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r COMMUNITY CALENDAR • LIFESTYLES • SPORTS • COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENCE • TV LISTINGS West Durham District Holds "Hillbilly Beaveree The West Durham District Beavers headed lor the hills earlier this month lor their spring "Beaveree. I his year's event had a "Hillbilly" theme, as the 250 Beavers and leaders enjoyed a variety of outdoor games and activities, activities, plus a well-deserved lunch at noon, One of the themes of the May 9th excursion was co-operation in all the . games held at the Pigeon River conservation area east of Ncstlcton, Wednesday, May 20, T 998 Virtual Classroom or rro/ecr units tines o cnooi ro A n Ojibway elder, a polar explorer, two members of an alternative rock band and Ontario's lieutenant governor all dropped in on The Pines Senior Public School earlier this month. Their visit was made possible through an interactive interactive teaching program offered by TV Ontario in 22 schools. While the special guests weren't physically in the classroom, they met the students students via a video satellite link and telephones. Currently, The Pines offers studies in English, Math and Science through the virtual classroom. There's also an early childhood childhood education course on alternate Wednesday afternoons afternoons and a chemistry course offered at the high sehool level. School Principal David Gray says there arc 15 places available in the classroom at the present time, but the system is expandable to accommodate accommodate 47 students, each with their own telephone connecting connecting them to the distant instructors, guests and fellow-students. the Pincs sludcnts > 8 uests and 'mndreds of other A demonstration of the Virtual Classroom . participants in the other Ontario schools, technology took place at The Pines on May 6th, Students were then mvit- when about 15 students met in a classroom ed t0 ta lk to Red Green and ^equipped with a phone for each student and the as ^ him questions. Much the 'rr,,,- •. - - - " "" same lormat was followed ' for the duration of The aftcr- IT'S FOR YOU -- Using a telephone, each student can communicate with studio guests and instructors appearing live on the television mon itor. And classes across Ontario can also listen in on the conversation. Here, Chris Lyttle is shown at a demonstration of the virtual classroom. TV monitor. While traditional television' distance learning courses (often called chalk-and talk TV) offer one-way communication, the TVO virtual classroom classroom ensures that communication is a two-way process. For the purpose of this month's demonstration, students discussed the subject of What is a Canadian? and What Makes Us Unique? It began with a live appearance by comedian Red Green who offered the observation that Canadians arc a self-reliant people. "With a roll of duct tape and a little bit of imagination, you can go out there and conquer the world," he told polar explorer; Publisher Mel Hurtig and Olympian Charmaine Crooks. On videotape were Ojibway elder Lillian ii c I McGregor and World War With a rolipt duet tapp. Two veteran John Kilpatrick. All of them added their noon as students were invited invited to explore the Canadian identity by meeting guests both in studio, live via telephone telephone or on video and audio tape. The line-up of studio guests included Hilary Weston; Red Green; the alternative band, Rusty; and Lincoln Alexander Award recipient Ramona Parkcsh-Puni. Checking in by live telephone calls were Richard Weber, and a little imagination, you can go out there and conquer the world," EE unique perspectives to the question of Canadian identity identity and showed the many possibilities possibilities of the virtual classroom classroom concept. TV Ontario suggests classes of this sort could enable all students in the province -- no matter where they lived -- to take a field trip to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, the National Gallery in Ottawa, a nickel mine in Sudbury or a TV Star Red Green SBBB bear-watching session in Algonquin Park. And, it could all be done without leaving the school. "TVO virtual classroom allows our students to go places they wouldn't dream of in their day-to-day lives. It's a cutting-edge curriculum curriculum resource that really expands minds, gets students students used to current technology technology and exposes them to endless learning opportunities," opportunities," says Principal David Gray. He adds that the system has worked well in The Pincs and describes the students students as being "really motivated." motivated." Lcannc Page, one of the teachers who uses the virtual virtual classroom to help teach grade seven science, explains that her students arc working on Part Two of the "World in Motion" Unit. They talk about problem-solving, problem-solving, with ample opportunity to explore physics and study topics such as forces, work and energy. Their project is to design a toy suitable for children between the ages of six and 10. It must meet certain criteria, including the ability to travel up a ramp and use gears. Their work includes design and testing of the toy, with a final presentation summing up the project at the end of the unit... z The link with other students and instructors allows added learning opportunities.' For instance, the students have seen video clips on how light bulbs are made. And they have had toy manufacturers and engineers as guests via the television, A moderator will field individual calls from students with problems or questions. Students can also access the TVO web site for further information and instructions. "Our philosophy is let's use it and try it out. TVO is anxious to get feedback from it," Page says. And students are not the only people using the Continued on page 12 DRESSING UP-- Brian Mills and Tyler Traflord, of the First Bethany Beavers, wear hillbilly costumes for one of the events. The object of the game was to pul on the hillbilly clothes and then run a relay.