Monthly Archives: December 2010

An Appeal for the K12 IVC Listserv

Take a step back with me, and consider the history of videoconference listservs, and the current state of listservs for videoconferencing.

Bottom line: Get on the K12 IVC Listserv! Here’s why…

Listserv History

For the last decade or so, we’ve had several great listservs to use to discuss videoconferencing, share ideas with each other, advertise videoconferences to each other, and share research surveys.

  • Collaboration Collage or “edvidconf”, the oldest listserv for videoconferencing
  • The K12 IVC Listserv, started by NIERTEC
  • Megaconference Listserv, mostly higher education
  • Megaconference Jr. Listserv, mostly Internet2 sites
  • TWICE listserv, mostly Michigan sites

When I did my own dissertation research survey in the spring of 2008, these were the numbers on each listserv:

  • Collaboration Collage: 2,300 subscribers
  • K12 IVC listserv: 300 subscribers
  • TWICE: 290 subscribers
  • Megaconference Jr.: 30 subscribers

You can see from this list, that the largest number of subscribers were on the Collaboration Collage listserv. When I first got started with videoconferencing in 1999-2000, I remember how much I learned on that listserv.

  • People discussed technical issues
  • Ideas were shared for providing support
  • People advertised content provider programs and collaborations
  • I remember Dan Gross’ particularly long and detailed posts to the listserv. I learned so much from those messages!

In September 2010, the Collaboration Collage listserv closed down. I don’t know if anyone else feels the loss, but I feel so sad that we may have lost contact with those 2300 people!

The K12 IVC Listserv

This listserv was born out of the 2002 K12 National Symposium of Interactive Videoconferencing. From that symposium, a listserv was created, along with a literature review, and a website with case studies. Since funding was cut for the Regional Educational Technology research organizations, these resources have all gone offline.

Thankfully CILC offered to take over this listserv and so it still exists. You can sign up here. Here’s why you should be on it:

  • It’s the last remaining place to post live real-time posted (unmoderated) announcements for K12 videoconferencing nationally and internationally.
  • It’s the last email place to discuss any issues or ask questions.
  • It’s the easiest one stop place for graduate students to ask research questions about videoconferencing. We all want research on videoconferencing, but we need to make it easy for research to be done!
  • Content providers need a place to send announcements about their programs.

But… are listservs dead?

You might be thinking that listservs are a thing of the past. It’s true that some functions of the videoconferencing listservs are no longer occurring on a listserv:

But, what about these functions:

  • How do we get research surveys on videoconferencing out to a large audience? How does a graduate student access the K12 videoconferencing community for research?
  • How do content providers advertise their programs to a wide audience? What if they want to advertise beyond just the “new” advertising that comes from VCcontentproviders.org and CILC.org? Established providers have their own email lists, but what about the new providers?
  • Can you think of others?

The K12 IVC Listserv

So, don’t you agree?! People interested in videoconferencing need to be on the K12 IVC Listserv! I am super grateful that CILC has hosted it and left it unmoderated. We need access to each other! This listserv seems to be the main way to do that.

What do YOU think? Are listservs dead? How should researchers and content providers get access to K12 videoconferencing educators??

Reading with Mrs. Claus

Pictures from the local newspaper, The Herald Palladium

“Good morning, boys and girls!” Mrs. Claus welcomes the students after they dial in for a visit.

All the students sit up straighter and wonder fills their faces!

It’s our annual Mrs. Claus week, and we have 54 classes talking to Mrs. Claus from her North Pole Studio (here in our office). Here’s how the 10-15 minute sessions go.

Chat with Mrs. Claus

After the classes dial in, Mrs. Claus chats with the students for a few minutes. For example, she might say:

  • Is Emma there today? How’s your twin brother Ezra? Has he been good this year? It’s always funny when the child says “no” that their sibling hasn’t been good.
  • Santa told me you had a snow day yesterday. Did you have a good day off?
  • Santa told me that you have a Christmas program tonight. Are you going to sing nice and loud?
  • Johnny, Santa told me you want a toy tractor. I saw a bunch of tractors down in the workshop with the elves.

Reading with Mrs. Claus

I made a Gingerbread House for Mrs. Claus' fireplace mantle this year.

