{"id":287,"date":"2018-05-17T18:23:30","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T18:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/?page_id=287"},"modified":"2018-05-18T13:33:56","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T13:33:56","slug":"connecting-the-rainforest-to-classrooms-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/spring-2018\/connecting-the-rainforest-to-classrooms-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting the Rainforest to Classrooms Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">When it comes to using interactive videoconference technology to connect students in K-12 classrooms with scientists and experts, Jacalyn Giacalone Willis, founding director of Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) \u2014 the K-12 education center of Montclair State\u2019s College of Science and Mathematics \u2014 is an international innovator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Since 2003, PRISM\u2019s Rainforest Connection project has linked researchers and educators at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama with students, teachers and experts in countries such as the United States, Australia, Belize, Costa Rica and Kenya. This past winter, 875 students took part in 46 sessions from 17 schools in 11 New Jersey school districts and one Michigan district.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe Rainforest Connection engages teachers and students in an international conversation about environmental and conservation issues,\u201d says College of Science and Mathematics Acting Dean Lora Billings. \u201cIt provides the first steps in forging global collaborations that can lead to sustainable solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A noted naturalist, Willis visits Panama each February to oversee and participate in the Rainforest Connection webcasts. In 2017, her \u201cClassrooms Without Walls\u201d project, bolstered by a University Global Education Center grant, expanded the Rainforest Connection by forging sustainable partnerships among teachers, students and scientists in New Jersey, Panama and Kenya.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/forward-thinking\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2018\/05\/ThinkstockPhotos-678754814.jpg.4.1x.generic.jpg\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/forward-thinking\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2018\/05\/ThinkstockPhotos-678754814.jpg.4.1x.generic.jpg.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial shot of rainforest.\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">This year, Willis expanded the innovative program by connecting with colleagues in Madagascar and Bhutan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">While in Panama, Willis also takes an annual census of endangered wildlife on Barro Colorado Island. Using camera traps, she and her husband, Greg, have collected more than 1 million photos over 22 years \u2014 and walked hundreds of kilometers to take a trail census. \u201cThese long-term studies help guide conservation decisions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">While the Willises are often seen on programs ranging from Animal Planet to the Smithsonian Channel, in March their work was shown on primetime television in Panama for the first time through TELEMETRO. \u201cMy aim was to gain popular support for the conservation of ocelots and other native cats \u2014 and for the remaining forests,\u201d Willis recalls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to using interactive videoconference technology to connect students in K-12 classrooms with scientists and experts, Jacalyn Giacalone Willis, founding director of Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) \u2014 the K-12 education center of Montclair State\u2019s College of Science and Mathematics \u2014 is an international innovator. Since 2003, PRISM\u2019s Rainforest Connection project [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11,"parent":247,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-287","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/287\/revisions\/321"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/forward-thinking\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}