Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) @ USN

Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) at University School is facilitated through a unique partnership between USN and the CSO (Center for Science Outreach) program at Vanderbilt University. USN's Lower School Technology Coordinator, Scott Merrick, works one day a week as CSO Teacher-in-Residence, helping to develop and support IVC curricula in K-12 classrooms throughout Nashville and the world. Additional support in the form of a mini-grant for partial payment of ISDN line fees was provided in 2002-2003 by Vanderbilt University's Center in Molecular Toxicology "Center Associates" outreach program. Since August 29, 2002, University School of Nashville has been a participating member of Project DIANE, the Diversified Information and Assistance NEtwork. Much support is also provided by Vanderbilt University Virtual School.

Web Archives:

The links in this section will take you to online celebrations of Videoconferencing events in the form of Web pages or picture albums. (Note: these resources list the most recent additions from top to bottom.)

• Look at some fun pictures (requires MS MediaPlayer10) and a video singalong (from our Kindergarteers and 1st graders' SightSpeed interaction with "Boowa" from uptoten.com the last day of school May 25, 2005
• View a slideshow (.wmv file) of first contact between Richard Espenant and his collaborators in France, directors of the IVC program at ITIN, a technology college near Paris
• USN/SERC curriculum collaboration begins
• Gus Gillette's "Online Playwriting Project" class 2003-4 TheatreLink Session one; Session 2, Session 3, Session 4 (final)
• Detailed article at techlearning.com about USN High Schoolers meeting with the Nashville Opera Association to learn"How to Write an Opera"

• Bill Rodriquez's HS Astronomy class learns about "Earth's Magnetosphere"
• Middle Schoolers visit a Nashville Opera Rehearsal!
• 2nd graders "Talk with the Elephants"
• Art Classes chat with sculptor Michael Aurbach
• "Davidson AM" article details USN's relationship with Project Diane

Find out more in the Lower School Interactive Section

Movie Clips:

By clicking on the links below, you may view a collection of "movie samples" which describe USN's use of this continually evolving technology in the service of learning.

• View a brief clip from Bill Rodriguez's Astronomy class's visit with Rocky Alvey of Dyer Observatory in a class about "How Telescopes Work"
• USN 2nd Graders "Talk with the Elephants" at The Elephant Sanctuary
• Richard Espenant's Conversational French Classes and Noble and Greenough School
• Rosa Commins's Spanish Speaking 4th Graders and Noble and Greenough School
• Bill Rodriguez's High School Astronomy Class and Vanderbilt Professor Emeritus Arnold Heiser

  An important note: These movies were created as celebrations, and the quality of picture and sound only roughly approximates the "real-time clarity" of a VTC connection (the technical considerations for Web display mandate as small a picture as possible, and so while watching one please bear in mind that it is more a "video snapshot" than an accurate record of the experience). USN uses a PolyCom128 set-top unit connected to a dedicated double ISDN telephone line, or a high-speed T1 Internet connection for its calls, and our connections are generally remarkably clear.
  

  For the Quicktime program required to play most of the movies in your Web browser, visit www.apple.com/quicktime and follow the directions to install the plug-in which will display that file's contents. Once you can see everything on the Quicktime page, your browser is configured to see our movie samples. Enjoy!

  The latest Windows Media Player might be required for some of the movies. If you don't have it, visit www.microsoft.com/downloads to download it, or update from within Media Player by selecting "Help/Check for Player Updates."