Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development

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.

Seeing Your Students at NASA: So You Want to Be an Astronaut and Other NASA Careers
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Sept. 8, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT

Working at NASA is not just being an astronaut. Explore the many NASA STEM careers needed to successfully accomplish the unique, exciting missions that explore and build a better understanding of Earth and the universe beyond. NASA career education curriculum and resources will also be integrated into this online learning session. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/197933

Seeing Your Students at NASA: Climate Kids — Dream of a Green Career
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Sept. 12, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT

The Climate Kids website features sections through which participants gain a deeper understanding of climate change issues. The section titles are Learn the Basics, See the Impacts, Think Like a Scientist, Be Part of the Solution and Dream of a Green Career. This NASA education resource includes articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196236

Seeing Your Students at NASA: Wright Brothers-Inspired Lift and Drag Calculations Using Trigonometry
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Sept. 13, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT

Inspired by the Wright brothers and their development of gliders, you can use trigonometry and paper airplanes to produce your own data by using elevation angles, distances and height to calculate the forces of lift and drag for different airplane wing shapes compared to actual NASA airplanes. This session touches on Common Core Math: Geometry and Next Generation Science Standards PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/192830

Lava Layering: Making and Mapping a Volcano
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: Sept. 14, 2016, at 7 p.m. EDT

The focus of this webinar is interpreting geologic history through volcano formation and excavation. Baking soda, vinegar and play dough are used to model fluid lava flows. Various colors of play dough identify different eruption events. Students will (1) Construct a model of a volcano, (2) Produce lava flows, (3) Observe, draw, record, and interpret the history and stratigraphy of a volcano produced by other students, and (4) Draw connections between Earth and Mars by studying volcanic features on each. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196508

Seeing Your Students at NASA: Engineering for Mars — Part 1
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 3-10
Event Date: Sept. 15, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT

In Part 1 of this series, educators will review two classroom activities in which students work in engineering design teams to test various components of a Mars exploration vehicle. This ready-to-go facilitation guide, Gaining Traction, is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards and includes a pre-assessment, handouts, rubrics and a post-assessment. In the first two activities of the project, students build batteries and test wheel friction while focusing on the subject areas of engineering, motion and interaction. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/198527

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.