Collaborating with Author Vicki Cobb on the WE DARE YOU! Video Project 

Teachers, collaborate directly with Vicki via videoconferencing.  She will kickoff the program with a videoconference with your class.  Kids can interact and ask questions as she explains the project, which is based on her book, We Dare You! Hundreds of Fun Science Bets, Challenges, and Experiments You Can Do at Home. You can order books directly from the publisher at a 50% discount + shipping as long as your order is for at least ten books. The price of this large format, over 300 pages, hardcover is only $10.00. Here's what one teacher wrote about the day (one week after the order had been called in) that her kids got the books:

 "Oh boy did it create excitement, which was awesome to witness. They were doing some of the experiments (and including me in on them!!!) and having a blast looking through the book!!!" Vicki will send you autographed labels (designed by her son, Theo), which the kids can paste in their books.

An optional second video conference has Vicki actually directing a videotaping remotely. This gives you and your class the opportunity to learn how to use video to communicate effectively.  It will also provide a learning experience in how to direct a movie.   

A third video conference, at the end of the project is a discussion with Vicki about the science involved in the videos. Throughout the project, Vicki is available to answer kids questions directly through email. Raw footage is to be sent to Vicki via the web (she'll tell you how) for editing and publishing. She makes it clear from the outset that not everyone will be published but everyone will have fun. 

This is an extraordinarily rich learning experience on many levels, science, reading, media literacy and meets state and national standards as follows:

NS.K-4.1 SCIENCE AS INQUIRY 

Depending on the activities selected, the We Dare You! VideoProject can also meet the following standards:

NS.K-4.2 PHYSICAL SCIENCE

NS.K-4.3 LIFE SCIENCE 

NS.K-4.4 EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE 

NS.K-4.6 PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES 

NS.K-4.7 HISTORY OF NATURE AND SCIENCE 

The fee for an initial discussion with Vicki, and two video conferences is $400.  An optional third videoconference is $500.  Scheduling is flexible on request.  If you want to know more, call Vicki directly at (914)949-1104.

A flyer about the books, to give your kids to take home, is here.

You will also need to explain the project to parents and have them sign release forms. That information is here.

 Here's what another teacher said about this project: 

This whole experience, first connecting with Vicki Cobb via video-conference, then meeting weekly for an after school science club has been exciting for our students, to say the very least. After Vicki and I discussed the idea initially, I went to third and fourth grade classrooms to promote the club to our students. The interest level was overwhelming. I think that our students would have jumped at the opportunity for an after-school science club,period--Kids love science experiments! But adding to the allure of this particular science club was the possibility of movie-stardom, and the opportunity to connect virtually with a "real, live, author." I had initially wanted to limit the group to about 12 students, to keep it manageable, but after receiving over 30 permission slips the very first morning, I decided to rethink this number. After all, a number of the students who signed up were those who didn't tend to express a whole lot of interest in school-related things, and I wasn't about to turn them away. So, we ended up with two science clubs, and a total of about 40 student participants.

The greatest thing about, We Dare You!Hundreds of Science Bets, Challenges, and Experiments You Can Do at Home, the text that is guiding our science club activities, is its user-friendliness.The experiments in this book are not hard or confusing or complicated. Rather they use mostly common materials that kids can find around the house. No special trips to the store required! Instructions are clear and, in many cases, are accompanied by an illustration. Kids not only learn how to do "tricks" that are sure to draw "oohs" and "aahs," but they learn the science behind it as well. After being wowed by a science trick, the natural response is to ask "why" and "how." This text provides those answers in a way that is accessible to students. Students who ordered their own copy were so excited upon their arrival. One girl, hugging her book tightly, said "I cannot wait to read this book. And I mean every page of this book."

The science is great and the filming aspect is cool as well. But what makes this opportunity truly special is that students feel very connected with the author. Video-conferencing technology has allowed them to speak with her "face to face" and when questions arise, she is no further than an e-mail away.

It is so fun to see students so excited and motivated by science and learning!