On the Road

August 22, 2007

I conducted three “power hour” sessions at one of our member districts at each of their campuses (elementary, middle school, and high school).

The “show and tell” method worked beautifully for this. My goal was not to build conceptual understanding, teach ettiquette, connect to background knowledge, or even show the technology. I was given the charge to share as many possibilities for using videoconferencing to connect students and to create a curiosity in the staff.

I framed the presentations around the types of videoconferencing that we do on our network: collaborations, projects, and content providers. In parentheses I have noted which example I used with which group.

Collaborations do not exist in time or space until the teacher has an idea and seeks a partner.

1. Hong Kong (cultural exchange) (Used this example with all levels.)
2. Down in the Deep (mini-jazz) (Used with elem and middle school to recruit for this year’s sessions.)

Projects exist in time and space. Projects are set on calendars with teacher instructions and often times a project coordinator.

1. Monster Match (Showed video and now project is growing to 7th grade!)
2. Read Around the Planet (Showed photos and had teacher testimonials from last years connections!)
3. Holidays Around the World (Elementary only)
4. MysteryQuest (and all the spin-offs) (All levels)
5. ASK Programs (Showed ASK video to middle school only.)

Content Providers ~ here are some of our favorites. I did print the Teachers’ Choice awards list and share that with the group.

1. HealthSpace Cleveland (high school)
2. Witness to History (high school)
   
3. COSI Columbus (high school, middle school)
4. Center for Puppetry Arts (elementary)
5. MOTE Marine (Seatrek) (All levels)
6. NASA Digital Learning Network (All levels)
7. Smithsonian American Art Museum (5th and up)
8. “Cotton: A Plant of Many Uses” (High school showing that students can even create their own virtual field trip to teach to younger students!)

This was a great way to share with this district. We did not have time to make a connection and my charge was to pique their interest and to show possibilities. The equipment was in each room, so the teachers know that they CAN do this and I used some photos of their students from projects last year and incorporated stories from their teachers. They have two district technology people to assist them with the technology. They also have a mobile Polycom on each campus and had 8 people attend 123VC. The stage is now set for another successful year videoconferencing.

It was a good day!

Posted in Staff Development