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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Regional DL/IVC meeting
For quite some time, our districts have been asking us for a GST based database that allows searching and booking of Virtual Learning Experiences. Cheryl has taken on the lioness' share of bringing the project along. This morning, at our regional DL/IVC meeting, Cheryl led a 90 minute demonstration and conversation about the progress to date. With sample screen shots and explanations, the participants in the in the meeting were able to get a very clear idea of the desired outcome. The group was interested, supportive and provided some excellent suggestions for inclusion in the project. We're certainly looking forward to having this in production!
Friday, November 14, 2008
IVC with an Elder Care Facility!
Here's a great expansion area for Interactive Video Conferencing! Here at GST, we host a first person character impersonator - Paul Stillman of Historically Speaking. Paul has about 10 historical impersonations that he provides - typically in person, but also from our site via IVC.
Earlier this week, I did a test call with Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Cleveland, OH. Residents there will be visiting with "Ben Franklin" next week and I'm very excited to see IVC used for this purpose.
Hopefully more elder care facilities will find ways to implement IVC capabilities and the DL/IVC community can continue to explore all the great possibilities for collaborations with the elder population and the K12 population!
Earlier this week, I did a test call with Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Cleveland, OH. Residents there will be visiting with "Ben Franklin" next week and I'm very excited to see IVC used for this purpose.
Hopefully more elder care facilities will find ways to implement IVC capabilities and the DL/IVC community can continue to explore all the great possibilities for collaborations with the elder population and the K12 population!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
American Sign Language via DL/IVC
This morning I had the pleasure of visiting the Watkins Glen High School to add VCR recording capability to thier Distance Learning setup. Kelly Sterner is the faciliator at WG for the course. Watkins Glen is one of the districts that has students broadcasting morning announcements over their TV network. Kelly' ASL students are hoping to be able to begin signing for a portion of the announcements on a daily basis. What a great way to make purposeful and productive use of their learning. And - it will also help raise awareness of the deaf population with the rest of the student body.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Distance Learning in Arkport
On November 4th, students from Melissa Houck’s combined ELA classes at Arkport High School had the opportunity to connect with Linda Dentry an educator from the Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier via distance learning. The Distance Learning experience was facilitated by the GST BOCES DL Team. The connection served as a culminating event to the novel entitled Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
As an educator, Linda specifically created a powerful and informative lesson which focused on common misconceptions and statistical information associated with sexual violence. Students were also provided with educational and contact information about what to do if they or someone they know is raped. Content for this sensitive lesson was tailored and structured based upon Ms. Houck’s request.
“The Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier (RCST) provides services and information to individuals and the community to help prevent sexual violence and to keep individuals from becoming first time offenders of sexual violence. RCST offers educational programs on a wide variety of sexual violence topics to the community free of charge.”
Programs are adapted to meet the needs, interests, and developmental level of the group requesting the program and also align to the NYS Standards. Programs are interactive and informative and age appropriate handouts are provided to participants.
We at GST BOCES DL would like to thank Linda Dentry and staff members of the Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier for their assistance in making this experience possible.
If your district is part of the GST BOCES Distance Learning Service and you would like us to assist you with a similar classroom experience, please email us at DL@gstboces.org.
As an educator, Linda specifically created a powerful and informative lesson which focused on common misconceptions and statistical information associated with sexual violence. Students were also provided with educational and contact information about what to do if they or someone they know is raped. Content for this sensitive lesson was tailored and structured based upon Ms. Houck’s request.
“The Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier (RCST) provides services and information to individuals and the community to help prevent sexual violence and to keep individuals from becoming first time offenders of sexual violence. RCST offers educational programs on a wide variety of sexual violence topics to the community free of charge.”
Programs are adapted to meet the needs, interests, and developmental level of the group requesting the program and also align to the NYS Standards. Programs are interactive and informative and age appropriate handouts are provided to participants.
We at GST BOCES DL would like to thank Linda Dentry and staff members of the Rape Crisis of the Southern Tier for their assistance in making this experience possible.
If your district is part of the GST BOCES Distance Learning Service and you would like us to assist you with a similar classroom experience, please email us at DL@gstboces.org.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Middle School Music - Virtual Office Hours
Just a quick rave about virtual office hours :-)
Earlier this morning, Cheryl, Mary and I were able to quickly gather here at GST while Kelley, our ISC colleague, was in Watkins Glen working with the Middle School Music teacher. We were able to make excellent use of our time and thiers by using IVC for our meeting - I love this!
The music teacher is working on a project that would have his students creating a time line of significant musical and historical events - from around the 1950's on. He especially liked the timeline he found at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website. And he's interested in using that as something of a model for what his students could create. The RRHF's IVC session titled "Great Moments in Rock and Roll: Popular Music Through Decades" was of particular interest to him. Kicking off the start of the project with that connection would certainly be a great way to get the students focused on a fun and engaging learning opportunity!
Since he is planning this project for spring 2009, he's giving excellent lead time to schedule a session and perhaps even work out an opportunity to have his students present back to staff at the RRHF.
