2nd Technology Project

For my second technology project I decided to learn Celestia

1.  What did you learn about Celestia?

I learned go to a particular planet by entering in the complete name in the menu or clicking in the sky to investigate.  I learned how to orbit the planet to view it from all sides.  I learned how to look from different perspectives (e.g. looking from a planet into the night sky).  I learned how to zoom in on certain viewpoints.  I also learned how to change the time you are looking at.  You can change the date and view the sky from different plants or where certain planets are in their orbit during a certain time.

2.What instructional problems could you use this technology for?


One obvious problem is the fact that during school hours you cannot view the night sky.  If I would like talk about different constellations  I can pull up this program to discuss their form and stories.  Another benefit is that constellation doesn't even have to be visible that time of the year because I can look up any time and then view the night sky.  This will help the students visualize the differences in how the night sky looks from different continents.  One of the important things for them to realize is the vastness of the universe so seeing the data for light years and how far apart all of the stars and planets are will help them see this.  


3.  What are some activities I could do matched with their standard?


1- These objectives are in the "Earth Systems" Core for Utah

1. Compare Earth’s atmosphere, solar energy, and water to those of other planets and moons in the solar system. 
2. Compare the conditions that currently support life on Earth to the conditions that exist on other planets in the solar system. 

Using Celestia I would have the students compare Earth's distance from the sun as well as Earth's orbit with at least 2 other planets.  This will help the students visualize why the Earth has the conditions it does.

2- The standard for the objective below includes students really grasping the solar system how it looks, works and why

Relate the structure of the solar system to the forces acting upon it.

For this objective I would have students analyze all of the orbits of the planet and make predictions and explanations for why it acts the way it does.