PreK Teacher Meeting by Video Conference

This year, it was my goal to get at least one of my Distance Learning districts to use video conferencing for meetings about topics other than video conferencing.

I am going to meet with some preschool teachers by video conference today. It's kind of exciting because we are meeting about a web site and collaborative drive they are going to use. They want help figuring it all out.

Since I couldn't be there in person today, I suggested a video conference meeting. They bravely agreed to participate that way.

They want to learn how to use the district's new collaborative drive, so I will be able to show them my computer screen by switching my video source to my computer while I demonstrate how to make folders and save there.

I will also show them their new website of early childhood resources and how to add hyperlinks to it.

How do you use video conferencing with educators?

Hornell DL Overview

We are doing an overview of the GST Distance Learning Service for Hornell elementary teachers today. We'll be talking about ways to use video conferencing in the classroom; IVC projects offered around NYS; content providers we enjoy; etc. Then we will connect with the Cleveland Museum of Art to talk about programs that they offer and to answer teachers' questions.

Would you like us to do a presentation for your staff? Let us know! DL @ gstboces . org

Developing Online Training about IVC

I am getting ready to develop some online training about video conferencing for educators. I've noticed that participation in live trainings has been steadily decreasing during this school year. We cancelled several of the classes planned for this year.

I know that I will develop an Intro to Video Conferencing class, but I'm still trying to decide topics for other online classes. My goal is to develop 3 classes and have them ready to roll out at the beginning of the next school year (less than 3 months away!)

Do you have suggestions? Where should I focus my time, so I can concentrate on classes people want most?

VC Etiquette: Multi-site Muting

Tip: If you are in a multi-site video conference, you should keep your site muted unless you are presenting to the whole group. This will reduce distractions and help the other sites focus on the site that is presenting.

Have you done video conferencing before?

If you haven't, ask for help! Find someone who will do an introduction to video conferencing for you and your class by video conference. This will give you a chance to play with the equipment before connecting with a content provider or with a collaborative IVC partner.

If you need assistance, let us know! We do a video conference intro session for students and teachers.

DL@gstboces.org

Tellebration Celebration on Saturday, November 20

Saturday, November 20, is Tellabration Day -- A Day of of Storytelling Celebrated World-wide!

( www.tellabration.org , led by the USA's National Storytelling Network).

Eric Miller is based in Chennai (on India's southeast coast),where he directs the World Storytelling Institute, and they are just beginning the Chennai Storytelling Association there. In Mumbai, they are also starting a Storytelling Association.

The World Storytelling Institute is wondering if there are people (adults and/or children) at a videoconferencing site in the USA who might like to videoconference with people Chennai and Mumbai on Tellabration Day -- just to tell and listen to stories (fairytales and other folktales), in English. This would be for 60-90 minutes, in the early part of the day on that Saturday (USA time).

This 3-way videoconference would be facilitated by Reliance Communications, a large Indian telecom company.

If interested, please reply to , or if you are in the GST Region, please let us know if you're interested and we'll pass the word along.

I wanted to share this with all of you to see if we can get groups of interested people to respond to this request. It sounds like fun, but remember, it does take place on a Saturday and it is only a week and a half away!

Custom CILC Catalog

Have you ever tried to create a custom catalog in CILC? I'm betting that there are some smarties out there who already know how to do this, but for those who don't, I have created a brief handout to help you.

Why is this helpful? If teachers ask for video conferences on a specific topic, creating a custom catalog in CILC will allow you to gather content providers and collaborative projects on that topic into one place to share with that teacher. A teacher could create their own custom catalog and keep a copy in the folder with that unit of study...

Do you use a feature in the CILC database, or another video conferencing database, that might come in handy for others? Please share by commenting on this post!

Virtual Office Hours & Upcoming GST Trainings

It's been quite some time since I've been able to blog about distance learning and I've missed it!

I want to take the opportunity to remind everyone that we can schedule virtual office hours, so we can meet and talk about video conferencing strategies, and help you learn how the equipment works. Email us and let's set up a time to talk about ways video conferencing can enhance your curriculum, or get you started with the equipment!

