Learning Resources
Ocean Motion offers a review of the surface circulation of Earth's ocean and classroom investigations appropriate for various disciplines at the high school level.
OceanAGE: Inspiring Another Generation of Explorers is an interactive project conducted through a partnership of NASA Oceanography, NOAA's Office of Exploration and National Ocean Services. OceanAGE features profiles of a variety of oceanography careers. Each profile has a video component. In addition, interactive events are scheduled with the oceanographer to provide a forum for students to explore their own questions about career paths and decisions.
Altas of the Ocean, published by the National Geographic Society, features NASA satellite images of our planet's oceans. The Atlas contains a chapter on each ocean and a sidebar written by a noted oceanographer. To accompany the Altas, NASA Oceanography, The National Geographic Society and NOAA created a Teacher's Guide. The Guide has nine learning activities, complete with page references to the Atlas and classroom-ready handouts and worksheets. The guide, which has passed the SMD: Earth Science Education Product Review, is distributed on behalf of NASA by a private company, Enteracked, LLC.
Phytopia: Discovery of the Marine Ecosystem is an educational CD-ROM released by Bigelow Labs in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The CD was produced by a partnership of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science, University of New England, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has passed the SMD: Earth Science Education Product Review. The CD provides a window to the fascinating world of the ocean's microscopic life. Users can view organisms at various magnifications and are taken into the water column to view the succession of plankton under changing conditions. This web site, hosted by the Bigelow Laboratory, contains ordering information and material related to the content of the CD.
The Foundations of Phytoplankton web site is a resource that was initially developed by NASA for students and instructors to utilize in their course work and materials, but has become a valuable resource for anyone wanting ocean color information relating to phytoplankton. The web site features a plethora of information relating to phytoplankton, including ocean ecology, food webs, satellite (phytoplankton blooms) to microscopic images of phytoplankton, and a myriad of oceanography topics paralleling the research of the ocean color program at NASA.
Visit to an Ocean Planet is an interactive, educational CD-ROM that reveals the importance of our oceans to global climate and life. It allows users to explore the Gulf of Mexico with satellite data, investigate the 1997-98 El Niño, discover "what's up" with Earth-orbiting satellites, and learn about the research activities of real life oceanographers. This product has passed the SMD: Earth Science Education Product Review, and the curriculum background materials are arranged in the context of widely accepted teaching themes. The CD-ROM also highlights results from the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite launched by NASA and CNES, which has been measuring our oceans since 1992.
Ocean Literacy is the project website of a group of ocean science and marine educators working to create a more ocean-literate public. The group has been focused primarily on ways to infuse ocean-related content into the classroom to support teaching requirements according to national standards. The site is sponsored by NASA Oceanography.
Mission Sites
The Living Ocean - Ocean Color provides a teacher's guide and activities about studying Ocean Color from space. Activities are geared for grades 9-10. Content covers Life in the Oceans, Phytoplankton, Carbon and the Earth's giant greenhouse. This website has passed the SMD: Earth Science Education Product Review. Learn more about the Living Ocean.
Ocean Surface Topography from Space features a collection of games, puzzles and activities for kids, altimeter basics, Adobe Acrobat files for posters & brochures, classroom activities and more. Visit the Ocean Surface Topography site
Videos, CD's, Books, Posters, and other NASA materials
NASA Oceanography Videos - Enter keyword, "ocean"
Measuring Ocean Winds from Space - Video and CDs
Teaching From Space Video Archive
Online Physical Oceanography Book - Developed and maintained by the Jason Education Project at Texas A&M University with support from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; passed the SMD: Earth Science Education Product Review