“Student Art Exchange from Mumbai, India”; “Hubble Space Telescope” and “Windows on the World: EGYPT” . . . . November 16, 17, and 18, 2010 (from Vanderbilt Virtual School)
Please see website http://www.vanderbilt.edu/virtualschool/ for more information.
Lesson plans for each videoconference topic are available: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/virtualschool/
REGISTER online: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/virtualschool/registration.htm
1) Tuesday, November 16, 2010 – “Student Art Exchange from Mumbai, India” with Linda Ragsdale, author and illustrator
(Grades 5-12)
The purpose of this student art exchange “live” from Mumbai, India is to connect students through a student art exchange; to establish a vision of peace shown by the many qualities of the dragon art and artists; to plant the idea that they can choose peace, and arm themselves with the arts; to engage students to examine the myth of the dragon and the concept of peace; and to challenge them to utilize the power of their choices to create peace on the planet.
In this videoconference, chat with two of the key coordinators of The Peace Dragon Art exchange, the first program of its kind where students from India and the US are exchanging Peace Dragon art in an effort of starting to create a world neighborhood. Two of the key coordinators of The Peace Dragon Art exchange are Linda Ragsdale, an author /Illustrator from Nashville, TN and Nanda Das is a photo realistic painter and head of the arts and craft teacher for The John Connon Senior School in Mumbai India. The project will be midway, so students will learn how the project came together, where it stands at the moment, and be able to talk to each artist about their work.
2) Wednesday, November 17, 2010 – “Hubble Space Telescope” with Bob O’Dell, former NASA and worked 10 years as Project scientist on the Hubble Space telescope; currently, Vanderbilt professor in the Physics & Astronomy Department
(Grades 5-12)
On April 24, 1990, the space shuttle and crew of STS-31 were launched to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope into a low Earth orbit. What followed was one of the most remarkable sagas of the space age. Hubble's unprecedented capabilities made it one of the most powerful science instruments ever conceived by humans, and certainly the one most embraced by the public. Hubble discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research, from planetary science to cosmology. And, its pictures were unmistakably out of this world! Hubble is the length of a large school bus, and it weighs as much as two adult elephants. Hubble travels around Earth at about 5 miles per second.
When the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope opened its sharp "eye" on the universe 20 years ago, planets circling other stars were just a dream and no one had heard of "dark energy." Astronomers have used Hubble to hunt for planets around other stars in the hub of our Milky Way Galaxy and to study the bright light from faraway exploding stars to collect evidence for a mysterious dark energy, which makes up most of the energy in our universe.
This year Hubble achieves its 20th anniversary, renewed and equipped by the latest servicing mission for many more years of astronomy. More than 30,000 objects have come under the telescope's gaze, each observation slotting another piece into the cosmic puzzle of the universe. Join Bob O’Dell in this fascinating videoconference as we celebrate one of the world's most successful observatories, even now changing the face of astronomy, its final legacy still in the making.
3) Thursday, November 18, 2010 – “Windows on the World: EGYPT” with Sherif Barsoum, Vanderbilt University Director of International Student and Scholar Services
(Grades 4-12)
Egypt has captured the imagination of people around the world. Words such as The Nile, pyramids, King Tut, and mummies instantly evoke images of mystery and grandeur in our minds. Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about 390,000 sq miles, Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its estimated 76 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 15,000 square miles where the only arable agricultural land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely-populated centers of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
Come and join in this exciting videoconference as we travel “virtually” to Egypt and see the beautiful photos taken by our presenter as he takes you on a virtual tour of EGYPT.
TIMES:
We offer two sessions for each Vanderbilt Virtual School videoconference: one session at 9:00 AM CENTRAL TIME and one session at 10:00 AM CENTRAL TIME .
COST:
The cost for a videoconference session is $75. This charge covers some of our expenses in preparing your videoconference and testing and delivering your videoconference.
FORMAT:
All videoconferences are approximately 45 minutes in length. The format is about 25-30 minutes for the presentation and 15-20 minutes for an interactive question and answer session with the students and presenter.
Please register soon!!
Patsy
Patsy Partin, M.Ed
Director, Virtual School
Vanderbilt University
2007 Terrace Place
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 322-6384
www.vanderbilt.edu/virtualschool
2007-08, 2009-10 Honorable Mention