We also have some trainings that are coming up in the near future:

Intro to Video Conferencing for Educators:

Date: 10/18/2010
Time: 8-11am OR 12-3pm
Location: GST Bush Campus #11, Large Conference Room


Effective IVC Meetings for Administrators:

Date: 11/4/2010
Time: 8:30-9:30am OR 3:30-4:30pm
Location: done by video conference
(We will send the IP address for the conference with your reminder email)


This year you can register for our courses by visiting the Classes page on our DL website. Check out the presentation at the top for descriptions of our classes. Then click the links next to the date and time to fill out the registration form.

If you have questions, please let us know!

DL@gstboces.org

Jazz Presentation: Teacher Testimonials

Yesterday, Rene and I facilitated a Teacher Testimonial session as part of a national video conference training called Jazzing Up Your Curriculum with Video Conferencing. "Jazz" is a 5-day training where teachers are immersed in video conferencing techniques, sessions, and strategies. Visit the link to learn more about it!

Three teachers from our region (Watkins, Spencer-Van Etten, Elmira Heights) and one from Lamar CISD in Texas were part of the panel of video conferencing experts who shared their knowledge with the participants in the Jazz training.

During the first 3 days of the training, teachers were encouraged to keep track of questions that they wanted answered during our session on Thursday afternoon. The questions the teachers prepared for our fine panel of experts were very thoughtful and our teacher-experts did an excellent job answering the them.

We hope that hearing how actual classroom teachers use IVC will encourage the participants to value and use this technology in their own areas of expertise. It's well worth the effort!

Thanks to the Jazz Facilitators for giving us the opportunity to facilitate this session in June and July! We're hoping to offer this awesome training in our region again in the future!

End of Year Meetings with Districts

We are getting ready to do end of the year meetings with our districts. It's been a busy year and we want to make sure we keep busy into the new school year. Mary Hutz and I sat down on Friday afternoon to brainstorm some questions to ask our districts, to help structure our meetings, so we can gather the information we need.

I thought I'd share the questions to see what you think and if any of you have other questions you think we should ask:

1. How does the district encourage the use of video conferencing? How can we help?

2. Who are the advocates for video conferencing in your district? How do they spread the word about trainings, GST support, info from our team, etc.?

3. What goals would you like to set for video conferencing for your district next year?

4. What is your method for scheduling video conferences for your district? Is it working? If not, how can we help you streamline it?

5. What types of IVC training would you like to see us provide for your district? How will you encourage your teachers to attend?

6. Could we be part of curriculum planning in the district?

7. Do you have questions or suggestions to help us improve our service to your district?

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We are looking forward to wrapping up the school year and planning for the coming year. What do you think of these questions? Do you have suggestions for other questions that will help us gain the most useful information from each of our district visits? Please comment and let us know!

Planning Ahead for IVC

Nothing beats planning ahead when you're thinking about using video conferencing with your students.

If you've never used video conferencing, please schedule time to meet with us so we can help you learn the basics for using the equipment (muting the microphone, zooming the camera in and out, camera presets, etc.).

We are also available to help you locate excellent content providers and fun collaborative projects that integrate with your curriculum.

It is usually best to plan content provider sessions at LEAST 2 weeks in advance, but 3-4 weeks is even better. Some content providers are booked months in advance, such as MOTE Marine Lab. They are a fantastic content provider, but teachers often miss out on the opportunity to work with them because they did not plan far enough in advance.

When planning for collaborative projects, you must be willing to establish a system of frequent communication with teachers who are doing the project with you (email, meetings by video conference...). There is nothing more important than communicating with collaborative partners to make sure everything is planned thoroughly and will be as successful as possible.

If you don't know where to start, please contact us! DL@gstboces.org

Presenting by Video Conference

Janine Lim made a Twitter post recently that caught my attention:

@outonalim: "red writing on blue slides looks awful on VC #vctips - don't use red fonts!!"

