This is the page where the initial proposal to the DfES will be composed. It neeeds to be about three A4 pages long, focused on the ProjectGoals and accompanied by a presentation (.pps format) which NicholasWalton made at a joint meeting of DfES and BNSC.

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SchoolSpace Proposal

Contents:

Introduction

The fall off in interest in science subjects, especially after Key Stage 2, is recognised as a significant problem by the government, higher education institutions and industry. There is a concern that not enough high level science and maths graduates are being trained to feed into high tech industries vital for sustaining the economy. This problem was addressed in the Roberts report (March 2001). The report concluded that although school performances haven’t dropped, the take-up of science subjects and maths by students is waning.

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AEL-01.1:

this is not really a comment

but if it was, it would be in the right format! -- TonyLinde

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The report has set out a list of issues which need to be addressed in order to increase student intertest in these key areas. These included, amongst others, improving out of date laboratories and equipment, and the provision of inspirational projects. To achieve the recommendations set out by the report, additional resources will be required.

The research councils have an implementation plan to address the recommendations of the Roberts report at post-graduate level (eg. larger PhD^? stipends). The scientific research community in the area of space (ie astronomy and Earth observation) is also addressing these issues at school level by providing projects based on space missions which have been funded by PPARC, NERC and CCLRC, and the resulting data. The situation at the moment is that a small range of projects are currently available which offer inspirational science projects at various Key Stages.

These projects have been set up because scientists and science educators are aware of the appeal which space represents to students, and that it is a hook to promote and recruit in the areas of science, maths and technology. Many projects are already running (eg. Classroom Space) which work on this basis and each project has shown success in their area. Other projects are utilising the internet to deliver exciting astronomy programmes (eg. The Faulkes Telescope Project).

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MAB - Classroom Space is a web-based resources and already delivering space data via the internet, but at low volume

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However, there is still an abundance of space data available which could be made accessible to schools, and more importantly a community of willing and enthusiastic scientists and science communicators to facilitate this. In these people there is a large untapped resource waiting to be used.

The vast amount of data available is held at various institutions and has meant that many projects are set up in an area local to the data hold. It is not possible for a school in Huddersfield to see images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope by researchers in London. However, the new Grid technology which has received substantial DTI funding, could be a means by which the space data currently held in the UK could be made accessible by schools nationwide. The technology needed to set up a framework within which the excitement of space can be conveyed across England (and Wales?) and to provide inspirational science education is now in place.

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MAB - Yes there is a vast amount of data available, but we have to tread a careful line here. I think, in reality, the capacity of schools to use data is always going to be somewhat limited by time and opportunity (even if such data were to be used to teach everything). If we make too much of the volume, someone might shoot us down.

In this case we have to identify other key benefits of the Grid. From the educational point of view what we need to supply is the following..

1) Data that has been processed to a suitable level so that it can be used easily in a school environment. In Classroom Space, we took the data from missions such as Mars Global Surveyor altimeter and put it into excel and csv format. This might be a bit basic and we might want to consider providing tools of our own. However, these would have to be really useful and user-friendly if the are to be adopted beyond what teachers already know how to use.

2) I found the ideas of user space, communication/conferencing with scientists and areas where schools might work together the most compelling. This really is new and is an aspect that more schools are trying to draw into the curriculum. The Grid can make the interaction of scientists with pupils more efficient and, hopefully, allows contact with a much larger number.

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Using Grid technology there is an opportunity to link up current projects, benefit from lessons learned and deliver new space science directly to the classroom on a national scale. There is a real opportunity for a revitalisation of science education using the experience gained in the past, and combining this with the new Grid technology to deliver new programmes.

In light of the above, we propose the establishment of a grid facility to be made available for schools. From here on such a facility is refered to as ‘School Space’. School Space would provide a focus/portal which teachers could use to keep up to date with the latest developments in space science and obtain resources enabling them to conduct space related projects.

Space projects not only provide schools with an exciting resource to cover national curriculum requirements, but also to go beyond this and be innovative within the science lesson. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) would be an integral part of the School Space programme as INSET days could be run though the regional science centres on the school grid programmes including the science and new technologies. Education using space science also offers the added bonus of exciting extra-curricular activities. For example, video conferencing to NASA scientists, space camps and trips to ESA.

