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Give students a historical overview of the technology that existed before 1957. Have them name as many kinds of technology as they can, then have them look up the dates of the discovery of radio waves, the development of telephone communications, radio and television. Ask: What would it have been like not to be able to watch world events happen in real time? What would it have been like to use only the radio and newspaper as primary sources of information? Would you have been more aware of local or international events? How would that change the way you thought of the world?

Have students browse through the site for 20-25 minutes and search for facts about satellites. They should look for and record satellite names, dates of launches, speeds in orbits, orbital radii, deployment methods, sizes and masses of satellites as well as the function of each satellite.

Senior students should also investigate briefly such related topics as Sputnik, Laika, The Global Village, stationary orbits (geosynchronous or geostationary), tele-medicine, National Space Agency, digital technology and cultural colonialism.

Have the students organize the data in a logical manner, then create a presentation board that includes visuals (students can find these online or in magazines, or create their own drawings and sketches).

Have students revisit their work, and categorize the data into broad categories based on such aspects of satellites as scientific, socio-political, and historical. Students should present their information to the class, offering a summary of their findings. Display student work in the classroom for all to view.

Students can research other satellites that are in orbit, especially Canadian ones. They should find pertinent data associated with those satellites and add them to the organizational chart or poster. Senior students can look up orbit types as a classification and relate that to the function of the satellite, including its current GPS application.