Tag: education

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Dinosaur Day video conferencing

Dinosaur Day on Monday 5 November 2012 was a great way to start the Clickfest video conferencing month. Thousands of students dialled into a series of video conferences from across NSW. Dinosaur day had events from:

  • Australian Museum
  • Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum
  • Australian Ages of Dinosaurs
  • Taronga Zoo, Sydney
  • Literature Live

 

winny roar                                  © Australian Museum

The Australian Museum launched Dinosaur Day with Winny the Muttabuttasaurus. We had 20 school link up to celebrate and learn about dinosaurs.  It was a really great atmosphere to have so many students calling out Winny’s name and interacting with her.

Clickfest is an exciting initiative from education organisations across Australia and it highlights the diversity and scope of video conferences available to schools across.

Now in its second year, over 20 organisations are delivering free or reduced cost events to schools. These sessions are being hosted by the Distance and Rural Technologies (DART).

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Clickfest 2011

In November this year, DART Connections is hosting ‘Clickfest’: a month of free video conferencing to encourage more teachers to give it a go.

Clickfest #1Michael Hugill   © Australian Museum

The Clickfest launch at the Australian Museum was a first for new technology that provides educational experiences to regional schools. The live, interactive video conference session was simultaneously attended by regional schools located throughout Australia, including those first connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The participating year five and six children from these schools loved the show, featuring Winny the dinosaur from the Australian Museum, Cogs the Robot from the Powerhouse Museum and Tasmanian Devil researcher Dr Kathy Belov. Each school got to ask several questions and play an important part in the excitement of this event.

Chris Hancock, CEO of AARNet said, “This is an excellent example of how high capacity broadband services can revolutionise the learning experience. Clickfest will connect students in regional communities to iconic Australian institutions as part of their daily classroom activities. The regular use of real time video collaboration on this scale is the bright future of school education, enabling students to learn from Australia’s top talent without leaving the classroom.”

The schools included were:

  • Presbyterian Ladies College (Armidale, NSW)
  • The Cathedral School (Townsville, QLD)
  • Willunga High School (SA)
  • Circular Head Christian School (Smithtown, TAS)
  • Bees Creek Primary School (NT).

We’re excited to be participating in the Clickfest Video Conferencing Festival with over 30 other organisation offering free video conferences for schools.

Check out the new and exciting shows and events, all provided at no charge thanks to the NSW State Government. To find out more or to book into a session, go to DARTconnections and have a look at the amazing events on offer

It is a really exciting initiative to get teachers and students to give video conferencing a go.