Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:03PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Hello, Are the any Live From Mars folks around?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:05PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
If you are here, please speak up. I'll be checking back here every few
minutes

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:13PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
hello no i'm not from mars are you?

capt.picard: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:15PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
greetings everyone

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:19PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Hi anonymous, Hello Picard. Where are you from?

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:21PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Hello, is there anyone out there? 

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:22PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I had trouble finding this site. My bookmark file got blitzed. 

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:24PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Hello Starstruck, where are you from

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:25PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Starstruck, You can always remember just this URL
http://passporttoknowledge.com/lfm That's the ticket for big fun!

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:26PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Is anybody here a teacher or student? If not, what do ya'll do.

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:26PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I'm from N.J. and you? 

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:27PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I teach Chemistry (11th grade) and Earth Science (9th grade)

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:27PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Hi, all. I teach at Fairfield Univ. in CT and I have a 10th grade son.

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:28PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Is anyone here doing LFM project? 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:29PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I'd like to - with my son and some of his friends.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:29PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
anonymous: take a look at my handle and see if you can guess what
state I'm from ;-) I live in Silicon Valley, in a town called Mt.View
(its about 35 miles south of San Francisco. I am originally from New
JErsey (Teaneck and Livingston), and my whole family still lives
there. What part of the state are you from? Also, what is your name?

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:30PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I have to figure out the CU-Seeme thing, has anybody done that?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:30PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Starstruck, are you doing any parts of LFM?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:30PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry: woudl you do it after school with your son? That would be a
nice twist. Or are you a homeschooler?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:31PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry, CU-SeeME is fun, but what is your Internet connectivity like.
It works only so-so at 14.4 or 28.8

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:31PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
After school

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:31PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I have 3 classes of 25 each and ) computers in my class, though the
school has 3 Mac labs . We're not quite wired for the net yet.

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:33PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
What I'd really like to do is drum up some interest in the high school
- perhaps by showing some of the teachers what's out there.

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:33PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
What hardware is needed for CU see ME?, I have only a 28.8
modem. 

starstruck: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:35PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I see no reason why you can't do this at home with your son and
maybe a few friends. 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:36PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
That MAAAY be all you need. but the video will be slow and the
audio will be choppy. I understand it works much better at 56kbps.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:36PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry, it would be great if you could get someone from the school
interested. But if not, I bet you and your son will have fun

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:37PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
But I'm not the expert - I have yet to make the hookup -- I was
hoping to find someone here who could tell me.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:38PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Starstruck. You need a camera (cost ~$100) and some public domain
software to do CU-SeeMe. Also at 28.8, you'll get pictures OK but
you won't be able to do sound very well. I have a theory about
CU-SeeMe

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:38PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Marc, I figure if I could show them a little CU-Seeme they might get
excited.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:39PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I'm curious if anybody has any ideas about this line of reasoning. A
lot of what makes CU-SeeMe so exciting is the live interactions. You
get the same effect with WebChat. CU-SeeMe reuqires fancier
hardware and internet skills. So it is hard for some teachers to do it.
WebChat requires reading and writing, not just talking. Reading and
writing are good skills to practice in schools. And WebChat is easy
to use (just web browser). So I conclude that WebChat is better
educationally then CU-SeeMe. Anybody think differently? 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:40PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
What's your theory, Marc? 

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:42PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Many of the interactions in LFM will be offered through WebCHat.
But certainly there will be some CU-SeeME stuff as well. 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:42PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Interesting... For me the difference is the live video IN. I **think**
it will work without a camera OR a mike on my end. You can type
questions, I think.....

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:43PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
But this webcahat is an easy interface. It's fun, too.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:44PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
By the way, do you folks know about this Saturday's events. Many
exciting webchats with real NASA folks will be happening on
Saturday to celebraet NEtDay. We have one fellow who is
monitoring some tests of the spacecraft (I think Mars PAtrhfinder).
Yesterday, they were doing a simulation of the launch and while he
was on the phone, he said... oops, gotta go. Its time for seperation.
Hopefully he'll be doing soemthing neat like that on Saturday

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:45PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry: righto, if youa ren't going to send video, you don't need a
camera. But there is still a lot of problems with the sound that comes
to you

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:45PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I'd just like to get an internet provider that I can rely on. It seems
every time I try to get online at school his server is out.

