Monthly Archives: January 2007

RAP World Language Leftovers

As you probably know, I’m helping Sue Porter, TWICE’s Read Around the Planet Coordinator, with some the RAP work. We’re trying to finish up the leftovers. The World Language event this year had 66 requests and 53 of them ended up in the leftover pile (i.e. no perfect matches). We’re making progress on dealing with these, but there are a few areas where we can’t get anyone at all.

So here’s my list. If you have a teacher who could do any of these connections, please email Sue at twicerap@comcast.net with teacher name, email, building phone number and which one you can do. Reference the # please. Also we much prefer buildings already verified if at all possible.

  • German, Alberta, March 9, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, or 2:00 Mountain Time. (Add1 for CST; add 2 for EST).
  • Ukrainian, Alberta, March 9, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 12:30, 1:00, or 1:30 Mountain Time. (Add1 for CST; add 2 for EST).
  • Ukrainian, Alberta, March 9, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, or 2:00 Mountain Time. (Add1 for CST; add 2 for EST).
  • Hebrew, Alberta, March 9, 12:30, 1:00, or 1:30 Mountain Time. (Add1 for CST; add 2 for EST). (I’m sure they’d be flexible if morning is better for you.)
  • Latin, Michigan, anyday, 10:00 Eastern. (Subtract 1 for CST; subtract 2 for MT).

Thank you in advance if you can help us with any of these!!!!!

For next year we need a lot more classes to make this idea work!

Snow Days & Test Calls

What lengths will you go to in order to make an international connection work? This morning I woke up to a snow day. After checking to see which of my schools are closed (all of them in Berrien County), I checked my email. There waiting in my inbox was an email from India regarding a test call for MysteryQuest International. Thanks to the magic of Qlock, I could look down at the time for Bangalore and realize they wanted to test in 10 minutes. Thankfully I have a desktop endpoint at home and I can web into my bridge. So voila, magical, successful test call.

I also met this morning with Roxanne Glaser to help get some classes for RAP leftovers. Our furnace fan motor is out too so I’m home in one warm room of the house. Roxanne thought I looked so funny I should put a pic up. So here it is. All bundled up and VCing.

The first snow picture is out the window of the back porch. Ok, back to work on the RAP leftovers. Unfortunately there’s quite a few. It may be the end of the week before you get your matches.

NY & TX Mini-Jazz

Roxanne Glaser and I aren’t the only ones modifying the Jazzing Up Your Curriculum workshop format for a during-the-school-year format. Andrea Israeli and Ashton Graham are doing weekend sessions. Check out Andrea’s description of the first session so far. It’s cool to see this workshop format morph into smaller workshops with the same effect. Thanks for blogging about it Andrea!!

International Wolf Center

Today Chikaming Elementary connected to the International Wolf Center for their program Wolf Tales. After a tour of the wolf center (6 remote cameras to see them live), the session focuses in on several books about wolves.

For example, students identify what things the wolf does in the story that makes us feel he is bad, or they identify the fiction in the story.

Finally the program ended with a time for students to ask questions. This is a great new provider! Check them out if you haven’t visited yet!

Recorded ASK Training

I just finished recording my general ASK training from this evening. This covers the ASK programs available to our teachers, how to prepare for an ASK program, the ASK video done by Macomb ISD, and includes practice actually participating in an ASK program.

Here’s the streaming link.

Handouts referenced are:

Feel free to use this in your own VC workshops. Be sure to give credit to Macomb ISD and Dr. Raymond Kettel.

The Coolest VC Training Ever

Ok, I just finished the coolest training with Roxanne Glaser, ESC 12 in Waco, TX. Roxanne and I participated in the 123 VC Jazzing Up Your Curriculum with VC workshop last summer. We both have K-2 buildings wondering what the best use of videoconferencing is for their grade levels.

So we adapted the Jazz format to 1.5 hours! Tonight we connected 6 K-2 schools with 4-8 teachers at each site. 3 Michigan schools and 3 Texas schools.

