Week 2 #NASAMgUE

For week 2 of NASA Microgravity University for Educators, we were working with a little more information.  We had had our first teacher's meeting with MgUE on Tuesday evening.  The meeting provided additional information into the requirements for the projects and NASA resources to assist in the completion of the project.

Our team, teachers and students, met today.  In fact, we have established our regular meeting time for Friday mornings.  During our team meetings, the 110 students are divided into groups.  Groups have a combination of students from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes.  Two groups are assigned to each job for the project.  Each of the four classroom teachers has six different groups in their rooms, a total of three different jobs.  As the elementary engineering teacher, I have prep and am able to circulate between the four classrooms and assist as needed.  Only a few of the jobs have work to do this early.  Below is an outline of the jobs we have established.

Mrs. Kwid
Building: Groups 10 and 2
Materials Management: Groups 19 and 20
Simulator Development: Groups 15 and 16

Ms. Nazario
Quality Assurance and Safety: Groups 4 and 5
Data Collection and Analysis: Groups 13 and 14
Time Management: Groups 17 and 18

Mrs. Gunn
Documentation: Groups 8 and 9
Final Report: Groups 21 and 22
Public Relations:  Groups 23 and 24

Mrs. Bivens
Planning for Houston: Groups 11 and 12
Launch: Groups 6 and 7
Scientific Research: Groups 1 and 3

This week when the team met, each teacher showed two videos.  One video was about becoming a NASA astronaut and the other discussed the different jobs in a successful space exploration mission.  Following the movies students were engaged with the NASA Launch a Rocket from a Spinning Planet activity.  The activity calls for a merry-go-round, but we modified the activity by using spinning chairs, wads of recycled paper, and a container:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/launch-windows/en/

Students in the documentation group went between the four different classrooms taking pictures and writing notes about what was going on.  Teachers and students reported it went well.

First #NASAMgUE Meeting

Our team had our first meeting with #NASAMgUE last night.  Four of us were able to participate together, and the fifth was able to participate from home.  The good news is we all made it.  The not as good news is I felt a bit stressed by the end of the meeting.  At this moment, it feels as though there is quite a bit to do to be ready to go to NASA in April.  However, I was amazed by how my team members are embracing the challenge.  While I believe we all felt a bit of trepidation at the uphill climb ahead of us, no one shied away from the challenge.  We went immediately into conquer mode and began discussing meeting times for the team.  I feel privileged to be working with this team of educators who want to put their best foot forward and represent our school in the best positive light.  Our next steps are to contact our team mentor, review the TSR Guidelines, and begin preparing our outreach presentation.  In addition to the #NASAMgUE assignments, we also are planning how to work through the project with our students.  I am feeling the pressure only because I seem to have several other projects outside of NASA going on at the same time.  There were a couple of grants I wanted to write, and I am working part time writing STEM curriculum.  I am just so thankful my team is on board and ready to jump in.  Our combined enthusiasm will make the load lighter.  It will also make the project that much more exciting.  Even with all the other pressures I am feeling at this moment, I would advise anyone who has this opportunity to submit a proposal.  It may push you into that space outside your comfort zone, but that's just part of what makes it worthwhile.  We ask our students to do this every day.  Take the challenge if the opportunity presents itself!

Week 1 NASA MgUE

Our first week back to school, our team hit the ground running.  We were ready and anxious to get started on our work with NASA Microgravity University for Educators (MgUE).  The teachers on the team had the most to complete during this week.  We had to individually create profiles and introduce ourselves on the discussion board on the NASA Education Projects Desire2Learn (D2L) system.  We also were asked to celebration selfies to share the news on social media.

