Jump to content

FizziksGuy

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    31

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by FizziksGuy

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Hi Dan,

    I saw your interview in PC Gamer about a week ago and just wanted to say thank you for making me aware of this game. I'm a science technician in a UK school and have started an after school club in the last few weeks of term to teach rocket science using Kerbal. Your project brief was a real inspiration and I'm really looking forward to taking this further next term. My students absolutely love this game and I think it's going to be really big in the educational market. Do you think we could start some kind of educational thread here in the Kerbal Forums for like minded teachers who want resources or a place to share ideas? Is that possible please any admins who are reading this? I'm putting together a few ideas myself and we're using Kerbal next week in a bottle rocket design challenge. I'll post the video on youtube and link it here.

    Thrilled to hear it's getting use outside just my little sphere of influence, but the real credit goes to all the great folks on the forums who have guided me in this endeavor! Thanks gang!

    Definitely up for some online collaboration -- would love to hear how it works out in your class. Once your project is complete, perhaps we could find a time to talk and maybe try to compile our learnings to improve future efforts on both sides of the pond?

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Are you going to let them use mechjeb or anything like that? Some people might be very good with the math, but may not be good mechanically. A properly setup mechjeb custom window (Or another addon, who cares really) could probably really help those students.

    Much as I'd like to, it was already a huge undertaking to get the game set up on our classroom computers, allow the students access to the Screenshots folders (an ongoing issue), etc. I'm pretty certain I'd be pushing my luck by trying to get our IT folks to install modifications. Good thought, though!

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    If you're still taking study aids to suggest for independent study, you might want to direct your students over to The Drawing Board. I've been maintaining a directory for tutorials and other useful resources so that players both new and experienced can quickly and conveniently find the information they need. I'd also highly recommend Winchell Chung's Atomic Rockets page (which is already listed in the Drawing Board, but is good enough in my mind to mention twice), which has a wealth of information and ideas for spacecraft derived from both real-world rocket science and classic science fiction.

    Thanks, I've added a link to The Drawing Board on the resources portion of our project page. Tons of great stuff for the kids (and myself) to devour!

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks! when I get home from school I'll post some stuff. Can I upload .crafts?

    I'm not sure if it will let you upload .crafts or not... will be interesting to find out. I'm thinking in general, though, that they're probably better off struggling through the building of their own rockets / stations / etc. You could link to them on another site if they're posted elsewhere, though. Thanks for the great feedback!

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Would it be allowed for me to post some example ships? Also don't allow mods. Can they make spaceplanes? Can they make a attack plane? Also give rewards for discovering eastereggs! EX. Finding duna face-150,000 $. This looks nice.

    Please -- the more feedback and interest, the more excitement, engagement, and ultimately, learning!

    And if you have some ideas on some awards for Easter Eggs, let me know and I'll add them to our prize page!

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted · Edited by FizziksGuy

    And of course, as experts, feel free to post and provide advice if you're so inclined. I bet the kids would get a kick out of any experts providing input and assistance!

    By the way, thank you so much for the ongoing feedback and advice -- it's making this program so much more successful!

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Hi Tollazor,

    After we run through it once this year, I want to take my learnings from running the program once, compile them, and write something up to inform next year's projects, and am certainly willing to share. Once it's done I'll make sure to post it on the APlusPhysics Downloads area (open to anyone who registers, mostly popular with physics teachers), and put a link here as well for anyone interested.

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Hi White Rider,

    Yes, at the moment they're in "brute force" mode, just learning the basics of how to achieve orbit. I'm assuming as their funds deplete and they need to hit more aggressive milestones they'll start working on being more efficient in their designs. The parachutes are for any parts of their rocket they return to Kerbin -- they get half the cost back as salvage if the parts aren't destroyed.

    Right now they're still mostly playing, as most of their teams are still taking AP tests here in school (I have about 1/3 of my class in here at any given time). I'm expecting next week with full teams we'll see more scientific advancement. :-)

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    So, the students are off and running and having a blast with it. Also, glad to hear that after just one day, a number of them went home and picked up a copy of the software to play with at home as well. Our first mission reports were submitted just this morning, and I have students planning on coming in during their lunch periods for some extra time with the sim in a couple hours!

    Fun to see how many groups started by just randomly building and launching, and how many are now making plans to go home and watch the tutorials, study up on transfer orbits, Delta-V, thrust to weight ratios, etc., in order to outpace their competition.

    KSP in a High School Physics Class

    in KSP1 Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for all the great ideas folks, this is tremendous! With only four weeks of class time (~ 40 minutes a day), it'll be a balancing act of academic rigor with fun and interest-building engagement. I'll keep refining the project this coming week, will start it the following week, and will be sure to feed back what happens, how it goes, what changes should be made for the next attempt, etc. I think no matter what the kids will enjoy it, and my biggest fear is surmounting the technical hurdles so that KSP runs at a reasonable pace on our school computers with all the appropriate permissions, security, etc.

    You've been tremendous, thank you!!!!!

×
×
  • Create New...