WWTA Pilot Program

The WorldWide Telescope Ambassadors Pilot program was funded by MicroSoft Research to develop innovative science curricula using the WWT visualization interface. In the spring of 2010, four WWT Ambassadors partnered with a 6th grade science teacher in Massachusetts to work with 83 students during their 6-week astronomy unit. Students worked in groups using WWT to research topics of their own choice and then presented what they learned and created.

Microsoft Research Pilot Program Publications

Udomprasert PS, Goodman AA, Wong C. WorldWide Telescope Ambassadors: A Year 3 Update, in Communicating Science: A National Conference on Science Education and Public Outreach. Vol 473. Tuscon, AZ: Astronomical Society of the Pacific ; 2013 :137-140. Publisher's VersionAbstract

We give a brief overview of some key features of WorldWide Telescope and its Ambassadors Program, and we describe two goals for expanding the program in the coming year: scaling up training efforts; and developing “plug and play” Visualization Lab modules that teach key Earth and Space Science concepts to students while emphasizing important scientific processes and skills. We discuss several different ways that members of the astronomy education and outreach community can incorporate WWT-based materials into their work.

Goodman A, Fay J, Muench A, Pepe A, Udomprasert P, Wong C, Egret D, Gabriel C. WorldWide Telescope in Research and Education. In: ADASS XXI. San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific ; 2012. pp. tba. Publisher's VersionAbstract

The WorldWide Telescope computer program, released to researchers
and the public as a free resource in 2008 by Microsoft Research, has changed the way
the ever-growing Universe of online astronomical data is viewed and understood. The
WWT program can be thought of as a scriptable, interactive, richly visual browser of
the multi-wavelength Sky as we see it from Earth, and of the Universe as we would
travel within it. In its web API format, WWT is being used as a service to display professional
research data. In its desktop format, WWT works in concert (thanks to SAMP
and other IVOA standards) with more traditional research applications such as ds9, Aladin
and TOPCAT. The WWT Ambassadors Program (founded in 2009) recruits and
trains astrophysically-literate volunteers (including retirees) who use WWT as a teaching
tool in online, classroom, and informal educational settings. Early quantitative
studies of WWTA indicate that student experiences with WWT enhance science learning
dramatically. Thanks to the wealth of data it can access, and the growing number
of services to which it connects, WWT is now a key linking technology in the Seamless
Astronomy environment we seek to oer researchers, teachers, and students alike.

Udomprasert P, Goodman A, Wong C. WWT Ambassadors: WorldWide Telescope for Interactive Learning, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Vol 457. San Fransisco, CA: Connecting People to Science ; 2012 :149-154.Abstract

The WorldWide Telescope Ambassadors Program (WWTA) is new outreach initiative run by researchers at Harvard University, WGBH, and Microsoft Research. WWT Ambassadors are astrophysically-literate volunteers who are trained to be experts in using WWT as teaching tool. Ambassadors and learners alike use WWT to create dynamic, interactive Tours of the Universe, which are shared in schools, public venues, and online. Ambassador-created Tours are being made freely available and will ultimately form a comprehensive learning resource for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
In this short talk, we will describe the results of a Pilot Study where volunteer Ambassadors helped sixth-graders use WWT during their six-week Astronomy unit. The results of the study compare learning outcomes for 80 students who participated in WWTA and 80 students who only used traditional learning materials. In the comparison, we find that, after the six-week unit: twice as many "WWT” as "non-WWT” students understand complex three dimensional orbital relationships; and tremendous gains are seen in student interest in science overall, astronomy in particular, and even in using "real” telescopes.

Plans for WWTA include expansion to five US sites within the coming year, and ultimately to an International Program. Online materials will ultimately be available through several sites (at WGBH, Harvard and Microsoft), and will be integrated with existing online curriculum programs such as WGBH’s Teachers’ Domain and Microsoft’s Partners in Learning. More inormation is presently available at www.cfa.harvard.edu/WWTAmbassadors/.

Goodman AA, Udomprasert PS, Kent B, Sathiapal H, Smareglia R. Astronomy Visualization for Education and Outreach, in Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Vol 442. Boston, MA: ASP Conference Series ; 2011 :659-662. Publisher's VersionAbstract

About 50 participants came to a discussion on the benefits and potential obstacles of using astronomy visualization tools for education and public outreach (EPO). Representatives of five different EPO organizations shared information on their project goals and outcomes. Public users need support to learn how to use these programs effectively for education, but the efforts are worthwhile because the thrill that comes from working with real data and the natural beauty of astronomical imagery are great attractors for new science enthusiasts.

Goodman AA, Strom SE, Udomprasert P, Valva A, Wong C. WWT Ambassadors: Worldwide Telescope For Interactive Learning, in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts 217. Vol 43. ; 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract
The WorldWide Telescope Ambassadors Program (WWTA) is new outreach initiative run by researchers at Harvard University, WGBH, and Microsoft Research. WWT Ambassadors are astrophysically-literate volunteers who are trained to be experts in using WWT as teaching tool. Ambassadors and learners alike use WWT to create dynamic, interactive Tours of the Universe, which are shared in schools, public venues, and online. Ambassador-created Tours are being made freely available and will ultimately form a comprehensive learning resource for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

In this short talk, we will describe the results of a Pilot Study where volunteer Ambassadors helped sixth-graders use WWT during their six-week Astronomy unit. The results of the study compare learning outcomes for 80 students who participated in WWTA and 80 students who only used traditional learning materials. In the comparison, we find that, after the six-week unit: twice as many "WWT” as "non-WWT” students understand complex three dimensional orbital relationships; and tremendous gains are seen in student interest in science overall, astronomy in particular, and even in using "real” telescopes.

Plans for WWTA include expansion to five US sites within the coming year, and ultimately to an International Program. Online materials will ultimately be available through several sites (at WGBH, Harvard and Microsoft), and will be integrated with existing online curriculum programs such as WGBH's Teachers’ Domain and Microsoft's Partners in Learning. More inormation is presently available at www.cfa.harvard.edu/WWTAmbassadors/.

Microsoft Research Pilot Program Presentations