UK Videoconferencing Services

Cambridge Motivate

The Motivate Project uses videoconferencing to provide school students of all ages with exciting opportunities in maths and/or science.  We start with an interactive videoconference and students then carry out their own work away from the camera (either the same day, or over the following weeks).  Schools then present an account of what they have done to all the other videoconference participants (who might be anywhere in the world), and answer questions both from other students and from the presenter.

The Motivate Project aims to:

• enrich the students’ experience
• broaden their horizons
• raise their aspirations for their own futures
• develop their communication skills
• provide experience of collaborative working  

http://motivate.maths.org

Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms

The Learning department of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms offers videoconference sessions about the Second World War for schools.

We are able to offer a variety of sessions which involve looking at genuine artefacts, posters and photographs. “A Case for Evacuation” for example gives pupils the opportunity to become a detective and explore the contents of an evacuee’s suitcase.  

Another popular session is the “Civilian War Readiness Committee June 1939”. Pupils prepare presentations and report back to central government with their suggestions for action to take, in response to the threat of war.

For more information and materials:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/cabinetvidcon

National Archives

The National Archives’ Education Service brings original historical documents to your classroom via videoconference.

Workshops are available for Key Stage 2 to A Level. Subjects offered include the Tudors, Slave Trade, Jack the Ripper and the Suffragettes.

You can also meet with a First World War soldier, Private Henry Fairhurst, as he talks about why he joined up and life in the trenches.

For more information about sessions and booking see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/educationservice/video.htm

National Maritime Museum

The National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory, Greenwich offer a wide variety of National Curriculum focused sessions for all Key Stages.

The National Maritime Museum video conferences explore:

• Literacy KS1 - The story of Trim the cat
• History KS2 - Tudor seafaring or Vikings
• Citizenship/History KS3 - Understanding slavery
• Leisure, travel and tourism KS4 - Marketing and Customer service. 

The Observatory video conferences explore:

• Science KS2 - Earth and beyond
• Science KS3/4 - Solar system and beyond.

Our experienced team of subject specialists encourage students to learn by interpreting the Museum's impressive collection. We also explore some of these themes through actor-led sessions.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/videoconferencing

National Space Centre

Coming soon:
Mission: Ice Moon from the icy tunnels of Jupiter's moon Europa.

The National Space Centre can provide a videoconference to answer those big questions.

Link up to the Space Centre and meet your Commander who can help you to perform a simulated space mission. Find out about Planets, Life in Space, or choose another space subject.

In e-Mission: Operation Montserrat students become The Emergency Response Team recreating the events of September the 4th, 1996 on the ill-fated Island of Montserrat. The team must track the approaching hurricane, monitor a volcano and move all the residents to safety in an exciting and involving emergency scenario.

http://www.spacecentre.co.uk/education/outreach

Natural History Museum

Meet intriguing historical characters in the galleries or in the classroom via videoconferencing and discover more about their lives and discoveries.

Our intrepid explorer Dino Dan has just returned from the deserts of Mongolia – and he’d like to share his adventures with you. Help piece together the evidence to find out more about his discoveries and dinosaurs, using the skills of a palaeontologist. Key Stage 1

Circadian Sam has a problem – she isn’t sure if it’s day or night. Luckily, she knows lots about the features that enable animals to live in their particular environment. Help her sort out which animals should be asleep and which should be awake. Key Stage 1

Mary Anning has lots of stories to tell you about her life as a pioneering nineteenth-century fossil hunter in Lyme Regis. Did you know she helped discover the first Ichthyosaur when she was only 10 years old? Discover more about her life and her important fossil discoveries that helped reconstruct the world’s past. Key Stage 2, unavailable Spring 2008

In Spring 2008 Tom Crean is in the Museum to tell you about his experiences in the Antarctic. He travelled on the Terra Nova expedition with Scott and the Endurance expedition with Shackleton. After Endurance was destroyed in the ice, he was part of the small team involved in the rescue mission to save the rest of the crew. What was it like to be in Antarctica? How do you survive in this extreme environment? Key Stage 2

For more information about these sessions, please call 0207 942 5555.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/education/index.html