Isn’t technology amazing!
This morning I threw off the covers at 4:00 a.m. Alaskan Time, 8:00am Eastern Standard Time, to go outside to meet more than 400 Springs School students in the icy morning. No, they didn’t come by plane. Instead I went into their gymnasium through the magic of technology and Skype!
Springs School! Photo by Lisa Seff.
Wanting every student to feel like they were in Alaska too, I thought I should get outside for my long distance visit. Accordingly I pulled on my layers of long underwear, hat, glove liners and gloves, neck gator, extra socks, ski pants, boots and extreme weather jacket that Janet and Sarah had loaned me for the night. I was ready! I was also the only person in the hotel hallways and heading out the door. Armed with a new feeling of technological prowess from our sessions with Zeb and Ronnie, I felt pretty confident that everything would work.
While the past few days had been amazingly mild for Alaska, I can report that it still felt pretty cold at 4:30a.m.. Needing a place to sit, I settled down into a snow bank to set up for our long distance get-together, clicked on the Skype icon and typed in my username and password. As I hit the contact icon I could see that Springs School was already online and I excitedly clicked on video call. I could hear the quiet rustling noises of children getting settled in the gymnasium. After a few seconds I saw my face appear in a small box in the corner of my own computer ringed by the fur of my jacket hood. Instantaneously a raucous roar of children’s shouts coalesced, blasting out of the computer, just as I appeared onto their projection screen at school. If I hadn’t been already seated in a snow bank, I would have been bowled over into one anyway as I couldn’t believe the excitement that came through the sound system of my computer! I unfortunately didn’t have a visual but they could see me, and their excitement was palpable. Our connection was amazingly clear and the kids asked me great questions about the interesting research projects I had learned about and what differences there were between Springs and Alaska. Then it was my turn and I got to ask them questions to help lead them to discover what zooplankton are, and what types they've seen in East Hampton. They shouted out their answers loudly and clearly! What a great way to start the day, talking about science with my students some 3000+ miles away! Wow...this high-tech correspondence is pretty neat!
Springs School 1st Grade Thank you for presenting and Skyping with us! postcards and letters to Mrs. Seff on her return from Fairbanks. Cards and letters from Mrs. Diaz and Ms. Capatosto’s classes. Photo by Lisa Seff.
Springs School 1st Grade Thank you for presenting and Skyping with us! postcards and letters to Mrs. Seff on her return from Fairbanks. Cards and letters from Mrs. Hallman and Mrs. Dragones classes. Photo by Lisa Seff.