Category Archives: Videoconferencing

Day 6: 5 Steps to Maximize Your Collaborations

Guest blogged by Roxanne Glaser

Last week, we began our challenge with how to participate in a project that has some support. This week, we will continue to focus on the Collaborations Around the Planet site, but focus on teacher-created collaborations.

Collaborations begin with an idea from a teacher. Be specific when entering your collaboration so that you will not have to email so much to establish a partnership. Videoconference collaborations can be more than just visiting with a guest speaker. Use the projects booklet to increase the educational value of your connections.

Step 1: Contact Information
Make sure that your name, email, phone number, and organization show correctly from your profile. (In CAPspace, go to My Profile to see what it looks like.)

Step 2: Create an Accurate Title
If you can be creative AND accurate that is great. Do not use special characters in it.
Example: Little House in the Big Woods Discussion

Step 3: Detailed-ish Description
You can create a collaboration from a template for a detailed plan, but the best way to start is simple. Here is an example.

Looking for a class in Wisconsin! My teacher is reading the book “Little House in the Big Woods” and would love to connect with a class in Wisconsin.

Just a few quick ideas for the video conference:

1) Sharing Favorite Day (of the week) Paragraphs (activity based on Ch. 2 Little House in the Big Woods when Laura shares her favorite days of the week,

2) Sharing Favorite Character Paragraphs (we usually do these when we are almost done with the book so that they have read several things about the characters in order to have a basis for their choice),

3) Compare and Contrast weather conditions in November in Texas and Wisconsin,

4) Sharing stories of how their imagination got the best of them (Ex. seeing/hearing something that wasn’t really there) (Based on Ch. 6 when Pa thinks he sees a bear because he had been thinking about them the whole time he was going in to town).

If you have an interested teacher, email rglaser@esc12.net.

Looking forward to working with you!

Step 4: Date Range
Instead of being completely open-ended add some specifics.
Example: November 16-20 any time beginning at 8:30 Central and ending by 11:00 Central (BE SPECIFIC!!)

Step 5: Final Details
Check grade, subject, equipment type, and website

There are additional fields where you can add learner outcomes, preparation time frame, activities, materials, responsibilities, and much, much more. You can get quite detailed, but for the beginners these 5 steps will save about 20 emails!

CAPspace will update Twitter and also email members daily and you will quickly get a response. Tomorrow, we will develop strategies for managing responses.

Challenge:

  1. Log into CAPspace–>My Settings–>About Me
  2. Enter your phone number, Twitter ID, school name, city, state/province, and country.
  3. Write a brief bio so that we know who you are.
  4. Click “Update Information”
  5. Go to Privacy and click Full Access so that other members can see who you are.

Your Turn:

  1. How do you find partners for collaborations?
  2. What is your favorite tip to increase your efficiency?

If you are totally new to collaborative projects and/or would like step by step assistance making a collaborative project happen, from start to finish, sign up for Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections, a six week online course beginning January 25.

Day 5: Learning through Read Around the Planet

Guest blogged by Roxanne Glaser
Our teachers and students love participating in Read Around the Planet. Do they really learn anything? YES! Here are some items from the National Educational Technology Standards for students and teachers that are addressed by participating in RAP.

Students

  • Examine the geography of where you partner class is located.
  • Calculate the distance between classes and what time it is in different time zones.
  • Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
  • Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
  • Develop critical thinking and problem-solving by planning and managing activities to develop a solution or complete a project.

Teachers and Coordinators

  • Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity by guiding and leading the students.
  • Engage students in learning with other students via videoconference
  • Manage time and effectively communicate with partner teachers and coordinators.
  • Expand your people network.
  • Develop ongoing partnerships with other educators and professionals from other states or countries.

Coordinators

Learn how videoconferencing works in different states and countries. Read Around the Planet is the best way to test interoperability among systems. I really wish that the manufacturers would each lend a video engineer to support RAP. I know that we use their equipment in ways they have not thought of.

  • How to communicate with personnel managing statewide bridges, provincial bridges, national bridges (JANET in the UK),
  • All the different ways that you can dial and receive a call.
  • How to connect outside your network(s).
  • How to best show what your classes are doing.
  • Best practice for using microphones, cameras, and visuals.

Your Turn

  • What are other things that students, teachers, and coordinators can learn during Read Around the Planet?

