The title of this post is also the title of this year's Space Exploration Educator's Conference, where this whole thing started. I decided to continue as a SEEC Crew member for my 2nd year in space exploration education. I can explain my year in space exploration, but explaining SEEC is no easy feat. It's one of those, you had to be there situations. Luckily I was able to document my experience. I even had to delete a few apps to make room for all of the photos! It's really difficult to describe it in a way that does it justice. Therefore, this post is going to be formatted in slightly different way to hopefully represent this amazing professional development. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here goes nothing... This video shows me describing the features of the ISS Above. Check out a recording of our ISS Downlink with Joe Acaba, former teacher and astronaut currently on Station. You can hear the questions I submitted at the end of the video. For those of you who have experienced SEEC - The energy, awesome presentations, lightbulb moments for things you can do in your classroom, reunion with old friends and meeting new ones - know that the reacclimation process can be challenging. After SEEC, I took part in a 2-day Google Level 1 training. Returning to school, I've been very energized and passionate to share my SEEC experience with the teachers and students I work with. I was also able to incorporate FlipGrid and Screencastify as part of Genius Hour for the first time. I'm looking forward to using what I learned from SEEC to create stations for Mission Days for our kiddos. Seeing kids fascinated by the ISS Above, hearing them interested in careers and sparking their curiosity in the SpaceX is AMAZING!!! I would encourage each of you to venture into the unknown to this Destination Beyond. If Elon Musk can send his red Tesla into space, we can do anything :) Whether that's trying a new activity, incorporating a new technology tool, collaborating with teachers, applying to be a presenter or member of the SEEC Crew next year... It's worth it!
Peace, love and Space Exploration, CAPCOM Conrad
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A new toyIt's been quite a space dream these past few weeks. It all started when I received an e-mail from Liam Kennedy. For those of you who don't recognize that name, he's the inventor of the ISS - Above. He invented it because he wanted to share his passion for space with his grandkids :) I have never met him, but I was very excited to receive his e-mail informing me that my school had been selected to receive a free ISSAbove as part of the ISS-Above is 100 Schools. This project was made possible by funding from CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). Well, this earthling and her students are thankful to advance space science at our school. Now, if I lost you at ISS-Above, let me go back. It's a Raspberry Pi that you can't eat. Raspberry Pi is missing an e, but it jam packed with awesomeness. The difference between the ISS-Above and other raspberry pi's, is it's capability. The ISS Above has been programmed to share data about the ISS relative to your location. There are several information screens that go through a slideshow of sorts. You can see a picture of the astronauts on board. You can see the path of the ISS on a world map, it's velocity and countdown to when the ISS will be above you. This little device will light up to tell you how far away the ISS is from your location. Depending on the color and the frequency, you can determine when the ISS will be heading your way. The best part is being able to see a LIVE stream from the cameras on the outside of the ISS. Yes, you can see the Earth from Space LIVE (when it's in daylight). Teachers, it doesn't get much better than this!! The ISS-Above requires an ethernet cable, connection to a monitor or tv and you're good to go! I would highly recommend writing a grant to get one of your own!! Curriculum materials are available to download and the possibilities are endless. I have already been able to experience kiddos' high interest in our new addition and look forward to continue to share this. Teacher LiaisonAfter knowing that an ISS-Above was coming, I was on cloud nine. It got better when I found out that I had been selected as a Teacher Liaison for Flight 15-18. As part of this, I will be able to attend the 34th Annual Space Symposium in Colorado, Springs and continue to share my passion for space-education. I look forward to this new opportunity and the ability to connect with more educators from around the country. There is more than just corn in IndianaI've always been a proud Purdue grad especially because I share that title with many astronauts. The VOSS Model (that I discussed in my previous post) is one of the many space education resources Purdue has. I wasn't sure that there were many other connections, but I was pleasantly surprised when I received a call from Greg McCauley. He is the CEO of the Link Observatory Space Science Institute in Martinsville, Indiana. I hadn't heard of it until a couple weeks ago. I was able to meet with Greg and was very interested to find out that he had worked at JSC for the Apollo 15 - 17 missions!! He definitely shares my passion for space and STEM Education. Through their DiscoverSpace STEM Programs, you can connect your students to NASA Resources. NASA has so many great resources and as educators, we are all aware of the lack of time we have to navigate all of them. You don't have to be in Indiana to access this resource, it's an entirely digital platform and the possibilities are endless! You'll definitely want to look into getting this at your school! These Boots are Made for WalkingYesterday, astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle were on a spacewalk- or more technically known as an Extravehicular activity (EVA) - repairing part of the robotic CanadaArm2. Another teacher called me to make sure I knew that the spacewalk is on and was unaware that one of the ISS-Above screens had told me that it was happening. As NASA TV aired it live, I was able to explain how astronauts train in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) and explain features of the spacesuit thanks to sessions and tours at SEEC, PD from the Indianapolis Children's Museum, and this past summer's Survival Training in the NBL. I absolutely loved seeing kids excited and curious about what was going on. The next scheduled spacewalk is Monday morning January 29th. It's definitely something you should check out with your students. Back to the ClassroomYesterday night, I had my first course as part of the NASA Endeavor Program. After reading more about it and hearing what a great experience it was firsthand from a fellow SEEC Crew member, I decided to sign up. I, like all of you, am a lifelong learner and love school. In the back of my mind, I considered going back to school, but I didn't want to take classes just to say that I did. I wanted to choose something that I was passionate about. So, when I found out that there were classes that used NASA resources to enhance STEM education, I was in. I'll keep you updated as I learn more. Last, but Definitely not least...In T-7 days, I will be returning to Space Center Houston for the 24th Annual Space Exploration Educator's Conference!!!!! To say that I haven't been counting down would be a lie. It's hard to believe that almost a year ago, I began my year in space adventure. When I first saw the 747 and Shuttle outside the Center, I was blown away. When I walked in and saw a lunar capsule hanging from the ceiling, I knew that I was in the right place. Little did I know what a profound impact the stellar conference, the awesome people and the amazing program would have on me as an educator and as a person. I'm thrilled to return this year as a presenter, a veteran, with a new last name, a different job and of course, a whole lot to share. I'm excited to be reunited with the Crew and connect with new space enthusiasts. In case you didn't quite get my enthusiasm, it's gone viral!
It's been great being able to share my space resources with the 6th Grade teachers as they embark on the Earth and Space Science Unit and there's plenty more where that came from. Peace, love and space exploration, CAPCOM Conrad |
AuthorApollo 13 fan. Educator. Lifelong Learner. Third generation Boilermaker. Space Exploration Enthusiast. Collaborator. Click Subscribe to stay updated!Archives
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