How to Facilitate DETECTS
A step by step guide for teachers1. Fill out an interest form
After you’ve looked through the overview presentation describing the project, and you are interested in DETECTS, you can fill out an interest form!
2. Watch the Teacher Workshop Videos
Watch a series of recorded Teacher Workshop Videos to help prepare you as a teacher to facilitate DETECTS.
3. Meet with us (Optional)
After you sign up, we’ll contact you from [email protected] about meeting with us (in-person or virtual). We’d like to meet with you to talk about the project and answer any of your questions.
4. One month before you start the program, fill out the Equipment Request Form.
One month before you start DETECTS, fill out the Equipment Request Form so that we can send you your free High Altitude Balloon equipment. Less than a month’s notice is fine. Regardless though, please make sure you’ll have time to do the program before submitting this form. If/When you do submit this, you’ll be making the following agreement:
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- By requesting this equipment, I agree that my students will definitely start DETECTS, and we intend to finish it, barring unforeseen circumstances. Regardless, I (or my students) will submit one final document that each of my team(s) makes, and I’ll submit the teacher post-survey to UAH to help DETECTS stay funded.
- If I don’t submit final documents/teacher post-survey, I understand that the DETECTS online resources will still be available to me, but I may be unable to receive equipment in the future.
5. Start the program whenever you'd like
Use the student notebook link on the Canvas Page to find what videos your students must watch for each lesson and their assignments for those lessons. We also provide a short teacher video for each lesson, describing what the students will be doing.
Most student and teacher videos are under 10 minutes long.
6. Hold regular check-ins with your teams as noted in the schedule
The DETECTS schedule has Team Progress Reports (TPRs) scheduled every few lessons. During these check-ins, each team should meet with their teacher and show what they’ve accomplished so far. You can find the calendar HERE.
7. In lesson 5, make sure your students submit a Pre-Flight Checklist before the launch(es)
For each HAB that you launch, we require exactly one Pre-Flight Checklist form submission at least 3 days before the launch (4 days if you launch in Washington D.C. and Charleston, SC).
8. After the launch, submit your students’ launch conditions sheet(s)
After your class(es) launch their HAB(s), please make sure a picture of the completed launch 2 conditions sheet (in the balloon launch guide) is submitted to us. Please only submit one sheet for each launch event, even if multiple balloons were launched at the same time. This helps us gather audience numbers correctly without duplications. After this sheet is submitted, we’ll post their HAB’s plots under the “DETECTS Flights” tab.
9. At the end of the program, submit a copy of your teams’ Flight Video Log (FVL) and/or their Poster Session
Each team should submit one FVL and one Poster Session. The FVL should be a fun video showing what the team did throughout the project. For the Poster Session, each team should set up a poster and talk to an audience about what they did in DETECTS. Minimum content required for the FVL and poster itself are listed in the Lesson 2 videos and in the notebook. Each team must turn in their FVL, a picture of their poster, and pictures of the team at their poster session.
10. Submit any pictures you have from the project (Optional)
All pictures of the balloon launch, students having fun, students working on the project, etc. are appreciated. We need these pictures to show to MDA, who funds DETECTS. These pictures help us stay funded so that we can send you free equipment, continue improving the project, and provide help when you need it. Please submit any extra pictures you have!
11. Provide final numbers and feedback about the project for us
You have to submit a few numbers that we need for our reporting. At the front of this form is also a feedback survey. We need your feedback in order to know what issues to fix. You as a teacher have the closest look at what the project looks like in a classroom, so we really value your suggestions/criticism.