From: Laura Bashlor <lauralou@gatecoms.gatecom.com>
Subject: Re: Busy but Exciting Week
Date: Thu, 05 Dec 1996 19:44:29 -0500
AMEN, to Marilyn's post about this extraordinary week in Space Exploration. How anyone was able to rise at 1:30am to tape the attempts at launch is beyond my comprehension. I just put in a 4 hour tape at 11pm and searched for the spots during breakfast. Some of the CNN material broadcast on off-moments was excellent. The computer in the classroom has been on the AMBIT NASA Live-Cam site with the audio stream on low. Houston has done a great job relaying information during the day while our astronauts sleep. For us, it is unfortunate that their sleep shift coincides with our class time. The AMBIT site has added two more live cams linked to two mapping displays so we can see the positions of the shuttle. (http://www.i2.i-2000.com/~brickman/nasacams.html). BTW, please notice the welcome to Shumate Middle School on the AMBIT site. A kind word to a web site author goes a long way. We also monitor the NASA sites, but we like the look and feel of AMBIT. Besides the Discovery Channel, the NASA Channel, CNN and The Learning Channel, the major networks are slipping space moments all over the place. Nightline did "Looking for Life in All the Wrong Places" which was one of the most amusing pieces yet. Carl Sagan made the first appearance I have seen since his illness. He has obviously been very ill, but with that twinkle in his eye and the conviction in his voice, he seems to be on the way back to active life. With all of us in LFM watching we must not be missing much! Now my students, too, are writing reviews of space programs they stumble across while channel surfing...for extra credit, of course. Laura (MI) Marilyn Kennedy wrote: > > Get out the clicker and Program that VCR..... > What an exciting and busy week it has been, beginning with the Discovery > Channel's program Destination Mars and their four programs on space > exploration each night at 10pm (Last night's program on the shuttle was > really great), and finally getting Donna Shirley on GM America. My little > VCR has been really having a workout. I have broken down the Destination > for Mars into segments and we watch a little each day. As I told my > students, they are the ones who will probably make that journey....maybe > one of my future farmers of America might be a a future space explorer. > > Sleepless in Virginia > And each night I set up my alarm for 1:30 , made some coffee,and put the > tape in the VCR waiting for the launch.. I think I was excited as Mission > control to finally get Pathfinder launched. I don't know how many more > nights I could have done this routine. Even some of my 4th grade students > were awakened by their parents to watch the launching of Pathfinder. > > Local Press/TV > And for the last week our local press has been visiting our classroom doing > some really great features on my students' involvement with Passport to > Knowledge and other Internet projects. At first my students were really > good about all these visitors but by the end they started to get a little > zooy. Geoff and Jan, I will send you copies of articles apropos to PTK. > > ANy way, I have a happy principal, happy administrators, and my kids are > impressed with themselves. > > re: NIH software > I know last year Scott Colletti gave us sites to download the software and > if I am not mistaken it is also on Viking Anniversary CD. I will check this > out when I get to school this morning. > > re: craters > This week my students have been doing some really cool activities with > craters.I will send the directions for this activity over the weekend. I > got some great pictures of the kids very involved and will post them to > Jan. > > re: Inservice > Today several of us are doing inservices for science and math teachers on > how to incorporate various www sites into our state sols and how to > integrate lang. math and science into their teaching. PTK is so perfect > about that-- will talk about past PTK, Mars, and Antarctica. > > re: Newest/Newmast Programs > I downloaded the application for Newest at the NSTA site. You need Adobe > Acrobat to translate the form. It sounds like a really neat program for > teachers. I plant to apply. > > re: Weather Unit > Until last year, weather has always been "fifth grade" unit. A tradition I > think handed down from God. Anyway, our state "changed " our etched in > stone curriculum and now 4th grade is covering weather. Fifth grade > teachers are very upset because it was "their unit", but I am excited about > it all. I will start out with Windows on Science, and am now browsing the > web for great weather sites. Found atmoic moose, atmosphere project, great > site on lightning by National geographic, Dan's Wild weather Pages and > teaching units (he's out of Atlanta), and of course Blue Skies (which I am > going to play around with this weekend. just downloaded the software but > have not used it) Can anyone tell me about Blue Skies? > > Any helpful ideas or hints would be much appreciated...... > > Marilyn Wall > John Wayland Elementary > Bridgewater VA