Proposition 5

Teachers are members of learning communities.

Artifact: Radioiss.com:

Description

This website helps meet the indicator of Proposition 4 which reads that:

[Teachers] are familiar with learning theories and instructional strategies and stay abreast of current issues in American education. They critically examine their practice on a regular basis to deepen knowledge, expand their repertoire of skills, and incorporate new findings into their practice.

As an active member in the Maker community, a group of artists, educators and engineers interested DIY electronics; I collaborated with software engineer Ken Murphy to make Radioiss.com, an educational tool for exploring geography and world culture.

Radioiss.com is a website that combines NASA’s live video feed of Earth taken from the International Space station with a curated selection of radio stations from nearly every country in the world. Software script makes it so viewers hear the radio stations over which the International Space Station orbits. For example, when you see Italy from space you may hear a local station in Rome playing a Catholic sermon in Latin. Similarly, while ISS makes its way across Saudi Arabia you are likely to hear a reading of the Quran.

Rationale:

Here I am engaging auditory and visual learners in an exploration of what are typically the abstract concepts of world geography and culture. Furthermore, students engage with authentic sources material, real-time images of Earth and live broadcasts of music and talk from countries around the world.

Reflection:

I was pleased by reaction from students when I first publically displayed Radioiss on World Heritage Day at Reiche Elementary School. Here students and parents were captivated by the live video from Earth and audio which was fed through the cafeteria PA system. on several occasions parents from Germany and parts of Eastern Europe approached me when ISS was over these areas broadcasting traditional music. In addition to using this in the classroom, it worked as a way to connect with parents.

Standards for NBPTS | The Five Core Propositions. (n.d.). Retrieved August 16, 2017, from http://www.nbpts.org/standards-five-core-propositions/