[Jay F. Hicks (l) Rusty Garrett (c), and John Ghazzagh (r)]

I recently attended a Project Tornado session taught by News 10 colleague Rusty Garrett, to see what has Central Texas elementary students so fired up to learn.

Garrett said the kids are “giddy” since KWTX partnered with Region 12 Education Service Center several years ago on Project Tornado – to kick things up a notch as Emeril says.

I arrived to find the use of voice over the internet protocol (VOIP), and other new media tools on the education project saving time and gas, while reaching thousands of elementary students throughout Central Texas each year.

The News 10 weatherman and students are able to see one another and talk, creating a collaborative environment during the 30-minute tornado safety class via web cameras installed in classrooms.

Project Tornado Gear:

-Two 60 inch flat screen monitors

-Classroom web camera

-Green screen technology

-Interactive Software

During this session, Rusty demonstrated the science behind tornadoes, talked to students about what to do when tornadoes are spotted, shared tips on how to keep their families safe, and answered questions before signing off the web.

As an added bonus, photographs of each class are featured on air during the 6 P.M. evening news to reward their learning.

It’s a reminder that students learn when they are engaged.

Tags: central texas weather, kwtx weather, New Media, region 12 esc, rusty garrett, tornado project, web education

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 at 11:57 am and is filed under Featured, New Media, News 10 On Your Side. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.