http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Fri, 24 May 2013 03:29:02 PDT Fri, 24 May 2013 03:29:02 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=89203 Online tutorials covering a wide range of physics topics, including modern physics and astronomy. Material is organized through extensive concept maps. This item received the 2005 MERLOT Classics Award in Physics because of its comprehensive coverage of most of physics, the creative use of multimedia and linking, and the impact it has had on students worldwide. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=81077 Scientific discovery is the impetus for the K-4 Education program, "Reading, Writing, and Rings." But uniquely, the focus is to engage elementary students in reading and writing to strengthen these basic academic skills through scientific content. As science has been increasingly overtaken by the language arts in elementary classrooms, the Cassini Education Program has taken advantage of a new cross-disciplinary approach to use language arts as a vehicle for increasing scientific content in the classroom. By utilizing the planet Saturn and the Cassini-Huygens mission as a model in both primary reading and writing students in these grade levels, young students can explore science material while at the same time learning these basic academic skills. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=86931 An interactive website where students can study and experience what scientists have learned about black holes. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=329170 An annotated list of some of the best hands-on activities for teaching astronomy that are available without charge on the web. Originally put together for Timothy Ferris PBS special "Seeing in the Dark״, this listing remains available on the PBS web site and can be a good starting point for a K-12 teacher (or even a community college instructor) wishing to get started with some fun activities for helping students understand the sky and the objects in it. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=215410 The Astronomy Animations are part of a larger collection of Animations for Introductory Physics and  Astronomy.  The animations are short (5 to 20 second) clips illustrating basic concepts from conceptual astronomy.  Many of the animations use 3-D graphics to convey geometric ideas.The animation collection may also be browsed or searched from the collections CWIS portal.All animations are available for reuse and redistribution under a Creative Commons License. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=81078 GAVRT teaches students to use radio astronomy, to control a huge antenna, and to collect science data from objects in the universe at which the antenna is pointed. GAVRT trains teachers, provides curriculum, and supports classroom implementation. GAVRT uses the Internet to connect students to Operations Control and the antenna. Students are actively involved in handling data for real science applications and learn that science is an ongoing process. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=83256 This is an annotated topical index to sciencefiction stories and novels that use good astronomy and is part of the education web pages of the nonprofit Astronomical Society of the Pacific.The listing currently has 195 entries organizedinto 40 categories, ranging from "anti-matter" to "Venus." It includes stories and novels by a number of scientists (some writing under a pseudonym) and by other writers who pay attention to the accuracy of their science. It is not designed as a complete index, but highlights stories that teachers have found particularly useful for making scientific ideas come alive for non-science students.The stories and novels listed deal with suchtopics as the dangers of asteroid impacts and exploding stars, the future exploration of Mars, the fate of travelers who venture close to a black hole, the search for intelligent life in the universe (and what forms it might take), and what it would be like to live among the rings and moons of the outer solar system. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=74497 Plot the sky from any point on earth http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=81885 Animations of astronomical phenomena, such as tides, phases of the moon,seasons, gravity, distance. These are bare-bones animations, leaving the explanation of the material up to the teacher or text book. This approach makes the animations usable in college as well as high school and middle school. I will continue to add animations to this site. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=90771 Complete web-based intro course in astronomy