting content available through the Internet into their curriculum needs. Others need help in finding out just how to start. NASA Quest is devoted to trying to help you whether you are a "newbie" or an experienced "techie." Often that is best done by letting teachers chat with each other to discuss a wide variety of issues, concerns, teaching strategies, useful resources, project collaboration opportunities, and suggestions on other projects hosted on NASA Quest. You can join this discussion list simply called "discuss" or any of the other lists available as a part of this project. See: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/sub-sto-intro.html
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