Brussels, 29-Jan-2004 G. Fanourakis e-Learning Coordinators Meeting EUDOXOS – TSRT Teaching...

Brussels, 29-Jan-2004 G. Fanourakis

e-Learning Coordinators Meeting

EUDOXOS – TSRTTeaching Science with a Robotic Telescope

Project 2002-4085/001-001 EDU-ELEARN

DemokritosGreek National Center for Scientific Research

Institute of Nuclear Physics

George Fanourakis



Tele-Education / Tele-Research



Partners• NSCR ‘Demokritos’ -- Greece• Ellinogermaniki Agogi -- Greece• University of Athens -- Greece• Univ of Cadiz -- Spain• MCI -- Austria• + 4 high schools (Bolonia-Spain, Schwechat-Austria,

Pininfarina-Italy, EA-Greece)

Scope

Use the magic of Astronomy and the capabilities of the Internet in order to improve and enrich the quality of the learning and teaching process in science and technology by transforming the classroom into a research laboratory.



mountain Ainos

Kefallinia island

Eudoxos Observatory



National Eudoxos Observatory



The Andreas Michalitsianos telescope and dome



TAM close-up



Apollon telescope and dome



Education with Eudoxos• A Research grade Physical Sciences Lab accessible to

every European school with internet access.– Bringing advanced technology to classroom.– Interdisciplinary approach to teaching science.– Real experiments – Real measurements.– No poor / rural district school excluded.

• Bringing to schools a new and innovative educational environment.– Experience authentic research environment.– Develop research mentality.– Enhancing creativity: free experimentation of

teachers / students.



• Encouraging the communication and the exchange of scientific / technological information among European schools. The students are taught to:

– Make astronomical observations– Collect and analyze the data.– Discuss the results with students, teachers and researchers.– Present their results.

Students are motivated and learn the involved scientific ideas in the process.



Realisation

• Developed Educational Platform – User Interface

• Developed Pedagogical Framework - Lesson Plans

• Developed Evaluation Strategy

• Trained teachers

• Repeatedly implement/evaluate/refine

• Conduct final evaluation of the technology and the

learning capacity and efficiency of the methodology



Design / Implement Pedagogical Content – User Interface

Develop Educational Platform, Evaluation Scheme

Implementation Progress

Test Run

Final Run / Final Improvements

Redesign of prototypes

October 2002

March-June 2003

September 2003



Study of Lunar craters

Kmarcpix

Km DL

L5102

KmKm

KmKm L

R

dh



Asteroid RotationAsteroid Rotation



Strengths:Use of a robotic telescope, use of PC software, scientific research – approach, collaborative – group learning, e-learning approach, flexibility of the Eudoxos User Interface.The introduction of PC and the user interface widened the participation of the students who were more than usual attracted by the work.The learning structure worked in small groups of the target persons. This structure provides a high level of interest and activity but needs much help of the teaching person.The flexibility of the user interface is a focus point for the project. The activity can be adjusted such as at higher difficulty level it provides a challenge to the good students and at low difficulty level it provides a motivated environment for the usually-not-motivated students.The typical 20-30 % of motivated to learn students increased to 80% !

Teachers’ comments



Weaknesses:Limited availability of the telescope because of weather issues, long time duration of each activity. The impossibility to achieve immediate results to our submission had been a didactical limit. However students could be taught that researchers need patience and they learn to wait for the results. National curricula cannot be adapted as intended by the project different structures of participating schools and different intentions/needs, make it difficult to find a common starting point.Interface would still need further improvements.

Challenges:Students are benefited from such learning activities. Therefore, we believe that this project should cover more topics in the future. However, we suggest that the lesson activities should be designed in a way that certain tasks will be feasible in shorter periods of time. Dissemination will remain an important issue in order to making aware of innovative potentials given for Science education in European schools.



Evaluation process

• Evaluation of students learning

• Evaluation of the pedagogical framework

• Ethnographic evaluation



Evaluation processThe evaluation is based on the participation in the evaluation process of the active participants: the students and teachers.The evaluation strategies and tools proposed are the ones required by global, qualitative evaluation.

The main tools proposed are: the teachers’ diaries and the Students’ portfolios.The teacher’s diary: is a tool for the collection and analysis of information that allows the teacher to analyse thoroughly and systematically what happens in the classroom.The Students’ Portfolio constitutes a fundamental tool with which each student monitors the learning process systematically and thoroughly and becomes aware of the usefulness of the content they are working on.One more tool for the collection and analysis of data: the Inter-School Collaboration Journal.



Future Prospects of Eudoxos

• Create worldwide network of remotely controlled

telescopes for education.

• Establish Satellite connection with Institutes housing

the interface.

• Apply to higher education (Universities).

Brussels, 29-Jan-2004 G. Fanourakis e-Learning Coordinators Meeting EUDOXOS – TSRT Teaching...

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