i-Nerds of Martian Gravity Teacher Team

Just completing these simple tasks continued the excitement.  We had a meeting with the 110 students on the team and began to explain the remainder of the process for completing the project as we understand it.  We will have all the students working in some capacity to help complete the project.  We will know more after our first virtual meeting with NASA on January 17, 2017.  We will learn who our NASA mentor will be and additional details to successfully complete our NASA project.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Participants Acceptance/Declination Email	January 4, 2017	Email acceptance or declination to jsc-epd@mail.nasa.gov
Complete Acceptance Evaluation	January 10, 2017	Complete acceptance evaluation at: http://go.nasa.gov/2hRNfpp
Login to D2L	Jan 10-15, 2017	Login and create your profile in the MgUE Desire2Learn Online Community.  Refer to the action items section below for instructions.
D2L Discussion Board Introductions	Jan 10-15, 2017	Post on the discussion board where you are from, grade level(s) you teach, subject(s) you teach, and something unique about yourself.
Online Meetings via Blackboard Collaborate Link found in D2L Login as an individual, not as a team.	January 17, 2017 7-8:30 pm central	Overview 1- MgUE Expectations and  Meet your Mentor
	January 31, 2017 7-8:30 pm central	Professional Development 1- Culturally Responsive Teaching, Engineering Design Process, and Pegboard Air Table
	February 14, 2017	Professional Development 2 (recorded) – Digital Learning Network Onsite Connections. Teachers will complete on their own time throughout the week.
	February 28, 2017 7-8:30 pm central	Professional Development 3- Science as Inquiry, NASA Education Resources, and Microgravity Educator Guide
	March 7, 2017	Final Technical Proposal Submitted for Test Safety Review (TSR)
	March 14, 2017 7-8:30 pm central	Showcase 1- Outreach Plans and Press Releases
	March 28, 2017 7-8 pm central	Overview 2- Onsite Expectations and Final Report Expectations
One Week Onsite Experience at Johnson Space Center	April 2-April 7, 2017	Face to Face Institute 1
	April 9 -14, 2017	Face to Face Institute 2
Final Online Meeting and Digital Badging Period Digital badging	April 14 – May 3, 2017	Showcase 2 – Educators will choose a date to present their outreach plan. Educators will also independently complete the digital badging requirements.

NASA Microgravity University for Educators Acceptance

Our team first learned of our acceptance into the NASA Microgravity University for Educators (MgUE) with a call from NASA on December 12, 2016.  My colleague and NASA team member came into my classroom while I was teaching her students and said NASA was on the phone.  Even though it was a day earlier than the scheduled announcement, we both knew what this might mean.  I ran to the office to take the phone call because that was my first inclination.  I took the call in the office.  I found my self on a conference call with the Education Program division at NASA Johnson Space Center.  I recognized all the names from the informational session I had watched to help us with the proposal.  It was so exciting when they told me we had received provisional acceptance.  It was provisional because we needed to make some changes to our design.  However, that was no surprise to us.  Upon completing the call, I rushed back to my classroom and told my team member that we had been accepted.  Strangely enough, I began to doubt if it had been real.  Our team had not received any further communication.  On December 21, 2016 we received email confirmation of the phone call.  It began to set in that we were really going to get to work with NASA and travel to NASA Johnson Space Center.  It was great to be able to let the students and teachers know.  Students had been asking me when I thought we would know if NASA had accepted our proposal.  I'm so excited for this opportunity and what it means for the students and teachers involved.

I encourage anyone else who is interested to apply.  Just developing the materials for the proposal was a fantastic opportunity for students and teachers, both of which grew during the process.  Not only are we positively impacting students, but we get to participate in some amazing professional development.  Below is the schedule we worked towards during the proposal process.

Proposal Opens                 10/17/2016 2:00pm         Central Time
Information Session         10/27/2016 7:00-8:00pm Central Time
Information Session         11/01/2016 7:00-8:00pm Central Time
Information Session         11/17/2016 7:00-8:00pm Central Time
Proposal Submission Ends 12/01/2016 11:59pm         Central Time
Team Announcements         12/13/2016 2:00pm         Central Time

#NASAMgUE @NASAJSCEducation @NASAJohnsonSpaceCenter

Exciting New Year!

The new year brings the continuation and the beginning of several exciting opportunities.  Many of them I have posted about previously, but there a couple of new items.  You may wonder why or how I end up involved in all of these different projects.  The reason is summed up best by a couple of short stories.  I was very excited after our team was accepted into the NASA Microgravity University for Educators.  I was talking with a colleague and stating my surprise at being selected.  She said "You always get it."  My response was quick and accurate, "No, I don't.  But I always apply."  There are so many fantastic opportunities out there for you and your students.  If you start looking for them, you might discover the same thing I did.  It becomes difficult to not apply.

Our team has received more information about our work with NASA's Microgravity University for Educators.  The next three months will fly by as the students prepare the SLED for deployment at the Johnson Space Center in Houston with the assistance of mentors from NASA.

Junior Botball after school groups will be starting up next week.  This will be our first big run through using them.  When we went to the training on the Botballs, we used mini iPads for the programming. The screen size was fine, but it was difficult to type in the code.  We have purchased some bluetooth keyboards that should make it easier for the students.  I will share more with you once we get up and running next week, weather permitting of course.

Next week also brings the start of Idaho TECH Challenge.  This is a STEM competition sponsored by the NASA Idaho Space Grant Consortium (ISGC). Students in 4th through 6th grades work together as teams to design and construct Mars Rover models out of Lego® and non-Lego components. The teams test their models at an Idaho TECH Engineering Design Competition (EDC), held in Pocatello or Moscow, Idaho.  This is our third year participating.