Then, Mrs. Claus reads a book to the students: How Santa Got His Job. There are several spots throughout the book where she asks the students prediction questions:

  • Which animals at the zoo do you think Santa became friends with?
  • What do you think Santa cried as he flew through the air?
  • What do you think Santa saw when he went to the elves house?
  • What do you think is the problem with the polar bears pulling the sleigh?
  • What mistake are the reindeer making in this picture?

Asking Mrs. Claus Questions

After the story, Mrs. Claus takes a few questions from the students. Here’s a sampling:

  • What are the elves names? Mrs. Claus names some of the students in the class. “Oh?! Are some of those your names too?” Students love it!
  • What are Santa’s favorite cookies? Chocolate chip cookies! But he loves all types of cookies. Do you think you could write Santa a note to take some of your cookies home to me?
  • How does Santa get in your house if you don’t have a chimney? With his magic Christmas key to unlock your door.
  • What does Santa want for Christmas? He wants you all to be good so that he can give you presents. He loves to give you presents!
  • Where is Santa? We want to see him? He’s down in the workshop getting the presents finished. We don’t have a camera down there because it’s top secret! Santa doesn’t want you to know what you’re going to get for Christmas!
  • If Santa comes to my house, and I stay up all night, will he come to my house? No! Because if you were up he would talk to you. And if he talked to everyone, he’d never get done delivering all the presents!

Responses to answers are fun to hear:

  • “That’s true.”
  • “Oh, I knew that already!”
  • “I KNEW it!”
  • “Ohhhh! That makes sense.”

At the end, some classes sign to Mrs. Claus; sing a thank you song; or do a cheer for her. Classes are well prepared.

We’ve been doing these for four years now. It’s interesting that four years ago the North Pole temperature was -24F and -30F. This week it’s been -5F and -6F.

Other Mrs. Claus or Santa Videoconferences

Our Mrs. Claus sessions are only open to our schools; however, there are several content providers that offer a Mrs. Claus or Santa program.

I really like these programs – as they are an easy and fun introduction to videoconferencing and often hook teachers on videoconferencing. Then they are willing to try other curriculum-based video conferences as well.

Does Rescheduling Drive You Crazy?

Mess by WordRidden

I’m literally snowed under with the rescheduling of Holiday Hoopla videoconferences! Have you ever had so many calls get canceled? Then all of a sudden your email explodes with information about rescheduling, and it drives you nuts to make sense of it! That’s where I am now!

Here’s how I’m trying to get a handle on it:

  1. Deal with one issue at a time. It can be so overwhelming that you don’t know where to start!
  2. Read all the emails, scribbles, notes from voicemails, etc. about that videoconference to get the big picture.
  3. Email everyone involved.
  4. Write a specific short subject lineto help filter emails. I like to use the last names of the teachers in the pair.
  5. Bulleted action items in the email. Easy to scan and easy to answer.
  6. Propose a specific date & time, and give additional options (ranges).

Whew. How do you do handle rescheduling? Any other tips?

Services I Offer My Schools

Since my visit to another county last week, I’ve been reflecting anew on our videoconferencing program. Today I thought I would share a list of the videoconferencing services that I provide to our schools.

Technical

These services are included in their REMC membership.

  • Firewall. Assistance with making videoconferencing work through the firewall: ports used in VC, testing, configuration of the unit.
  • Upgrading endpoints.
  • Bridging: We bridge almost all of our schools’ calls and monitor them to make sure the connection is ok. In many cases the school doesn’t have someone who can be with the teacher during the VC.
  • Troubleshooting: We provide first line of support – help with all those things that can go wrong: cables plugged in wrong, TV on the wrong channel, hooking up the document camera, etc. Usually provided via phone and to the teacher or media aide who is trying to make it work on their own.

Training

Some of these services they pay for; others are included in their REMC membership.

  • Three online classes (which YOU can take too!). Planning Interactive Curriculum Connections (the intro class); 21st Century Communication Collaborations (hand-holding for your collaboration VC), and Supporting Teachers’ Use of Videoconferencing (for coordinators). ($100 or $150 per person depending on the length of the class).
  • Fall VC Coordinator Training offered every fall. This is for new coordinators in my schools. If I know of a change in a school, I strongly urge the principal to send someone to training. ($25 per person)
  • After school over VC workshops as needed. (FREE)
  • Just in time training as needed. Usually the day before a VC, a school calls and needs assistance with connecting the document camera, changing presets, or showing a PowerPoint. (FREE)

Programming

These services are included in the schools’ REMC membership.