She makes an excellent point, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about IVC best practices...

A. Wardrobe

Pay attention to the clothes you choose to wear during a video conference. Solid, darker colors work well. Avoid stripes and busy patterns because they can cause distractions and affect the quality of video you send to other locations.


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B. Multimedia presentations

If you are showing a multimedia presentation by video conference, please make sure you do the following:

* Use fonts that are as large as possible (at least 36pt font)

* High contrast colors are best (white font on a dark blue or black background works very well)

* Keep it concise

* Try using a tool like Prezi.com to create your presentation instead of PowerPoint, for a little something different

* Use images or a short video, instead of words, to get your point across

* Employ the 5x5 rule: 5 (or fewer) words per line, 5 (or fewer) lines on a slide


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C. Other Visuals

If students make posters, remind them to write large enough so it is easy to read over the connection. Show them how their posters will look over a video conference connection by using Self-view on your VC system. Hold up the posters and see how they look on the screen. Are they easy to read?

A document camera is another way to show visuals. Students can write clues on paper and use the document camera to display them. Sharing objects with the document camera allows you to zoom in to get a better look.


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D. The Numbers

If you're looking for maximum interactivity during your video conferences, work with a regular class size and avoid including multiple classes at one IVC location.

Most content providers request class sizes of around 25-30 or fewer, unless you make other arrangements with them in advance. It's much more fun for the students if everyone has a chance or two to speak during a video conference. More kids = fewer chances to speak.

For collaborative projects, limit the number of classes that participate, so students can share their work more effectively and thoughtfully.


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E. Variety

If you are doing a collaborative video conference project, be sure to plan a nice variety of activities to keep your video conference engaging and interactive.

Check out this awesome booklet called Planning Kid2Kid Video Conference Connections, by Janine Lim, Arnie Comer, and Roxanne Glaser for collaborative IVC ideas.

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Do you have other tips for presenting by video conference? Or do you have questions about curriculum-based video conferencing? Please let us know!

DL@gstboces.org

Careers and Distance Learning

I know that many schools like to do a Career Day to help students explore a variety of careers. There are several video conferencing opportunities that I wanted to bring to your attention in case you were planning a Career Day for your school:

MOTE Marine Lab: Marine Careers (grades 5-12) - be sure to call them months in advance!

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History: CSI: The Experience (5-12)

NASA Careers (5-8)

Pro Football Hall of Fame: Careers in the NFL (5-12)

San Francisco Giants: The Team Behind the Team (9-12)

Space Center Houston: Aerospace Careers (9-12)

Cleveland Museum of Art: Museum Careers (9-12)

Cleveland Institute of Music: Careers in Music (9-12)

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Make sure to contact the content providers well in advance (particularly MOTE Marine Lab) and let them know exactly what you want them to do. Here are some questions you might ask:

• The grade levels that will participate
• How many students will participate at a time, or if it will be a kiosk where people will drop by
• How long you plan to connect to the content provider
• What you would like for them to talk about during the connection

Please let us know if you have questions, or if you have some suggestions for worthwhile Career Day VLE's that you've done in the past.

DL@gstboces.org

Grade 1 Distance Learning Intro Session

I offered a DL Intro session for some Addison first graders on Friday afternoon and thought I'd share so you can see if you would like to schedule one for your class.

What a fun group! I asked if any of them had done video conferencing before. I thought it was neat that several students had already done some form of IVC. One had done a connection in Kindergarten where the class connected to students in another location. Another girl in the class had used Skype to visit online with a relative.

During these connections, I always talk a little bit about the equipment and how it works with the students. We learn about video conference etiquette and play a game of Simon Says to practice what we learned, and to get the "wiggles" out - it's hard sitting for so long when you're 6 or 7! Then we wrap up with a game of "Picture This" using vocabulary words the teacher sends me, and they get to ask me some questions about video conferencing. It all takes about a half hour.

