Download HUNTING DOOMSDAY ASTEROIDS

TURNING THE
NVO INTO AN
“EVO”
An Educational
Virtual Observatory
Larry Marschall
Project CLEA
Gettysburg College
NVO EPO Workshop, JHU/STScI, July 11, 2002
THE TWO PRIME DIRECTIVES
IN DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL
MATERIALS
•Consider your Audience
•Consider your educational
objectives
AUDIENCES FOR CLASSROOM
MATERIALS
•Students :Science Majors or NonScience Majors?
•Faculty: Trained Astronomers or
Not?
•Institutions: HS, 2 yr, 4 yr, Univ?
Example: Introductory College
Level Astronomy
•Who takes introductory astronomy in the US?
•200 – 250 K students/year; mostly nonscience majors.
•Who teaches introductory astronomy in the
US?
• Most classes are taught by instructors
whose Ph.D. is NOT in astronomy.
EDUCATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR
LABORATORY EXERCISES DIRECTED
AT NON-SCIENCE MAJORS
•Keep it simple
•Highlight fundamental astrophysical
research techniques
• Avoid “black boxiness” --- methods
should be transparent to user.
EDUCATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR
LABORATORY EXERCISES DIRECTED
AT PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY MAJORS
• Complexities and tricks can be included
• Clever variations on basic techniques or exotic
applications are acceptable
• Avoid “black boxiness” --- methods should be
transparent to user.
•What about teaching data mining itself? Is
“Data Mining” a black box?
An Example: PROJECT CLEA
Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in
Astronomy
•Laboratory exercises illustrating modern astronomical
techniques
•Designed for non-science majors, but adaptable.
•Simulation of measurement process.
•Modern digital data and analysis techniques, using,
wherever possible, real data.
•Modular: each module includes software, student
workbook(s) technical guide.
•Funded by Gettysburg College and the NSF
PROJECT CLEA
Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in
Astronomy
Project Staff
•Larry Marschall: P.I.; Graphic Design and Manuals
•Glenn Snyder: Software
•P.Richard Cooper: Manager and Outreach Coordinator
•Also Mike Hayden, Rhonda Good, Mia Luehrmann,
Helenmarie Hofmann, Marcus Lieberman,
•Students: Shawn Baker, Erin Walsh, Brin Finnigan, Julia
Lynch, Lauren Jones, Michell Vojtush
PROJECT CLEA
Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in
Astronomy
DISSEMINATION
•Freeware (to educational users).
•Software and manuals downloadable from website:
http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/physics/clea/CLEAhome.html
• Users in all states and > 60 countries
•Manuals available in Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish,
Hebrew, Kiwi, ???
PROJECT CLEA
Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in
Astronomy
TRAINING
•Workshops at AAPT Sectional meetings
•Workshops at AAPT national meetings
•For Physics faculty who are teaching Astronomy courses: 9day workshops on Research Techniques in Astronomy, at
Gettysburg and Green Bank: June 2000, 2001, and coming
up: 2003 and 2004.
PROJECT CLEA
Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in
Astronomy
ASSESSMENT
•Pre and post concept tests available for
downloading.
•Satisfaction survey available on line.
•Site visits by external evaluator.
•Study of lab and non-lab classes by Gina
Brissenden, University of Wisconsin.
EXERCISES FROM
PROJECT CLEA (1)
EXERCISES FROM
PROJECT CLEA (2)
EXERCISES FROM
PROJECT CLEA (3)
Collaboration over the LAN
THE SEARCH FOR OBJECT X
A “Capstone” Exercise
•Students are given the coordinates of an unknown object and
a summary of identification criteria
•Access to Optical, Radio, IR and X-ray telescopes &
instruments: VIREO: The Virtual Educational Observatory
•Carry out an observing program of their own design,
identify type of object.
•Measure its physical characteristics
•Write report in specified format (Journal article, lab report,
etc).
•Note: The Object X database currently contains 20 million
stars, 50,000 galaxies, 6000 qso’s, 20,000 asteroids, 1000
pulsars, 50 million IR sources. Under development: X-ray
THE SEARCH FOR OBJECT X
and the Virtual Educational
Observatory
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
in making EVO’s from the NVO
•SELECTED DATA SETS, not access to the entire
database, is what is required
•THE USER INTERFACE is of prime importance,
and should be designed, if not created, by teachers.
The advice and collaboration of the research
community is essential, however.
•BOTH DATA and PROCESSING can be
distributed, but servers may have to handle the
onslaught of classes rather than sporadic users.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR PROJECT
CLEA?
X-Ray Astronomy: Integrating
CHANDRA data via the web and DS-9
OLEO: The On-Line Educational
Observatory on the web
“I Can’t believe it’s not a real telescope”
•Teacher’s guides and more alternative
student manuals.
THE
NATIONAL VIRTUAL
OBSERVATORY
is the line between
observation and
simulation blurring?
CLEA MANUALS IN SPANISH
CLEA MANUALS IN ITALIAN
CLEA MANUALS IN DUTCH
CLEA MANUALS IN HEBREW
CLEA MANUALS IN POLISH
CLEA MANUALS IN KIWI
An older “Canned Lab” on Spectral
Classification
Modern
Astronomy
uses digital
spectra
displayed
graphically
.
An Older “Canned Lab”
on Hubble’s Law
The CLEA WEBSITE:
http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/physics/CLEAhome.html