Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Interactive, Educational Webcast from Chevrolet and Weekly Reader

After reading the cover story in this month's Inc. magazine about all of the new businesses growing out of the nascent electric car industry, I'm convinced this is going to be a big part of the future of our country.  So when I received an email related to it I had to pass it on:
Hi! I'm writing to tell you about a cool new program from Chevrolet and Weekly Reader. The companies are partnering with Harvard-Westlake Middle School in Los Angeles to webcast what could end up being one of the world's largest show-and-tells. Teachers and students across the country are being invited to participate remotely via live video webcast as nearly 800 Harvard-Westlake middle school students and teachers learn about the basics of electricity, including why it’s important and how this common energy source can be used to transform the way we drive. With the launch of vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt less than a year away, now is the time for students to learn more about the advanced technologies that are leading us into the future of transportation and what it will mean to them in the future.

The presentation and event will take place next Monday, Nov. 30 from 9:40 to 10:30 a.m. PST. You can find out more information at this link:
http://www.weeklyreader.com/emails/gmvolt/index.html

Teachers and students across the country are registering to attend this webcast, and you're welcome to join, too, if you'd like. Register by Sunday, Nov. 29 at
http://bit.ly/ChevroletVoltSchoolWebcast in order to submit your questions.

If you'd rather just watch the streaming webcast, you can do that at http://WeeklyReader.com or http://ChevroletVoltage.com.
I realize some of you might be skeptical about exposing your students to a corporate-sponsored event like this, and I certainly share your concerns.  Nevertheless, if it's something that will get students excited about science and math and the big possibilities that this technology offers, I think it's worth taking a risk on.

If anyone decides to take advantage of this at school, please let me know how it goes.  I'm going to try to watch it and report on it as well.