For other info on programs at RRHF you can visit http://www.rockhall.com/distancelearning/
And of course, feel free to stay in touch with us anytime: dl@gstboces.org and www.gstboces.org/iss/dl
René
Earlier this morning, Cheryl, Mary and I were able to quickly gather here at GST while Kelley, our ISC colleague, was in Watkins Glen working with the Middle School Music teacher. We were able to make excellent use of our time and thiers by using IVC for our meeting - I love this!
The music teacher is working on a project that would have his students creating a time line of significant musical and historical events - from around the 1950's on. He especially liked the timeline he found at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website. And he's interested in using that as something of a model for what his students could create. The RRHF's IVC session titled "Great Moments in Rock and Roll: Popular Music Through Decades" was of particular interest to him. Kicking off the start of the project with that connection would certainly be a great way to get the students focused on a fun and engaging learning opportunity!
Since he is planning this project for spring 2009, he's giving excellent lead time to schedule a session and perhaps even work out an opportunity to have his students present back to staff at the RRHF.
For other info on programs at RRHF you can visit http://www.rockhall.com/distancelearning/
And of course, feel free to stay in touch with us anytime: dl@gstboces.org and www.gstboces.org/iss/dl
René
Distance Learning on the GST Campus
Mary Hutz and I met with a teacher from GST BOCES, Bush Campus Building 12 today about the possibilities for the use of video conferencing in his classroom. He was concerned about the cost, but once we started to discuss ideas that involved no extra cost, he became very interested in the possibilities video conferencing had to offer his students!
We are planning a connection in March with both of his classes about how video conferencing works and how to plan for a video conference. Students will learn how to connect the equipment and how to use the remote. We plan to show the students where to locate excellent content providers, as well as low- or no-cost ideas for using video conferencing in the classroom. They will also learn how to integrate this technology into the curriculum during the 2.5 hour session.
Remember! If you have questions about ways video conferencing can be used in your own classroom, contact us! We can connect with you most any time of day by video conference, so email us and make an appointment to meet with us when it is convenient for you!
We are planning a connection in March with both of his classes about how video conferencing works and how to plan for a video conference. Students will learn how to connect the equipment and how to use the remote. We plan to show the students where to locate excellent content providers, as well as low- or no-cost ideas for using video conferencing in the classroom. They will also learn how to integrate this technology into the curriculum during the 2.5 hour session.
Remember! If you have questions about ways video conferencing can be used in your own classroom, contact us! We can connect with you most any time of day by video conference, so email us and make an appointment to meet with us when it is convenient for you!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Virtual Office Hours Example
I know I've discussed the topic of Virtual Office Hours before, but I thought it might be helpful to give an example based on a way some 5th grade teachers from Watkins Glen participated recently.
They met with us on October 22 by video conference and gave us a list of subject areas and specific topics they wanted us to research for them. They were interested in ideas for using distance learning primarily in Math and ELA.
We spent two weeks looking for video conferencing ideas that would complement their areas of focus and presented our ideas to them on November 5 by video conference.
The following is a list of some of the ideas we presented to them (I hope they are helpful to others!):
Geometry MysteryQuest – a collaborative project that could be done with 2 or more classes. Each class chooses a geometric shape and develops a list of clues to help the other class (on the other end of the connection) figure out which shape your class chose. Reveal the clues one at a time to the other class to see how many it takes before they guess correctly. To keep everyone interested and if you have time, you could break classes down into groups and each group presents their clues.
For example:
Clues:
Headquarters of the US Department of Defense in Washington, DC.
Cross-section of okra
Sum of its angles is 540 degrees
It has 5 lines of symmetry
Answer: Pentagon
MysteryQuests could be done with many topics (choose a state in the US, a country of the world, an author, a book, historical time period…)
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Math Content Provider: National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum (Problem Solving)
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Mary Hutz is working on a connection where students compare fractions, decimals, and percents.
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ELA & Math integration: Monster Match – descriptive writing activity done as a class-to-class connection – students work on directions for the other class that include very descriptive language to help the other class draw or build what they describe. Math skills can be incorporated by having students use fractions and mixed numbers along with precise measurements to help the other class as they collaborate to draw or build the monster. [It may be fun to have your class build or draw the monster first so you can compare with the other class and see how they did]
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Poetry SLAM
There is a poetry slam scheduled to start in February 2009. It is being coordinated by ONC BOCES. Fees for participation can be paid through at least Arts-In-Ed and Distance Learning CoSer monies (if approved by the district). If there is enough interest, we might also be able to create our own version of this event. If you are interested, please email us and we will send you the brochure about this opportunity! (DL@gstboces.org)
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Remember!
We have the Empire State Video Conference Collaborative coming up on December 3 & 4. E-mail us (DL@gstboces.org) if you would like the brochure about this training. Space is limited! The registration deadline is November 17th.
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Don't Forget!
