Papers in PDF format

and films with themes relating to the Earth or space.
Structural Aspects
Navigation panels, consisting of a selection of graphically illustrated buttons corresponding to the different
subject areas for which information is available, are used initially so that the user can intuitively select the area
of interest to them. Version 2.0 of Windows to the Universe includes two levels of navigation panels prior to
accessing content documents. Content documents typically include a descriptive title, a small image (which
can usually be expanded through a link to a larger version of the same image), descriptive text with imbedded
hyperlinks, a selection of links to other relevant resources within the site (text, images, movies, or sound), and
a button bar for easy navigation to other main content areas within the site. In addition, we also present
content in a “tour” format. The “tour” construct is used to allow a user to follow the development of a concept
through to its conclusion, without providing hyperlinks which lead out of the tour, until the tour is completed.
Options for movement on tours include forward, backward, back to the start of the tour, or return to the tour
selection page.
The site is constructed to allow the user to specify the level of presentation they desire. In version 2.0, we
provide three levels of content (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) which approximate the three levels of
pre-college education [Educational Use]. The user specifies the level of presentation they wish as they enter
the site, and this information is carried along and submitted to the server each time the user requests a
document. Individual html documents within the site include all three levels of content, and the server uses
the selected level (or “state”) to process the document request and return the portion of the original document
that corresponds to their level of interest.
To facilitate downloading of large images and animations, we have developed a CD supplement to Windows to
the Universe Version 2.0 which will be provided at cost to users upon request. The CD includes most of the
image, movie, animation, and sound files used within the site (but not the html documents), and will be
updated on a regular basis as development on the site continues. This resource will then allow the client
machine to download most of these large files directly from the local CD, rather than requiring transfer over
the Internet. In this mode, the Internet is used only to transport evaluated html documents, images and data
that update frequently (such as weather maps and images of the Sun), and images that our copyright
agreements do not allow us to include on a CD.
Educational Use
Internet resources have great potential as a learning tool in appropriately equipped classrooms. [Tab. 2]
summarizes concepts that students are expected to have mastered at various stages in their pre-college
education related to the physical sciences, Earth and space sciences, and the history and nature of science
according to the National Science Education Standards developed by the National Research Council [NRC
1996].
With this in mind, Windows to the Universe is being developed to meet science education needs of K-12
students and their teachers by: (1) developing content that covers many of the concepts outlined in [Tab 2], (2)
developing content at three levels of sophistication meant to approximate the elementary, middle, and high
school levels, including both use of appropriate terminology as well as graphics designed to attract students at
these age levels, (3) developing content to supplement classroom units planned by classroom teachers
participating in the project, and (4) developing a search tool for teachers that will allow them to specify grade
level, concept or keyword, and the science standards document of their choice and have returned to them links
to the pages within Windows to the Universe that are relevant and the pages of the science standards at which
that concept or keyword are described. In order to insure that Windows to the Universe is a useful classroom
tool, a team of six classroom teachers is participating in design of the site, selection of content, development
and review of content, and evaluation of student and teacher use of the site.
Content Area Content Subdivisions