Volume 9, Number 4 • July/August 2001 • Technology Transfer

Web-Based Learning Tool Licensed

A Florida company is commercializing a Web-based educational tool as the result of a Senior NASA Manager’s inspiration to encourage young women to explore engineering careers. RWD Technologies, Inc., of Merritt Island, Florida, developed Launchpad to Learning, a media-rich, Web-based training environment that motivates students to discover engineering role models.

JoAnn H. Morgan, Director of the External Relations and Business Development Directorate at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), was inspired during a National Academy of Engineering summit to find a way to reach young people and promote the “under-attractive” career field of engineering. The resulting pilot project involved NASA at KSC and the RWD eLearning team. “The teamwork and commitment to the project was evident in the final product demonstrated in Washington, DC. In addition, meeting the short turnaround was a tremendous success,” said Morgan.

RWD has a standing relationship with NASA, stemming from previous working relationships and existing license agreements for Web interactive training. The former Merrimac Interactive Media Corp. is also a graduate of the Florida/NASA Business Incubation Center. RWD offered NASA a solution that would engage middle school students to explore engineering through a virtual world of a space shuttle mission.

Nancy Yasecko, eLearning Solutions Manager and Principal Innovator, said that RWD has licensed its technology to Space Media Corporation, a Canadian video and multimedia resource company formed to serve the growing needs of companies involved in commercial operations in space. “The number of engineers available to NASA and to high-tech companies across the United States is getting smaller even as the demand is growing. By licensing the project to Space Media, access to over 500,000 students in its database greatly increases the project’s potential impact,” she pointed out.

Launchpad to Learning is described as an open portal to external learning resources. “It offers multiple Internet links to encourage students who want to know more to explore related engineering and career sites. It also includes teacher resource links that identify the state and national math and science standards covered by this site,” Yasecko explained.

When a student accesses the Launchpad Web site, a montage sequence focuses the student’s attention. Once an engineering discipline is selected, a female aerospace engineer talks briefly about how she became an engineer and the kind of work she does at Kennedy Space Center. She also introduces the physical laws that govern each of the three interactive areas: lift, sonic booms and shuttle reentry. The interactive areas give the student an enjoyable exposure to engineering and an early sense of technical competence.

NASA at Kennedy Space Center has a history of developing and utilizing interactive Web-based training (WBT) applications. One successful development, also licensed by Merrimac (now RWD), is the Web Interactive Training (WIT) project. Several WIT-based training courses were developed for the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at KSC. Courses include non-destructive evaluation, advanced statistical process control and radiography. NASA’s objective was to efficiently and effectively train a large base of NASA workers using state-of-the-art technologies delivered over the Internet through a Web browser interface. Q

For more information, contact Thomas Gould at Kennedy Space Center, & 321/867-6238, ) Thomas.Gould-1@ksc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

NASA Official: Jonathan Root • Web Design: Printing & Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits