Project Dates/Times (Participation in all events is mandatory):

Transit of Mercury Web Broadcast
Thursday, November 8th * 1:30 p.m. ET (Broadcast will be archived and participants can watch it at a later date)

Teacher Professional Development Session*
Friday, November 10, 2006 * 3:15 - 5:15 PM

Interactive Videoconference Sessions with Scientists* (all sessions are 45 minutes)

• Sunspot Regions: November 28, 2006 * 10:00 a.m.
• Storm Signals: December 5, 2006* 10:00 a.m.
• Magentosphere: December 12, 2006* 10:00 a.m.
• Aurora: December 18, 2006 * 10:00 a.m.

Mid-Project Check-In Videoconference
Tuesday, January 9, 2006

Critique Videoconference
Date TBD

* denotes events that will be streamed live for non-interactive participants to view. Please see instructions below for connecting to live webstream of these events.

Target Grade Levels: 7-8

Requirements for Participation:

All participants in this project must have MAGPI/Internet2 connectivity and the H.323 videoconferencing equipment. Sites that don't have connectivity and/or videoconferencing equipment can still view the educational content by tuning into the live webstream of each event. There is no need to register to view the webstreams - - just see the instructions below!

Description:

The Space Weather Action Center (SWAC) program provides students with an engaging, research based, cross disciplinary introduction to space weather science content. Through SWAC students are comfortably introduced to the first steps needed to monitor the progress of a solar storm from the time it erupts from our sun until it sweeps past our small planet effecting enormous changes in our magnetic field. By following the basic steps in the SWAC Instructional Guide classrooms can access, analyze and record NASA satellite and observatory data provided through the existing ‘Tracking a Solar Storm’ learning module. A 'step-by-step' Educator's Setup Guide is also provided that includes a variety of recommendations and diagrams showing users how to construct a fully functional SWAC learning center inside the classroom while keeping potential limitations on classroom space and technology in mind.

Student Observation Network’s, “Tracking a Solar Storm (TASS)” is the main resource used to collect data for the Space Weather Action Center (SWAC). TASS is an extremely robust learning tool complete with step-by-step tutorials on how to interpret live or ‘near real time’ heliophysics data from 10 missions and 36 instruments. Depending on familiarity with the subject matter users can feel somewhat intimidated by the amount of data or feel that there isn’t enough time to incorporate the entire experience into the existing classroom structure. S.W.A.C. was developed to specifically address these concerns by introducing the user to the basics of space weather through the use of a familiar and very common classroom teaching strategy: the construction of a classroom-based ‘learning center’.

Learning Centers are generally placed in small easily accessible sections of the classroom and provide students with space to reinforce selected skills in reading, writing, geography, etc. while building on interesting educational topics or ‘hooks’. A ‘S.W.A.C.’ learning center reinforces the above mentioned skills and provides a new educational ‘hook’ with an emphasis on science, communications and educational technology.

As part of the SWAC approach students are encouraged to transform their collected TASS journal data into real S.W.A.C. scripts for regularly scheduled news reports. These news reports can be presented through variety of accessible media including inexpensive video editing software and/or already existing school-based broadcast studios. Content for action reports is accessible through the TASS website and the supporting Space Weather Action Center website.

Schools involved in this project will participate in a series of videoconference sessions (including training and educational sessions) that will help studens better understand solar storms. During their final project, students will complete their own "Space Weather Action" reports. Students will track sunspots on the sun and make space weather predictions, submitting their Space weather Broadcasts to the NASA team.

Resources:

Sun Earth Day Packet: Teachers involved in this project must register through the Sun Earth Day website to receive a free materials packet. Teachers should also download the instructional guide.

Tracking a Solar Storm: TASS is an extremely robust learning tool complete with step-by-step tutorials on how to interpret live or ‘near real time’ heliophysics data from 10 missions and 36 instruments.

Teacher Instructions:

Complete Website Content Activity: Download the instructional guide and complete the website content activity using the first 10 pages of the instructional guide.

Read the Instructional Guide: Read through the Instructional guide and Set up gudes for SWAC. You may wish to download a hard copy.

Receive information about possible solar storms: Register at http://www.spaceweather.com to receive information about possible solar storms.

Non-Videoconference Participants can view the live webstream!

How to Connect to the Live Stream!

1. Go to http://commonsvcg.oar.net/MAGPI

2. Click on “NASA SpaceWeatherActionCenter” under live streams. The stream should be viewable in either Windows Media Player or Quicktime.

If you have difficulties connecting to the stream, please see the information in MAGPI’s Streaming Policy. http://www.magpi.net/internet2commons.html#streaming

The live webstream will not be available until 15 minutes prior to the event. We encourage you to test by trying to access any of the archived streams prior to the live event.

About the NASA Sun Earth Connection Education Forum