In the second installment of Thoughts From the Classroom, we hear from Jack & Brendan two of Victoria’s 8th grade students from Gate Academy in San, Rafael, California.  We asked them to tell us  about their experience using Galaxy Zoo and Radio Galaxy Zoo in the classroom.

Jack

Hello my name is Jack and I go to Gate Academy in San Rafael, California. My classmates and I have been using Zooniverse websites, mainly Galaxy Zoo, to help us with our studies. Our class has benefited greatly from using Zooniverse websites.

Galaxy Zoo is a great site and has taught me a lot about galaxies. I went from knowing next to nothing about classifying galaxies to being able to identify a spiral or bar at only a single glance. Galaxy Zoo helped our class learn about different kinds of galaxies and how to tell if it is disturbed, or even if it has a lens or arc. If my class had not experienced Galaxy Zoo, we would all know a lot less about galaxies.

If you are a teacher and you want your students to learn about galaxies, Galaxy Zoo is a wonderful site.  I would put it at the top of my suggestion list. I hope people everywhere use this site, and that they all like it as much as I do.

Brandon

My name is Brandon and I’m a middle school student at GATE Academy, San Rafael. I love soccer and programming. I want to tell a little more about my experiences with Galaxy Zoo, and its uses as an educational tool. While using Galaxy Zoo, I had a chance to learn a lot while also contributing to the Zooniverse project. For instance, black holes show up on radio telescopes but not infrared, although sometimes associated galaxies can show up on the infrared near the black hole. I learned this from Radio Galaxy Zoo, the part of Galaxy Zoo that focuses on finding black holes. While I was learning about radio telescopes and black hole jets, I realized that I was also helping add to the reserves of information that scientists can draw on during their work. Overall, I think that Galaxy Zoo can really help students learn and also helps advance science. My time with Galaxy Zoo has shown me what a wonderful universe we live in and taught me a lot in the process.  I think other students should have a chance to have that experience too.