HIGH SCHOOL IVDL OPPORTUNITY YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS
How many chances does a high school or middle school student have to ask a direct question of the Governor of the Ohio or to pose a query to a state Supreme Court Justice? The answer is few to none. Thanks to interactive video technology, WOSU is raising the odds for local schools. In collaboration with Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio (ITSCO) WOSU has organized a series of four one-hour videoconferences via the internet between state government officials and high school social studies classes. The project, At Your Service: How Government Works, will connect students with state leaders in a “live” discussion of how different branches of state government function; how they interact with each other; and their impact on issues affecting the citizens of the state.
Sessions are free to schools.
Registration is on a first come – first served basis. Five schools may participate in the interactive session; other schools may connect in a “view-only” mode. (Registration Form - PDF)
Registration deadline: March 14th
Teachers will receive materials to prepare their students prior to the IVDL session. The five interactive sites will be required to submit their student questions in prior to the session.
The executive, legislative and judicial branches of government are represented in the series. The videoconferences are scheduled late March and early April:
Thursday, March 27, 1:00pm Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp
Tuesday, April 1, 11:00am Attorney General Marc Dann
Tuesday, April 1, 1:00pm Speaker of the House Jon Husted
Tuesday, April 8, 11:30am Governor Ted Strickland
A Word about the Technology
Internet videoconferencing is more commonly known in school circles as Interactive Video Distance Learning (IVDL). It is two-way—just like a telephone call but on a larger scale with a video component enabling participants to see each other—and could be multipoint. A good Internet connection is critical with bandwidth ranging from 384 to 768 kilobits. Many schools now have portable videoconferencing systems. Typically, a system includes a coder and decoder (CODEC), camera, and microphone. Schools that want to participate in the videoconferences with state officials should sign up with Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio. Call (614) 247-8400 or e-mail david@itsco.org.