Defrag 2014's Take On Data Security

Ideas for Teachers: Programming Lesson Plan 

When I return back to my hometown I will be visiting schools to share about my NASA experience and teach programming. I will be sharing my lesson plans here for a day of programming and a day of space related learning. Let’s start with programming. One of my first stops will be my Mom’s Kindergarten class so you will notice my lesson plan is catered for elementary students.

Morning: What is programming?

After your usual morning activities; “G-O-O-D M-O-R-N-I-N-G Good Morning Aye Aye Good Morning *clap* *clap”, drawing sticks and telling about your weekend, introduce students to the concept of programming. Ask students, “What do you think programming is?” Write down the answers on the white board. After answer along the lines of “Programming is telling a computer to do things - make a video game, control a robot, create an App, and more!” Next I would show them a short video with our current stars in technology.

Lets Start Coding

“Enough talk about programming let’s do it!” A great introduction to coding is a Made With Code project. The Yeti project is my favorite of these activities. Students take turns dragging and dropping blocks of code assigning attributes to the Yeti fur color and feet size. After assigning attributes the students can watch the Yeti dance. When I have had students write yeti code they enjoy changing the colors and dance many times!

Afternoon: Code Related Rotations

Skills needed to program are not only found in front of a screen but working in a team, time for activity rotations. (These will be the centers I will have but you all can have different ones.) At one center I will have my LEGO robot for the students to program. There will be objects that the robot can pick up or avoid. At the second center 3D printed puzzles will be available for students to solve. At the third center an activity with half a blank page and half a lined page. Students can draw a picture of what they think would be cool to program and write about it. Last center create a robot out of construction paper, foil, or other mediums.

Now You Try

Take a trip to the computer lab and let students try to program on their own. Hour of Code is a great resource where students can learn programming at various levels. Two activities I tested out an enjoyed was a Flappy Bird Game Creator and Star Wars Drone Game. Students can code on their own or work in a group to help each other figure things out.

Have fun teaching students about programming! In the future I hope to get a Sphero, 3D printer, and Arduino type kit. Maybe you all have other ideas for a programming lesson plan.

Get Hooked on Programming Quick

Highly sought for and praised- the ability to program. Admit it, being comfortable with technology makes you an admirable candidate for your dream job and allows you to navigate the modern world more fluidly. Unfortunately the idea of becoming tech savvy was soiled by the thought of dry lingo and geeky stereotype. For the tech enthused or not, young or wise I have seven ways you can get started with programming in a few hours or much less. (In order of what I thought of first)

1) Codecademy

Best for: Middle School - Adulthood and beyond

Project Time: 30min - As long as you wish

Languages: Web development, Ruby, Python, PHP

Where: http://www.codecademy.com/learn

Friends from internships used codecademy to get exposed to a number of languages relatively quickly and from there decided what to dive into.

2) Code.org

Best for: Elementary - High School

Project Time: 30min - As long as you wish

Languages: Java Script, HTML, basic logic, Lego Robotics, and more

Where: http://code.org/

A really fun way to learn programming by playing games or making your own! President Obama was visited by some aspiring programmers and completed a Disney Frozen themed project.

3) Alice

Best for: Elementary - High School

Project Time: 30min - As long as you wish

Languages: Java

Where: http://www.alice.org/index.php?page=downloads/download_alice3.1

(Younger programmers may need help downloading and getting started)

Alice allows you to program in pseudo Java code and control characters. You can make movies or perform skits with your characters by moving blocks of code around and assigning values. This was my first exposure to programming in high school. As I continued with my computer studies in college found that what I learned from Alice to be extremely useful.

4) Java Seal

Best for: Middle School - Adulthood and beyond

Project Time: 30min - As long as you wish

Languages: Java

Where: https://www.youtube.com/user/JavaSeal

This is my shameless plug; I started this You Tube channel this past summer and recorded some videos about how to get started with Java programming, a basic 10 minute starter program, and a 30min more complex program. Although I haven't downloaded videos recently these are a good start and I expect to make more this summer.

5) Made With Code

Best for: Elementary - Middle School

Project Time: 5min - As long as you wish

Languages: Basic Logic

Where: https://www.madewithcode.com/projects

My Mom's kindergarten class loved to make a Yeti dance and lights shimmer using the Made With Code project. I visited her classroom and had students drag and drop blocks of code on a Smart Board. These projects teach about basic programming logic and assigning values to variables.

6) Khan Academy

Best for: Middle School - Adulthood and beyond

Project Time: 30min - As long as you wish

Languages: Game, Animation, Web Development

Where: https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-programming

Khan Academy has great videos for every subject imaginable in school and now for programming. There are many projects where you can make video games, a website, or animation. There is even a gallery of what other programmers have made while following along with the video.

