VIDEO EXCHANGE BETWEEN
ASTROPHYSICIST
and
FIRST GRADERS
A class of first graders in my school spent 20 minutes today engaged in an on-line video-room dialog with a scientist, 1,000 miles away! The scientist, conveniently, was my brother Dr. Pat Slane - Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian for Astrophysics.
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~slane/PSlane/Pat_Slane.html
Running Vidyo Desktop software, we connected in a live feed using a simple Ipevo document camera and basic handheld microphone. We projected the video cast on a Smartboard.
Pat spent about 10 minutes describing his work and what it is like to be a scientist:
- Background: CHANDRA X-RAY telescope that was launched into space via a space shuttle in 1999.
- Work Includes: Collecting information about space from this telescope and traveling throughout the world sharing with other scientists what has been learned.
This was followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers:
- What do you like about being a scientist?
- What did you like to read when you were little?
- What planets have you traveled to? (These are 1st graders)
- What is the weather like in Boston? (asking from Wisconsin)
- Do you have the same type of flowers outside as we do in Wisconsin?
The exchange was exciting for the students (as well as for the scientist). The students were eager to watch this live interaction unfold on the Smartboard and proud to step up to the camera and microphone to "ask their important questions" directly to a scientist who was taking time from his work to exchange ideas with them. They learned about an exciting career and about life in a different part of the United States.
What an excellent opportunity technology has brought to our students. Thank you to Mrs. K. for her interest in providing this experience for our 1st graders.
Example of work from Chandra X-Ray Observatory:
Cosmic Hand - PSR B1509-58: A Young Pulsar Shows its Hand
