The Cogs
Website supports the integration of NASA's Virtual Lab
into middle and high school science classrooms.
You can help to
connect a generation of students to science now.
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Cogs: Connecting a Generation to Science
Teacher Trainers
New!  NASA CaseNEX Cases
Videos of teachers using the Virtual Lab
| Teaching Ideas |
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NASA's
Virtual Lab |
Use the annotation tools to create handouts and exams for students to label. Technology novice: Ask your students to create these for each other. Also use the "detail view" of the specimens to begin short research activities for them. |
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Cogs: Connecting a Generation to Science |
Consider starting with the career videos that were developed to help you to contextualize student work with the Virtual Lab software,. These videos are relevant and share opportunities for the future. Technology novice: Students can view the videos on their own (jigsaw these and have students discuss.) Access videos through "Teach." |
The Infinity Project: These three Virtual Lab-related games and activities provide initial exposure to the specimens, connections to the history of science, and information on the role of technology over time. These can help teachers and students prepare for work with the Virtual Lab, provide activities during your work with it, or provide follow-up. Based on scientific content and skills, these are specially useful to bridge student understandings of microscopes and telescopes in science. There is an artistic element with the stunning images from NASA archives and an emphasis on writing as students can work with some of the biographies included here. See "Teach" off of the Cogs page for access to these. |
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Mercury 13 |
There are three stages and in each one the advernture lands (minature) players inside a specific specimen. These can be discussed and one (by choice or by relevance to your own class) can then be the starting point for Virtual Lab exploration. Technology novice: Have students play and write down and track down three of the specimen names presented at the end of the games, specifically find out: 1) what it is 2) where it is in the Virtual Lab 3) and What it looks like there. There are teaching ideas included in the software under "more information" on the opening screen and the names of the three specimens at each stage of the game are included there. |
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Glimpse |
Using a projector the whole class can view and compare the views and understanding of Robert Hooke with later scientists who had access to more advacned technology. Later discuss the Virtual Lab features as compared to the microscopes you have in your own classrooms. Technology novice: The gallery can provide the basis for a quick biographical research activity. The Herschels are a great place to start especially to discuss the social context of science. |
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Innovation Orbit |
Using the Orbit students can begin their use of the Virtual Lab specimens by first searching for the names of the people who discovered or named: 1) bacteria; 2) cells; and 3) atoms. Technology novice: This circular timeline includes conversation quotes that link scientists across time. Viewing and writing down one of these conversations, later you can discuss what you have learned, as one refutes the other or builds on prior work. Students can also tarck down the background image which shows galaxies instead of stars -- to talk about scale. |
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