Our school's makerspace team will be sharing the activities we use during the STEM Matters event at the state capitol on January 24.  We have some student volunteers that will be sharing information and demonstrating for those in attendance.

During winter break, our school received notification that we had been awarded the Wonder Media grant.  This grant covers the cost of equipment, software, and training necessary to engage students with creative writing.  The fourth grade team will be using it with their students, and I will be technical support.

I have also been making travel plans for attending the 2017 NCCE Conference in Portland.  The conference will be held in March.  During registration, I had difficulty choosing my sessions because there are so many amazing options available.  I will be teaching a 3D printing workshop on Wednesday morning of the conference. It will walk participants through the free City X Project curriculum and teach about printing and troubleshooting.  If all goes as planned, participants will be able to take home a clay model and their finished 3D print.

Finally, in May, my two oldest children will be graduating with their undergraduate degrees.  I'm so excited for them to continue their journey and so happy I get to share that moment with them.

MicroGravity University for Educators

Experiment Name: “Gravity Check”

Team Name: “i-Nerds of Martian Gravity”

Mission Patch:         

Students in one 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade classes worked in groups to submit a proposal to NASA’s Microgravity University for Educators with the assistance of Dr. Taylor.  Their proposal for a Satellite Launching Experimental Device (SLED) that will automatically deploy a mock satellite into a targeted zone mimicking a Mars orbital insertion was created from the materials list provided by NASA.  The list includes items such as Duct Tape, Rubber Bands (different sizes and strengths), String, Tongue Depressors/Craft Sticks, Springs (different sizes and strengths), Bungie Cords (different sizes and strengths), 1 & 2 inch strips of Aluminum Tubing 1-2 feet long, 5 feet of Rubber Tubing, Paper Clips, Straws, Masking Tape, Clothes Hanger, Paper Towel Rolls, and Balloons. Students also design a mission patch and created the team name i-Nerds of Martian Gravity.  There are approximately 110 students working on this project and five teachers.  The team will be working directly with NASA to refine and improve their SLED design before the team of teachers takes the design to NASA’s Johnson Space Center to test their design in simulated microgravity.

All the students will have jobs to complete for the SLED to be ready for testing in April.  Your student may be assisting with the build, conducting scientific research for mechanics and aerospace, quality assurance on the build, launch team, trip planning to Houston, data collection and analysis, final report, public relations (website), simulator development and build, documentation, time management, and materials management.  Just like other NASA projects, it will take the entire team to have our SLED ready for testing at NASA Johnson Space Center.  During the teachers’ time at Johnson Space Center, the team of teachers will be communicating live with the students to share the experience and the results of the test. 

https://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/theProgram/micro-g-ue/index.cfm

First LEGO League - Year 3

Yesterday I finished up my third First LEGO League season.  My goal with the school's First LEGO League (FLL) team has always been to provide students with the opportunities the competition provides.  The competition is made up of different components.  It can be summed up as two components, a project and the robot missions.  The FLL Core Values are used to guide the team and help them complete the competition while having fun.  The teams have to present in three different sessions at the competition tournament, project, robot design, and core values.  The experience with presenting is a valuable one for the students.  The project is also valuable for skills it teaches.

The team this year was all first time participants a team of fourth grade students.  The amount of work to be done is difficult to accomplish from late August to early December.  Many teams meet multiple times per week including weekends.  As a school team, it is difficult to require that significant of a time commitment.  However, my goal is to share the opportunity with as many students as possible and not to just strive to win.  I want students to develop existing strengths and discover new ones as well.  This goal does not require students to give up all their free time or choose FLL over other activities.

Each year my experience with the team has been different, much as classroom dynamics change with each new group of students.  I have enjoyed all three years but each year consider not doing it again.  At the same time, perhaps oddly enough, I recommend it for both students and coaches.  Again, I think the experience for both is invaluable.  I have tried each year to improve a different aspect of the school's FLL team to make it work better for students and myself.  I always ask coaches that I meet how they organized their team.  How often did they meet?  How did they design their robot?  How did they distribute the work?  What I have finally come to realize is that it does not matter how other teams are organized.  I have to find what works to help my team achieve our goals.  Our goals may not be the same as other teams.  As I watched many of the team members literally bouncing with excitement before our last round, I realized I had achieved my goals.  The team members and discovered new strengths and developed existing ones.  They had found an interest in something they did not know anything about.  There was talk of plans for next year's tournament that may or may not come to fruition, but they were there.  The team of eight had experienced a brand new opportunity and whether or not they participate again, they have grown from it.

I have grown from my experiences over the last three years as well.  I have grown in many professional ways and enjoyed the excitement and youthful enthusiasm of my teams.  It is a tough challenge to take on, coaching an FLL team, but well worth the time and effort.

http://www.firstlegoleague.org/