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This 1 1/2 hour electronic fieldtrip
brought students on-site to learn about the Chesapeake
Bay and to interact with the SERC scientists and experts
who study life in the bay. The uninterrupted, in-depth program
addressed a series of topics including the ecosystem, water
chemistry, a segment on goin'
fishing, an oyster bar community as well as blue crab biology and
research.
Dottie Klugel, marine biologist and distance learning
coordinator for SERC brought students to the Saxatilis
anchored in the Rhode
River. Klugel introduced students to the Chesapeake Bay, the ecosystems, and from the
opening segment forward she led an
interactive open discussion with students. The students
called in, e-mailed and one classroom even joined the program through
two-way videoconferencing.
Klugel discussed Water Chemistry and
students performed experiments measuring water temperature, Ph
testing, salinity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. 
The field trip took students to a number of locations at SERC.
Lessons and demonstrations were performed not only on the Saxatilis, but a class of students from Raymond Elementary
School in Washington D.C. performed a number of projects in stations
within the Reed
Center at
SERC. These students were guided by a team of teachers from Pinewood Elementary School who have
been training with Project VIEW for
several months. As a result of Project VIEW videoconference and
curriculum development training, this team of ambitious teachers has
developed the interdisciplinary curriculum, resource guide and a
number of lessons that support the live program. VIEW had
provided Pinewood with a videoconference system and training, which
has enabled the teachers to utilize the equipment and communicate
with SERC experts face-to-face and on a daily
basis.
Five
elementary school students traveled along with the teachers from Pinewood School to demonstrate
experiments and participate in the broadcast. The students had
been working as mini-scientists; they
had already performed a number of the experiments in their
classrooms.
During the broadcast, Mark Haddon, Director
of Education at SERC worked with a group of students on SERC's beach. While students were in the
water seining, Haddon explained the process of seining,
identified organisms found in the Rhode River
and continued to interact live with students throughout the
country.
Throughout the
program, the scientists would continue to check the status of
experiments that the students were performing
in the Reed
Center.
The students sifted through the oyster bar community they had set up
and asked Klugel to identify organisms they
had discovered. Klugel
stood on a floating dock discussing
oysters, the oyster bar community and filtration.
Following an influx of questions and answers from
students all around, Klugel discussed
blue crab biology including the difference between external and
internal skeleton, grabs/pinches, the life of a blue crab and the
molting of a blue crab. With this series, a classroom from
Pinewood Elementary joined the program via video-conferencing to
discuss molting of a crab. Pinewood's classroom had recently set up an aquarium with a crab
that had recently molted. Students enjoyed talking about the
experience.
Mark Haddon
and Tuck Hines from SERC moved the lesson to the Wet Lab which
contained tanks loaded with blue crabs. Haddon and Hines
discussed why blue crabs are important, how and why scientists study
them, movement of the crab and habitat requirements. Throughout
the segment students asked a number of questions and had an
opportunity to speak to both scientists.
While Klugel and Hines
released a blue crab from the docks at SERC they asked
students, "What Can We Expect?"
The electronic
field trip from SERC was the first national electronic broadcast ever
available from SERC. Classrooms accessed the program through
Apple's Quicktime for Learning and on many
PBS stations across the country. A replay of the broadcast will
be available in its entirety soon. A link to the broadcast will
be posted here.
Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center
P.O. Box 28
647 Contees Wharf Road
Edgewater, Maryland
21037
Phone:
(443) 482-2200
Fax:
(443) 482-2380
Contact Information
Mr. Mark
Haddon
Director of Education
Watershed
Radio
Ms. Dottie Klugel
Marine Biologist
Distance Learning Coordinator
Please contact a member of Project VIEW if you would like to
learn more about this project or other electronic field trips or
videoconferencing projects.
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