Videoconferencing brings world to CdA students
Astronomy students from Coeur d’Alene High School had some questions about building space stations on the moon.
How much would a moon mission cost? What kind of technology is needed to transport building materials into space?
So they asked a rocket scientist from NASA, and he answered them face-to-face, thanks to new videoconference equipment and one innovative teacher.
“In a homogenous area, especially where we live, it’s important to branch out and see different faces,” said Spanish teacher Mike Nelson.
With grant money from the EXCEL Foundation and assistance from North Idaho College, Nelson built a videoconference center at the school.
With panoramic cameras, two widescreen televisions and new software, students can interact with experts around the world about what they’re studying in school.
For the school concert band, Nelson has scheduled a conference with the Cleveland Institute of Music to discuss careers in the arts. And an expert on religious holidays in Spain talked with Spanish III students about Easter celebrations.
“It’s just cool that we can talk to different people, anyone we want, about anything,” said Alyssa Ratelle, 18, who attended the NASA videoconference.
Other students suggested videoconferences with college sports coaches and their favorite authors.
If he can find them, Nelson will set it up. Anything that gets the students, and the teachers, excited about learning is worth trying, he said.
The EXCEL Foundation provides grants to help teachers in the Coeur d’Alene School District try new approaches to education, funding projects that aren’t in many schools’ budgets.
It took $1,759 to get the ball rolling on the videoconference project.
It purchased the new equipment and will pay for the connection fees, which run from $11 to more than $20 per hour. But when the money runs out, Nelson will have to find more funding to keep the project running.
The extra work fits in with Nelson’s teaching philosophy: “Hard work done well feels good.”