Project Information
-------------------
Project Author: Rosemary Shaw <Rosemary_Shaw@scps.k12.fl.us>
Project Title: Looking for Dark Skies
Project Begin & End Dates: 9/01/03 to 5/01/06
Project Summary:
The project explores light pollution by encouraging research and =
creation of nighttime mapping describing ambient light levels from
various locations. Major goal of this project is student created
=
websites discussing lighting laws, environmental/health impacts
and responsible outdoor lighting.
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Project Details
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Project Level: Basic
Curriculum Area: Community Interest, Information Technology, Language,
Mathematics, Science, Technology
Technologies Used: CU-SeeMe or Other Video Conferencing, Email, IRC
or
Other Real-Time Chat, Web Based Discussion Forum
Project Sponsor: Millennium Middle School
Full Project Description:
It might be hard to believe that light can be a pollutant, but it is!
According to dictionary.com, pollution is
The act or process of polluting or the state of being polluted,
especially contamination of the atmosphere by the discharge of
harmful substances.
Something that pollutes; a pollutant or a group of pollutants: Pollution
in the air reduced the visibility near the airport
But, outdoor lighting that is not done in a responsible manner is a
pollutant. It randomly discharges light when there is not
normally light, which can be very harmful and it reduces visibility
of
our night sky.
The phenomenon of light pollution is a relatively recent health and
environmental hazard. But, as the population grows, so does the
use of light. Unfortunately, at this time, not enough people
understand the importance of responsible outdoor lighting.
The creators of this project hope to teach students the concept of
responsible lighting as well as enlightening the students and
teachers about the effects of light pollution. Another aspect
of this
project is to encourage the students to educate their
parents, and to encourage their communities to adopt laws that will
ensure responsible outdoor lighting to help protect our health,
and the health of our environment.
The three major goals for this project are: 1) To create nighttime
sky
maps by measuring the ambient light levels at night from
various locations. This will be done by using star counts, or
by the
use of light meters (or cameras equipped with light meters)
2) To encourage local officials to create working laws on light
pollution and responsible outdoor lighting.
3) To create local websites discussing laws regarding lighting,
environmental/health impacts and responsible outdoor lighting
concepts- including types of lighting. These websites will also
include
the publishing of local nighttime skymaps.
Objectives:
Students will understand the causes of environmental degradation.
Students will demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and
operation of technology systems.
Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase
productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in
constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare
publications, and produce other creative works.
Students use telecommunications to collaborate,
publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and
collect information from a variety of sources.
Students use technology tools to process data and
report results.
Students use technology resources for solving problems and making
informed decisions.
Students employ technology in the development of
strategies for solving problems in the real world.
Students will use a variety of prewriting strategies.
Students will use a variety of strategies to draft and revise written
=
work.
Student will write to communicate ideas and
information effectively.
Students will understand how technology influences society through its
products and processes.
Students will understand how many organisms an
ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and abiotic
factors, such as quantity and quality of light and water, range
of temperatures, and soil composition.
Students will understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, =
relationships among numbers, and number systems.
Students will compute fluently and make reasonable
estimates.
Students will formulate questions that can be addressed with data and
=
collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them.
Develop and evaluate inferences and predictions thatare based on data.
--------------------------------
Project Registration Information
--------------------------------
Project Email Address: http://www.millennium.scps.k12.fl.us/mailform700/darkjoin.html
Registration Acceptance Dates: 8/01/03 to 5/01/06
Number of Classrooms: many
Age Range: 11 to 19 years
Target Audience: Anyone
Project URL: http://www.millennium.scps.k12.fl.us/mailform700/darkskieshome.html
Registration Instructions:Either http://www.millennium.scps.k12.fl.us/mailform700/darkjoin.html
or write:
Rosemary_Shaw@scps.k12.fl.us
----------------------------
Project Contact Information
----------------------------
Rosemary Shaw - mailto:Rosemary_Shaw@scps.k12.fl.us
teacher - Millennium Middle School
Sanford, Florida US
http://www.millennium.scps.k12.fl.us
==================================
Escola de Sanford, Florida USA, quer discutir e avaliar os efeitos
da poluição luminosa nas cidades.
Inscricões: de 1 de agosto de 2003 até 01 de maio de
2006
Atividades do projeto: de 1 de agosto de 2003 até 01 de maio
de 2006
Tecnologias utilizadas: CU-SeeMe ou outro tipo de Vídeo Conferência,
e-mails, IRC, CHATs
Objetivos: este projeto visa estudar a poluição luminosa
em diferentes cidades do planeta. Para tanto, os estudantes ceverão
criar um website para discutir esse tema comparando seus efeitos (efeitos
na atmosfera, redução da visibilidade próximo aos
aeroportos, iluminação de outdoors, efeitos na saúde,
etc..), nas diversas comunidades.
Áreas do currículo: Matemática, Línguas,
Tecnologia da Infornação, Interesses da Comunidade
Número de classes no projeto: livre
Alunos participantes: de 11 até 19 anos
mais informações: projetos@patnet.com.br
maafilho@patnet.com.br