What are Educational Elements?
Educational elements are items that a student or teacher would use to make up a learning experience. The following are
definitions for educational elements categorized by this portal:
Ask an Expert
Interactive on-line access to NASA scientists and content experts in a particular field or subject area.
Assessment Tool
Devices used to evaluate acquisition of knowledge or skills.
Audio Clip
Short sound segments usually accompanying a visual image.
Background Information
Prerequisite information necessary to successfully understand a concept or perform an activity.
Biography/Autobiography
Written descriptions or accounts of a person's life.
Book
Full-text on-line books viewable from the Internet.
CD-ROM
Compact, read-only discs which contain data that can be read by a computer.
Chat Room
Internet forums where two or more people discuss specific issues in real-time or via bulletin boards.
Coloring Book
Line drawings of images which can be colored.
Cross Curricular/Team Teaching Modules
Cross-curricular activities or lessons which address objectives and goals from several different content areas.
Data Set
Real-time or archived collections of facts which must be processed to be meaningful.
Educational Brief or Summary
A one-to-thiry page NASA publication which focuses on mission discoveries and
results and provides curriculum content support. Briefs are grade-level specific,
and sometimes provide lessons and activities for students and teachers.
Educational Topics/NASA Fact Sheets
NASA fact sheets which are one to three page (front and back) NASA publications which focus on a specific
topic or subject.
Educator's Guide
Thirty-to-eighty page NASA publications which provide aerospace-related activities for educators to enhance existing curriculum. Activities utilize problem-solving, hands-on learning, and critical thinking skills. Pages can be reproduced by teachers for classroom use.
Educator Programs
NASA programs that are specifically targeted toward educators.
Event Driven Activity
Student learning experiences built around an historic event such as a hurricane or a NASA satellite launch.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that students or teachers ask. The questions are list from the most
frequently asked and grouped by a specific topic, event, or content area.
Game
Entertaining educational mental and/or physical activities, typically incorporating problem solving skills
and related to a specific lesson, topic, or content area.
Glossary
Definitions or explanations of terms grouped together for use in a specific student activity or a particular
topic.
Graphic Organizers/Concept Maps
Concept maps, diagrams or flow chart sheets used to categorize and classify concepts and information.
Image, picture,or map
Visuals used to portray an actual object or set of objects.
Lesson Plan
Detailed written description of instruction for a given period of time and/or defined content area
objectives.
Links
Internet sites (like this one) which can be contacted by clicking onto a specified highlighted URL or button.
Lithograph
Eight by ten-inch colored photographs or artists' drawings. On the reverse side the lithograph usually includes text about the image and web sites to contact for further information. It may also include classroom activities.
NASA-related Children's Stories
Short booklets (printed and via the Internet) depicting Earth and space science topics written on levels for various children's age groups. Some Internet available books feature interactive quizzes and animations.
News Release or Current Events
A timely examination and representation of a new or ongoing occurrence.
Paper Printout Model
Paper printouts or instructions for scale models that include printed material which enable students to
construct a model of an object. Some contain reproducible pages to cut out and assemble the object.
Programmatic
NASA programs, projects, tasks, policies, and guidelines specifically designed or created for educational or
outreach purposes.
Puzzles or Word Searches
A sensory, logic tool which uses problem solving to critically piece together missing links or clues into a
meaningful solution.
Scientific Tools
Science, math, and geology instruments charts, or graphs used to perform activities, collect data or
analyze data.
Slide Sets
A set of twelve-to-twenty-four photographic slides depicting images captured with NASA technology and used in NASA research. Scripts are available with the slide sets to provide background information about the images and teacher resource information. Included also in this element are sets of images, text, quicktime movies, and/or audio clips arranged in a computer application to present a topic.
Software
Programs, procedures, and documentation associated with computer applications.
Student Activities
A topic or content focused independent investigations designed to stimulate learning by firsthand
experience.
Student Programs
NASA programs that are specifically targeted toward students.
Students Work Samples
Authentic reproductions of student-generated products.
Teachable Moments
Lessons, activities, or a group of lessons and activities which focus upon an event which is occurring or
going to occur in the future.
Timelines or Chronologies
Visual tools used to show historical relationships of events on a continuum.
Topical Teaching Units
Educational modules designed around a particular content subject or issue.
Tutorials
Directed printed or on-line information which enables the learner to review material which has not yet been mastered.
Video Clips or Quicktime Movies
Short, animated segments of visual materials.
Virtual or 3D Models
Multidimensional representations which appear on a computer screen to help visualize an object or
concept.
Wall Sheets or Posters
Posters which are visual representations composed of text, pictures, or graphics. Wall sheets which are posters that contain text on the back that include information about images, classroom activities, and educator resources.
What's up with this icon?: 
This seal identifies materials that are of exceptional education value based on current, accurate NASA Earth science. NASA awards this distinction to products that have passed a rigorous peer review by educators and scientists, including classroom teachers and college faculty, education standards experts, curriculum designers, teacher trainers, and Earth system scientists. For more information on NASA's Earth Science Enterprise and its education product review, see http://www.strategies.org/2003ESEReview/Overview.html.
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