Resources for Rural Educators from the NASA eClips™ Education Team

Science Activation's NASA eClips Education Team presented at the 3-D Thursdays NASA Series for K-12 Rural Educators webinar, held on March 3, 2022, with 21 educators from across the nation in attendance. This webinar series is hosted by Rachel Arens, Associate Researcher with the NASA Science Activation PLANETS team (Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science at Northern Arizona University) and Michael Guarraia (Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellow at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate). The objective of the monthly 3-D Thursdays webinar series is to enhance rural educators’ access to NASA resources, networking, and professional development.

While focused on rural educators, the webinar series is open to all educators. The NASA eClips Education Team introduced participants to a suite of resources that support standards-based instruction by increasing STEM literacy in both formal and informal education settings. Participants explored these resources in greater depth through a series of scavenger hunts on the NASA eClips website. They identified the short length of NASA eClips videos and the ability to download them easily and on demand as reasons they are ideal resources for rural areas, where bandwidth may be a limiting factor. Participants also took a deeper dive to learn more about NASA eClips Guides. They expressed that both the Educator Guides, which provide ways to effectively use eClips videos, and the shorter Guide Lites, which focus on a single activity from an Educator Guide, will excite and engage learners in both formal and informal education settings.

Participants identified that VALUE (Varied & Accessible Learning Resources for Universal Engagement) Bundles give students choice in how they learn about a topic. The carefully curated NASA eClips and partner resources within a VALUE Bundle provide a cohesive and intriguing set of materials that meets the needs of a wide variety of learners. Participants also believed the newly redesigned Engineering Design Packets will be a valuable tool their learners could use with any design challenge. The audience was also introduced to the NASA Spotlite Design Challenge, in which student teams write an engaging script and produce a 90-120 second Spotlite video that addresses a science misconception. The detailed supporting materials and intuitive nature of the Challenge were identified as reasons participants plan to use these resources with learners in the future.

(NASA Science Activation NASA eClips Award Number NNX16AB91A)

https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/