ERIC Number: EJ744870
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Dec
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-0145
EISSN: N/A
The Effectiveness of Internet-Controlled Astronomical Research Instrumentation for Education
Pratap, Preethi; Salah, Joseph
Journal of Science Education and Technology, v13 n4 p473-484 Dec 2004
Over the last decade, remote instruments have become widely used in astronomy. Educational applications are more recent. This paper describes a program to bring radio astronomy into the undergraduate classroom through the use of a remote research-grade radio telescope, the MIT Haystack Observatory 37 m telescope. We examine the effectiveness of such remote access in the classroom. The remote use of the large telescope has opened up a research facility for undergraduate students. The experience has been largely successful with over 150 students from about 20 colleges using the telescope every year. The student experiments have included classroom demonstrations by faculty, and short-term laboratory experiments and long-term research experiments performed by students. Although a visit to the site provided students with a sense of the scale of the antenna, operating on a purely remote basis still gave the students a rewarding research and learning experience. The effectiveness of the remote instrument is judged mainly by the student presentations and papers that have been generated, by the enthusiasm of the faculty to continue using the facility as part of their curricula, and through a survey of students and faculty.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Learning Experience, Laboratory Experiments, Astronomy, Student Attitudes, Computer Oriented Programs, Portfolio Assessment, Program Effectiveness, Program Descriptions, Educational Experiments, Scientific Research, Methods Research
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A