Center for Education Through Exploration

NASA

Inquiry-Based, Active, Remote Learning Using UDL
Inquiry-Based, Active, Remote Learning Using UDL 1500 750 ASU Center for Education Through eXploration

In response to educators continuing online in the fall semester, the Infiniscope team offered 94 educators from all over the U.S. a 3-day active learning online workshop held July 20-22, 2020. The workshop featured an overview of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by Dr. Katie Novak in cooperation with WBGH’s Bringing the Universe to America’s Classroom Initiative, NASA resources with specific UDL integrations such as the accessibility toolkit by NASA eClips, and expert educators from the Infiniscope Advisory Board and the Smoky Mountains STEM Collaborative to share practical UDL experiences. The focus was an introduction of UDL as a methodology to rethink classroom instruction and apply its principles in the remote learning environment. As an active learning strategy, educators were tasked with rewriting a lesson during the workshop to include UDL Principles and implement online learning tools and resources.

Want to be informed about upcoming professional development opportunities? Join the Infiniscope network at infiniscope.org/join.

Creating Place-Based, Active Learning Virtual Field Trips
Creating Place-Based, Active Learning Virtual Field Trips 1500 750 ASU Center for Education Through eXploration

In response to educators transitioning to online teaching and learning, the Infiniscope team offered 43 educators from all over the U.S. a 4-day online workshop held July 14-17, 2020.

This workshop focused toward creating virtual field trips that connect students to their community and promote learning that is rooted in students’ own “place” such as their neighborhood or town. These educators were tasked with creating a VFT for classrooms use. VFTs are guided online explorations that organize a variety of media such as 360-degree images, standard images, text, and interactives into a structured, immersive, learning environment. Educators were given a variety of pre-produced NASA media to build their experiences or they could capture their own media to tell their stories.

Click to see the full catalog of the VFTs created by this group and explore those that might work for you in your classroom.

Mars 2020: Is There Life on Mars?
Mars 2020: Is There Life on Mars? 1500 750 ASU Center for Education Through eXploration

On May 8, 2020, Infiniscope hosted Dr. Kenneth Williford from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Williford is the Deputy Project Scientist for the NASA Mars 2020 mission. He gave us the scoop on the various ways that Perseverance will be seeking signs of life on Mars. He also presented a mission overview including payload and exploration strategies, details on the Jezero crater landing site, and a brief history of Mars surface exploration. He wowed the audience with his ability to make the information accessible to a wide range of participants. Over 1200 people have viewed this presentation to date.

Check it out for yourself on the Infiniscope YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/Infiniscope/.

Back to top