Grade 4-8: IditaProject with Bering Strait School District

Bering Strait School District will once again be offering schools the opportunity to follow
the Iditarod race through student and teacher created coverage from along the trail. New
student and teacher forums provide a great deal more interaction than in prior years.

Over 8000 students from from 170 schools in 37 states participated in last year's IditaProject.
Special guests included author Gary Paulsen, Iditarod National Historical Trail rangers, and
the official Iditarod Teacher on the Trail. Roughly 47% of the participants last year were
from grades 4-8.

There is no charge for teachers or students. Video conference connection bandwidth and
assistance for all schools involved is being generously donated by GCI's SchoolAccess division.

The annual BSSD IditaProject connects schools and students in the lower 48 with web and video
coverage of the Iditarod. Participants this year will help collaboratively construct thematic
instructional resources online using wiki-based software, and BSSD's hundreds of Open
Content images, video and audio clips from prior races.

There are six (6) thematic video conferences planned, and each is broadcast live twice each
day. Schools sign up for either the morning or afternoon session if they would like to actively
participate, or they can watch online video streams at any time.

2008 IditaProject Broadcast Schedule

Daily Live Updates: Monday, March 3rd => Red Lantern
Times: 9:00 & 3:00 Alaska Time (except when conflicts with schedule below)
Available by QuickTime Stream & Windows Media (GCI's Starbak system)

Thematic Broadcasts - Available by Video Teleconference (VTC) via IP-to-IP
connection, QuickTime stream and Windows Media (GCI's Starbak system)

March 3rd 8:00 AM & 1:00 PM: Centennial & Race Start Coverage
March 6th 8:00 AM & 1:00 PM: History & Culture
March 10th 8:00 AM & 1:00 PM: Mushing Math
March 11th 8:00 AM & 1:00 PM: Veterinary Medicine & Sled Dog Racing
March 12th 8:00 AM & 1:00 PM: Race Statistics & Records
March 13th 8:00 AM & 1:00 PM: Race Finish & Wrap Up

Spaces fill up quickly for the live segments, so interested teachers should sign up at:

IditaProject 2008
http://mushing.bssd.org/

IditaProject 2008 Registration
http://mushing.bssd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=43

IditaProject Mushing Forums
http://mushing.bssd.org/forum/

BSSD has a student population that is 99% Inupiaq, Yup'ik and Siberian Yup'ik Eskimo. The
school district has more villages with schools along the Iditarod Trail than any other in the
state of Alaska.

BSSD's Student Broadcasting Team will once again produce twice daily 5-minute update
broadcasts starting the Monday after the race start, and continuing until the last musher is
across the finish line. SBT members assist in all broadcast segments. Certified staff
supervise all productions.

SBT students act as news correspondents during the race, and conduct interviews, record
digital video, take pictures, and issue Video podcast, audio, image and blog updates on
happenings along the trail as they take place.

Regards,

JTC--


"No matter where you go, there you are."

Buckaroo Banzai & Confucius

Digital Contacts:
http://www.bssd.org/
jconcilus@bssd.org
Skype VOIP: Johncn2

John Concilus,
Coordinator of Educational TechnologyBering Strait School District2
25 Polar Bear AvenueUnalakleet, AK 99684

907-624-4237 (Office)
907-624-3283 (Fax)

Cleveland Institute of Music Announcement

Through a grant through the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Ohio Schools with a 15% or higher free and reduced lunch rate can receive free distance education programming for thr remainder of this school year. Check out CIM's great list of programming online at http://www.cim.edu/distanceLearning.php

Grade 8-12: award winning author James Loewen

Cleveland State University, in conjunction with WVIZ and NOTA, is hosting award winning author James Loewen on February 28 from 11:00-12:00. Encourage your teachers and students to participate in what promises to be a very interesting discussion of historical interpretations and history education in American.

Schools interested in participating in the program should contact my office by February 25.

John R. Ramicone Director of Distance Learning Services-WVIZ/NOTA 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115 phone: 216-916-6360 fax: 216-916-6361 email: jramicone@ideastream.org

Special WVIZ Distance Learning Presentation: "Cast of Wicked"

FREE TO LDCLC SCHOOLS!