There has been a lot of press coverage recently on space missions (eg. Beagle2) which has received notable interest from students. Space cleary inspires and excites! School Space seeks to offer a contribution toward modernising the methods to fulfil the science curriculum using new technologies and ustilising the experience of the scientific community and data already available.

IT facilities in schools

The Prime Minister has pledged that all schools will have broadband by 2006 as part of the government strategy to modernise ICT facilities, and indeed many already are using this along with electronic whiteboards. There are also City Learning Centres which have state of the art ICT facilities. These are hosted by one school with the remit of reaching out to network of partner schools. Such facilities require cutting edge projects which can utilise the technology.

How does science education benefit from the inclusion of space science?

• It offers exciting projects which schools can carry out with the increasing technology available to them, eg. broadband internet

• Space is a hook which can be used to gain interest from students which might otherwise be turned off of further study or careers in the sciences and maths

• Space science is carried using cutting edge technology and offers a ‘high tech’ element to science lessons

• If students are engaged in their own research, a contribution is made toward changing the image of science, making it accessible and relevant

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MAB - A key element to emphasise is that space and astronomy is a great hook to teach ALL science. in fact there is not that much space and astronomy in the National Curriculum per se. So we have to make it clear that we will clearly identify a wide range of curriculum areas that can be addressed.

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The Grid technology

A brief introduction to Astrogrid and grid technology and what it offers is needed here

£X of DTI funding to make astronomy and space data available to all researchers. The new technology allows a scientist to obtain the data they need wherever it is held in the UK. The user will not know where the data has come from.

Grid technology is about ease of access of data, and the sharing and broad availability of data. In the case of a school grid (School Space) this would need to be complemented by educational resources developed with national curriculum requirements in mind. Schools would have one national facility which would be a portal for data, information, projects and collaborations.

Adding value to science education using the Grid

The School Space proposal seeks to utilise the new advances in technology which are already provided through the Astrogrid via substantial DTI funding. In particular, facilities such as a Data Centre, MySpace, a Registry and External Tool modules can be made available for use in science education within a single school and also between multiple schools. These facilities are detailed below.

A Data Centre would make data taken with UK space missions and schools projects available on the grid. Data centres will be held at UK universities, but could also be held at individual schools who are conducting their own projects. There are several scenarios in which individual schools would benefit from hosting a Data Center. Two examples are:

• Faulkes Telescope: An astronomy project using research grade robotic telescopes to enable schools to participate in astronomy research at an appropriate Key Stage level or as an inspirational tool. Schools can work collaboratively between themselves or with universities using,for example, video conferencing as the facilitator. The schools’ observations can be stored in the schools data centre, with the school retaining copyright of their observations.
• Localised Weather Centres: Classes studying climate around England can construct small weather centres containing data from thermometers, barometers, and anemometers. Students can record measurements by hand or add digital readouts that can be fed directly into a computer. As these measurements are stored in the data centre, students can conduct long-term projects on changing weather trends at their own school, or they can compare local measurements with readings taken at schools around the country.

The MySpace module provides a storage space for data and results that the school is working on. This does not require new hardware within the school as it will be made available on the hardware existing via Astrogrid. Schools can search the files stored within one or more schools' MySpace areas. Students of all ages can use the MySpace storage for a variety of projects. For example:

• Analysis of F.T. or Weather Centre Data: The two scenarios mentioned in the Data Centre use cases above will generate astronomical and climate data stored in one or more Data Centres. However, even schools that don't host data centres can access this data and create tables and graphs of rainfall in the West Midlands, hours of sunlight in Yorkshire compared to Somerset, or the running tally of Messier Objects observed over a school term. These analyses can be stored in MySpace and shared between classes and schools.
• Experiment Reports: As students work on the space related projects, the results and reports can be stored in MySpace. Schools can compare results as they change experimental variables or expand classroom experiments into longer individual projects.
• Picture Contests: Primary school students can use MySpace, too. Children can draw pictures of constellations, planets, or even alien life and store them in collaborative MySpace areas. Pictures can be collected from several classes and schools. Perhaps even an online exhibition!

The Registry gives teachers and students information on the data available on the grid, software and storage resources available to users.

School Registries: Specialized Registries can be created (and distributed) for data of interest to schools. This data can be the images, tabular data, and experiment reports created by students and stored in school Data Centres and MySpace areas. In addition, this Registry can describe the scientific images, data files, and software that science classes may want to access frequently. For example, an archive of Hubble Space Telescope images may be interesting to a primary school science class learning about galaxies, while an advanced A level chemistry class could incorporate the atomic elemental abundance information provided by the CHIANTI database used by professional astromomers.

