Nexus

What images come to mind when you think of a fireside chat? Crackling fire? Intimate group of friends or colleagues? Stimulating conversation? Laughter? Companionship? Glass of wine (or other libation)?

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of attending the K12 Online Conference - Fireside Chat with David Warlick. What a treat!

Crackling fire? No, but picture all of the participants cozied up to their desktops/laptops/PDA’s etc.

Intimate group of friends or colleagues? Not exactly. How about 100+ educators from…Prince Edward Island, South Carolina, New Brunswick, California, Oklahoma, New Jersey, New York, Sudan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Australia, Michigan, British Columbia, Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Texas, Manitoba, Korea, Illinois, New Zealand, North Carolina, Arizona, Ontario, Scotland, Mexico, Kansas, Quebec, and Maryland, (my apologies if I’ve left anyone out), gathered together online irrespective of time zones and geographic distance? Not exactly an intimate group, but there was a very warm feeling of collegiality.

Stimulating conversation? You bet! And for those of us whose brains have been wired in a more or less linear fashion over the past few decades, a mental workout! The chat flew by on the screen like snippets of conversation in a crowded room, competing with the audio and video being presented elsewhere on the screen.

Screenshot of David Warlick’s Fireside Chat

Laughter? Yes, and other social conventions you would associate with a face to face conversation - greetings, informal chitchat, asides, questions, interjections etc.

Companionship? Yes, evident by the fact that people were drawn to the event. It wasn’t necessary to attend the live chat in order to understand Warlick’s keynote address, Inventing the New Boundaries, yet there we were, more than 100 of us from around the world. We are by nature social creatures and need contact with others. We are coming to the realization that we not only socialize, but also learn in networks. Teaching has longtime been a solitary, sometimes even lonely, profession. We spend most of our days, not in the company of professional colleagues, but in a four-walled room with our students. Having the opportunity to quickly and easily reach out to colleagues is very empowering. In blogging about his keynote session David Warlick wrote:

The session was installed and opened around 7:30 yesterday. Part of that web page were instructions for using a chat program to discuss the opening presentation as people were watching it. During the first few minutes, messages appeared from the U.S., Korea, SecondLife (that was me), Australia, Thailand, and The Philippines.

I can think of nothing that illustrates the changing boundaries of our teaching and learning environments than this. In almost 24 hours, 2,539 messages were posted to that chat room.

We are discovering the power of the network in droves.

So, what did I take away from this experience?

• Affirmation that I am a member of a professional learning community, that there are colleagues upon whom I can call (twitter, skype, comment…) to help me or act as a sounding board.
• An appreciation of the skillset that students bring to the classroom, the ability to communicate in non-linear fashions.
• Experience using one of the many tools, (Elluminate), available to us for online collaboration.
• An appreciation of key roles that must be played in order to reign in chaos.
  • The first is facilitator. Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach played this role during the session and she is incredibly skilled at it. We have much to learn from her.
  • Conversation rudder. Wesley Fryer played this role expertly. If you read through the chat, you’ll see him updating the group on points made by the speaker, restating key points, reframing questions…
• Increase in comfort level in participating in environments that have new boundaries.

Technorati tags: k12online07pc, k12online07, David Warlick, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Wesley Fryer, K12 Online Conference 2007

Image Citation
Superciliousness. “200510 fireside chat.” superciliousness’ photostream. 30 October 2005. 10 Aug 2007 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/superciliousness/57898245/>.

August 8, 2007

Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor

Simply Awesome!

Technorati tags: Space Shuttle Endeavor STS-118 International Space Station Canadian Space Agency YES I Can! Science McMaster University

L-1…one day until the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor.

We’re barely surviving the heat in Florida, but we’re eagerly awaiting the launch of Endeavor, scheduled to lift-off at 6:36 tomorrow, (Wed. Aug. 8). We had a very busy day today touring the Kennedy Space Center, viewing the launch site and attending the Canadian Space Agency reception for astronaut Dave Williams. Here are a few photos we took today.

The photo to the left shows the International Space Station Center, where the massive components of the ISS are assembled before launch.

You can see workers assembling the European Space Agency’s Columbus module which will be delivered to the ISS on a future mission. This module when added to the ISS will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the life, physical and materials sciences.

Up close and personal! I was totally amazed that we were able to go right to launch pad 39A and get closeup pictures of the Endeavor.

Pictured above with Shuttle Endeavor in the background are members of McMaster University’s YES I Can! Science Team: Susan Stiff, Dr. Doug Boreham and Diane Hammond. Missing from the photo, (as he was the photographer), is Dr. Tom Stiff.

My husband Bob and I at the launch pad.

As I post this, 20 hours, 20 minutes and counting…

Technorati tags: Space Shuttle Endeavor STS-118 International Space Station Canadian Space Agency YES I Can! Science McMaster University

I’m heading off to Florida this afternoon for a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Yes, you might say, going to Florida in August will probably be a trip I won’t forget for awhile. As great an experience as that promises to be, my awesome adventure also includes watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, from the VIP viewing area, as part of the Canadian Space Agency contingent. How cool is that!!!

In the picture to the left you see the Shuttle Endeavor, scheduled for liftoff on Aug. 7 at 7:02 EDT, its first flight since December 2002.

In front of the Shuttle are the crew of Mission STS-118, Canadian Space Agency mission Specialist Dafydd R. (Dave) Williams, Mission Specialist Barbara R. Morgan, Commander Scott J. Kelly, Mission Specialist Alvin Drew Jr. , Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh, Mission Specialist Richard A. (Rick) Mastracchio and Mission Specialist Tracy E. Caldwell.

Like preceding trips to the ISS, this is a construction mission. The shuttle crew, working with the ISS crew, (including astronaut Clay Anderson who is blogging with students in our ISS07 project), will install a new truss segment, and an external stowage platform, and repair a control moment gyro that’s crucial for maintaining spacecraft attitude.

On a personal level this mission represents milestones for a couple of the crew members. Astronaut Dave Williams will set a Canadian record, performing three of the four mission spacewalks, working on assembly and maintenance outside the Station for a total of 19 hours!

If January 28, 1986 is for you, as it is for me, one of those moments forever etched into memory, you will understand how important this mission is to crew member Barbara Morgan. Twenty-two years after first being selected as Christa McAuliffe’s backup in the Teacher in Space Project, on board the Space Shuttle Challenger, Barbara Morgan is now a fully-trained astronaut, joining the crew of STS-118 as mission specialist. I’m sure I won’t be the only person thinking of the friends and family of all of the Challenger astronauts during this flight.

So, why do I have this incredible opportunity? I’m a member of McMaster University’s YES I Can! Science Project team. We have worked for several years now with the Education Outreach sector of the Canadian Space Agency to create learning materials and opportunities for k-12 classrooms. For this mission we created two resources:

• Hand Eye Coordination Experiment
• Whether to Tether

I’m really looking forward to meeting some interesting people and experiencing firsthand the excitement of space travel and exploration. I’ll try to take some good pictures to share, but I have a feeling that nothing will capture the thrill of being there!

Gotta pack…

Technorati tags: Space Shuttle Endeavor NASA launch Canadian Space Agency STS-118 Dr. Dave Williams Barbara Morgan Space Shuttle Challenger ISS07 Project YES I Can! Science Project