Broadcast 1498 (Special Edition)

Guests: Classroom: Dr. David Livingston, Dr. John Jurist, Dr. Jim Logan. Topics: The Space Show Classroom introduction for 2011. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show Classroom program/guest(s) on the Space Show Classroom blog,http://spaceshowclassroom.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show Classroom programming. The Space Show Classroom is back and this one hour program was our introduction to the 2011 semester. Co-hosts Jim and John and I went through our suggested course outline which I will finalize upon my return from Grand Forks and post on the Classroom blog as soon as possible. While we have a full agenda as you will hear, we are open to and we welcome your course and topic suggestions, as well as suggestions for possible expert guests for the Classroom programs. Today, listeners asked us some detailed questions about radiation, solar flares, and a few of our suggested discussion topics, but this introductory program was more about letting everyone know that the Classroom has returned and what we will most probably be covering during the year., We also introduced a few new rules for the Classroom. For example, we will not be using the toll free number for the Classroom this season. There are a few reasons for this including the need for more phone lines when we do point and counterpoint discussions which we want to do more often. In addition, we all thought that many of the listener phone calls last year took us off the Classroom main topic. Remember, the Classroom is different from regular Space Show programs in that we do a two hour simulated graduate school course discussion and we need to stay focused and on topic just as in a real classroom. The Classroom has its own blog per the URL above. All Classroom shows are archived on The Space Show website, Gigadial for podcasting, and on the Classroom blog. They are not archived on the regular Space Show blog. The Classroom blog is moderated and we do not post any comments or material not directly on point with Classroom programs and discussions. If you want to contact the Classroom co-hosts, all of us have our email addresses listed on the blog. Mine of course is drspace@thespaceshow.com. One other Classroom rule we used last year and it seemed to work fine so it will be used this year as well is that all emails and comments about the programs or for the guests directed to me need to be posted on The Classroom Blog so everyone can see them and participate in the discussion. If you do not post your comment yourself, I will post it on the blog under your name. For the Classroom, we want to expand our discussions to as many markets and interested people as possible and one of the best ways to do that is to make sure that we have a variety of points of view on the blog along with quality discussions. Finally, most all Classroom programs will be on a Sunday or Tuesday and just as we did last year, every Classroom program on the schedule, in the newsletters, and on archives will have “Classroom” at the beginning so these programs can be easily identified.. Thank you for participating in the 2011 Space Show Classroom series of programs.