Broadcast 1394 (Special Edition)

Guests: Classroom featuring Dr. Livingston, Dr. Jim Logan, Dr. John Jurist. Topics: This is a summary and critique of The Space Show Classroom Series for this year. This program will also be archived on The Space Show Classroom Blog, http://spaceshowclassroom.wordpress.com. Please post your feedback, comments, and questions to the blog, do not send the to the three co-hosts. Anything we receive will be uploaded to the blog. We started this summary program with the three co-hosts critiquing the Classroom program. Dr. Jurist provided was first, followed by Dr. Logan, and then mine which turned into a minor rant. All of us agreed that the Classroom series was a mixed bag and we graded it and ourselves accordingly. We thought we missed our target audience, & our feedback so far was insufficient and disappointing given the effort put into the programming. I also described the rating system which I have mentioned on other shows re archives on Live365.com and noted that exceptional shows got horrible ratings, mentioning again that for the most part, the more fantasy driven a guest or program is, the higher the rating. We spent a considerable time talking about this aspect of the Classroom and our frustration. We stressed over and over again the need for feedback on the Classroom series, honest feedback, including feedback on the blog, especially if we are to consider another semester of the Classroom in January. Our co-hosts talked about how ideological we have become as a nation and how little thinking we now do and that critical thinking is not taught to students. Later in this segment, I asked both co-hosts what their favorite Classroom programs were and the rocket equation and flight dynamics programs were pointed out, mostly because those programs provided the root foundation for most of the others operating and visiting in space is based on those two components. For most of this session, we talked about some of the shortfalls we saw with the Classroom series and we integrated that into our culture and educational system because the problems that we detected by doing the Classroom were not just limited to space. Heavy lift was discussed as part of this critique and in talking about the rocket equation, Dr. Logan brought up Initial Mass in Low Earth Orbit (IMLEO) as an illustration point. We then talked about Congress and the difference between tactical decision making and enabling the strategic. Life sciences were then discussed and our co-hosts talked about why so many want to dismiss the findings of life scientists because they are seen as obstacles. Even engineers do this. We had several callers during this segment talking about a specific question, not so much the Classroom summary. As we started the second segment of this two hour program, all of us again stressed the need for useful feedback, a thumbs up or down on the Classroom programming. Jim talked about a possible point counter-point format for a future program and I asked about the likelihood of improving our ability to reach the target audience by doing the Classroom with video and webcams. Gravity became a topic in this segment with questions about going to an asteroid. We also talked about the ISS and the application of life sciences. As we concluded our program, Drs. Logan and Jurist said they wanted to know how listeners were impacted by the Classroom. For example, did anyone change their mind about an issue or subject based on a Classroom program. We concluded our summary program by reminding people about the written paper opportunity (contact me for details) and that if we are to continue the Classroom series in a following semester, we need meaningful feedback, plus or negative, and information from you that can help us do a better job. Also, what topics would you like covered should we resume the Classroom next semester. Please post all your comments, questions, etc. on the Classroom blog.