NASA
Visually super NASA-backed treasure trove may overwhelm
Take a look inside 4 images
NASA
Pros: The images are incredible, and daily updates keep things fresh.
Cons: Tons of information, but a lack of direction may overwhelm some kids.
Bottom Line: A visually stunning way to get kids interested in science and space exploration.
NASA has so much information that it may require your guidance to help kids find the most relevant information to their current course of study, report topic, or current event. Search the app by keyword, feature, or category.
Otherwise, for students interested in general space and NASA information, simply suggest tapping on whatever image or category interests them and see where it leads. New information every day creates a constantly updated stream of images and content, so it's worth checking back in to see if something fresh has popped up that might fit right into your curriculum.
NASA is a place where kids can learn basic astronomy facts, and about NASA's specific missions, by navigating through videos, photos, live feeds, and loads of text. New information is added daily from a variety of NASA sources, including NASA's public television channel. Students can select a NASA image of the day or an astronomy picture of the day to view, or search information by date, keyword, or seven different categories, which run along the bottom of the main screen. Users can log in via Facebook Connect to share information, but this is optional. There's also a built-in Twitter feed, but you don't need an account to follow NASA tweets.
The app reinforces topics by presenting the information in different ways, including text, videos, photos, and social media. Tap on a planet in the main screen's solar system, and a detailed overview of the planet with images, facts and figures, and a long explainer appears. NASA also has a news feature so students can stay on top of current space exploration events and information.
Gorgeous digital representations of the solar system, videos of rocket launches, new images of Earth taken from the International Space Station, and much more are likely to spark interest in space exploration in ways that written explanations or old textbook graphics simply can't. For a free resource, it's got a lot going on! The most impressive elements on this app are, by far, the stunning visuals, with more than 150,000 and still more added daily. Science-minded kids should love poking around the app, but it could be a little dry for younger ones. Another potential challenge: While NASA provides an abundance of facts about space exploration, there may be almost too much info with too little direction for some kids.
Learning Rating
Community Rating
Students love taking part in the lesson, they were very engaged, listening and learning.
I was able to use this program teaching a science lesson that showed the location of the moon and the sun to each other, students were amazed and as we viewed the live cam at different times observations were made and recorded by the students in reference to the location of the sun and moon as they drew pictures some classes.The sounds you hear are alive and it gives great ideas for science fair projects using satellite data of snow and ice. It has resources for informal science educators.