Concordia was fortunate this October to welcome several educational speakers and subject-matter experts to interact directly with students and speak to the community. The impressive lineup included a famous Internet figure in the world of science education, a drone enthusiast and action-film cinematographer, and an Ebola expert and TIME Magazine's Person of the Year for 2014.
Paul Anderson spends a week with Concordia students
First up was Paul Andersen, a teacher and educational consultant who spent a week working with students and teachers in K-12 science classrooms. Andersen, who has educated thousands of students as part of the wildly popular Youtube Edu Guru virtual classroom series, also met with parents at a special reception where he shared his thoughts on current teaching trends and challenges in science education.
Stuart Sharpless shares his industry tricks and techniques for aerial shots
Later the same month, students got a bird's-eye view of their campus and some invaluable insight into the film industry from Stuart Sharpless, director of Spontaneous Combustion Productions. His Hong Kong-based company has filmed aerial drone footage for action-packed Hollywood blockbusters such as Transformers 4 and Now You See Me 2. Sharpless discussed his work with students and faculty and worked closely with Concordia's Student Media Services team, sharing with them industry tricks and techniques for getting the most effective aerial shots on the drones they use for their school filming projects.
Dr. Mosaka Fallah discusses epidemiology with high school students
The month wrapped up with a visit from Dr. Mosaka Fallah, one of the Ebola Fighters named 2014 TIME's Person of the Year. A Harvard-educated epidemiologist and immunologist, Fallah was one of the leading health officials fighting the spread of the disease in his home country of Liberia. While on campus, he presented a lecture to students in the Epidemiology class, a new high school interdisciplinary studies course. Students in the Synthetic Biology and the Global Development classes were also invited to attend the lecture.
