October 1, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: |
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Tarrytown, NY, October 1, 2004—Newly-sponsored "Project 3D-VIEW [Virtual Interactive Environmental Worlds]," a 2.2 million dollar NASA Award, will launch in 2005. Interactive, 3D technology tools, together with state-of-the-art curricular materials, will teach upper elementary students to be land, water, air and life experts, with the goal of ultimately increasing state test scores.
1200 teachers will be trained nationally over five years. Partners include Stanford University, National Geographic and U.S. urban school districts.
In the program, simple web interfaces will be projected on computer screens or an 8-foot "VIEW-Wall" in schools. Students will explore, create, manipulate and navigate 3D-VRML [Virtual Reality] views of Earth. A curriculum-based program with hands-on activities, NASA data interpretation and manipulation, and "fly-overs" highlight the program. In addition, there will be a built-in mathematics achievement component.
Glen Schuster, Project Director, reports, "Our responsibility is huge. We need to provide exciting content for 5th and 6th graders to become interested in math and science, while at the same time, meet the needs of administrators who are accountable for boosting increases in state test scores in mathematics and science."
U.S. Satellite Laboratory, founded in 1991, had its initial curriculum sponsored in 1999 for middle and high schools, Signals of Spring can be viewed at: www.signalsofspring.net
. | Development sponsored by: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Award: NNG04GE41A) |