Pictured above is Mrs. Schutte (Global Schoolhouse Telementor) and William S.
The following is a report from William S. and Erin P., grade 5 email correspondents for the Weather Cluster at Long Branch.
Pictured above is Mrs. Schutte (Global Schoolhouse Telementor) and William S.
On May 11, 1994, Long Branch Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia hosted a videoconference for the Weather - Natural Disaster Cluster Group using CU-SeeMe over the Internet. Our guest for the conference was Bob Ryan. Mr. Ryan is the Channel 4 Meteorologist in the Washington, D.C. area and president of the national meteorologists group. Long Branch was one of the 40 schools selected to part of Bob Ryan's 4-Winds Weather Watching Project. We have a weather station attached to our roof and we monitor the weather and send reports to Channel 4.
Our entire fifth grade (75 students) met Mr. Ryan during National Science and Technology Week in April. We were invited by Mary Bullock of the National Science Foundation to attend a special exhibit and event being put on in the atrium of the NSF building in Arlington. Our computer teacher and Global Schoolhouse leader, Ms. Schutte, asked Mr. Ryan if he would come to our school and participate in a videoconference with our "cluster" group. The schools in our cluster are Springman School in Glenview, Illinois (Teachers - Joanne Trahanas and Mary Fisk), Canyon Crest in Provo, Utah (Teacher Colleen Densley), Holmes School in Lincoln, Nebraska (Teacher - Jerry Shedlosky), and La Costa Heights School in Carlsbad, California (Teacher - Lynne Light). Mr. Ryan said he would give her a call and he did.
Ms. Schutte said Mr. Ryan was not sure he wanted to do a videoconference. He told her he had not used the Internet and needed to learn about this high tech stuff. Well, today he had an opportunity! When he arrived at 11:15 all of the fifth graders had seats facing the Quadra and the CU-SeeMe program was running. We had called on our speaker phone to the other schools and they were waiting to hear what Mr. Ryan could tell us about weather. Everyone who was online at the other sites introduced themselves to Mr. Ryan. In addition to the school, Don Mitchell from NSF was also online. Mr. Ryan gave an opening talk to the group. Then he showed a film to the students who were watching at Long Branch. Mrs. Schutte moved the computer into the lab and gave Mr. Ryan a opportunity to talk to the schools in our cluster who were on line. Students in Utah and Illnois asked him some very interesting questions about the eclipse and the weather. Some students in Oceanside, California also were able to be online and ask some questions as well.
After the film Mr. Ryan went back out to answer questions from students at Long Branch. Then we showed him the NOAA Home Page using MOSAIC and loaded in the picture which shows up when you click on his name. He had heard that his picture with Long Branch students was there, but he had not seen it. We also showed him Blue Skies. He told us that it isn't often that he wishes he was back in school, but today was a day when he wished he was. He said we looked like a school of the future and told us how lucky we were to be part of the Global Schoolhouse Project. He also said to watch the 5:00 news because he was going to do a story about us and his first time on the Internet.
PS We have a copy of the broadcast which Mr. Ryan did on the news. We looked FAB!