Panola College Offers 3rd Graders Videoconferences with NASA

On April 29 and May 6, 47 third grade students from Libby Elementary will be participating in a live videoconference with employees from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Students from Mrs. Cindy Stacy’s class and Mrs. Deidra River’s class will be part of the “NASA Live” program designed to promote math and science education in our nation’s schools. The videoconference will be viewed in the ITV (interactive television) room located at Panola College’s Carthage campus.

This opportunity is made possible through the generosity of NASA, sharing their expertise and resources free of charge and Panola College providing students with access to high-tech ITV equipment. Without the College’s ITV lab, the student’s would not be able to make the live connection required for the videoconference to work. This trip was also made possible when each class won a free bus field trip earlier in the year which provided them transportation from Libby to Panola College.

On April 29, students will be learning about Planetary Exploration with a promise of many pictures taken during the recent Mars landing. On May 6, they will be discussing how satellites are used in tracking the weather. During each session the third graders will hear from a NASA expert, see images captured on NASA voyages, be given a post-activity with instructions by the expert and be allowed to ask questions. With the ITV equipment both sides of the conference will be able to see and hear each other in real-time. This is the same technology used by Panola College students who participate in ITV classes. Panola College sends and receives courses to many area high school and college campuses.

“This activity is a facet of our Murphy-Payne Lecture Series for 2005. Panola College is pleased to share our technological resources to allow elementary and middle school students access to NASA’s fantastic resources via our Interactive Television system and state-of-the art wireless connectivity,” said Ann Morris, Associate Dean of Distance Education.

Charlene Johnson, a Computer Science Professor at Panola College, learned of the NASA Live program at last year’s East Texas Distance Learning Association conference. Since then she has worked diligently, coordinating with many people to fulfill all of the requirements necessary to set up the conference.  

Mrs. Ann Morris, Associate Dean of Distance Education, Steve McGee, ITV/Instructional Technology Specialist, and Mrs. Patti Rushing, Administrative Secretary/VCT Coordinator at Panola College and Libby teachers, Mrs. Stacy and Mrs. Rivers all helped put this together for the kids’ entertainment and education.

While the one-hour conferences are being delivered they will be videotaped for the enjoyment of other Libby students if they wish to view the tapes at a later date.