  • ASK Programs. We offer our own ASK programs, and pay for our schools to participate in other ASK programs. We also purchase the books, (30 copies of chapter books; 2 copies of picture books), and make into kits that our schools can borrow to prepare for the program.
  • Collaborations. We run collaborative projects for our schools; we also support teachers in finding partners for the collaborations they want to do.
  • Other Events. We also offer programming such as Mrs. Claus interviews, Lest We Forget Veteran interviews, and other programs.
  • Content Providers. We create resources to help teachers find content provider programs: Grade Level Guides to VC (which need to be updated!); correlating programs to the Michigan Curriculum Framework, Favorite VC lists, etc. We also offer mini-grants to help pay for content provider programs (see funding below).

Funding

These services are included in REMC membership.

  • Grants for equipment. Finding and writing grants to acquire videoconferencing equipment.
  • Grants for programming. Finding funding from various sources to pay for programming.
  • Consulting. Helping schools take advantage of funding sources in their communities: foundations, PTA funds, etc.

Logistical Support

These services are also included in REMC membership.

  • Advertising. Almost weekly emails with different videoconference opportunities are emailed directly to teachers.
  • Scheduling. With few exceptions, all of the schools’ videoconferences are scheduled through us. Teachers just need to say what they want, and give us a range of dates & times they can do; and we arrange the rest. This takes a huge burden off the school staff. For one, we know all the ins & outs & procedures of the different providers. Also scheduling takes a lot of time. This saves our schools time.
  • VC Calendar and Reports. Our scheduling system also provides an online calendar that principals, tech coordinators, teachers, and VC coordinators can view to see the status of their videoconference requests. This system also provides annual reports on the use of VC in each district.
  • Advice. We also provide assistance and advice on solving school issues around using VC: placement of equipment, staffing challenges, assisting teachers when they freak out about their VC, etc.

I think that’s mostly it. What do you provide? Is there anything critical that I missed? What do you think is essential?

Snow Day Etiquette

WSBT News Reports on the Snow

Yay! Today we have a snow day! But, I had five Holiday Hoopla videoconferences and 1 Cleveland Zoo program today. As I’m thinking about those, I thought it would be good for another post on Snow Day Etiquette!

  • Warn. If you think you might have a snow day, email your partner class to let them know! Communicate!
  • Email everyone! As soon as you find out you have a snow day, email everyone involved in the VC – the teachers, the techs, the VC coordinators. Make sure everyone is in on the loop.
  • Phone! If you don’t hear back soon that they got the message about the snow day, call them!! Make sure they know that you’re not available.
  • Reschedule. As soon as possible (even in your first email!), start proposing additional specific dates & times to reschedule. Don’t let it wait too long.

And, while we’re thinking about rescheduling, here are some tips to make sure that you actually do reschedule!

  • Propose specific dates & times. Don’t just say, “Do you want to reschedule?” Of course they do! They worked hard on their presentation like you did. Skip past the fluff of the conversation. Get to the point. Give specific dates & times that you can do.
  • Multiple time zones. If you are working across time zones, give the new dates & times in both time zones. Save time on thinking and conversion for both groups as you try to reschedule. Usetimeanddate.com if you need help.
  • Follow up soon. Partners “grow cold”, just like news leads. Don’t wait too long or everyone will have moved on.

Now, it’s time to make some Christmas cookies: chocolate mint sticks. Yummy! How are you spending YOUR snow day? If you don’t have a snow day, how do you WISH you were spending it?!

Kicking Off Videoconferencing in Your Area

On Wednesday this week, I had the privilege of talking to a group of media specialists from a county in Michigan that has very little access to videoconferencing. We started brainstorming ways they could get access to standards-based videoconferencing, and that got me thinking. What pieces do they need to have in place for a successful implementation. Here’s my initial list. What would you add?

