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Space engine as an educational tool
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| werdnaforever | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 05:56 | Message # 1 |
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| Space Engine's focus on realism makes it perfect for use as an educational tool like no other. I haven't seen a thread (after searching) like this (I hope there's not something I've completely missed  ).
(...and in no way am I suggesting that this should take away from the idea of Space Engine becoming a game- it's an engine, so we can have multiple applications that use it...)
I think it would be nice to have a thread to discuss the different possibilities regarding this. For instance, younger kids can use it as a visualization tool- a way to understand the universe and the massive distances between stars or galaxies.
It's also a great tool to help educate the general public on the universe. I won't get political in this thread- it's not the place for that- but there are plenty of people who aren't properly informed about the universe. Understanding it's size and the bodies within it can encourage people to get involved in the sciences.
As spaceship mechanics like docking, navigation, fuel, and more are implemented, it can be used to clearly illustrate space travel. You could visualize orbits of things like satellites, the ISS, or asteroids, or the way a trajectory changes. Yes, there are other ways to learn about space travel- Orbiter* probably comes to mind. The problem there is that while it's a great and very realistic simulator, it's hard for a novice to jump in and see things. Space Engine can be made into something much more accessible.
Any ideas??? Let's get this topic going!
*<clarificationbasedontherules>I'm referencing it because it's relevant to my topic... I'm not advertising it... don't ban me!</whattheothertagsaid>
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| Voekoevaka | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 10:08 | Message # 2 |
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| Great idea ! I'm already using it for educational purposes. But the thing missing in my opinion is an easy script editor (in-game). And I'm waiting the sounds, it would be the last tool to implement to make real space documentaries with Space Engine.
Also, I agree with the fact that Space Engine is quite important for kids, because in some cartoons, you see little galaxies between planets !
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| Antza2 | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 10:15 | Message # 3 |
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| I have been thinking of suggesting SpaceEngine to some teachers at my school, but the problem is that every computer there uses Linux.
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| DoctorOfSpace | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 18:09 | Message # 4 |
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| Quote (Antza2) every computer there uses Linux.
SE seems to work pretty well through Wine from what I've seen and heard from people.
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| Antza2 | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 18:49 | Message # 5 |
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| Quote (DoctorOfSpace) SE seems to work pretty well through Wine from what I've seen and heard from people.
Well the computers in question don't even have hard drives. They operate through a central server.
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 20:10 | Message # 6 |
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| Quote (Antza2) Well the computers in question don't even have hard drives. They operate through a central server.
What is this, 1968?
All forum users, please read this!
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| Disasterpiece | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 22:58 | Message # 7 |
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| The computers at my school have crashed opening 5mb files. Running space engine for any longer than 5 seconds would turn the computer into a fireball.
I play teh spase engien
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| anonymousgamer | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:02 | Message # 8 |
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| I doubt any computer in a school will have more than lame integrated graphics. It's a good idea, but getting computers for schools with powerful dedicated graphics is costly, relatively unnecessary if you're just doing Photoshop or web browsing, and it gives more for students to tinker with instead of do work (because that's what I would do lol).
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| Disasterpiece | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:11 | Message # 9 |
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| Very true, I spend the majority of my computer time at school in the back playing with sketchup and game maker
I play teh spase engien
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| Voekoevaka | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:13 | Message # 10 |
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| At mine, it works ! I have presented it to some friends.
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| Disasterpiece | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:23 | Message # 11 |
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| Awesome, can our schools switch computers? Pretty please with a cherry on top? I showed this to my math teacher (she used to own a $25million computer business and is really interested in space but she sold the business and started working as a teacher) and my science teacher this and they now do space engine pictures of the day.
I play teh spase engien
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| Voekoevaka | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:39 | Message # 12 |
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| Quote (Disasterpiece) My science teacher this and they now do space engine pictures of the day.
Ask them to post it on the forum !
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| Antza2 | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:48 | Message # 13 |
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| Quote (HarbingerDawn) What is this, 1968?
Well this was necessary, so people wouldn't install additional software on computers. The current setup is perfect for education, since everything is stored on the central computer and the computers around the school just access it. You can access all your files on any computer.
Also, if you remove a computer from the network, it won't even have an OS, so stealing them is also made pointless. ( not tht it was ever a problem.)
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| werdnaforever | Date: Monday, 17.12.2012, 23:53 | Message # 14 |
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| ...but what features could be implemented into the program? How could it become something more interactive than just a gigantic map?
Of course there's the question of whether schools have computers that can properly run it- it's just a different question. 
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| Demagoggles | Date: Tuesday, 18.12.2012, 08:01 | Message # 15 |
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| Yes I think the educational value could be brought out by having scripts to have a camera track events along a trajectory over a time, and some caption text, so you could have a nice way to show why the earth has seasons, or how eclipses work, how constellations are spread out, following a comet, a tour of the different categories of stars, etc.
Since it has the foundation for planetary simulation, down the road it could also be used to teach geology or ecology or climate change ... why certain global features form, and you can see how different planetary conditions affect the results. It'd be really cool if it could simulate plate tectonics for example, or massive climate variations (like ice ages). It might even have simple simulations of the evolution of life and ecosystems. Anyway, I think adding more planetary simulation could do wonders for education, especially since you'd have the ability to have comparative examples with different planets.
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