External Tools. In order to be able to work with the space data certain software or tools will be made available. These will be chosen so that they are freely available and easy to use by schools or written in a software package that schools already have (eg Excel). More advanced students may wish to write their own programmes to develop tools, and these can be made available to other schools via the grid. A range of tools already exist within Grid technology which would enhance the learning environment within schools:

• Polls: A customizable poll creator would let students and teachers create online polls that could be used for quizzes - how much would a football weigh on Jupiter?, field trip preferences - would you rather go to the National Space Centre or the London Planetarium?, or even online interaction in the classroom - which will cause a bigger reaction: adding lithium to water or adding sodium to water?
• Videoconferencing: This facility can allow students to talk to other schools or even to scientific professionals at universities or research labs. An experiment performed in one A level physics class could be watched in real time by students in 20 different physics classes.
• Chat With a Scientist: As schools become associated with universities in the local area, scheduled online "chats" can be arranged between physicists, astronomers, biologists, or chemists and students. For example, a history class learning about the development of civlization around the time of Stone Henge can talk to a climatologist to find out why ocean currents in the Atlantic made a hospitable climate for farmers in Britain, while at the same latitude in Asia and North America, tribes were restricted to nomadic lifestyles that followed the seasons.
• Introduction to Computer Programming: Students learning to program could write their own scientific tools, such as converting Farhenheit to Celcius, and sharing them with other students and schools through a web service. This type of facility could enhance interaction between different age groups. Continuing the example of temperature conversion, a primary school class with access to a dual Farhenheit / Celcius thermometer could take the temperature of a cold soda, room temperature water, and a cup of tea and check an older student's programming with the temperature conversion web service.
• Web logs: Online logs (or "blogs") are often used by computer programmers to track progress on a piece of software and exchange ideas for efficiency and problem solving. This idea can be extended to long term student projects, as well. For example, a student with access to the Faulkes Telescope could keep a web log for a month of lunar observations. The comment facility of web logs would allow other students to discuss results, while teachers could comment with constructive advice or pose open-ended questions for further discussion.

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MAB - As I mentioned at the meeting, the ultimate in video conferencing would be to conduct Challenger type missions using the Grid. Although we have piloted so-called e-missions to a limited extent, its really hard to make this work without broadband communications. If I havent got the wrong end of the stick about Grid communications,this could be very compelling. We have real published research about the high educational value of Challenger and making this facilty more widely available than hitherto would be good.

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Grid technology has been developed after receiving substabtial funding from the DTI, however the scope for use of such technology could readh far outside the research area into society. School space would be a way of both introducing curriculum orientated projects utilising space science into the school environment and also linking up resources and best practices from current initiatives. It would make space data widely available and allow colloboration between schools and universities.

Project goals

The key aims of School Space are to:

• Raise standards in maths and science
• Address skills shortages in maths and science
• Recruit into science, engineering and technology by:
  • Linking the excitement of space activities with the education sector
  • Adding a major schools' initiative to existing small to modest ones

From the technological point of view, the goals are:

• To make use of the huge investment by the DTI in e-Science
• To make use of the AstroGrid infrastructure already developed to deliver a noval and exciting schools programme

Project plans

Initial deliverables and milestones

Timescales: year 1 and year 2

The School Space project would need to be rolled out in stages. The initial phase would involve collating data available from current successful space education programmes which could be made national and an assessment of what professional space data is appropriate for schools programmes. Linking professional scientists with teachers is then needed to develop materials for a selection of space projects, and teacher training through the science learning centres.

A pilot programme with 30 science specialist schools across England (and Wales?) with the target age groups as KS3 (11-14) + KS4 (14-16).

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NAW science specialist schools only appear to exist in England - see http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/specialistschools/Directory/?version=1

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Long range plan

Timescales: year 2 to year 5

In the long-term it is important to recruit at least one dedicated staff who can act as a project co-ordinator to roll out the School Space nationally.

After a pilot study it is anticipated that School Space would be launch as a national project.

Any new hardware anticipated?

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MAB - I will circulate a copy of the last Classroom Space proposal. There is material in there that might be useful in fleshing out this case.

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