Before any videoconference happens

  • Prep the network. Make sure videoconference will work well. Get quality of service. Iron out any networking issues. Give yourself a couple months leeway to work all this out. More details on this in a new 20 day challenge in January!
  • Test! Test from multiple classrooms if it’s a mobile unit. Try it out at different times of the day, and during different levels of network traffic. Make sure it’s going to work well all the time.
  • Select a VC coordinator. This could be a teacher, media aide, technology integration specialist, or similar position. The most important characteristic for the coordinator is willingness to schedule and the ability to get along with all the teachers. This person does NOT need to be a “techie”. More info about coordinators in our service area online here.
  • Train your VC coordinator. I provide all day coordinator training for my new coordinators, and we spend the majority of the time on the content: content providers, ASK programs, and collaborations. We also spend 30 min practicing dialing and using the remote, and discuss how to hook teachers on VC.

In the first year

  • Schedule a staff meeting demonstration. Do it early in the school year. Connect to a content provider or an author (Janie Panagopoulos is a great choice!) for a taste of what students will experience. Make sure it’s not a “talking head” but an interaction like the students would experience.
  • Require the school to schedule at least five videoconferences. Try to have them with 5 different teachers.

In the continuing years

  • Keep requiring at least five VCs.
  • In the first three years, try to get at least 5 different staff members through in depth training. I require my schools in grant implementations to participate in our online classes. The schools that have had staff participate in these classes are using VC more than the others.
  • Work to make sure the school experiences all the different kinds of programs: content providers, ASK programs, and collaborations. I have some schools that are still scared of collaborations. I can’t get them to do them! But if they have a view of the wide variety of VCs they can do, they are more likely to keep using it.
  • If you lose your coordinator, send another one to training. I make sure principals assign a new VC coordinator soon in the school year so the new person gets trained.

What else? What would be on your list?

New Read Around the Planet Packets

Note: This post is written from my role as a member of the TWICE CAPspace and Read Around the Planet Committee.

Are you participating in Read Around the Planet this year?

Have you participated in the past?

Either way, be sure to get the new packets for Read Around the Planet. They’ve been majorly edited and rewritten.

  • Teacher Packet 2011: includes sample agenda, tips for preparation, ideas for different types of interaction / presentations, ideas for preparing questions and answers.
  • Coordinator Packet 2011: ideas on promoting Read Around the Planet, explanation of the timeline and process of this huge event, tips for preparation and organization, and more.

Don’t forget also these training videos:

These resources can be very helpful for first-time participants, and even useful for past participants to improve participation. Hope you can participate in Read Around the Planet this year!

Top Five Read Around the Planet Pitfalls

Image by Warning Sign Generator

Note: This post is written from my role as a member of the TWICE CAPspace and Read Around the Planet Committee.

Yesterday (December 1) registration opened for Read Around the Planet 2011. As you prepare to register, be careful of these top five Read Around the Planet pitfalls.

5. Procrastinate until the last minute.

  • Verification ends January 7.
  • Teacher registration ends January 13.
  • Don’t wait till the last minute.

Especially if this is your first year, it takes a little time to get your account set up, get your equipment entered, have a test call with one of our faithful RAP Verification Partners. THEN, you can register teachers. Give yourself some time and get verification done NOW!

4. Don’t plan any time in February to make it happen.

Here’s what happens in February:

  • Test calls with each partner class. 20 registrations = 20 different places to connect with! Fun, but it takes time to test!
  • Teachers need to contact each other and discuss the interactive agenda.
  • Any problems or issues that arise need to be solved.

Plan some time for these activities!

3. Be inflexible.

Some connections will have to be rescheduled due to weather, illness, or other unforeseeable events. If you have to reschedule, be kind and understanding. Read more on preparing yourself mentally for RAP.

2. Enter only one registration for multiple sections.

Let’s say your 6th grade teacher needs 5 partners for her 5 sections. Then, you need five registrations. A common mistake is to only do one registration. Then you only get one partner.

One registration = one partner class.

Here’s how it could look:

  • Registration A: Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 8:00 am
  • Registration B: Tuesday or Thursday at 9:00 am
  • Registration C: Monday, Wed, or Friday at 10:00 am
  • Registration D: Tuesday or Thursday at 12:00 noon
  • Registration E: Monday, Tues, Wed, or Friday at 1:00 pm

You know your situation, but enter all the dates a teacher can do for that class period.