7) Major League Hacking

Best for: High School - College

Project Time: Few hours to 3 day event

Languages: Any language! Common ones include C++ and Java

Where: Select Colleges https://mlh.io/seasons/f2014/events

This isn't a website to visit but a Hackathon event to go to! Hackathons are events where students are challenged to create a solution to a problem such as an app that can send you texts to keep you on task, a light that can let you know when you need to wear warm clothes, or the next big social media hot spot. Hackathons can run for a few hours to three days. Most of the Hackathons don't require programming experience and are a great place to learn.

(These age groups are just suggestions, feel free to check out any of them you like. I didn't make any of the logos except my Java Seal one so kudos to you other logo makers.)

NASA Co-Op Week 5: NASA After Hours 

Surprisingly NASA, like college, has a plethora of "extra-curriculars" including intramural sports and committees. Interns at Johnson Space Center (JSC) are uniquely involved in extracurriculars. JSC interns hold weekly meetings. Twice a month PIPE, a professional social group meets and SCuM, a social social group. PIPE hosts committees like professional development, social media (managing NASA Twitter & Facebook accounts), PAXC (Pathways Agencies Cross Center Connection), and Tours & Lectures. SCum hosts committees like Sports, Intern Video, Fancy Dinner, and Skydiving (an intern tradition). 

I am currently the lead of Tours/Lectures. A group of us arrange tours at neat locations around JSC like flying a T38 jet trainer, the largest pool in the world where astronauts and Robonaut lab. Lectures are also arranged by the group including Anne Roemer, head of the Astronaut Selection Committee, Ginger Kerrick, Assistant Director for the International Space Station, and Everett Gibson, Moon Rock Expert. 

PAXC is a group that unites all the NASA Centers. Every other week we video conference with all the other centers! Glenn in Ohio, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Langley in Virginia. We get to hear about what the other centers are working on, lectures from their center leaders and dream about touring each other's centers. 

Hacking into a lawnmower robot is another activity I take part in. We are converting an autonomous navigating lawn mowing robot into a tele-operated human controlled robot. This requires taping into the robots controls and adding wireless communication between the robot and controller. Using an Adruino controller we can send signals to the robot so we have been learning how to use it. 

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED 

Learn about some the lecturers we will be hearing from: Anne Reomer, Ginger Kerrick & Everett Gibson 

Watch what NASA is doing to enhance the mission to Mars 

Start your career with NASA and tune into a Virtual Career Fair and hear about internship, fellowships and scholarships October 8th 12pm-3:30pmCT

NASA Co-Op Week 8 & 9: Thunderbirds

Between attending Grace Hopper and developing astronaut training I have taken part in a couple of volunteer opportunities.

Fighter Jets: Wings Over Houston (WOH) is an annual event where stunt jets, Pearl Harbor reenactments and hobby planes take over Ellington Airport. This year the Thunderbirds flew as the main event. That ultra ugly plane, Super Guppy, was designed by NASA to carry two T38s inside of it, planeception! The T38s are used to train astronaut pilots at high speeds. After the show many interns helped tear down because by midnight we had to make sure Ellington could continue normal operations.

Puppies: Johnson Space Center interns helped get dogs adopted with Triumphant Tails. This nonprofit holds adoption events with the goal to keep dogs out of kill shelters. I helped a blonde four month old spaniel get adopted.

Safety: Following Columbia Disaster and attempts to learn from mistakes JSC created Health & Saftey day. Free flu shots were given, local health groups put up informational booths and workout groups have demonstrations. On of my friends from interning this summer was a big part of organizing the event. I volunteered directing old fashion model cars for a car show. Not sure what this has to do with Safety but it is a neat thing.

No tax dollars were harmed in any of these activities.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

See why is Scott Kelly on a Year Long Mission

Watch the Thunderbirds from WOH

Accomplishments this week at NASA

Easy way to get started with coding. Methods for 8-11, 12-17, 18-25+ year old in various learning styles!

