060 WEBCASTS GIVE NEW ANGLE TO K-12 VIDEOCONFERENCES THIS FALL

Date: Sept. 12, 2006


Editorial contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919
MTSU Satellite Videoconferences contact: Dr. Connie Schmidt, 615-898-5191



(MURFREESBORO) — For the first time, MTSU’s Satellite Videoconferencing Center will be Webcasting K-12 programming.
“We are really excited to be able to reach every school in Tennessee with high-quality student enrichment and professional development programming,” said Dr. Connie Schmidt, director, MTSU Instructional Technology Support Center.
“This expansion in our K-12 audience has been made possible by the generous cooperation and support of the network services folks in the Information Technology Division.”
The one-hour Enrichment Programs for Students air at 9 a.m. Tuesdays starting Sept. 19 through Nov. 28. No program will air Nov. 21, and the programs for Oct. 3 and Oct. 17 will be prerecorded.
The one-hour Professional Development Programs for Teachers air beginning at 3:30 p.m. from Sept. 14 through Nov. 30. No program will air Nov. 23 or Oct. 5.
“The programs on the schedule for students and teachers cover a wide range of topics, including history, geography, math, science, reading, health, career planning and the arts,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt added that many of these programs were produced with public and private partners, such as “The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt” Sept. 19, “Hands-on with Archeology and Artifacts at Stones River National Battlefield” Sept. 26 and “Amphibians and Reptiles” Nov. 14.
Presenters for these programs include educators from the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Stones River National Battlefield and the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Schmidt said, adding that MTSU faculty and staff also have made significant contributions to the fall schedule.
“A three-part series of programs, ‘Knowing, Teaching and Learning American History,’ which will air in September and October, was produced in collaboration with Dr. Rebecca Conard in the Department of History and funded by a grant from the Cumberland River Valley Consortium,” Schmidt said.
Two programs were collaborations with the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center: “What Does It Take to be a Rocket Scientist,” airing Oct. 24, and “Becoming a Rocket Scientist: Getting Your Students Excited about Careers in Space” on Nov. 16, she added.
Other MTSU presenters include faculty and staff from the MTSU Career Center, the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area of the Center for Historic Preservation and the Departments of Elementary and Special Education and Health and Human Performance.
MTSU faculty and students, K-12 teachers and students and community members in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County may participate in our programs by television on the MTSU Educational Resource Channel, ERC@MT (Channel 9 on the Murfreesboro cable system or Channel 30 on the campus cable system). Internet viewers will need a high-speed connection and Windows Media Player to watch on the Web.
Midstate and north Alabama students and teachers can watch via Webcasting, satellite viewing or cable TV at Shelbyville Central High School (Bedford County); Cannon County High School and Short Mountain Elementary School in Woodbury; Coffee County Central High School in Manchester; Metro Davidson (Nashville) Channel 10; Clark Memorial School in Winchester (Franklin County); Grundy County High School in Coalmont; ETV Channel 9 in Huntsville, Ala.; Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville; Cornersville High School (Marshall County); Moore County High School in Lynchburg; Centertown School (Warren County); and WC TV Channel 3 in Williamson County.
For full student and teacher programming schedules and links to the Webcasts, visit mtsu.edu/~itsc or call 615-898-5191.

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