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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

FCPS Captures Regional Emmy Award For TV Program On Flight School

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has won a regional Emmy Award for Flight School:  Higher, Faster, Farther! from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in the Instructional-Informational Program category.   The show, produced and directed by Heather Daniels, was funded by a grant from the Northern Virginia chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Produced by the FCPS Department of Information Technology, the show is the second in a series of four live interactive electronic field trips—created for students in grades 4-8—designed to teach students about the math and science principles involved in the evolution of flight.  Specifically, this program examines how the knowledge of the forces of flight inspired engineers and aviators to go higher, faster, and farther than ever before.  From propellers to jet engines, from subsonic to supersonic speeds, the show explores revolutionary innovations in flight speed, distance, and aviation technology. In Flight School: Higher, Faster, Farther! students are introduced to curators and rare artifacts as educators identify scientific principles that make controlled heavier-than-air flight possible.

The goal of the Flight School series is to enhance the learning experience of children by using distance learning technology and unique interactive opportunities that will help bring science to life. The four-part series examines historical, scientific, and technological aspects of aviation and its impact on exploration, communication, commerce, and national defense. Each program integrates science, technology, engineering, physics, math, and other fields of study, and, with the help of current and former aerospace pilots and engineers, students learn how scientific principles have played a major role in air and space travel. Experts discuss the evolution of such concepts as lift, thrust, stability, air pressure, airfoils, and experimental design.

The fourth installment of the series, Flight School: From Above, will be broadcast on Wednesday, October 8, on Red Apple 21. 

For more information about the Flight School series or other Fairfax Network productions, visit http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/ or contact Tracey Jewell, manager of digital media production, at tracey.jewell@fcps.edu.

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