Seaweek

Seaweek 2005, 'Sharks@School'

Webcasting live from Reef HQ, Townsville.

Thursday 10th and Friday 11th March 2005.

Sharks from Reef HQ attended schools all around Australia, LIVE!

Through the use of Internet and live video streaming technology, ‘Sharks@School’ brought the thrill of discovery into the classroom by taking students and their teachers on an exciting underwater adventure. ‘Sharks@School’ also offered a window into the fascinating areas of knowledge awaiting exploration by those who continue to study the marine environment.

A Reef ED education officer delivered a 45 minute session about shark ecology, biodiversity and conservation live from the Reef HQ Predator Tank. Information about the SCUBA diving equipment and other technical components used to deliver the live video stream was given in a brief introduction. This helped students understand the interrelationships between science, technology and innovation. The live video stream was supplemented with high quality still images (snapshots) and JPEG images.

In addition, a DVD recording of this innovative Seaweek event was made available upon request as an ongoing marine education resource. During the two sessions conducted in Seaweek, more than 25 schools and 1000 students from all around Australia and oversees were logged on.

Click on the thumbnails above to enlarge to full size.

Here is some feedback recognising what a great learning opportunity our webcast was:

"‘Sharks@School’, our first Webcast went off very well. Thanks go to Reef HQ and Lloyd Godson for their time and expertise. I have received letters from youngsters who had never even seen the sea let alone sharks, so this was a great opportunity for them."

Angela Colliver, MESA President

“We are always looking for innovative and exciting ways to teach the students new things. They learnt more about sharks from the webcast then they would a textbook as the students found they were interested in what they were learning because of the nature in which they were being taught.”

Sonia Zadebernyj, Reef Guardian Co-ordinating teacher, Cannonvale S.S., QLD

"The Sharks@School live webcast was used as a pilot study to determine any issues that need to be resolved before making it a feature event of future Seaweek activities. Approximately 25 schools and over 1000 students across Australia took part in this exciting and innovative Seaweek trial. This type of event has great potential to reach a large national audience, giving students from across Australia access to experts who work in the marine field."

MESA Website

To find out more click here