Free Webinars from NASA’s Aerospace Education Services Project – July and August 2012

NASA Educators Online Network (NEON) is a part of the NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP). The network provides professional development opportunities for K-12 educators to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.

NASA’s Aerospace Education Services Project will provide additional free webinars in July and August of 2012. All webinars can be accessed online. Educators can join aerospace education specialists during the events to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides for each topic.  These webinars and the interaction with education specialists are designed to make it easy for you to use NASA materials in your classroom.  Try a free professional development opportunity this month!

Putting NEON to Work for You, Part 2 (Grades K-12)
July 31, 2012, 7 – 8 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Anne Weiss explains how to use the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON’s, most important feature: the interest groups. Participants will role-play several scenarios to find out how NEON’s various tools can be used to find NASA activities that align to state-specific standards.

Toys in Space (Grades 4-9)
Aug. 1, 2012, 11 a.m. -noon EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will share NASA’s Toys in Space videos and activities. In this program, astronauts took toys from around the world with them into space. Students predict, observe and record how the toys behave without the effects of Earth’s gravity, putting Newton’s Laws of Motion to the test. Participants will receive copies of the astronaut videos for use in the classroom.

Physics Resources for Secondary School (Grades 6-12)
Aug. 1, 2012, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. EDT
Join aerospace education specialist John Weis as he demonstrates simple activities and resources for teaching physics at middle and high school levels. Topics and resources covered will include Newton’s Laws of Motion, energy, light and gravity. Lesson plans and modification strategies will be discussed.

Exploring Our Earth From Above (Grades 4-12)
Aug. 2, 2012, 10 – 11 a.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will integrate science, technology, engineering, mathematics and geography, or STEM-G, with Earth observations, remote sensing and maps. NASA curriculum products, missions and other resources will be utilized to demonstrate an inquiry-based teaching strategy to better understand Earth and the processes that shape it.

Curiosity: Roving Mars (Grades 2-8)
Aug. 2, 2012, noon – 1 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Rick Varner will share an overview of the Mars Science Laboratory mission and its rover named Curiosity. Scheduled to land on Mars on Aug. 6, 2012, Curiosity is twice as big as rovers Spirit or Opportunity and weighs nearly a ton. The work the mission is designed to accomplish is equally large.

Exploring Our Earth From Above (Grades 4-12)
Aug. 9, 2012, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will integrate science, technology, engineering, mathematics and geography, or STEM-G, with Earth observations, remote sensing and maps. NASA curriculum products, missions and other resources will be utilized to demonstrate an inquiry-based teaching strategy to better understand Earth and the processes that shape it.

“Flying to Mars… In an Airplane?” (Grades 3-9)
Aug. 16, 2012, 4 – 5 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Brian Hawkins will present an overview of the Mars Science Laboratory mission with its Curiosity rover and explore the proposed Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Survey of Mars, or ARES, mission. ARES is also known as the Mars Airplane. Two hands-on activities will be demonstrated during this session.

For more information about these webinars, and to see a full list of webinars taking place through August 2012, visit http://neon.psu.edu/webinars/.

Free NASA Webinar – Proposal Preparation for NASA SBIR – July 25, 2012

Small businesses wishing to submit proposals for the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program should consider participation in this free webinar explaining the proposal process. 

When: July 25^th, 2012, 1:00 – 2:30 (~60 minute presentation plus Q&A) (US SBA Collaboration)

Location: Online (Webinar)

Cost: FREE but advanced registration is required 

This is one of a series of sessions presented by BBCetc on SBIR/STTR proposals. These sessions provide detailed instruction on various elements of proposal preparation and proposal submission procedures, offering insight on the elements of a competitive SBIR/STTR proposal. There is no charge to attend the webinars, but pre-registration is required.

Visit the following website for details: https://web1.oai.org/SBIR-ProposalPrepJuly25.nsf

Algebraic Skeletal System: Human Physiology in Space Web Seminar – July 19, 2012

NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on July 19, 2012, at 11 a.m. EDT. The seminar focuses on human physiology. Obtain information about the effect microgravity has on the physiology of astronauts and learn about the countermeasures NASA uses to help overcome these effects when they return to Earth.

Outer space is an exciting part of our lives and promises to be an even more exciting part of the future for your students. It provides scientists with a unique laboratory, allowing scientific studies never possible in the history of civilization. Future space missions will continue to involve sending humans into space. But after extended stays in microgravity, astronauts must return safely to Earth and lead normal, healthy lives.

This seminar will provide instruction on how to integrate the Skeletal System: Human Physiology in Space lesson into your curriculum. There are two classroom activities in this lesson focusing on the effects of spaceflight on human physiology.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar26.aspx

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Email any questions about this opportunity to the NASA Explorer Schools help desk at NASA-Explorer-Schools@mail.nasa.gov.

Free Education Webinars from NASA’s AESP Program – July 2012

NASA Educators Online Network (NEON) is a part of the NASA Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP). The network provides professional development opportunities for K-12 educators to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.

