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Tracking a Solar Storm
Above: screenshot of Tracking a Solar Storm web site. Click the above image to visit the site
Go to this web site now
Originally named the Student Observation Network, Tracking a Solar Storm (TaSS) is an on-line resource designed to give students and teachers an environment where they could learn more about why NASA is so interested in learning more about our relationship with the Sun. It soon became a pilot project for a group of online educational environments now being developed by NASA headquarters, for NASA Explorer Schools. This unique concept developed by the SECEF team helps educators inject real NASA science and data into their classrooms.
With this plan in place, we were able to develop an educational guide for educators that fit with their curriculum needs, while at the same time meeting national education standards. The reach of this project is further enhanced through a series of hands-on workshops. Several times a year the SECEF team meets with educators from a region and trains them on how to use this program in their schools. This introduces them directly to many NASA missions, and their data, while educating them about the goals and significance of SEC science.
The web site is designed to be user friendly and engaging for the primary audience, which is students. By developing this site by the W3C standards we were also able to create a very accessible tool for all users.
Challenges
Bringing complex mission data into a classroom is challenging at best. But by uniting a variety of mission data under the common theme of tracking solar storms, we were able to make the necessary connections to keep the students engaged, and the educators happy.
