EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ROBOTIC AND REMOTE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORIES

Abstract

With the advent of technological advances in telescopes and imaging cameras starting in the early 2000s, various virtual observatories were made available on the Internet. Students from elementary school to college were invited to make astronomical observations to reinforce astronomical content and promote scientific and technological interest. However, the effectiveness of these initiatives to deepen astronomy content may be hampered by the lack of implementation of educational theories. In this article, some virtual observatory initiatives from the first two decades of the 21st century, when such initiatives were just beginning to be offered, are discussed from the perspective of applied learning theories. Suggestions are also made for a more productive use of this tool and a method for assessing student learning gains.