Free Education Webinar Series from the Aerospace Education Services Project

The Aerospace Education Services Project is presenting a series of free webinars throughout July 2012. All webinars can be accessed online. Join aerospace education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Looking at the Sun (Grades 2-8)
July 13, 2012, 3 – 4 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Rick Varner will present sun-Earth-moon models that help to explain the phases of the moon, and both lunar and solar eclipses. Additionally, the activity Kinesthetic Astronomy will be introduced for its explanation of the seasons.

Putting NEON to Work for You, Part 2 (Grades K-12)
July 14, 2012, noon – 1 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Anne Weiss explains how to use the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON’s, most important feature: the interest groups. Participants will role-play several scenarios to find out how NEON’s various tools can be used to find NASA activities that align to state-specific standards.

Our Solar System: A Model Overview (Grades 4-9)
July 16, 2012, 11 a.m. – noon EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will present NASA inquiry activities that demonstrate remote sensing and scale models to better visualize our sun, planets, asteroids and other objects as a whole system.

Messenger’s Mission to Mercury (Grades K-12 and Informal)
July 17, 2012, 10 – 11 a.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Brandon Hargis will provide an overview of the Messenger Mission along with lessons and activities connected to the mission. Attendees will visit the Messenger Mission website to get a glimpse of available resources , investigate stratification of lava layers and take core samples to make observations and inferences.

I’m Signed up for NEON — Now What? (Grades K-12)
July 17, 2012, 6 – 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Anne Weiss will introduce participants to basic features of the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON, professional/collaborative learning community. Participants will also learn how to use NEON to find appropriate NASA standards-aligned activities that satisfy state-specific teaching standards.

Kepler Mission: Searching for Earth-like Planets (Grades 6-12)
July 18, 2012, 7 – 8:15 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Tony Leavitt will discuss NASA’s Kepler Mission.  Kepler has been in space for three years searching for planets that are orbiting stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Participants will learn how transits are used to find planets and determine their sizes and distances from the stars they orbit.

Understanding Earth, Moon and Sun Connections (Grades K-12)
July 23, 2012, 2 – 3 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Sonya Williams will build on participants’ understanding of moon phases and the solar system to help them gain a better understanding of Earth, moon and sun connections. Participants will listen to a Native American/Western science story and take part in a hands-on activity.

Engineering Design Process Implementation (Grades K-12)
July 23, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist John Weis will lead this webinar encouraging educators to share their experiences facilitating engineering design activities into their curriculum and assist them in creating an engineering design process activity within their specific content area.

Classroom Lunacy: Studying the Moon (Grades K-12 and Informal)
July 24, 2012, 10 – 11 a.m. EDT
Aerospace education Brandon Hargis will share NASA resources that will help participants develop lessons about the phenomena of moon phases and eclipses. Recent discoveries from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite missions will be shared during this activity.

Food for Thought (Grades 5-8)
July 24, 2012, 11 a.m. – noon EDT
Aerospace education Steve Culivan will share “Food for Thought,” a new NASA educator guide designed to explore space food and the nutritional needs of the astronauts. The guide includes a menu of inquiry activities and other resources to address this exciting topic.

Solar System Mission Exploration: Past, Present, Future (Grades 2-8)
July 24, 2012, 2 – 3 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Rick Varner will discuss the process through which NASA researchers design missions to collect data from distant worlds. The presentation will briefly discuss the current and future exploration missions in our solar system and provide an activity that simulates remote sensing and sample return missions using simple materials.

Applying the Engineering Design Process to STEM Topics (Grades K-12)
July 24, 2012, 6 – 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist John Weis will lead this webinar where educators will discuss implementing the engineering design process as a method of problem solving in subject areas other than engineering.

Get Ready for the Landing of the Curiosity Rover (Grades K-12 and Informal)
July 25, 2012, 4 – 5 p.m. EDT
NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, is getting ready to land on Mars. Join aerospace education specialist Tom Estill to learn about Mars education resources available to formal and informal educators. Learn about Mars games, classroom activities, projects and e-learning opportunities, all to help you prepare for the upcoming Curiosity landing.

Living and Working in Space (Grades K-5)
July 26, 2012, 9 – 10 a.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Wil Robertson will introduce teachers to some of the obstacles humans face while traveling in space. The webinar will review the major difficulties and concerns of adapting to the space environment, from everyday living and personal hygiene to safety.

Our Solar System: A Model Overview (Grades 4-9)
July 26, 2012, 11 a.m. – noon EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will present NASA inquiry activities that demonstrate remote sensing and scale models to better visualize our sun, planets, asteroids and other objects as a whole system.

NASA Engineering Design Challenge: Can You Deliver? “Touchdown!” (Grades 5-10)
July 26, 2012, 7 – 8 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Tony Leavitt will share an activity that challenges students to safely deliver a cargo to the surface of Mars. This activity introduces students to the engineering design process, from brainstorming to writing a summary report. Given a particular set of materials, student teams design, build and test prototypes.

Putting NEON to Work for You, Part 2 (Grades K-12)
July 26, 2012, 9- 10 a.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Anne Weiss explains how to use the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON’s, most important feature: the interest groups. Participants will role-play several scenarios to find out how NEON’s various tools can be used to find NASA activities that align to state-specific standards.

