[VELS] Turn off the lights

[Roland Gesthuizen]

 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/plakboek/42276281/>
 Can you see the southern
cross?<http://www.flickr.com/photos/plakboek/42276281/>
An ABC news report indicates that Sydney is turning off the
lights<http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1886427.htm>for an
hour one evening! This means that even in the city, they will be able
to see stars and constellations that are normally hidden from view. Other
cities should consider doing the same, a question I have shared with my
students.

This week we posted our data onto the Internet for the GLOBE at Night
project <http://www.globe.gov/GaN/>, using Google
Earth<http://earth.google.com/>to work out the exact Latitude and
Longitude for their observation then
posting the observation details into Moodle. Most students were only able to
observe magnitude 4 or 5 stars. We talked about how we could share, collect
and analyse all the observational data we had collected.

On a Moodle class discussion forum, many good suggestions were posted by
students for reduce our level of external lighting and greenhouse pollution.
I will pass them onto our school administration and school council to
consider.

In all, it was an ICT rich, year 9 Information Technology lesson with many
cool connections to other VELS topics :-)

Regards Roland

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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