These workshops are targeted for college instructors of 100-level astronomy classes and high school instructors who presently teach astronomy or may be interested in developing an astronomy course. They have three goals: 1) to acquaint educators with the new innovative usages of instructional technology in astronomy education, 2) to introduce new developments in the UNL Department of Physics and Astronomy, and 3) to bring together members of the astronomy and physics teaching community to share ideas and identify potential collaborators.

Rough Workshop Agenda

• 2:00 pm - Welcome - Kevin Lee

• Invited Speaker - Robert Mutel, University of Iowa



• 2:05 pm - Part I: "The Science behind Robotic Telescopes"

-- Snapshot at Presentation

• 2:50 pm - Snack Break

-- Snapshot during break

• 3:00 pm - Part II: "Incorporating Robotic Telescopes into the Curriculum"

Dr. Mutel's powerpoint presentation given at the workshop may be accessed on the WWW at http://phobos.physics.uiowa.edu/rlm/ppt/UNL%20Robotic%20Telescopes%20in%20Education.ppt.

• 3:30 Discussion: How can we Utilize Robotic Telescopes in our Teaching? Moderator: Ed Schmidt

• 3:50 Report on Astronomy Camp - Ed Schmidt

• 4:00 Kinesthetic Astronomy - Kevin Lee

A Manual for the Kinestetic Astronomy Activity may be downloaded from the Space Science Institute Web Site.

• 4:30 pm - Hands-on Computer Workshop: Astronomy Applet Usage

Individual applets will be demonstrated by each of the following speakers:

• Kent Reinhard, Southeast Community College - Eclipsing Binary Simulator
• Todd Young, Wayne State College - Planetary Orbit Simulator
• Mark Clark, Doane College - Copernicus (Elongation and Synodic Periods) Simulator
• Dave Kriegler, UNO - Lunar Phase Simulator
• Kevin Lee, UNL - Applets in Development and Summation

The applets may be accessed on the Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project Web Site at http://www.unl.edu/naap.

• 5:45 pm - Gathering at Spaghetti Works

  
  

  
  
  

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