How to Work for NASA: Tips from a NASA Intern

Working for NASA is a life long dream for those who grew up building LEGO space stations, watching Space Shuttle launches and admiring Apollo Era heroes. Transforming this childhood dream into reality is more complicated than handing your resume to the right person but more straightforward than receiving a classified invite from an intelligence agent. I will share the many avenues of becoming a part of interstellar exploration discovered during my time interning at NASA. Ramen to Rockets NASA has two primary avenues for current college students to get involved - OSSI Internships and thePathways Internship program (Co-Op). OSSI (One Stop Shopping Initiative) is the main source for internships, fellowships and scholarship opportunities at various NASA centers. An internship is a semester long program where you work alongside professionals in your discipline, get paid in a stipend and do meaningful work that advances NASA’s mission. Some interns have been invited to join NASA full-time but is not common. A Pathways Internship (Co-Op) is similar to an OSSI Internship except a Co-Op is sworn in as a US Government Civil Servant, paid bi-weekly, receive benefits of a Civil Servant, and flip-flops between semesters studying at college and working at NASA. Some Co-Ops extend their flip-flopping into grad school. NASA’s primary pipelines for full-time Civil Servants is the Pathways Intern (Co-Op) program. I shared in great detail what the Co-Op program is and how to apply in this three part blog series. The phrase “college student” may spur images of a microwavable ramen zapping Millennial but NASA’s college programs are great for every kind of college student! OSSI and Co-Op students are parents, veterans, Millennials, experienced in industry and more. Cold Call Nothing can stop you from simply applying to a full-time position at a NASA center. I call it a “Cold Call” because this isn’t a pipeline program driven process. Go on USAJobs and search “NASA” and pages of positions will appear. Applying in this manner may feel like tossing your resume into a black hole. With stellar related experience in aerospace industry, research, military or start up work this method of applying may just work! I share how to use the USAJobs resume builder in this post. Alternatively, an extreme way to join NASA is to become an astronaut. I shared tips on the astronaut application processhere. Note that becoming an astronaut is the least probable way to work at NASA. Space Contract The majority of individuals working onsite at NASA centers are actually contractors. This means they are employed by private companies that NASA collaborates with on projects. Some of many contractors are Lockheed, Boeing, Jacobs, and System Technologies Group (STG). Projects that contractors work on include Orion, Space Launch System, propulsion testing, and International Space Station maintenance. A private company may have a contract to build a part or system and do so offsite at their respective facility. Contractors that produce a part offsite often come onsite to perform integration tests and are an important part of the NASA team and mission. Keep in mind, if you apply to a private (possibly aerospace related) company you may not have much control over if you are a part of a NASA related project.  More recently NASA has been reaching out to small businesses for parts, services and solutions via Small Business Innovation Research. Small businesses can propose projects that can advance NASA’s mission. From Civil Servant on site to a small business working in a small town you can work with NASA and advance space exploration.

Launching Your Aerospace Career

As unbelievable as it seems my passion for aerospace and space research was not found until my senior year in high school. There are many programs I wish I had known about throughout my schooling and programs I still want to participate in the future. I hope this post open doors about ways you can launch your aerospace career and spark your imagination.

Elementary School

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Jr. LEGO League  (Jr.FLL) Students ages 6 - 9 create an invention out of LEGO parts that solves real world problems.

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Students ages 9 - 14 design, build, and program LEGO Robots that compete in a game. A really cool FLL team

VEX IQ Challenge Elementary - middle school students build controllable robots to complete tasks and compete.

Middle School

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Students ages 9 - 14 design, build, and program LEGO Robots that compete in a game. A really cool FLL team

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Students in grades 7 - 12 design, fabricate, wire, and program robots to compete in alliances. A really cool FTC team

VEX IQ Challenge Elementary - middle school students build controllable robots to complete tasks and compete.

VEX Robotics Competition With skills in computer aided design, programming, animation, and fabrication middle school - college students build robots and compete on alliances of 2 V 2 to achieve reach the top score.

High School

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Students in grades 7 - 12 design, fabricate, wire, and program robots to compete in alliances. A really cool FTC team

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) In only six weeks high school students from around the world design and build 120 lb robots to play games such as soccer, basketball, and Ultimate Frisbee. I captained an FRC team in high school and can vouch that all the FIRST robotics leagues (JrFLL - FRC) are fantastic! My old high school's FRC team

Texas High School Aerospace Scholars High school students from Texas get to collaborate with NASA engineers onsite to complete a week long project and work among fellow scholars.

VEX Robotics Competition With skills in computer aided design, programming, animation, and fabrication middle school - college students build robots and compete on alliances of 2 V 2 to achieve reach the top score.

Glenn High School Internship Project (GHIP) Eight week paid internship for high schoolers to work at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. This opportunity is for incoming juniors and seniors.

K - 12

Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) Summer filled with innovation offering activities for all Contact

Destination Imagination Improv to engineering, art to teamwork students compete from around the world in many disciplines.

College

NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) Community college students get onsite and online NASA experience and education.

VEX Robotics Competition With skills in computer aided design, programming, animation, and fabrication middle school - college students build robots and compete on alliances of 2 V 2 to achieve reach the top score.

NASA College Internships Paid internships at NASA available for year round and every season at the various NASA centers.

NASA Pathways Internship (College Co-Op) Now the OSSI internships are different than what NASA calls Pathways Internships (more commonly known as Co-Ops) where you are a civil servant with higher pay and benefits. You also go on “tours” (at least 3) where you switch between a semester working and NASA and a semester studying three times.

All Ages and Disciplines

Alphabetical order list of NASA programs for all ages and disciplines.