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:46PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
What time, marc? will that be here at this URL?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:46PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
My first experience with CU-SeeMe was during Live From
Antarctica. I worked via email all season with a woman named Terry.
FIanlly, at the end of the season I CU-SeeMe's her. It was a very
memorable experience.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:48PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry, There is a whole day of activity from 8-2 Pacific. The LFM
segment runs from 11-12 Pacific. It won't be at this spot. Look at
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/netday96 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:48PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I believe that, Marc -- I'm an Electrical Engineer in the daytime and I
teach engineering at night. I am surprised they can do AUDIO at
28.8, let alone video!!

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:48PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Anonymous. Are you speaking about a dial-in provider or a
dedicated line provider

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:48PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I believe that, Marc -- I'm an Electrical Engineer in the daytime and I
teach engineering at night. I am surprised they can do AUDIO at
28.8, let alone video!!

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:51PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry, I know what you mean. But it is slow scan video...I mean
SLOOOOW scan. We've been using a technology called Real Audio
which does do sound great, even at 14.4. We will be using it for the
NetDay stuff. In fact, I prerecorded a boring 9 minute talk which is
there. You can here my uninspiring voice. If you do play with Real
Audio form NetDay, listen tot he S/MORE talk by Duncan. He really
did a great job

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:51PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Dial in provider at this time. The school is working on a T1
connection.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:51PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Anonymous: where in NJ are you from

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:52PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry, are you a design engineer? Please describe your job
responsibilities more

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:52PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Madison, N.J. 

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:54PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Marc, are you a teacher? Do you work for NASA? 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:55PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I work for Norden Systems in Norwalk. I am in charge of a small
team of engineers doing production test on a fully militarized VAX
processor we build. 

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:57PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Got to go now . It is dinner time in N.J. Nice meeting you both.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:57PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Anonymous. I too am an electrical engineer. But I never do technical
stuff. Instead I am a project manager. And I do work for NASA as a
contractor. My job is to develop K-12 projects online that connect
classrooms to neat NASA people and projects. I have an ideal job
and consider myself very lucky. The portfolio of projects I've
developed is at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/interactive

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:57PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Bye anonymous. Thanks for chatting

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:59PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
A VAX processor. Interesting. When I came ot NASA Ames in
1984, we had the world's largest DECnet, and more VAX's then you
could shake a stick at. SInce then, our whole center has really
migrated to Unix and away from VMS. Which op sys do you use?

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:59PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I have been out of design for a few years but will be in charge of a
team putting together VME processing hardware Starting in
December. Just took a VHDL course and am coming back up to
speed.

anonymous: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 3:59PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Marc, I tried to do Live from Hubble in my class. The beginning part
went well with the astronomers giving input . But the follow through
was bad. My fault. By the time the pictures came through, I was in
oceanography. Time dictates my curriculum. 

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:00PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I'm getting carried away with nerd stuff. I am just really interested in
technology. Anyway, do you have a sense of how to get started with
your son in LFM? Do you plan to do any activities? Even though
they are designed for middle schoolers, they can be fun to do
hands-on for older folks

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:02PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
anonymous. Well, LFM will be running now through Dec 1997, so
whenever you are ready, we will be too. Within a few weeks we'll
be answering email questions, and they'll be a steady stream of live
interactions scheduled. 

Larry (CT): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:02PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
VMS, I have a Motorola UNIX system, the CAE Sunstations all use
Berkely, I have a 486DX66 at work and a MAC 60 Mhz PowerPC at
home.

SciResource: . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:02PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Marc, Can you briefly describe some of the other online projects that
you have been involved with? In particular, which ones are best for
middle school, ie. 6-7-8, and which ones are usable for younger
students?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:06PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
SciResource: I just got a call from my bosses boss, so I will be out
for 10 minutes

SciResource(D.C.): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:08PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Marc, I have to go drive a carpool. I'll be back around 7:40 edt.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:10PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
OK SciResource. I'll be in a meeting then and then going home But
I'll leave an answer here and then be back online next Thursday.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:12PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Larry, Are you still there?

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:15PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
Sci Resource: there is a whole bunch of projects currently and in the
past. Look at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/interactive for a list All of the
ones with a Live From... name come with a TEacher's Guide which
is geared for middle schools. This year's Live From Mars has tips so
that the material can be extended down to lower grade levels. Also
right now, we are doing a project called S/MORE (about life sciences
in space) and Women of NASA, a series of live WebChats with
various females who work at NASA.

Marc (California): . . . . Thu, Oct 10, 4:16PM PDT (-0800 GMT)
I am going to sign off. Same bat channel next week.