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, you can fill out the DETECTS INTEREST FORM. This form simply shows you are interested. You are not locked in to participating if you submit the interest form.
2. Watch the Teacher Workshop Videos
Watch the TEACHER WORKSHOP VIDEOS to help prepare yourself, as a teacher, to facilitate DETECTS. These three videos will give an overview of everything we provide and what you should expect by doing the project.
The link will take you to the Teachers’ Canvas Page – this is where all content specifically for teachers will be found. Under the DETECTS tab, you will find all videos for you, the teacher.
3. Fill Out the Equipment Request Form
The DETECTS Team will reach out to you prior to your project session’s start date. We will ask you to fill out the EQUIPMENT REQUEST FORM so that we can send you your free High Altitude Balloon equipment. When you submit this request, you’ll be making the following agreement:
- 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.
4. Start the DETECTS Project
We will email you to let you know when your selected project session starts. The calendar is available on the TEACHER CANVAS. Use the Student Notebook link on the STUDENT 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.
5. UAH will meet with your students for a Live Introduction and Team Progress Report 1
The UAH DETECTS Team will meet with your students, either virtually or in-person, for the Live Introduction and then again for Team Progress Report 1. We will reach out to you to schedule these dates towards the start of the program.
6. In Week 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. or Guam).
7. After the launch, submit your students’ launch conditions.
After your class(es) launch their HAB(s), please make sure the launch conditions (in the Balloon Launch Guide) are submitted to us via the LAUNCH CONDITIONS UPLOAD FORM. Please only submit one form 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 the HAB data plots under Week 6 on Canvas – DETECTS FLIGHTS.
8. At the end of the project, submit a copy of your team’s PET and/or their Poster (if you did not attend Open House at UAH).
Each team should submit one PET and one Poster Session. The PET is a Project Enhancement Tool, this can be a video log, brochure, social media account, tangible model, or any other potential enhancement opportunity for 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 PET and Poster are listed in the Student Notebook. Each team must turn in their PET, a picture of their poster, and pictures of the team at their Poster Session.
9. 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.