Student Web Activity
Students can explore a powerful set of activities that use similar concepts
to those of GIS software at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/
Using the Squeak Challenge students and teachers can assist Norbert in
solving an archaeological mystery in a similar way that the researchers
on the show have done.
The activity is aligned with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM) Standards, the National Science Education (NSES) Standards, and the
International Technology Education Association (ITEA) Standards for Technology
Literacy.
Student Challenge - You're the Explorer!
What sorts of information will we need to gather before we build permanent
colonies on other planets?
What do we know about living requirements here on Earth that can help us make
decisions about life on other planets?
Working in groups, your task is to design a plan for colonizing another planet
in our solar system. Your team will need to determine what sorts of missions
are required beforehand and what sorts of information you want them to gather.
Your team may also decide that there is information here on Earth that will assist
your colony on another planet. How will you collect it?
Submit your presentation to the NASA CONNECT™ web site
in the form of a report, PowerPoint presentation, or other delivery method.
There's a good chance that your proposal will be seen by millions of
students across the country. In fact, you might receive some cool NASA
stuff! We look forward to your submittals.
Select the most important information on your research
topic then organize it into a PowerPoint presentation. It should be 5
minutes long with a few minutes at the end for questions. Here are a
few tips to help you.
Organize Your Presentation
- Follow a logical
progression
- Divide your presentation into clear segments
- Maintain your focus
throughout
- Narrow the amount of material covered
- Have a logical conclusion
Maximize your Effectiveness
- Maintain the
relevancy of your data and information at all times
- Use visuals
to support and supplement the presentation
- Minimize the use of
animation and sound in your presentation since these can distract
the audience from the material being presented
Material
- Start with a brief introduction
to the topic and lead into the major questions that you are
examining. Include background information that your audience needs
to know to understand the subject.
- End the introduction with a clear
statement of the question that you are examining in your study
- Outline
the major conclusions you have reached after an analysis of the
research. Discuss the level of support for your conclusions (or problems)
- Suggest future areas of research on this topic that should be examined.
- Keep it simple. You don't want to detract from the content of the
slide.
- Be consistent from slide to slide.
- Create high contrast between the
background and the text
- Create contrast in the background shading
- Use no more than five lines
per page
- Use no more than five or six words per line
- Use no more than three
types of fonts (no smaller than 28 pt).
- Double check grammar,
misspelled words, and correctness of factual statements
Power Point Evaluation Criteria
Ask yourself the following
questions to help evaluate your PowerPoint presentation. If you can answer
yes to all the questions, you have done a good job!!
- Is there a title page that includes the name of the presentation,
your name and the date?
- Is the information clearly and logically organized?
- Does the presentation
include adequate detail and specificity?
- Does the presentation
include pictures and graphics?
- Is there consistency in layout
and design? (titles, fonts, capitalization, bullets, etc.)
- Do bulleted lists use a
parallel grammatical structure?
- Is the presentation free
of errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation?
Submit your presentation to the NASA CONNECT™ |