WVIZ and NOTA in conjunction with Playhouse Square is hosting a "Careers in the Performing Arts Prog featuring the cast of the blockbuster musical "Wicked."

Introduce your students to actors from the blockbuster musical Wicked. The performers will discuss their education, career paths, auditioning, touring and more. Your students will be able to ask their own questions as well.

DATE: Tuesday, February 12, 2008
TIME: 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Please share the attached announcement flyer with your music and drama teachers and students.

Schools interested in participating in this program to contact my office by February 7th.

Thank you.

John Ramicone
john.ramicone@ideastream.org
216-916-6360

Charles C. Mann, Journalist and Scientific Author *FREE

*Free to LDCLC schools!


Program:
Charles C. Mann (Journalist and Scientific Author)

Topic: 1491: New Revelations of the Americans Before Columbus

Date: Monday, February 11, 2008
Time: 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Transmission Modes: NOTA, eTech Ohio IP and ATM networks, Cleveland V-Stations

Charles C. Mann is a correspondent for Science and The Atlantic Monthly, and has cowritten four previous books including Noah’s Choice: The Future of Endangered Species and The Second Creation. A three-time National Magazine Award finalist, he has won awards from the American Bar Association, the Margaret Sanger Foundation, the American Institute of Physics, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, among others. His writing was selected for The Best American Science Writing 2003 and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2003.

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.


Schools interested in participating in this educational opportunity should contact John Ramicone at 216-916-6360 or john.ramicone@ideastream.org by February 6th. Scheduling is on a first call basis.

A program fee of $75.00 will be charged to schools not in the NOTA or Go The Distance member districts. Please process a purchase order to WVIZ/PBS Distance Learning, c/o John Ramicone, 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland 44115 and fax a copy or the p. o. number to 216-916-6361.

Grades 9-12: Science in the Cinema: Superbug (Free)

SCIENCE IN THE CINEMA: SUPERBUG
Date: February 20, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Cost: Free
Target Grade Levels: 9-12
Requirements for Participation: There are 4 spots available in this videoconference program for interested sites connected to the Internet2 network. Interested sites must have H.323 Videoconferencing Capabilities. Sites MUST be able to attend a mandatory multisite videoconference test on February 8, 2008 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. ET.
Description:
Join Dr. George T. DiFerdinando, Jr., MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology for the The New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ- School of Public Health, for a discussion of the science behind the PBS NOVA program Rx for Survival: Rise of the Superbugs Students should be familiar with the documentary (at minimum, the portions listed on the website) and should prepare questions ahead of time for Dr. DiFerdinando.

MAGPI is very pleased to help promote "Science and the Cinema," a project in development with Garden State Distance Learning Consortium, NJEDge, Verizon, MAGPI, New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research, and UMDNJ.

More information/Registration: http://www.magpi.net/programs/sciencecinema.html

* * * * * * *
Heather Weisse
Applications Coordinator
MAGPI
3401 Walnut Street, Suite 233A
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228
Email: hweisse@magpi.net
Phone: 215-573-6417

Grades 9-12: Science in the Cinema: Pandemic (Free!)

SCIENCE IN THE CINEMA: PANDEMIC
Date: February 6, 2008
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET
Cost: Free
Requirements for Participation: There are 4 spots available in this videoconference program for interested sites connected to the Internet2 network. Interested sites must have H.323 Videoconferencing Capabilities. Sites MUST be able to attend a mandatory multisite videoconference test on Friday, January 25, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET.
Description:
Join Dr. George T. DiFerdinando, Jr., MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology for the The New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ- School of Public Health, for a discussion of the science behind the PBS American Experience program, INFLUENZA 1918: The worst epidemic the United States has ever known . Students should be familiar with the documentary (at minimum, the portions listed on the website) and should prepare questions ahead of time for Dr. DiFerdinando.

MAGPI is very pleased to help promote "Science and the Cinema," a project in development with Garden State Distance Learning Consortium, NJEDge, Verizon, MAGPI, New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research, and UMDNJ.

More information/Registration: http://www.magpi.net/programs/sciencecinema.html

Heather Weisse
Applications Coordinator
MAGPI
3401 Walnut Street, Suite 233A
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6228
Email: hweisse@magpi.net
Phone: 215-573-6417