Space Exploration
Updated 3/6/99 10 am
The core of our project is to develop a learning unit that will use
Web-based tools (some already in existence, others to be improved or
develped as detailed elsewhere in this document) for an active
engagement of students in the learning of topics of science and
engineering. Our product will be a module, or learning unit, that will
provide instruction in both synchronous and asynchronous modes using
the Web. Examples of tools include: Java applets for recreation and
visualizatin of physical phenomena; collaborative technology to guide
students through educational units; programs for the administration of
the course; visualization tools (VRML?) to display data, results of
simulations, virtual reality tours into space, etc.
Our
success will be measured in whether we would be able to increase the
appreciation of science and engineering among students and in how
effective we will be in increasing competency in a given area of
science or engineering. The theme we have chosen is "space
exploration". There are some simple reasons why we think this is
a good choice:
- It appeals to a wide audience, from K-12
to college students;
- It is inherently
cross-disciplinary; in this module, students can see how physics and
engineering are applied to tackle a set of practical
problems;
- It is dynamic: there are great opportunities of
using animations, pictures, simulations, remote experiments, etc. to
engage students in topics of physics and
engineering;
;It uses strengths in
research areas in both the Physics Dept. and Depts. in the College of
Engineering. Products of research projects, such as, but not limited
to, the remote measurement of radiation in actual experiments, will be
put to use for education.
"Space
exploration" would be organized as a Web-based module where
instructors could use different parts of it depending on the type of
course they teach and on their audience. Both asynchronous and
synchronous learning will be supported.
Faculty members participating in this project have already worked
in different teams on the preparation of educational material that
uses or resides on the Web (see for example the modules develped for
the courses "Science for the 21st
Century"). However, this module would be different because of its
breadth, richness of content, and wider and more systematic use of
advanced Web-based techonology.
This project is both content and technological driven. Our philosophy
is to command the best resources towards the presentation and teaching
of educational material on a given topic. There is a great number of
sites on the Web dedicated to astronomy or to the teaching of physical
phenomena. Most of them are "static", where the information is
provided with no effort to pace and test the learning acquired by the
user. Even the best, such as the ones linked from the Web site Students for the Exploration and
Development of Space, or the Physics 2000 Project
have a more restricted scope than our project, as explaind below.
Here are some examples on how specific technologies can be used to
reach specific teaching goals. These are examples that refer to the
teaching unit "Space exploration" illustratred below.
1. The physical laws dealing with concepts as basic as the ones of
force and inertia are often difficult to teach. "What if" scenarioes
are particularly effective in getting rid of misconceptions. Java
applets, as used in our module "SETI" and
"Mind and Machine", are
particularly appropriate for such a task, since they allow the user to
recreate a "thought" experiment. When used in a syncrhonous learning
environment supported by collaborative technology, students can be
guided through the learning experience of being shown why and how
their misconceptions yield to erroneous results. So far, educators
have made sparse use of such Web-tools, in part because the Java
applets that have been written so far were too crude to be of use in a
learning environment where the teacher has to deal with a potentially
beterogenous audience and the illustration of a concept requires more
than simple visualization gimmicks employed in the early Java
applets. Now, improved techonogy and an increased expertise make it
possible to write applets not to achieve striking effects, but rather
with the goal of providing an effective, multi-step learning
environment. Furthermore, thoughtful integration of Java applets and
collaborative technology would provide an environment where the
teacher provides the pace of exploration.
2. Visualization
of phenomena that are otherwise impossible to capture because occur
too fast, too slow or at a scale that cannot be easily shown, such as
wind flow past wings, astronomical events or the structural response
of materials or structures used in aerospace, can be effectively done
using graphics tools that are easily deliverred through the Web. See
Higuchi's work....(www.simscience.org)
3.Remote operation and
visualization of experiments that are otherwise difficult, unsafe or
expensive to reproduce at other locations can be achieved using Web
technology. For example, the subject of potentially harmful
electromagnetic radiation, can be explored at different levels. K-12
graders can learn about measuring radiation and its effects by
controlling remotely a set-up provided by the SU High Energy
Group. College students can take advantage of state-of-the-art
instrumentation to obtain quanitative data for a project on designing
materials or part of instrumentation for a spacecraft.
Physics:
- Scientific goals of space
exploration. Background about the physics of space travel, the cosmos,
scientific discoveries related to space exploration, etc.Examination
through simulations of aberrant behaviour of objects /systems when
physical laws are suspended or modified. Science in science fiction
(Especially appropriate for younger audiences).
- Web-based module to be developed by the High Energy Group to
measure radiation damage of materials using remote sensing and
supporting remote "on-demand" control of actual experiments;
it includes other aspects of radiation as is relevant for space
exploration (for example, detector of antimatter).
- Response of the human body to space flight and remote sensing of
bioresponse to interstellar travel conditions.
Engineering:
- Issues in the construction of spacecrafts, such as elastic
properties of materials used in shells of spacecrafts and simulations
of dynamic instability of materials ("snaps through
buckling")
- Simulation of response of materials to situations encountered in
space.
- Simulations of navigation in space and aerodynamics of flight in
near-Earth orbits.