Skip to main content

NASA Embodies the 4Cs


I mentioned in my last post that I am at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena today as a kick off #NASASocial event for the Orion launch. The Orion launch marks the start of our journey to Mars; the next step for humans to explore the solar system.

I had the privilege of asking a question live during the event, which was shared on NASA TV. My question was about how the different NASA satellite locations, like JPL, contributed to the Orion launch. I won't go in to the answer, except to say that the different locations, with different expertise, provided some of the technological advances and component pieces for Orion.

Why is this important? Because it stresses the importance for students to learn the 4Cs. Obviously, collaboration is critical for NASA to undertake this important mission. Not only are they collaborating with their own personnel, but they are also collaborating with commercial flight companies, like Boeing and SpaceX, and local, specialized businesses to create the parts that are fabricated for the mission. Without creativity, Orion would not exist. What started as a dream and a question is now a reality. That's due to creative geniuses using their critical thinking skills to turn that dream in to an actual product launch. And communication? Well, I'm sure you can picture the amount of emails, phone calls, presentations, texts, webinars, etc that transpired between all of these entities to put this entire mission together. It's incredible when you look at the big picture that created tomorrow's Orion launch.

Our students today will be the astronauts that travel to Mars. Are you preparing them with the 4Cs for that jouney?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BurnBook - An App Created for Bullying?

Photo from 10News: http://goo.gl/HcKI4E I shared the below information with my management team today as Burn Book seems to be the latest and greatest way for high school students to cyber bully. Feel free to modify and use if needed. But more importantly, I encourage you to read this blog post by a high school student about the impact these types of apps have on people:  http://goo.gl/Ls4Tv8 By now, most of you have probably heard of an app called BurnBook. Burn book allows students to anonymously post comments about anything. They choose their school, and then start posting. There are a lot of mean comments about other students and teachers being posted on the app, and occasionally threats to the safety of the school’s campus. I began monitoring the app the other day, and so far, it seems to be focused on high schools.  The high school district personnel have started a campaign to talk to students on all their campuses about the seriousness of p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Yes, and: The Power of an Idea

Kobi Yamada wrote a fabulous book called What Do You Do With an Idea? In the book, the main character finds an idea. He takes it with him everywhere. When he first shares it with others, they scoff at it. Luckily, the boy does not listen to the naysayers and instead nurtures the idea.  In the end, the idea takes form and ... well ... read it and find out. I read this book yesterday to a 4th grade class. I had not met the students before, but they seemed pretty excited to have me there. At the end of the book read, we discussed the plot, and why people may not have supported the boy and his idea. After the discussion, I led them through an improv activity called "Yes, but." In "Yes, but" one person of a pair shares an idea. In this case, the idea was what the student wanted to do over the weekend. The other person's job is to react to the idea with a "yes, but" statement. For example: Student 1: I think it'd be cool to go to the zoo this wee...
Post a Comment
Read more