We started right off with introductions. Every school did a cool introduction with the components we required: school name, location, mascot, weather/climate, and a unique town tidbit. They were really creative with songs, costumes and chants. Teachers who hadn’t done VC yet were on camera having fun!

Next we had several teachers share the videoconferences they had participated in before so the new teachers could hear the possibilities.

Then we really got into the fun part. We gave teachers 10 minutes to brainstorm some potential projects. They made a huge letter poster with the school name, topic, time & time zone, grade, and the preferred month. In the picture you can see the posters with the ideas. Then we did a round robin sharing the ideas, and then sharing which ones the teachers wanted to do. Voila! In about 45 minutes we had 10-15 project ideas and partners! Incredible! More later as we implement and move forward.

ASK Jim Stovall Training

Yesterday evening we had the training for the ASK Ultimate Gift Videoconference coming up in March. This is “ASK Deluxe” with the ASK process plus blogging. You can read about past ASK Ultimate Gift programs and view the December 14 session.

The training has been archived on the Polycom RSS (on loan to BCISD from Polycom for events like this one).

Arizona Memorial Museum Association

Today a Galien Alternative High School history class is talking to Pearl Harbor survivors at the Arizona Memorial Museum Association. Students listen to the stories of World War II Veterans who were at Pearl Harbor, and then they take some time to ask questions. The stories of the veterans were interspersed with historical photos and artifacts. This is an incredible experience for history students. Visually rich, riveting stories, personal interviews. And free! Really free! They only have access to ISDN, and they prefer to call out to us! This was our first time connecting to the Arizona Memorial Museum and we definitely will be connecting again.

I imagine though, that if you want to connect on Dec. 7, you have to schedule WAY in advance! In addition, due to the 5 hour time difference between EST and Hawaii time, you’ll have to be flexible and willing to connect later in the day.

I think it’s really important, especially when students are interviewing veterans, to teach them to be a good respectful listening audience, and to thank the veterans for their service. In our previous videoconferences with our local veterans, they really appreciate those gestures from the students.

So try out this content provider if you haven’t yet!

Still Room in Upcoming Events: ASK & MysteryQuest

TWICE ASK Sesssions
Join us for an ASK author interview. It is the best bargain in town. No here else will your children have a chance to speak personally with the uthor of the book they just read and all for only $70.00 or $35.00 for TWICE members. Go to http://www.twice.cc/ASK/index.htm for registration and to learn more about the ASK Program.

February 8 EST
Openings in 10:45-11:45 am and 12:45-1:45
Sue Stauffacher
Bessie Smith and the Night Riders
Best for Grade 5
Based on an event that took place in 1927 as seen through the eyes of young Emmarene. Bessie Smith, a blues singer, is performing when several Ku Klux Klan members try to collapse the tent. Bessie confronts the men, and sends them packing.

February 13 EST
Openings in 10:45-11:45 am and 12:45-1:45
Ethel Footman Smothers
Hard Times Jar
Best for Grade 3
Emma, the daughter of a poor migrant family knows that money from the hard times jar can’t be used to buy her a real book. So, she draws her own. Find out if she ever gets a “store-bought” book.

March 21 EST
Openings in 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Sue Stauffacher
Wireman Comic
“Wireman” comic series is designed to meet a need for literature that appeals to late, reluctant and non-English speaking readers.  It focuses on the 100 most common words in the English language-they make up 50% of all written English.

Openings in 10:45-11:45 am and 12:45-1:45
Harry Sue
11-year-old Harry Sue Clotkin, has no greater ambition than to get thrown in the slammer and be reunited with her incarcerated mother, who, like her father, is in prison. Unfortunately for Harry Sue, she has a heart, and it is not the cold heart of a criminal.

MysteryQuests
I still have room in MysteryQuest World coming up in February (middle school) and also in MysteryQuest USA (5th grade) for April. Click the links for details and registration.  Everyone welcome. IP or ISDN!