I'm always impressed by how well the students behave and by the questions they ask. They wanted to know how they were able to see me and how I could see them. We talked about the cameras and microphones and how all of that is connected to the internet. They asked how they could see my computer during the games, so I showed them the wire that connects my computer to the camera.

We talked about how the top of the Tandberg remote control was a little like a TV remote - instead of changing channels, it can change from the main camera to other things like my computer. I also showed them the number pad on the remote and we talked about how it acts like a cell phone - by dialing the right number and pressing the green button, we can call and talk to anyone with similar equipment. On a humorous note, they also asked if they could visit my house (perhaps they meant my office?) and another student asked if I was a principal. That one made me chuckle! :-)

This first grade class is getting ready for a video conference with another class in Hawaii and they are so excited about it. I was glad to have the opportunity to help them prepare for the event.

I am doing several more DL Intro's in April and May. If you would like to schedule a Distance Learning Intro for your class, please let us know! DL@gstboces.org

Prattsburgh Students Interact with TX Teachers

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!

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

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!

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!

Elementary Collaborative IVC Training for GST Teachers

Are you an elementary teacher (Prek-5) and want to learn how to create collaborative video conference projects? Would you like to know where to find collaborative IVC partners? If so, you are invited to attend our training:

Title: Kid-2-Kid VC Projects for Elementary Teachers
Date: March 26
Time: 8a-3p
Choose a location: GST Bush Campus #11 (Elmira) or Dormann Library (Bath)

Register here: http://collaborativeivc.wikispaces.com/REGISTER
Registration deadline: March 8, 2010

* Learn about a variety of collaborative video conference projects

* Meet and collaborate with participants from the Syracuse area by video conference

* Explore CILC.org, CAPSpace, and Web 2.0 tools that can help you locate and plan collaborative IVC projects

* Create and post a collaborative project to CAPSpace

Please follow your district's policies when signing up for training. Thank you!

Math and Video Conferencing

I guess it's been a while since I've posted something, but I just finished an email and think it's worthwhile to share some strategies that Shawn Ward and I came up with for a middle school math teacher in one of our districts:

1. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame offer some math related sessions that Stephanie Vandelinder might find helpful for her students.

2. NASA has some math-related sessions:
http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/catalog/details/?cid=521 (moon math)
http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/catalog/details/?cid=292 (rations & proportions)
http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/catalog/details/?cid=600 (line-up with math)
http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/catalog/details/?cid=286 (simple machines)

3. You could find experts in different math-related fields who might present how they use math in their jobs (i.e., software engineer, computer programmer, statistician, restaurant manager, architect…). Here is what Shawn said to me: the teacher… "should evaluate her whole yearly plans, and see where she can fit people in at the end of the chapter and where she can successfully implement a project in there that the kids could work on independently while she covers the critical points needed for the chapter. I think that, in math anyways, project based learning is pretty critical to keeping their interests." (and I think that’s essential in any subject, too!)

4. Collaborative Projects:
a. Quiz Bowls (students develop questions about math to share in a game show format)

b. Monster Match (Students could create a drawing or 3 dimensional shape and write specific directions for how to create their monster. Then they would share their directions with the other class and see how close the come to recreating the monster. This could get pretty picky, they could use formulas, require students to measure specific angles and use specific shapes in the creation of the monster to help the other class recreate it as close to the original as possible.)

c. Shawn had another idea: "… one topic that math teachers in geometry teach is congruent triangles. I used to do a project with my kids in Watkins where I gave them each 20 sticks, they had to create a bridge and include congruent sets of each classification of triangles and keep the weight under 2 lbs (glue was crazy). They had to sketch out their plans on graph paper, then prove to the class that they met the requirements, and then we tested their strengths and the winners of each class I bought lunch for. I introduced this project at the beginning of the unit and gave them the course of the unit to do the work. What I didn't do, but would love to, would be to have a structural engineer and architect videoconference at the end of the unit to show what they did was relevant."

Email us if you'd like us to research IVC ideas for you: DL@gstboces.org

Do you have ideas for ways IVC could integrate into the math classroom? I'd love to hear your comments!