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Event Details

12/07/2006

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HAM It Up: Amateur Radio

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Target Audience: Students

Grade Level: K-4,5-8,9-12

Event Focus : Communication is an essential component of a manned NASA mission. It is important for astronauts to stay in contact with Mission Control. One way astronauts keep in touch on the International Space Station is with amateur radio, or HAM radio. This method is also a means for the public to communicate with astronauts on board the Station. How does HAM radio work? How can educators and students participate in HAM radio connections?

Description:

You see it on television: NASA officials contact astronauts on the Space Station through radio hookups. There's another way to keep in touch with crewmembers, though, and anyone with a ham radio system can participate. And just for the record, the conversations don't start with "Breaker, breaker one-nine."

Amateur radio, also called ham radio, has become the fun way for average folks to communicate with Space Shuttle and Space Station astronauts. Anyone with a scanner can listen to the communications that take place between Earth and space, and if you have a transmitter, you can get in on the conversations.

While individuals can monitor Space Station transmissions from home, school groups can make it a class project and work closely with ham radio operators and NASA staff members to schedule a conversation with the astronauts. The ARISS project was started with that goal in mind: classes of students interacting directly with astronauts through ham radio linkups.

Instructional Objectives:

Engage	The learner will share prior knowledge about amateur radio and its uses on Earth and within NASA missions with the NASA Education Specialist.
Explore	The learner will investigate the importance of communication and how the communication model works through pre-activities.
Explain	The learner will understand the function and importance of amateur radio on the International Space Station.
Elaborate	The learner will discover resources available for an ARISS radio downlink participation by exploring the ARISS website.
Evaluate	The learner will demonstrate their understanding of participating in an ARISS event by registering on the website provided in the videoconference event.

Click Here For WebCast URL

Sequence of Events
Pre-Conference Activities:
The links below are previews of the pre-activities only. For the complete module and event information, please see the Complete Educator Guide link for each grade level. Grade K-4 "Give Me a Call" Activity: Students will explore how sound travels by conducting a range of experiments with paper cup telephones. + Detailed activity information + Complete Educator Guide for K-4 Grade 5-8 "Speaking Radio-ese" Activity: Students will learn how to construct a structure using oral directions. + Detailed activity information + Complete Educator Guide for 5-8 Grade 9-12 "Radio Waves" Activity: Students will draw an electromagnetic spectrum and calculate frequency and wavelength. + Detailed activity information + Complete Educator Guide for 9-12 Prior to the event, students should take the pre-event assessment quiz. Click the link below for the on-line quiz for grade 5-8. Quizzes for grade K-4 and 9-12 are available in the Complete Educator Guide (not available as on-line quiz).
+ On-line pre-event assessment quiz

Videoconference Activities:
Join the Digital Learning Network as we explore how astronauts on the International Space Station communicate using amateur, or HAM, Radio. Learn how amateur radio works, its purpose on the International Space Station, and how educators and students can participate in radio downlink events with astronauts through ARISS.

Post-Conference Activities:
The links below are previews of the post-event activities only. For the detailed activity information, click on each link below. Grade K-4 "Making Radio Waves" Activity: Students will make and test a simple radio-wave generator using ordinary household materials. + Detailed activity information Grade 5-8 "No Remote Control?" Activity: Students will demonstrate that radio waves cannot pass through certain materials. + Detailed activity information Grade 9-12 "Waves" Activity: Students will identify the components of a radio wave and create waves in different frequencies. + Detailed activity information Following to the event, students should take the post-event assessment quiz. Click on the link below for the on-line quiz for grade 5-8. Quizzes for grade K-4 and 9-12 are available in the Complete Educator Guide (not available as on-line quiz).
+ On-line post-event assessment quiz

Standards

The following standards are abbreviated for the 5-8 module. Due to the longevitiy of standard descriptions, expected student behaviors are listed in the Educator Guide. Standards and expected student behaviors for grades K-4 and 9-12 can be found in the appropriate Educator Guide.

National Standards
     National Science Education Standards (NSES)
          Unifying Concepts
          Content Standard A - Science as Inquiry
          Content Standard B - Physical Science
          Content Standard E - Science and Technology
          Content Standard G - History and Nature of Science

     National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
          Algebra
          Geometry
          Problem Solving
          Communication

     International Technology Education Association (ITEA)
          Standard 1 -Characteristics and Scope of Technology.
          Standard 17 - Information and Communcation Technologies

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