350 likes | 712 Views
The NVO for Schools, Informal Science Centers, Planetaria, including and Remote and Local Telescopes: The National Virtual Observatory and Hands-On Universe (HOU) UC Berkeley
E N D
The NVO for Schools, Informal Science Centers, Planetaria, including and Remote and Local Telescopes:The National Virtual Observatoryand Hands-On Universe (HOU) UC Berkeley Building Meaningful Use and Understanding of NVOData through Use of Telescopes and Image Processing in Schools, Science Centers and Planetaria brought to you by the: US National Science FoundationEducation and Human ResourcesElementary, Secondary and Informal Sciences Education Program
NVO: A Revolutionary Development.With Arguably Unprecedented Public/Educational Outreach Capability:Why not meaningfully reach many, many people, (instead of just 10,000 Astronomers) with high quality data? Professional Quality Data Hands-On Universe Interfaces,training, activities,communities you! Humans, students Just putting stuff On the web bombs!!
Hands-On Universe Resources --What have we got to share with the NVO? • Image processing software (C++ and IDL based) • Master Teacher Corp of 22 Teacher Resource Agents • (many have been with the project for ~ 7 years) • Curriculum for High School • Real Astronomy Experience for Informal Science Centers • Growing Telescope Network (RTML!!) • Teacher workshops • On-line teacher workshops!! • Growing Alliance with Starry Nights/Maxim DL/Bob Denny • 700 Trained HOU teachers in the US • Another 500 trained teachers around the world • Some good discoveries -- young women have found supernovae, asteroids, etc. • Knowledge of how to make astronomy work in school environments • TIMSS Evaluation
TIMSS Results -- On-Line Training of Teachers Seems to as Effective as Face-to-face workshops, as measured by Student Performance
Of great interest to teachers and Students: • Real Research • Non-analyzed data (save a portion of the sky for kids?? • e.g., Quark Net will probably save a trigger for kids) • Sense of adventure and discovery • Light Curves!!! Transient Objects • Seamless connections to real telescopes (Aussie VO ideas) • FTS not Jpeg!!
Some Underpinnings of Hands-On Universe (courtesy of NSF ESIE) • People learn science best by doing aspects of science with modern tools • The least powerful deserve the most powerful tools • Scientists can share their sense of exploration, their sense of joy with students and the public • There is always an opportunity to make a small or large discovery.
HOU Pre-NVO and new technology • High Bandwidth Networking -- video conferencing experiments with teacher training -- we trained a group of teachers using Polycom-based one-day workshop. • Resources that genuinely need computing to succeed • Data bases • Automated Telescopes • CCD Image Cameras • Teacher support networks using the internet • On-Line courses
Optimistic Signs • Teachers like astronomy and others are eager to change • Students know computers and networking are the future • We have many resources that are available and are working • NVO!!!! • Small remote telescopes (RTML) • Internet enables unprecedented level of • Access • Communication • Collaboration -- if we do it right and carefully
Why Astronomy?They like it better than other sciences in school1= HOU provided Less, 5= HOU provided more:
Why Astronomy 2: • From Master’s Thesis of Curtis Craig, early in HOU -- young women thrived at it. • HOU is thriving in some inner cities of US and France with a diverse audience.
What Does HOU have to gain from the NVO? • New unprecedented set of great data for universal access • Possible collaborations and linkages to more scientists, educators, and other institutions • Data base and infomatics for kids • Better Collaborations
Resources to Supplement IVO for Public Venues:HOU/RAE to the Rescue • HOU IP Software • HOU On-line and face to face workshops -- scalability! • Web-site (http://hou.lbl.gov) • Data Base • Video Conferencing • Growing world of small telescopes, too (Monet, etc.)
Ladder of Cognition: Narrabri Remote Telescope in Australia at ANTF
Visitor Software • Maxim DL (easy version) Image Processing • Starry Night Planeataria software for requests and understanding sky and interacting with IVO • Instant Telescope Control Software • Data Base (HOU and IVO!) • Video Conferencing with remote telescopes • Control of Observatory Cameras • Take home images, software, etc.
Supernova and HOU IP! • Before • After
Data Base • on-line images, requests, learning, etc.!
Example: Asteroid Discovery by Young Women! These materials are not esoteric to kids! • FS144:
Kids and Supernovae • Important Objects (in the California standards!) • They create all of the matter of the universe -- you and I are star children • Kids and Teachers love them • They teach science and math kids have to learn anyway • Kids have found them
Use in Classrooms and RAE • Students/visitors rediscover a supernova in existing data or evolving data • Slowly building a student-based supernova search • Use supernova images to find asteroids • Connect with Berkeley supernova groups and science • Scale to AGN’s and all other transient objects
Small Telescopes Can Supplement NVO Data • Follow up asteroids, variable AGN’s, stars, etc. • Make science more valuable and immediate • Exciting • Teaches more inquiry- based science • RTML (Remote Telescope Markup Language
More that NVO Do for HOU: • Excel -->> SQL Cross-compilers/interpreters be able to make a global search on stars that vary, search on absolute magnitudes, search on any reasonable derived attribute. Jim Gray says it is possible. • Utilize some Grid technology to establish up-link/server sites to consolidate data that cannot be put on a stable server at users “observatory” -- do photometry, astrometry, etc. • Click on a Starry Night Star, and get all of the data ever taken on this, from every observatory or satellite in the world • Be open to formative evaluation to make this operation successful -- establish a working group with funding for travel
The Future is Incredibly Bright • There will be hiccups • We can prove stuff works and succeeds better than “normal” informal science education soon! • It will be a great journey together