CAPSpace is another resource we shared and I thought we should probably mention it here again! It's a great place to sign up to find classes that would like to collaborate with you and your students. Here's our previous post about CAPSpace.
They met with us on October 22 by video conference and gave us a list of subject areas and specific topics they wanted us to research for them. They were interested in ideas for using distance learning primarily in Math and ELA.
We spent two weeks looking for video conferencing ideas that would complement their areas of focus and presented our ideas to them on November 5 by video conference.
The following is a list of some of the ideas we presented to them (I hope they are helpful to others!):
Geometry MysteryQuest – a collaborative project that could be done with 2 or more classes. Each class chooses a geometric shape and develops a list of clues to help the other class (on the other end of the connection) figure out which shape your class chose. Reveal the clues one at a time to the other class to see how many it takes before they guess correctly. To keep everyone interested and if you have time, you could break classes down into groups and each group presents their clues.
For example:
Clues:
Headquarters of the US Department of Defense in Washington, DC.
Cross-section of okra
Sum of its angles is 540 degrees
It has 5 lines of symmetry
Answer: Pentagon
MysteryQuests could be done with many topics (choose a state in the US, a country of the world, an author, a book, historical time period…)
-----
Math Content Provider: National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum (Problem Solving)
-----
Mary Hutz is working on a connection where students compare fractions, decimals, and percents.
-----
ELA & Math integration: Monster Match – descriptive writing activity done as a class-to-class connection – students work on directions for the other class that include very descriptive language to help the other class draw or build what they describe. Math skills can be incorporated by having students use fractions and mixed numbers along with precise measurements to help the other class as they collaborate to draw or build the monster. [It may be fun to have your class build or draw the monster first so you can compare with the other class and see how they did]
-----
Poetry SLAM
There is a poetry slam scheduled to start in February 2009. It is being coordinated by ONC BOCES. Fees for participation can be paid through at least Arts-In-Ed and Distance Learning CoSer monies (if approved by the district). If there is enough interest, we might also be able to create our own version of this event. If you are interested, please email us and we will send you the brochure about this opportunity! (DL@gstboces.org)
-----
Remember!
We have the Empire State Video Conference Collaborative coming up on December 3 & 4. E-mail us (DL@gstboces.org) if you would like the brochure about this training. Space is limited! The registration deadline is November 17th.
-----
Don't Forget!
CAPSpace is another resource we shared and I thought we should probably mention it here again! It's a great place to sign up to find classes that would like to collaborate with you and your students. Here's our previous post about CAPSpace.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control IVC trainings!!
We’re at it again! Thanks to funding through the EON Project we’re again helping out with Fire Safety training in our communities.
Before his retirement, Dale Gardner was a Distance Learning expert from New York’s North Country. He is also a Fire Safety Instructor for the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. Last spring, from his Florida home, Dale instructed several classes of fire fighters in the St Lawrence - Lewis BOCES area. This was possible thanks to the Campbell-Savona School District allowing GST to utilize their IVC equipment to act as a bridge between Mr Gardner and the SLL BOCES area.
As a follow up to the success of those classes, the Canisteo-Greenwood School District will be the host site for about a dozen students in another NYS OFPC course taught by Mr Gardner. The “Incident Safety Officer” class will take place over a series of five 3-hour class meetings. Trainees will be at Canisteo-Greenwood Schools, SUNY Canton, Norwood Seaway Tech BOCES, and Edwards-Knox Schools. Since there are not enough certified Fire Safety Instructors, this excellent delivery method could well prove to be the method that allows firefighters throughout NYS to be able to access critical courses for their Fire Fighting careers.
We are especially grateful to staff at NYS OFPC, Canisteo-Greenwood Schools and St Lawrence-Lewis BOCES for their efforts in enabling this to happen – and to Mr Gardner for his persistence in promoting the use of IVC technology for the benefit of our communities!
Before his retirement, Dale Gardner was a Distance Learning expert from New York’s North Country. He is also a Fire Safety Instructor for the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. Last spring, from his Florida home, Dale instructed several classes of fire fighters in the St Lawrence - Lewis BOCES area. This was possible thanks to the Campbell-Savona School District allowing GST to utilize their IVC equipment to act as a bridge between Mr Gardner and the SLL BOCES area.
As a follow up to the success of those classes, the Canisteo-Greenwood School District will be the host site for about a dozen students in another NYS OFPC course taught by Mr Gardner. The “Incident Safety Officer” class will take place over a series of five 3-hour class meetings. Trainees will be at Canisteo-Greenwood Schools, SUNY Canton, Norwood Seaway Tech BOCES, and Edwards-Knox Schools. Since there are not enough certified Fire Safety Instructors, this excellent delivery method could well prove to be the method that allows firefighters throughout NYS to be able to access critical courses for their Fire Fighting careers.
We are especially grateful to staff at NYS OFPC, Canisteo-Greenwood Schools and St Lawrence-Lewis BOCES for their efforts in enabling this to happen – and to Mr Gardner for his persistence in promoting the use of IVC technology for the benefit of our communities!
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