Site Developed & Hosted by AliveTek, Inc. for NASA.
~
For more information about the NASA Education Program, visit www.nasa.gov/education.
Site Developed & Hosted by
KLASS Program
Developed and funded by NASA, the Kennedy Launch Academy Simulation System (KLASS) program is an exciting way to bring the space shuttle program into your classroom. If you are looking for creative ways to develop STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills with your learners, you are in the right place! The KLASS program has three components, freely available to you:
- Curriculum. Over 40 hours of lesson plans and interactive materials. You can pick and choose from these resources even if you do not run the software.
- Assessment. The entire program has an assessment system that focuses on the three main roles that students can play in KLASS: biomedical, engine/external tank, and weather.
- Software. Allows you to set-up and run a networked space shuttle simulation. This is a role-based model that ends with a space shuttle launch in the classroom!
You can download the entire program and course materials or pick and choose the lessons that are relevant to your class.
Watch this promotional video to learn more about the program.
Curriculum
The KLASS Curriculum is a series of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lesson plans with supporting interactive resources that build to a simulated shuttle launch. The lessons are designed for use with students, grades 6-10. There are multiple formats that allow for easy customization. Please browse the resources, and when you are ready, you can download the files individually or here as .zip packages.
3-Inspire! Career Exploration Activities
2-Engage! NASA Orientation Activities
Assessment
The Learning Partnership has developed an assessment to measure student learning that focuses on the three main roles students can play in the KLASS simulation: biomedical, engine/external tank, and weather. See the KLASS Assessment Suite for a downloadable assessment along with information about setting up an online assessment.
Software
Main KLASS Software Components
The KLASS simulation has three components: a Teacher Master Console, one or more Student Consoles, and a Video Player to provide visual feedback from the launch pad during the simulation. Each of these components is provided as a compressed ZIP file. Before you download any of these files, refer to the KLASS Installation Guide (PDF), which will help you verify that your computer meets the system requirements. (Note: some of these files are large and may take a long time to download.)
Software Guides
The following software guides will help you get the KLASS software up and running for classroom use. The KLASS Installation Guide outlines system requirements and the installation process for the three software components. The KLASS User Guide provides instructions on how to run the Teacher and Student consoles and how to run through a basic simulation.
Optional Software
The following software may be useful in certain situations but is not required to run KLASS. The Alternative Video Player offers a “manual” alternative to the KLASS Video Player in cases where the KLASS Video Player cannot run on your equipment. For instructions, refer to the Instructions.txt file included in the zip file.
Alternative Video Player (100.3 MB)
The “LiveCD” allows you to run the Teacher Console without having to install Linux and the KLASS Teacher Workstation software. You can burn the provided ISO image to a CD, boot the computer from this LiveCD, and run the Teacher Console. Note that while the LiveCD should work with many computer configurations, there may be cases where it will not run. See the User Guide for instructions on using the LiveCD with KLASS.