For more information about these webinars, and to see a full list of webinars taking place through August 2012, visit http://neon.psu.edu/webinars/.

Human Body: Space Adaptations Web Seminar – June 28, 2012

The human body changes in space.

NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on June 28, 2012, at 2 p.m. EDT. Space is a harsh environment. When an astronaut goes into space, his or her body immediately begins to change, causing the astronaut to feel and even look slightly different. During this seminar, you will get information about the effects of microgravity on astronauts. You also will be guided through three student activities, which provide a first-hand look at the effects of reduced gravity on bones, the fluid shifts in the body and the amount of oxygen needed to survive.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar27.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Free Webinar – Is There Water on Mars? – June 20, 2012

Attend a free webinar, June 20, 2012 – Chemistry of Water: Mars Exploration – Is There Water on Mars?

Chemistry of Water: Mars Exploration – Is There Water on Mars? Web Seminar

As part of a series of electronic professional development experiences for educators, the NASA Explorer Schools project and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute Web seminar on June 20, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. “Chemistry of Water: Mars Exploration — Is There Water on Mars?” is an inquiry-based lesson on how atmospheric pressure and vapor pressure affect the boiling point of water. See why the boiling point of water is pressure-dependent, rather than temperature-dependent. Then, by extension, you will deduce if there could be liquid water on Mars.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar25.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Skeletal System: Human Physiology in Space Web Seminar – June 12, 2012

Human Physiology in Space Web Seminar

NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on June 12, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. EDT. The seminar focuses on human physiology. Obtain information about the effect microgravity has on the physiology of astronauts and learn about the countermeasures NASA uses to help overcome these effects when they return to Earth.

Outer space is an exciting part of our lives and promises to be an even more exciting part of the future for your students. It provides scientists with a unique laboratory, allowing scientific studies never possible in the history of civilization. Future space missions will continue to involve sending humans into space. But after extended stays in microgravity, astronauts must return safely to Earth and lead normal, healthy lives.

This seminar will provide instruction on how to integrate the Skeletal System: Human Physiology in Space lesson into your curriculum. There are two classroom activities in this lesson focusing on the effects of spaceflight on human physiology.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES2/webseminar26.aspx.

To learn more about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

Free NASA Education Webinar Series – June 2012

Free NASA webinars for educators available through NEON

The Aerospace Education Services Project is presenting a series of free webinars through June 2012. All webinars can be accessed online. Join aerospace education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources to bring NASA into your classroom.

Understanding Earth, Moon and Sun Connections (Grades K-8)
June 12, 2012, 2 – 3 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Sonja Williams will introduce cultural perspectives related to the phases of the moon and the solar system. Attendees will participate in an activity based upon a Native American/Western science story. Participants will receive culturally relevant materials related to stars and constellations that they can share with their students.

NASA in the Classroom (Grades K-12)
June 12, 2012, 4 – 5 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Tom Estill will introduce K-12 teachers to various NASA education resources. Participants will learn how to find science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, lesson plans, current teacher/student opportunities and NASA videos for classroom use. Teachers will also be shown how to use local NASA-related resources.

The Real Lord of the Ring (Grades K-4)
June 13, 2012, 6 – 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Alexis Harry will introduce teachers to a set of lessons that enhance basic communication skills through scientific exploration based on the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. Throughout the lessons, participants practice a variety of language arts skills, including descriptive writing, note-taking, poetry, illustration and oral communication.

Mars Uncovered: Revealing the Geologic History of Mars (Grades 5-12)
June 18, 2012, 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Tony Leavitt will share an inquiry-based lesson that presents a critical-thinking approach of studying the surface of Mars. This process is similar to the approach used by NASA scientists. This lesson will teach students to examine geologic features of a planetary surface and use relative-age dating techniques to analyze the information and interpret the geologic history.

Sun-Earth-Moon Relationships (Grades 2-8)
June 20, 2012, noon – 1 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Rick Varner will present sun-Earth-moon models that help to explain the phases of the moon, and both lunar and solar eclipses. Additionally, the activity Kinesthetic Astronomy will be introduced for its explanation of the seasons.

I’m Signed up for NEON — Now What?? (Grades K-12)
June 20, 2012, 6- 7 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Anne Weiss will introduce participants to basic features of the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON, professional/collaborative learning community. Participants will also learn how to use NEON to find appropriate NASA standards-aligned activities that satisfy state-specific teaching standards.

Our Solar System: A Model Overview (Grades 4-9)
June 25, 2012, 11 a.m. – noon EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will present NASA inquiry activities that demonstrate remote sensing and scale models to better visualize our sun, planets, asteroids and other objects as a whole system.

Our Solar System: A Model Overview (Grades 4-9)
June 25, 2012, 3 – 4 p.m. EDT
Aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will present NASA inquiry activities that demonstrate remote sensing and scale models to better visualize our sun, planets, asteroids and other objects as a whole system.

For more information about these webinars, and to see a full list of webinars taking place through August 2012, visit http://neon.psu.edu/webinars/.