Hit the Ground Running

It's back to school and back to videoconferencing. This year our schools are videoconferencing in September. I think this is a first. It use to be don't even mention the "V" word until October and even then it wasn't until late October that things got going. Now I find schools have dusted off the monitors, hooked up the Polycoms and started making test calls and school just started on Tuesday! What's going on? Is videoconferencing becoming the user friendly technology and not the exotic equipment in the corner it use to be? From the looks of things I would have to say "yes". In late August I received some interesting videoconferencing invites. NASA had a special event in early September and a school in Texas was looking for six urban school and six rural school partners. I sent out e-mails and to my delight I got enthusiastic responses. So, while our students are still learning their classmates names and room numbers, they will be meeting other students as far away as Alaska these first weeks of school. They will be questioning the scientists in the Arizona deserts as a springboard to their studies of space exploration and robotics this year. Tomorrow I and another teacher will be getting a lesson on using a Vtel videoconferencing unit from Paul Hieronymus, Technical Coordinator from Avon, Ohio. September is looking very busy and by the way, yesterday I registered for the last videoconference spot for a program at the end of March.