Chelen Johnson
IC417 : using WISE, 2MASS, Spitzer/Warm IRAC, UKIDSS, IPHAS, and literature optical data to look for young stars in the IC417 region.
What was especially important to me as an educator was the way that the students planned their own schedule of listening to research presentations [at the AAS] and reviewing poster presentations. The students were very active participants in the conference and they took away an amazing amount of information and excitement. One parent told me that her normally quiet son spent the entire weekend relating stories of the experience to his family and friends.
So many of us science teachers do labs where the end is known (which is sometimes necessary to make sure they fit in a class period and that the students understand the concept we're trying to learn) but that's not really science.
I knew nothing about the online archives before this experience. Now I am quite familiar with them, and I have even used them a few times for reasons unrelated to NITARP. I am certain I’ll continue to use this resource going forward.
