Evaluators
Needed for the RealWorld-InWorld NASA Engineering Design Challenge
Please consider volunteering to join an
Evaluation Team to review student virtual worlds developed as part of the RealWorld-InWorld
NASA Engineering Design Challenge.
The
RealWorld-InWorld (RWIW) NASA engineering design challenge is a free, educational program developed by
NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA). RWIW challenges middle and high school
students to learn about some of NASA’s most exciting missions and develop skills
essential for successful careers in science, technology, engineering, and math
(STEM).
The challenge
is composed of two phases of project-based learning and team competition. In the
RealWorld phase of this program, 2-4
students work together to redesign the
mirror or sunshield on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In the InWorld
phase, selected teams are mentored by college engineering students to bring
their ideas and solutions into a virtual world.
We’d like you to consider
being an evaluator for the InWorld phase of the challenge. This phase takes place inside NIAUniverse, a
3D multi-user virtual world powered by ActiveWorlds.
Three – four
people are included on each Evaluation Team.
Evaluators may be K-12 educators, professors, NASA researchers, or
graduate engineering students. While you
will be a member of an Evaluation Team, most of your reviews will be
asynchronous so you will be able to schedule your review to match your
schedule.
Each Evaluation
Team will be assigned 5 – 8 Team Worlds for review and will be asked to
evaluate these team worlds three times during the InWorld Phase. Rubrics will be provided for these evaluations.
Evaluations
will follow this schedule:
·
Between March 11 – 18, 2013 -- Team Worlds will “close” so the Evaluation
Teams may review them and offer formative assessment. These “scores” are not “official” and teams
may make improvements based on these comments.
(Time commitment: 1-2 hours).
·
Between April 11 – 19, 2013 -- Team Worlds will “close” again, this time
so the Evaluation Teams may review the worlds and offer summative
assessment. The same rubrics used for
formative assessment will be used for this review. The 20 teams will be down selected through
this process to identify the FIVE FINALISTS. (Time commitment: 1-2 hours).
·
The week of April 22, 2013 -- Each of the five finalist teams will be
scheduled with an Evaluation Team for a 30-minute synchronous Q&A session
and tour of their Team World. One
Evaluation Team, made up of volunteers from all Evaluation Teams, will
participate in all five 30-minute
sessions. (Time commitment: 1.5 –
2 hours).
I think you’ll be amazed and inspired by
the innovation and expertise of the students involved in RWIW. Participating as an evaluator will give you a
chance to interact with these students using the virtual world platform. You
will also be able to see how this medium is used to support project-based learning. A certificate of participation will be given
to all evaluators indicating the time given to support this project.
To learn learn more about the RWIW NASA
Design Challenge, visit this website: http://nasarealworldinworld.org/
Please register at this site to view the
RealWorld Toolkit and InWorld Toolkit.
The rubrics you will use to evaluate Team Worlds are in the InWorld
Toolkit.
This short overview of RWIW also helps
visualize both phases of the challenge: https://vimeo.com/51776603
Please complete this Google Form to
indicate your interest in becoming an evaluator.
Thank you!
Sharon Bowers
Register NOW
to find out more about how you can participate in RWIW.
RealWorld work
must be completed by January 31, 2013 for teams to be considered to move
InWorld.
For more
information please visit, http://www.nasarealworldinworld.org/Home.aspx