*My earlier posts explain FIRST Robotics better* **Next post, as a woman in STEM, I will focus on resources for women in STEM!**

(TopL: NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Credit: NASA, TopR: Jr. LEGO League creation Credit:FIRST FLL, Middle: Me lining up my high school robotics team’s basketball shooting robot Credit: Daredevils FRC Robotics Team 2512, BottomL: LEGO Mindstorm robot Credit: LEGO, BottomR: In a parade with NASA Glenn and their Orion float.)

Intern Week 1: Code in a Storm

Comment your code and batten down the hatches. One week into my NASA intern experience and I have become well aquainted with the LabVIEW programming language and Houston's tropical storms.

LabVIEW is a visual programming language where instead of writing lines of code to make a "while loop" you literally draw a loop around the function you want to repeat. Many FIRST Robotics teams and rapid prototyping engineers use LabVIEW. With this programming language I will translate packets of data from Orion Deep Space Habitat's devices to meaningful data and then display that data on a user interface. I'm still pinching myself because not only do I get to work alongside talented scientists but I am helping advance a project I worked on while interning at NASA Glenn Research Center in 2013. Some of the devices that I am translating data for, such as a solar power regulator, are devices I made a circuit board for at Glenn.

I captured pictures of The HIVE (Human Integrated Vehicles & Environments) lab we work in primarily because we were advised to cover the tech gear in plastic bags in preparation for a pending tropical storm. Coming from the icy tundra of Minnesota I am far from used to tropical storm and flood prep. Cutting long strips of plastic sheets with large industrial scissors I felt like one of Cinderella's woodland helpers. Now the Orion mock up is ready to meet Prince Charming at the ball.

Looking forward to creating schematics of the packet translator in Visio and making the translation process more autonomous this week!

Hey! Prospective (Hopeful?) future NASA intern here. Just wondering, are you there for a summer internship, or a year-long one?

Hi there misherlocollins, good question as there are many types of NASA internships. My internship is just for the summer. If you go to NASA’s intern website called OSSI (One Stop Shopping Initiative):

https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/

You will see that there are paid internships available for year round and every season. Now the OSSI internships are different than what NASA calls Pathways Internships (more commonly known as Co-Ops) where you are a civil servant with higher pay and benefits. You also go on “tours” (at least 3) where you switch between a semester working and NASA and a semester studying three times. You get more time to dive into your work and that link can be found here (as of now there are no openings but I bet there will be some soon):

http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htm

Maybe you already knew all of this but just in case here you go :D

Kindergarten Habitats & High School Design

Along with returning to my studies I have been visiting classes to talk programming, space and backwards design.

Kindergarteners love hands on work and it's one of the best ways to teach a new concept. During "L" week I challenged students to design a Lunar Habitat. This is apparently really hard to describe to a Kindergartener. After showing pictures of a habitat and making ones out of construction paper the idea clicked after building habitats out of Legos, Bristle Blocks, Tinker Toys and Mega Blocks. The definition best used to describe the Lunar Habitat to Kindergarteners is- "A place where astronauts can live on the Moon without a spacesuit on. It provides resources (like water, air and power) that the moon doesn't have." We also made a Yeti dance on Google's Made With Code website, drew astronaut's EVA suits and ate astronaut ice cream.

Once again high schoolers have been assigned the dreaded toothpick bridge project. I have friends who are therapists and they say this project is a family buster. I visited freshman science classes from my old high schooler to talk about backwards design. I shared how backwards design can help them in their bridge project, real life applications of backwards design while chatting about my NASA projects and admitted what I wish I knew as a freshman. When talking about backwards design I described that the design stage of a project should take the most brain power and more time then expected. Once a design is made you need to think about how much time each stage of production will take, what materials you need and if you learned as much as you can about the project so unknowns are resolved.

Tips for high school freshman I have are...

1) Keep alternate forms of postsecondary education and options in mind like Community College, ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps), Technical Colleges, Study Abroad, Americorps and even taking a year off between high school and college.

2) Take honors classes only if the topic interests you.

3) Find a paid internship to replace you generic summer job (even as a freshman). This way you will be paid to do something meaningful that you are interested in.

4) Network with folks in your community that have your dream job. Ask CEOs, managers and other company leaders if you can shadow them. Ask for a tour of a business that you are interested in.

Although I use lesson plans I write about in previous posts some of the best lessons come from getting off topic. Building the habitats out of materials and talking about freshman advice was totally unplanned but still valuable.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Visit a local classroom to read a book, talk about your career, or ask teacher how you can help out!

Teach programming with drag and drop code: https://www.madewithcode.com/projects/animation

Check out AmeriCorps: http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps

Check out ROTC: http://www.goarmy.com/rotc.html

Find ways to give back to the community: https://www.volunteermatch.org/