Detecting and Using Radio Waves from Earth and Space in the Classroom

人们越来越希望利用技术以更创新的方式来学习科目，从而最大限度地提高学生在课堂上的机会。例如，2019年4月，英国政府启动了教育技术战略，使学生能够“利用教育技术提供的所有机会”。在课堂上使用技术可以帮助激励学生从事STEM职业，并缩小最弱势学生与私立学校学生之间的成绩差距。学校每年在教育技术上花费9亿英镑，到2020年全球市场规模将增长到1290亿英镑，截至2017年，这已经帮助97%的15-24岁的年轻人掌握了基本的数字技能。软件定义无线电（SDR）技术使用一种通用的硬件解决方案，可通过测量软件进行配置，通常安装在USB加密狗上，而不是传统的单一用途硬件上，以处理天线检测到的无线信号源的信号。它实现起来很便宜，使用USB RTL-SDR加密狗通常花费20英镑，并且具有用于数据收集和传输的宽带宽，从~25MHz到~1.75GHz取决于SDR加密狗。它有广泛的应用，包括无线电和数字地面电视，射电天文学，包括从银河系探测氢线，以及美国国家海洋和大气管理局的天气数据。它现在正在下一代立方体卫星的通信中实施。RadEOT是一种手持，便携式，低成本，多用途的教育工具，利用软件定义无线电（SDR）技术。它包括一个SDR USB加密狗、一个天线、一个树莓派3b模块、一个7英寸触摸屏和一个长寿命电池组。图形用户界面（GUI）将教育任务与几个不同学科的应用程序结合起来，例如7-13年级（关键阶段（KS） 3-5）的学生的物理、数学和地理。这些课程是针对国家课程领域量身定制的，例如空间物理、波动和运动、几何、力学、地理技能、实地考察和计算机科学。第一个未获资助的RadEOT版本于2018年夏季开发，允许学生从21厘米的氢气线、地方和国家广播电台以及飞机应答器获取数据，并在课堂上进行处理和使用，以补充现有课程。在这个项目中，我们将开发RadEOT，并将其部署在默西塞德郡南港的Formby高中的课堂上，并通过位于莱斯特的国家空间学院。在项目的第一个发展阶段，我们将通过改进GUI来开发我们的RadEOT概念验证，并将其打包成一个多用途的手持工具，供学校在广泛的学科中使用，并推广到全国各地的合作学校。该项目的第二个目标是提供培训，附带的工作表和与学校的几天接触，以最大限度地发挥RadEOT的教育潜力。作为这个项目的一部分，我们希望通过使用补充现有知识的新技术来激励下一代科学家。教师对新的可靠的教学资源有强烈的需求，这可以提高学生的成绩。我们将证明在两个合作机构部署RadEOT的好处、成功和挑战，并将我们的发现传播给STFC公众参与社区。

There is a growing desire for technology to be used to approach subjects in a more innovative way, and therefore maximise opportunities for students in the classroom. For example, in April 2019, the United Kingdom (UK) Government launched its EdTech strategy so students can "take advantage of all of the opportunities available through Edtech" . The use of technology in classrooms can help inspire students to a STEM career , and to close the attainment gap between the most disadvantaged students versus those attending private schools. Schools spend £900m per year on educational technology, with a worldwide market size growing to £129bn in 2020, which has helped achieve 97% of 15-24 year olds with basic digital skills as of 2017.Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology uses a generic hardware solution configurable by measured of software and commonly housed on a USB dongle, rather than conventional single purpose hardware, to process signals from radio sources detected by an antenna. It is cheap to implement, with a USB RTL-SDR dongle typically costing £20 , and with a wide bandwidth for data collection and transmission, from ~25MHz to ~1.75GHz depending on the SDR dongle. It has a wide range of applications, including radio and digital terrestrial television, radio astronomy including hydrogen line detection from the Milky Way , and NOAA weather data . It is now being implemented in communications for the next generation of cubesats.RadEOT is a handheld, portable, low-cost, multi-purpose education tool that utilises software defined radio (SDR) technology. It comprises an SDR USB dongle, an antenna, a Raspberry Pi 3b module , a 7-inch touch screen and a long life battery pack. A graphic user interface (GUI) incorporates educational tasks with applications in several different subjects, e.g. in physics, mathematics and geography for students in years 7-13 (Key Stage (KS) 3-5). These are tailored to areas of the national curriculum, for example space physics, waves and motion, geometry, mechanics, geographic skills and fieldwork and computer science. A first, unfunded, version of RadEOT was developed in summer 2018 that allows students to acquire data from the 21cm Hydrogen Line, local and national radio stations, and from aircraft transponders, and be processed and used in the classroom to complement the existing curriculum. In this project, we will develop RadEOT and deploy this in classes at Formby High School in Southport, Merseyside, and through the National Space Academy, based in Leicester. In the first, developmental, phase of the project, we will develop our proof of concept for RadEOT by improving the GUI, and packaging it into a multi-purpose, handheld tool for use in schools across a wide range of subjects to roll out to partner schools across the country. The second aim of this project is to provide training, accompanying worksheets and several engagement days with the school to maximise the educational potential of RadEOT. As part of this project, we want to inspire the next generation of scientists by using new technology that complements there existing learning. There is a strong demand from teachers for new and reliable teaching resources, which can improve student attainment. We will evidence the benefits, successes and challenges of deploying RadEOT in the two partner institutions, and circulate our findings to the STFC public engagement community.