1. And the all time, most common and problematic pitfall: Enter only one date & time for your registration.

What’s the likelihood of an exact match when you only enter one day & time? What if there aren’t any other 4th grade classes that chose that time? You’d think with 1950 classes participating, it wouldn’t be a problem, but it still is! Situations that are particularly hard to match include:

  • Only one date & time late in the afternoon
  • Only one date & time and any language (only about 100-150 classes participate in a language other than English each year)
  • Schools that book the RAP dates solid, but each class has only one date & time (these are especially hard to match)

Trust the matching system to make sure you don’t have two RAP connections scheduled at the same time. It checks!!

Enter ALL the dates and times each teacher can do!

So, now, what are you waiting for?! Go register for Read Around the Planet!

Follow me on Twitter to get the daily totals of RAP registrations. Did you know that NY hopes to beat TX this year and AB is planning to beat ON again?

Why You Should Participate in Read Around the Planet 2011

Note: This post is written from my role as a member of the TWICE CAPspace and Read Around the Planet Committee.

Today (December 1) registration opens for Read Around the Planet 2011.

To prepare, let’s consider top ten reasons to participate in Read Around the Planet 2011

10. You want to celebrate reading!

Many classes participating in RAP are celebrating one of these events:

  • Dr. Seuss’ Birthday (March 2)
  • World Book Day (March 5)
  • March is Reading Month

9. You have new VC equipment and need help getting started.

Many first-timers use Read Around the Planet to kick-start their videoconference program.

If it’s your first time, though, don’t sign up 20 teachers! That’s 20 test calls! You’ll go crazy! Start with 5 teachers!

8.You want to expand your videoconference network.

Random matches with lots of different schools means you meet lots of people! The more people you know, the more videoconferences you can do! From your RAP partners, you’ll find some great VC buddies that you can continue to collaborate with in the future.

7. You need a free videoconference.

Participation in Read Around the Planet remains free thanks to sponsorship from Polycom. You do not even need TWICE membership! Anyone with standards-based (H.323) videoconferencing can participate!

6. You want your students to practice another language.

This year’s languages are: English, English as a Second Language, French, Spanish.

Note that language matches may not be at the same grade level.  You have a high chance of matching with native Spanish speakers in Texas; and a pretty good chance of matching with another Canadian French class.

Another option is Special Education, which isn’t another language, obviously, but allows us to match Special Education classes with each other.

5. You don’t want the hassle of finding your own partner.

Let’s face it, sometimes it’s really a pain to find a partner class. What if you need 20 partner classes!? RAP manages all that for you. Just sign up! When partners are announced in late January, you’ll have all their contact information, a date & time, and even their IP address!

4. You want to connect to more schools outside your district/region/state/province.

There are lots of schools from different places participating in RAP. The highest participation is consistently from MI, TX, and NY, with PA not far behind.

We match automatically outside your state. You’ll only get an in-state match if we cannot get a match for you any other way. Last year only 26 (out of 1950) classes were matched with their same state. The way to reduce this possibility is to make sure you register with as many dates & times as you can possibly do. The more dates & times you give, the less your chances of being in the “leftover” hard-to-match pile! But we work really hard to match those too!

3. You want to learn best practices in videoconferencing.

From last year’s survey, participants learned a lot from their partner classes!

Participants learned from each other:

  • new ideas for presentations (79%)
  • new ways to interact via videoconferencing (52%)
  • new ideas for using videoconferencing in their curriculum (34%)
  • and new ways to use their videoconferencing system with camera presets and visuals (25%).

Sometimes, also, you learn what NOT to do! But be patient with your partner; they might be new to VC!

2. You want to address the 21st Century Learning Skills of Communication and Collaboration.

What better way to practice presenting, communicating, speaking slowly and clearly, than with another class! An authentic audience is very motivating to students!

Some classes extend from communication to collaboration. How about writing a collaborative story via email or wiki ahead of time? Then act it out during the VC!

1. It’s fun and exciting to be part of a huge event!

Last year, 1950 classes and 45,000 students participated from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, United States and United Kingdom. Will you help us hit 2000 classes this year?! Maybe 2010 classes for the 10th year of RAP?!

Are YOU ready to participate in Read Around the Planet 2011?!