Students in the US will converse with rainforest researchers in Panama via live video

Live video-conferencing from a tropical forest research facility will be available to schools from Jan. 12 - 23, 2004 in both English and Spanish. Jackie and Greg Willis have studied wildlife on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama for a month each year for the past 20 years. The researchers are carrying out a long-term census of mammals to study how populations of different species on the island change from year to year.

Located in Gatun Lake, which is part of the Panama Canal waterway, BCI is a field station operated by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Students will be able to talk with Jackie and Greg and their associates directly from this forest location.

Jackie and Greg Willis are the creators of The Rainforest Connection, an interactive email project that began 7 years ago. The Rainforest Connection is coordinated by the Center for Professional Resources In Science & Mathematics (PRISM) at Montclair State University. PRISM provides services to school districts in the teaching of science and mathematics. This year the web-site will feature the "Rainforest Connection Live!" through video- conferences. Researchers will appear in live sessions from the forest to talk about their experiences, their research projects, and ecological principles. They will answer students' questions.

The details of the session schedule, with topics and a list of participating schools are posted on the web-site's "video events" page. The research team in Panama has posted regular journal entries on their Rainforest Connection web-site, describing what they see and experience as they carry out their projects in the forest. The web-site address is: http://rainforest.montclair.edu

The Rainforest Connection web-site is a useful source for background information on forests, how researchers study animals, basic ecological principles, animal ecology, photos, video clips, interviews with scientists, and lesson plans. The web-site has a Spanish language version as well, to include bilingual students in the USA and students in Latin American countries. Teachers are using the Rainforest Connection materials to prepare their students for the conference discussions by video.

Anna Mazzaro, a PRISM staff member and elementary classroom teacher will also appear in the broadcasts. Katrina Macht, a 5th-grade teacher from Hillside Intermediate School in Bridgewater-Raritan, will join the project in Panama. Ricardo Moreno, a Panamanian researcher who collaborates with Jackie and Greg in an ocelot study will appear in a Spanish language session. The coordination of the video connection through the technology of satellite TV and web video- streaming will involve staff at Montclair State University, the Verizon Corporation, NJEDge.net, and NJIT.