Two weeks ago, we started something called Virtual Office Hours, and I think it's catching on! We normally have our virtual office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30AM; or we can schedule another time to meet by video conference that is more convenient for you.
We've set up appointments with several districts recently and it was so easy! It eliminates unnecessary travel and because we use the video conference equipment, we can see each other while we discuss the needs of the teachers with whom we meet.
We can meet with districts near and far first thing in the morning, during the day, or late in the afternoon. During our meetings, teachers have asked for suggestions for ways to integrate interactive video conferencing into the curriculum, suggestions for class-to-class connections, and other topics associated with distance learning.
Hopefully, more districts will take a chance and try out our Virtual Office Hours. If you'd like to try, you can email us: DL@gstboces.org.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
NYS Grade 5 Social Studies Test
Today Mary Hutz and I spent the day with a 5th grade Social Studies teacher via distance. She is in Spencer-Van Etten and we remained at the Instructional Support Center in Elmira and visited with each of her Social Studies classes.
They are preparing for the NYS Social Studies Test coming up in November. We spent much of the day showing them a podcast on test-taking strategies and playing a Jeopardy game to help the students practice skills they learned from the video. If your district is part of the GST BOCES Distance Learning Service and you would like to set up an appointment for us to do this session with your class, please email us at DL@gstboces.org.
For parents who are preparing their children for the test, you might consider visiting the NYS Education Website where they have past exams to use for practice.
They are preparing for the NYS Social Studies Test coming up in November. We spent much of the day showing them a podcast on test-taking strategies and playing a Jeopardy game to help the students practice skills they learned from the video. If your district is part of the GST BOCES Distance Learning Service and you would like to set up an appointment for us to do this session with your class, please email us at DL@gstboces.org.
For parents who are preparing their children for the test, you might consider visiting the NYS Education Website where they have past exams to use for practice.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Google Docs
Are you planning to do a class-to-class video conference and want an easy way to plan the video conference activities collaboratively with the other teacher or teachers? Use Google Docs! So quick and easy to use! It is a great way to develop plans with one or more people.
You can create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and share them with others so they can edit them as well.
Here is a great video that explains how to use this technology:
You can create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and share them with others so they can edit them as well.
Here is a great video that explains how to use this technology:
Friday, October 3, 2008
Trip to DC
Hi again! This week I have been on vacation and I traveled to Washington, DC and Alexandria, VA. My husband and I visited many of the landmarks around DC and we also visited George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. Neither of us had ever been to Mount Vernon before. We spent about 6 hours touring the estate and learning about George Washington. I learned quite a bit about the United States' first President.
As we toured around, I was especially intrigued by the fact that so many school kids from around the vicinity were visiting the different Smithsonian museums, as well as Mount Vernon. It made me think about how lucky those students are; and I wondered if they know just how fortunate they are to live so near to those historic places.
Learning the little things that make historic figures human, so we can relate to them, making them more meaningful to us, makes learning history more fun and interesting.
Now to my point - all of my thoughts as I went through my week made me appreciate distance learning and virtual learning experiences even more than I already did! The Smithsonian offers many distance learning programs for students. Check them out! There are so many ways to integrate the concepts taught in those experiences into a variety of curricular areas.
If you would like suggestions about ways to integrate distance learning into your curriculum, please let us know! DL@gstboces.org
Stop back soon!
As we toured around, I was especially intrigued by the fact that so many school kids from around the vicinity were visiting the different Smithsonian museums, as well as Mount Vernon. It made me think about how lucky those students are; and I wondered if they know just how fortunate they are to live so near to those historic places.
Learning the little things that make historic figures human, so we can relate to them, making them more meaningful to us, makes learning history more fun and interesting.
Now to my point - all of my thoughts as I went through my week made me appreciate distance learning and virtual learning experiences even more than I already did! The Smithsonian offers many distance learning programs for students. Check them out! There are so many ways to integrate the concepts taught in those experiences into a variety of curricular areas.
If you would like suggestions about ways to integrate distance learning into your curriculum, please let us know! DL@gstboces.org
Stop back soon!
Great motivator for students to develop projects!
Here's a note from the good folks at CILC. There's not much time left so check it out quickly and let us know if you'd like some help!
There are only two weeks left to submit your entry into the KC3 contest! The submission deadline is Friday, October 17th.
From Seattle to Singapore, Beijing to Berlin, if you’re looking for ways to engage middle and high school students in authentic research, presentation skills and use of technology then you’ll want to be involved in the 2008-2009 Kids Creating Community Content (KC3) Contest. This standards based project taps into the creative nature of your students as they look at their community and explore ways to share your unique area with students around the world. For complete details and project requirements visit: http://kc3.cilc.org
There are only two weeks left to submit your entry into the KC3 contest! The submission deadline is Friday, October 17th.
From Seattle to Singapore, Beijing to Berlin, if you’re looking for ways to engage middle and high school students in authentic research, presentation skills and use of technology then you’ll want to be involved in the 2008-2009 Kids Creating Community Content (KC3) Contest. This standards based project taps into the creative nature of your students as they look at their community and explore ways to share your unique area with students around the world. For complete details and project requirements visit: http://kc3.cilc.org
Promoting DL/IVC to our districts
Because of our Educational Opportunities Network Project, we've got temporary access to additional staff resources - through June 2009. The EON Project was supported by the Southern Tier Regional Planning Board and funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The EON Project is allowing us time to present the awesome potential of DL/IVC to all 21 of our districts at staff meetings and professional development days. The response so far has been very enthusiastic and activity in IVC and other forms of Distance Learning continues to blossom throughout our region. More districts are taking advantage of WebBased instructor facilitated courses and a collaborative 3D virtual worlds program has had such a positive impact we're working hard to expand and continue its availability.
If you're from one of the districts in the GST region - feel free to drop us a note at dl@gstboces.org if you'd like any sort of assistance with making great use of Distance Learning resources for your community or school. If you're from outside the region - we'd still love to hear from you - especially if your looking for some form of DL collaboration!
René
The EON Project is allowing us time to present the awesome potential of DL/IVC to all 21 of our districts at staff meetings and professional development days. The response so far has been very enthusiastic and activity in IVC and other forms of Distance Learning continues to blossom throughout our region. More districts are taking advantage of WebBased instructor facilitated courses and a collaborative 3D virtual worlds program has had such a positive impact we're working hard to expand and continue its availability.
If you're from one of the districts in the GST region - feel free to drop us a note at dl@gstboces.org if you'd like any sort of assistance with making great use of Distance Learning resources for your community or school. If you're from outside the region - we'd still love to hear from you - especially if your looking for some form of DL collaboration!
René
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