Navigation Education Materials

In order to foster interest in navigation, the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation sponsored the development of navigation educational materials for students. The ION hopes that these materials will facilitate the introduction of navigation in middle school curricula and encourage the involvement of ION members in educational outreach activities. These lessons were developed by the ION Satellite Division in cooperation with students and staff at the University of Colorado Integrated Teaching and Learning Program (ITL).

The materials are now available as part of an online digital library: Visit Teach Engineering to receive these materials in online format.

The following modules include 10 lessons on a variety of navigation topics. The lessons are designed to be used by middle school teachers on their own or with the assistance of an ION member volunteer. They can be used in the classroom or as part of a club or outreach program.

Each lesson includes motivations for the students, background and assessment material for the teacher and mentor, activity descriptions and worksheets, and additional tips and resources. The activities are designed to have minimal cost and to be completed in 1-3 hours by a class of 28 students. Suggestions for scaling up and down are included.

Click on lesson titles below to download the lesson materials. Each lesson is comprised of several documents. The PDF version contains all documents in one file for each lesson. The Word/Excel version of each lesson has been zipped together into one self-extracting file.

Please contact the ION with any feedback or questions you have!
The ION would appreciate hearing your experiences and suggestions regarding these lessons. If you have any questions or are looking for additional information, please contact the ION!
Email: membership@ion.org, Phone: (703) 383-9688, Fax: (703) 383-9689

Lesson #	Title	Summary	Word/Excel Files	PDF
1	Where is Here?	Introduction to navigation, latitude, longitude, maps and compasses.	[EXE file (Word), 1.48MB]	[PDF, 1.29MB]
2	How to be a Great Navigator!	Dead reckoning and celestial navigation.	[EXE file (Word/Excel), 830kB]	[PDF, 1.18MB]
3	Navigating by the Numbers	Trigonometry in navigation, time-distance formulas and triangulation.	[EXE file (Word/Excel), 471kB]	[PDF, 883kB, Also requires: EXE file (Excel), 161kB]
4	Getting it Right	Effects of errors, corrections and geometry in navigation.	[EXE file (Word/Excel), 587kB]	[PDF, 1MB]
5	Topo Map Mania	How to read and use topographical maps, and how to use a compass.	[EXE file (Word), 1.08MB]	[PDF, 489kB]
6	Getting to the Point	How to find position by triangulation.	[EXE file (Word), 1.47MB]	[PDF, 1MB]
7	By Land, Sea or Air	Compares maps and navigation in different environments.	[EXE file (Word), 5.41MB]	[PDF, 455kB]
8	Navigation at the Speed of Satellites	Global Positioning System (GPS) basics: ranging and trilateration.	[EXE file (Word), 966kB]	[PDF, 849kB]
9	GPS on the Move	How to use a handheld GPS receiver to navigate.	[EXE file (Word), 623kB]	[PDF, 255kB]
10	NOT So Lost in Space	Space Navigation	[EXE file (Word), 1.43MB]	[PDF, 247kB]
The materials are copyrighted by the Institute of Navigation, which grants use and reproduction of these materials for educational purposes only. They may not be used for commercial purposes.

OTHER EDUCATION MATERIAL RESOURCES:

Audio/Slide Presentation:
The Basics of GPS by Dr. Mikel Miller and Dr. Maarten Uijt de Haag (April 2007).

NASA's Ultra-Efficient Engine Project team has developed education materials for students. The materials include games, lesson plans and other resources.

NASA Education Materials for Kids