Students from throughout the state of Texas participated in a videoconference with the Seattle Aquarium hosted by Philippe Cousteau. Students saw varied sea life while Philippe and Aquarium personel discussed adaptations of ocean animals. Via the internet, schools were asked to submit questions. There were hundreds of questions, but Philippe Cousteau selected a question from Blanco Vista Elementary to answer during this live broadcast. Below is a picture of Philippe answering the BVES question about the color of coral.

Videoconferencing is far more than just watching someone on TV.  Videoconferences, the way we do it in Hays, is all about active learning and engaging students in unique opportunties.  Enjoy this short video about our vision of videoconferencing projects in our district.

Videoconferencing Today

Roland Smith answers questions from Buda Elementary students.

Buda Elementary school librarian Jeanne Ditta continually looks for ways to enrich the reading experiences of Buda students. Recently she found that author Roland Smith (”Sasquatch; African Elephants; Sea Otter Rescue; I.Q.” and dozen’s more) was willing to visit with students over the Internet. Jeanne often uses technology as an integral part of her programs for students and wanted to offer this opportunity. Unfortunately, the only type of software Roland uses was incompatible with Hays CISD networks and software. Jean turned to campus technologist Richard Ingels and distance learning specialist Christie Rickert for help and a new way to connect was found that can be used for more conferences such as this. Thanks to Jeanne’s pioneering technology spirit Roland and several hundred Buda Elementary students were able to have a meaningful conversation about the writing process.

Author Roland Smith answered questions from students during two live sessions. He spoke about his experiences writing his many successful books and gave encouraging advice to the aspiring young authors at Buda Elementary.

Some examples of his comments:

“Every day there are problems in writing.  Writing is about problem solving.  But every day you have to show up and write, and work through those problems.”

“You need to write every single day.  You have to read and know what a story is about.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  If you want to keep a journal, keep a journal.  Find your own voice.”

“When I write, I write about what’s important to me. When you write, you need to write about what’s important to you.”

“If you want to be a football player, you have to practice.  If you want to be a singer, you have to practice.  If you want to be a piano player, you have to practice.  Every time you write, you get a little better at what you do. If you practice enough and write enough, you will become a writer. It’s as simple as that. You can all become authors if that is what you choose to do.”

Leticia explaining the parts of the ecosystem.

Students from Mrs. Orosco, Mrs. Spoon, and Miss Mayer’s class connected with other 4th grade classes in the district to share the amazing ecosystems they created during the month of February. Mrs. Orosco’s classes created ecosystems with hermit crabs, fish, a tree frog, and a lizard. A clawed frog was the main attraction in Mrs. Spoon and Miss Mayer’s classes. During the videoconference the students shared information about their ecosystems and answered questions from other classes. Our students enjoyed being part of a scientific community and enjoyed seeing the ecosystems created by other students.

A slide from a presentation in Mrs. Orosco’s room.

On Friday, February 19th, all 7 Kindergarten classes participated in a video conference with the Buffalo Zoo.  All classes learned more about winter animals, how they hybernate, migrate, and deal with the cold weather.  The zoo teachers were wonderful and engaging.  The students saw animals such as polar bears, snow leopards, gorillas, turtles, and tigers.  Students were able to ask questions and interact with the teachers from the zoo.