249 JAN. 29, MARCH 25 MTSU SATELLITE CENTER STUDENT WEBCASTS WILL FEATURE ASTRONAUT TRAINING

mtsunews.com


Release date: Jan. 28, 2008


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919



JAN. 29, MARCH 25 MTSU SATELLITE CENTER STUDENT WEBCASTS WILL FEATURE ASTRONAUT TRAINING


(MURFREESBORO) — History, social studies, fine arts, English, geography, science and health will be among the range of topics covered during the spring K-12 education program schedule that will be webcast by the MTSU Satellite and Webcasting Center.
The Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center will sponsor two programs connecting astronaut training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to the K-6 classroom on Jan. 29 and March 25.
“These programs feature a tour of the center hosted by Billy Hix, a Motlow State Community College computer science professor, and Terry Sue Fanning, the curriculum and technology coordinator for Moore County Schools,” said Dr. Connie Schmidt, director of the Instructional Technology Support Center.
Enrichment programs designed for students will air at 9 a.m. CST every Tuesday, except March 4, March 18 and April 15. Except for Feb. 19, all of the programs will be live.
Professional development programs designed for teachers will be offered from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. CST on Thursdays beginning Jan. 31.
Karen Hargrove and Dr. Cindi Smith-Walters from MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education will show elementary students how a heart works and how to find their own heart rates just in time for Valentines Day in “Hearts and Flowers” Feb. 12, Schmidt said.
Dr. Larry Burriss (journalism) and Dr. Kathy Burriss (elementary and special education) will visit the Land Down Under with students in grades four through eight in “An Australian Adventure” on March 1.
Dr. Janet Colson and two of her Department of Human Sciences students will alert middle- and high-school students to the dangers of fast food in “Fast Food Feeding Frenzy” on April 1, Schmidt said. Dr. Bobbie Solley in the Department of Elementary and Special Education and Beverly Barnes, a faculty member at Eagleville School, will help middle-school students create poems to communicate what they have learned about the Holocaust in “The Holocaust: Thinking and Writing to Learn” on April 8.
Dr. Zaf Khan in the Department of Elementary and Special Education will offer three professional development workshops during the semester, Schmidt said. The first workshop (Jan. 31) focuses on Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. A Thursday, March 13, program will show teachers and schools how to “bully-proof” their classrooms. Khan will conclude his series with an April 10 program promoting differentiated instruction to maximize student growth by meeting each student “where he or she is” and assisting in the learning process.
Teachers and students in Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Knox, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore and Warren counties may view the programs via satellite. Schools and homes in Nashville may view the programs on MEAC Channel 10; viewers in Huntsville, Ala., may tune in on ETV Channel 9; and Wilson County viewers may watch on BNN Channel 9.
Viewers with questions may call in on the toll-free phone line at 866-904-8352 or at 615-904-8352.
More information about the spring program series may be found on the ITSC Web site at mtsu.edu/ ~itsc.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.

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