Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development

Written by Nathan Smith on March 31, 2016. Posted in STEM and STEAM.

The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the webinar description.

Virtual Missions and Exoplanets (vMAX): Part 2 – Technical Overview
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: March 31, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT

Learn how to engage students in the study of exoplanetary systems through hands-on experiences, scenario-based problem solving, and 3-D multi-user virtual world simulations with the Virtual Missions and Exoplanets curriculum. This webinar addresses technical requirements to download, install, and navigate the virtual world as an avatar in preparation for using the vMAX virtual world with students. It is suggested that participants also attend the vMAX Curriculum (Part 1) webinar for a complete understanding of how to implement these resources. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/166714

Air and Space — Airplanes and Rockets: Exploring the Extreme
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: April 4, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Participants will get an overview of NASA’s Exploring the Extreme educator guide. Discussions will focus on hands-on activities to teach about force and motion. The activities presented in this webinar address the Next Generation Science Standard PS2. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/166371

Air and Space — Airplanes and Rockets: Principles of Flight
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades Pre-K – 12
Event Date: April 5, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Participants will learn about the principles of flight and the four forces of flight while using NASA's Museum in the Box curriculum. Participants also will learn about current research going on at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/161525

Virtual Missions and Exoplanets (vMAX): Part 1 — Curriculum Overview
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: April 6, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT

With the Virtual Missions and Exoplanets curriculum, learn how to engage students in the study of exoplanetary systems through hands-on experiences, scenario-based problem solving, and 3-D multi-user virtual world simulations. This webinar provides an overview of exoplanetary system resources that build upon the use of NASA data. These resources are organized for a one-week experience for middle school students but are flexible enough to be used for any formal or informal audience and time period. It is suggested that participants also attend the vMAX Technical (Part 2) webinar for a complete understanding of how to implement these resources. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/167829

Virtual Missions and Exoplanets (vMAX): Part 2 — Technical Overview
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: April 7, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT

With the Virtual Missions and Exoplanets curriculum, learn how to engage students in the study of exoplanetary systems through hands-on experiences, scenario-based problem solving, and multi-user virtual world simulations in 3-D. This webinar addresses technical requirements to download, install and navigate the virtual world as an avatar in preparation for using the vMAX virtual world with students. It is suggested that participants also attend the vMAX Curriculum (Part 1) webinar for a complete understanding of how to implement these resources. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/167830

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith is Director of Technology for the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. In that role, he also directs The Adele & Dale Young Education Technology Center (The YETC) located in room 170 of the Education Building on Utah State University's Logan campus. The YETC is a combination student openaccess computer facility, a K12 curriculum materials library, a NASA Educator Resource Center for Utah, and a technology training center. Nathan served eight years (20042012) on the Board of Directors for the Utah Coalition for Education Technology (UCET) He was reelected in 2014 to serve another two year term on the board. A former elementary school teacher, Nathan has taught students every age from young children to senior citizens. He has had the opportunity beginning in 2011 to train international high school teachers from all over the world about technology in education, through the U.S. State