Its a Small World After All

Two recent events have made me realize once again that the world is shrinking by the second. The first one occurred a few weeks ago. I have several friends who work in a nanotechnology lab at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. I had asked them if they would be willing to speak to my AP Physics students about what kind of work they were doing, their science backgrounds, etc. They said they were more than willing, but the question was - were they able? The problem was a logistical one - I teach in China, they live in America. Thanks to a computer program called Skype(all international Americans I know use it and can't live without it) my class and I were able to have a live videoconference with these two American-based researchers. Skype - which allows two computers to connect over the internet - is completely free and offers the ability for the two parties to see each other through webcams. So while my AP Physics students were still rubbing their eyes at 8 am in the morning, they were being shown specimens of nanomaterials via webcam from half the world away, by researchers who were finishing up a day's work and getting ready to head home.  

The second event was incredible. It was shared by millions, if not billions of people, all in their own way. Since the time difference between China and the USA is 13 hours - while Barack Obama was giving his inspirational acceptance speech 7000 miles away in the middle of the night - my students were able to watch history unfold live in front of them as the bright midday sun shone through the windows. While my classroom is a mix of nationalities, cultures and political viewpoints - my students agree- it was spine tingling to share such an historic moment.  And the familiar song is stuck in my head - for it is a small world after all...