NASA and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) teamed up to create a host of free STEM-based resources within 2 digital age storybooks and online teacher companions/guides designed to help students learn about NASA's missions currently studying the sun and it's effects on Earth. Emphasis is given to one of NASA's newest missions: The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission.
Educators can use these resources to:
Both digital age story books, ‘iMaginetic Space and the MMS Big Data Book’ are supported by online teacher companion resources that guide educators through the science of the activities, technology integration activities for students, and the connection to both national science standards and the ISTE Standards for digital age teaching and learning.
The iMaginetic Space storybook follows Marc, a student studying space weather, in his quest to become a NASA junior researcher. As he learns about the science of electricity and magnetism, he is able to relate these new concepts to the MMS Mission and the study of magnetic reconnection.
The MMS Big Data Book continues this storyline while introducing a new character, Cindy. Marc and Cindy quickly realize that there is much more to explore! However, it would take them years to collect enough information to make informed hypotheses and predictions about space weather around the globe. It becomes clear that scientists can't work in isolation while collecting and analyzing data. Marc and Cindy's next challenge becomes, “How can junior researchers collect and, more importantly, share the data they have collected to better contribute as Citizen Scientists?”
The content of the MMS Big Data Book represents a continuation of the activities and concepts that were first introduced in iMaginetic Space, a digital age storybook designed to help students learn about NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission through a variety of inquiry and engineering-based experiences. Both activity books are intended to complement each another, but are also created to stand-alone.
The iMAGINETICspace Student Transmedia Book was a massive collaborative effort that was first conceived at the National Technology Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2011. The ideas were the collective effort of David Slykhuis, Troy Cline, David Thornburg, Cecilia Lenk, Randy Bell, Michael Spector, and Willy Kjellstrom. David Slykhuis (Associate Professor, James Madison University) and Troy Cline (MMS E/PO Mission Lead, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) completed authoring the storyline and design activities to bring the book into its current form. The International Society of Educational Technology (ISTE) team later transformed the iPad version of the book into an online Google Book accessible from any location with an internet connection.
The iMAGINETICspace Educators Companion and MMS Big Data Book resources resulted from an ongoing partnership between the MMS team and the International Society of Educational Technology (ISTE). We would like to give a special thanks to ISTE team members who brought these resources to life: Sherry Bosch (ISTE Producer), Carolyn Sykora (ISTE Producer), Ben Smith (Red Lion Area High School Physics Teacher, EdTechInnovators consultant, Author), Jared Mader (Director of Educational Technology, EdTechInnovators consultant, Author).
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is the premier nonprofit organization serving educators and education leaders committed to empowering connected learners in a connected world. ISTE serves more than 100,000 education stakeholders throughout the world. Membership with ISTE is a powerful way for educators to connect with peers, share knowledge and ideas, and help lead the transformation of education. ISTE also offers innovative ed tech resources to support professional learning for educators and education leaders.
Others deserving thanks for their time and effort working on the book:
