NssEdCommWiki

Welcome to the NSS Education Committee Wiki. Please use this Wiki to edit and help create a plan of action for the NSS Education Committee. Under each of the section headings in this document, please post ideas, thoughts, reports, action items, and other educataionally related items. I want this Wiki to be a dumping ground for any educationally related material. If you have have questions, please feel free to contact me at lzielinski@comcast.net Have a great day!

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Note: This is not a complete document. It needs your help and ideas! Please feel free to edit, add, or make comments about any part of this document.

The Role of the Education Committee Within the National Space Society

Observations and Ideas By Lynne Zielinski OVERVIEW:

• After spending the months following the October 2006 Las Cruses board meeting observing the way NSS works, I have observed many aspects of internal NSS operations, methods of practice, and organization structure. I have determined that the educational support structure, outreach programs, and general flow of information between the board, chapters, committees, and members is difficult to follow. Relative to education, the management of communication within the organization is inefficient and ineffective. Therefore, a new education organizational structure and communication network may be the solution the EDUCATIONAL ARM of NSS is looking for to further promote its long-term objectives. In essence NSS’s Education Committee should develop its educational outreach as a facilitator or “clearing-house” functioning both as a repository for space related educational materials and to promote space settlement through educational materials and opportunities. .

  The following sections address and offer observations and ideas relative to education, and the organization and scope of education within NSS. It is hoped that this paper will bring forward a discussion of the role NSS should take with regards to its Educational Arm, the Education Committee, and the overall outreach program. It is also hoped that it will promote a discussion on which issues NSS should concentrate.

  In order to better create a comprehensive list, I leave it to you to provide me with additional information, corrections to the list below, persons of contact, views on validity of educational programs or ideas, and recommendations of people active within (or outside) NSS that may be interested in working on any aspect of the Educational Arm of this project.

EXISTING EDUCATIONAL PRECEDENTS:

• It seems that there are many aspects of education that are currently being addressed, encouraged, and supported by NSS. The following is a list of existing educational projects either “in the works”, working, or in future plans. More detailed information can be found in Appendix A for some of these.

  • NASA Student Space Settlement Competition – Orbiting Colony (Al Globus) Art Calendar Competition Space Settlement Habitation Student Competition (Anita Gale) Teacher In Space (Space Frontier Society) Buzz Aldrin

    • Star City Congressional District Education Centers

    Virgin Galactic – One seat on future flight “Permission To Dream” – (Space Frontier Society – George Whitesides) Teachers in Microgravity Airplane NASA International Space Academy

NEW EDUCATION IDEAS

• ·Video competition on Space Settlement – Have entries posted on YouTube with a link sent to NSS website.

· Podcast competition on Space settlement – Have entries posted on YouTube or somewhere similar and

• linked to NSS website.

• ·Host a fashion in space suit design competition for space settlers.

· Get breakthrough technologies and preparation technologies into textbooks. · Develop the art space settlement competition into categories each year with a different theme:

• Colonies on Mars, Colonies on Moon, Orbiting Colonies, etc.

• ·Use freeware like “Orbiter” Program and challenge people to create settlements on the worlds the orbiter

  • can visit, like the moon, Mars, asteroid, etc.

    • o Combine “Orbiter” with program like ”Lunar Explorer” to create a state of the art space settlement

      • challenge or game.

  ·Bring NSS ideas, goals, and topics into the high school debate program

FOCUS ON NEEDS OF NSS

1. NSS needs to define and decide on the focus of Education Arm. Is what NSS

is currently doing what NSS should be doing relative to education? NSS needs to identify which goal or goals its Education Arm should concentrate on. There are basically four levels that need to be addressed:

• Educate Congress Educate general public (to get money) Educate members within NSS Education teachers and students

1. Should NSS be a facilitator or “clearing-house”, functioning both as a

repository for space related educational materials and to promote space settlement through educational materials and opportunities? Or is there another goal?

1. NSS needs to manage the information on their website relative to education.

What educational information is critical to future success?

1. NSS needs to manage a growing base of content, while maintaining a

relatively small support team of non-technical administrators and education professionals. Who can manage this and what should be included?

1. All programs, ideas, etc… that fit within the reach of the Educational Arm

should be made known to the Education Committee so they can be focused on the NSS goal(s).

1. What other needs do you see as a focus of the NSS Education Arm?

IDENTIFY WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SOLUTION

1. The Education Committee needs a wide range of people to be identified who do education programs and outreach. A hierarchy structure needs to be created to better organize what is happening where. The analogy to this is the phone tree structure idea.

2. Members from chapters, committees, and board need to help participate in “personal interest” activities. I foresee the Education Arm as a large member group reporting to the Education Committee.

3. Improve awareness of education programs, materials, and resources available.

4. Improve communication as to what is being done by whom.

5. Who is going to give the programs and ideas the “blessing” needed to go ahead? What should the structure be?

6. Ask chapter representative to contact congressional representatives and senators in their district and begin establishing a connection with the educational representative. Learn about how they are supporting space and education. Report this information back to NSS education committee and begin to develop ways to use education as a foothold in bringing NSS goals into the congressional mind.

THINGS EDUCATION COMMITTEE COULD DO TO PROMOTE SPACE SETTLEMENT

• The Education Committee could focus on each of the following existing branches of NSS to promote and report on educational issues.

Web

• ·Post a set of developed general PowerPoint’s by topic that members can access, download, and use to present ·Create and educational activities calendar for chapter events. ·Provide an Education Arm homepage containing list of links to:

  • Competitions Student Research Information Teacher Resources Chapter Outreach Materials Resource Materials

Chapters

• ·Use retired teachers and local retired teacher organizations to go out and give public presentations ·Designate a “point of contact” in each chapter for education to report on a regular basis to the Education Committee. A method of operation should be worked on by Chapters Committee and Education Committee. ·Develop a set of general PowerPoint’s by topic that members can post on web to be accessed, downloaded, and used to present for outreach programs. These can be Chapter specific and then generalized for national use. ·A survey needs to be taken of Chapter outreach and educational programs. What they do? How often? These ideas need to be captured, compiled, and then listed on the web as resource material. ·Contact congressional representatives and senators in their district and begin establishing a connection with the educational representative. Learn about how they are supporting space and education. Report this information back to NSS education committee and begin to develop ways to use education as a foothold in bringing NSS goals into the congressional mind.

Committees

• ·When ideas or resources come up in a meeting, provide them to the education committee to discuss, act on, or address. ·Take appropriate educational issues as action items.

Board

• ·When opportunities, ideas, or resources become available, provide them to the education committee to discuss, act on, or address. ·Enter in an alliance with retired teachers organizations to help promote NSS goals.

ISDC

• ·Brief and train members on resources available, where to find them, and how to use them. Example: Give a PowerPoint presentation workshop that explains how to give the PowerPoint and what dialog it should have. ·Breakthroughs and technology sessions to educate – with demonstrations and materials ·Provide hands-on activities and resource materials ·Get teachers, chapter members, and others together for a brainstorming workshop on things that can be done to educate the different groups on space settlement: Congress, Public, Students, Teachers, NSS members. Could also use a workshop scenario to develop materials and outreach for these goals as well.

CONTACT INFORMATRION

• If you would like to be involved in the Education Committee, please contact Lynne Zielinski and provide some information on what aspect of the Education Committee you would like to be involved in. I encourage every committee and chapter to designate one person as being a “point of contact” for that group.

• Please contact me with your thoughts, ideas, and information by any of the following methods:

Lynne Zielinski

Email: lzielinski@comcast.net Phone: (847) 509-2611 work

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APPENDIX A

Details On Some Existing Educational Precedents

HIGH SCHOOL DEBATE

• Basically, there are four categories with which students debate. Policy, Congressional, Public Policy and Lincoln/Douglas. The topics debated in each of these categories last around 3 months EXCEPT for the Policy category, which does not change for a year as a topic. I'm currently in the process of getting the contact information for the person in charge of topic selection for these categories. It seems to me that we have 3 ways to get our "topics" into the debate arena for either a whole year (Policy) or for 3 months at a shot (Congressional & Public Policy).... any of these 3 fit our venue. So what I might need to do to prepare for this possibility is to obtain a set of debate topics that I can funnel into the right contacts so we can see them debated. We should probably get the NSS group to brainstorm these topics.... like solar power vs fossil fuels,..... go to the moon or go to mars.....etc... I still have a bit more work to do in getting there, but the ball is moving forward.

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Buzz Aldrin- Star City Program – Federation of Galaxy Explorers

• The Federation of Galaxy Explorers is the organization trying to put together and develop a comprehensive space oriented educational program in each congressional district in the U.S. This program will seek out programs that are already being done in areas and bring them together under one roof to develop into a comprehensive program that will train parents, educators, etc. to work together. This seems to be a slow moving program, but NSS has been asked to have its chapters contribute and help reach out to form these congressional district “star city” hubs. Poll chapters to parcel out who is going to contact which congressional district. When approaching the congressional folks, establish how they are supporting education. Much of the details are vague.

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Buzz Aldrin – Congressional District Education Centers

1. Use the NSS website as a focal point (clearing house) for the compilation of space (science and math) related activities, opportunities, and materials that educators and the public (NSS Chapter members) could use to find and utilize these activities, opportunities, and materials. (Gather together existing materials, curriculum an programs in one place) 2. From this ‘focal point site’, the NSS chapters could reach out and contact the ‘education point of contact’ (educational specialists) for the congressional representatives in their area/region). This would begin the process of providing that person with basic information that could be used to 1) pass onto the congressional member and 2) pass onto the citizens in the region to improve overall education In K-12 classrooms. 3. A survey of the NSS chapters should be taken to glean

• -What educational activities are being done in their region -What educational opportunities are being provided in their region -What qualities a congressional educational point of contact should have

  • relative to a job description (This is a goal that could be used to advise congressional members of what such a person should

doing)

• -Each chapter should determine who the educational specialist for their

  • congressional district is and NSS can then compile that information

for future contact with that person in key educational issues, etc.

1. Engage in clearer distribution of space flight opportunities to the public. Share

space cost operations.