Today, students from Ms. Ditzell and Mr. Burd's 8th grade English and Social Studies classes interacted with teachers by video conference during a session of the TxDLA 2010 Conference.
According to their website, the "TxDLA is a nonprofit association formed to promote the development and application of all forms of distance learning and to implement effective distance learning strategies for Texans and other distance learning practitioners of the global community." The TxDLA Conference is a national conference held in Houston, TX for educators and distance learning professionals.
Listen to Ken Conn teach the breakout session at the conference in which the Prattsburgh students participated.
Despite the fact that we tested the call shortly before the session, we experienced some technical difficulties. The students waited patiently and finally we were able to connect with the educators in Texas.
In February, the students participated in a session with Cleveland Museum of Art about the Harlem Renaissance. They had a chance to share that and then the students played a game of Win, Lose or Draw with the participants in Texas.
I think the Win, Lose or Draw game would be an excellent game to play in a collaborative video conference with content-related vocabulary words, phrases, historic locations, parts of speech, etc.
Thanks to Ken Conn for inviting me to share educational video conference opportunities happening at GST BOCES and around New York State, and for giving students in our region a chance to interact with educators at a national conference. It was a great experience and it is very much appreciated!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
5th Grade Poetry Partners
If you are an intermediate teacher (grades 4-6) looking for a fun collaborative video conference project, try this one: "Puzzled with Poetry?" This teacher needs a partner class to connect with them on March 25 at 11AM.
The teacher who is doing this project plans to teach 4 styles of poetry using a winter theme. After teaching each style the teacher will have her students type their work, edit and turn in final copies.
Next her students will choose their favorite style of poetry and create a rubric to help identify the unique styles of each poem. Her ultimate goal is to collaborate with another class through video-conferencing.
She wants her students to teach another class the unique features of 4 different poetry styles through video-conferencing. They will end the video conference session with a round of poems to be identified with our viewers.
She is looking for a grade 5 partner class (I'm sure grades 4 or 6 would work, too).
If you are interested, you can find the contact information for this collaborative IVC, check out CAPSpace: http://tinyurl.com/yclrby2
Or contact us! DL@gstboces.org
The teacher who is doing this project plans to teach 4 styles of poetry using a winter theme. After teaching each style the teacher will have her students type their work, edit and turn in final copies.
Next her students will choose their favorite style of poetry and create a rubric to help identify the unique styles of each poem. Her ultimate goal is to collaborate with another class through video-conferencing.
She wants her students to teach another class the unique features of 4 different poetry styles through video-conferencing. They will end the video conference session with a round of poems to be identified with our viewers.
She is looking for a grade 5 partner class (I'm sure grades 4 or 6 would work, too).
If you are interested, you can find the contact information for this collaborative IVC, check out CAPSpace: http://tinyurl.com/yclrby2
Or contact us! DL@gstboces.org
Monday, March 15, 2010
Physical Education & IVC
Amy Spath from CNY-RIC just gave us an excellent idea for physical education teachers - students can learn about and do different styles of dance through video conferencing.
Amy shared a content provider with us that she is using with teachers in her region called the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center.
They offer a variety of sessions on different styles of dance, including Capoiera, Tango, Mexican Hat Dance, Hip Hop, African dance, and other forms of dance.
If you are interested in learning more about the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center and the video conference sessions they offer, visit their list of sessions in CILC.
If you have questions, please let us know! DL@gstboces.org
Thanks for the great idea, Amy!
Amy shared a content provider with us that she is using with teachers in her region called the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center.
They offer a variety of sessions on different styles of dance, including Capoiera, Tango, Mexican Hat Dance, Hip Hop, African dance, and other forms of dance.
If you are interested in learning more about the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center and the video conference sessions they offer, visit their list of sessions in CILC.
If you have questions, please let us know! DL@gstboces.org
Thanks for the great idea, Amy!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Twitter & Distance Learning
Have you ever considered developing your own Professional Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter as a place to seek out collaborative IVC project partners and content provider sessions?
Quite often, if I'm stuck for ideas, I will send out a question to the Twitterverse and I'll usually end up with more information than I might have found on my own, in a fraction of the time!
Setting up a Twitter account is easy, though there are several things to think about if you want to become a Twit like me :-)
1. I think it is helpful to enlist the help of someone who has been using Twitter for a while to introduce you to other educators who are worthwhile tweeters.
2. Visit Twitter4Teachers to see about adding educators to your PLN from around the world!
3. There is a lot of spam on Twitter! If you make it a habit to block people who follow you that are not educators or family and friends, it can help.
4. Never open a direct message (DM) or a hyperlink in a direct message unless you are certain who it is from.
5. Remember, it is good Twitter etiquette to retweet something someone else said by typing RT and then copy/paste what they said into your status update box (then click UPDATE).
Some excellent educators and video conference people I follow on Twitter: @outonalim, @whirlidurb, @AmySpath, @cmollerstuen, and @bethstill. For other great educators to follow, you can visit my Twitter page: http://twitter.com/cheryltice
If you would like us to help you set up a Twitter account, we'd be happy to help!
Contact us! DL@gstboces.org
Do you have Twitter tips that might be helpful to those just starting out? Please comment and share your ideas!
Quite often, if I'm stuck for ideas, I will send out a question to the Twitterverse and I'll usually end up with more information than I might have found on my own, in a fraction of the time!
Setting up a Twitter account is easy, though there are several things to think about if you want to become a Twit like me :-)
1. I think it is helpful to enlist the help of someone who has been using Twitter for a while to introduce you to other educators who are worthwhile tweeters.
2. Visit Twitter4Teachers to see about adding educators to your PLN from around the world!
3. There is a lot of spam on Twitter! If you make it a habit to block people who follow you that are not educators or family and friends, it can help.
4. Never open a direct message (DM) or a hyperlink in a direct message unless you are certain who it is from.
5. Remember, it is good Twitter etiquette to retweet something someone else said by typing RT and then copy/paste what they said into your status update box (then click UPDATE).
Some excellent educators and video conference people I follow on Twitter: @outonalim, @whirlidurb, @AmySpath, @cmollerstuen, and @bethstill. For other great educators to follow, you can visit my Twitter page: http://twitter.com/cheryltice
If you would like us to help you set up a Twitter account, we'd be happy to help!
Contact us! DL@gstboces.org
Do you have Twitter tips that might be helpful to those just starting out? Please comment and share your ideas!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)