If you are totally new to collaborative projects and/or would like step by step assistance making a collaborative project happen, from start to finish, sign up for Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections, a six week online course beginning January 25.

Day 4: Read Around the Planet: Managing the Registration Process

Now that you’ve decided to participate in Read Around the Planet, it’s time to tackle the registration process.

If this is your first year, it is a bit of a challenge. If you are having any problems at all, please email me at my Read Around the Planet email for this time of year: verification@twice.cc and I can help you!

Step 1: Verification

  • The first step is to take care of equipment verification, and soon! We’re trying to get verification done by Friday, January 8!
  • Verification lays the foundation of the matches for Read Around the Planet. It helps us find out if you have VC equipment, and how it connects (i.e. can you receive calls, etc.).
  • Verification instructions are online here as well as little online videos to explain the process for you.
  • There’s a chance someone is taking care of this for you. Double check: in CAPspace, click My Profile and see if you have the little IP icon. If so, you’re done with this step!

Step 2: Registering Teachers

Next, think about how you will organize your participation:

  • Will you have classes participate during library/computer time? or during teacher’s class time?
  • Will you prep the students for the session or will your teachers do that?
  • Will you register for your teachers or have your teachers do their own registration?
  • Have you checked your school’s calendar (tests, training days, etc.) for any potential conflicts?
  • Will you limit participation to make it manageable for yourself? If so, how many will you do? (We recommend 5 or less for the first time.)

Collect the information you’ll need when you register. You can do this while you’re waiting for the verification process to finish too.

  • Teacher name, email, work phone number
  • Grade level
  • Language (choices for 2010 are English, English as a Second Language, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Special Education)
  • All the times the teacher can do. Time choices are every half hour between 7 am and 7 pm your time.

Then, make sure you register by January 13, 2010! More tips for RAP Registration are online here.

The Challenge

  • Take some time to watch the Read Around the Planet coordinator and teacher videos if you haven’t already.
  • Get at least one Read Around the Planet registration step done today!

Your Turn

  • Please comment! How are you getting organized for Read Around the Planet this year?

If you are totally new to collaborative projects and/or would like step by step assistance making a collaborative project happen, from start to finish, sign up for Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections, a six week online course beginning January 25.

Day 3: Preparing Yourself Mentally for RAP

Guest blogged by Roxanne Glaser

Participating in Read Around the Planet is NOT like signing up to participate in a program that is delivered by a content provider. It is a matching project where two classes present to each other. It is a simple concept, but you must approach it with a certain mindset to create success for your teachers and their students.

  • Know your capacity – For your first year, 5 connections is a good number to start with.
  • Know your equipment – Make a cheat sheet of your IP Address, contact name, phone and email for quick reference.
  • Check your school calendars – Double check the dates that your teachers say they want to connect. Make sure that it is not a holiday or testing day.
  • Maintain an organized approach – You are responsible for making sure that you have conducted a test connection with your partner site and helping your teachers prepare. Here is a chart you can use to organize your connections. Some coordinators use Google Docs or add events in Outlook.
  • Commit to your partners – Once your classes are matched, make sure that you do everything within your power to honor that commitment. Do not strand your partner class. Think about if someone did that to one of your classes.
  • Be flexible – Some connections will have to be rescheduled due to weather, illness, or other unforeseeable events. If you have to reschedule, be kind and understanding. I have heard some of the most wonderful stories of collaboration that come from a small act of kindness.

Students get really excited about meeting a class from another school and sharing their learning and we, as coordinators, are responsible for assisting to make that happen.

Here is a list of the top 10 reasons for canceled videoconferences. While a canceled connection might be a bit frustrating to you, look at this list. Life happens. And it happens to all of us, so as you go into Read Around the Planet this year, know that in the end, it will always work out.

Today’s Challenge

  1. Follow-up with the teachers that you think would enjoy Read Around the Planet.
  2. Double-check the school calendars.
  3. Download RAP organization chart and plan how you will manage your connections. Coordinators will also be able to get a .csv file of their matches.

Your Turn

  • What are some strategies you use to keep organized and calm when life speeds up?
  • How do you organize your test calls and connections for Read Around the Planet videoconferences?

If you are totally new to collaborative projects and/or would like step by step assistance making a collaborative project happen, from start to finish, sign up for Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections, a six week online course beginning January 25.

Day 2: Getting Started with Read Around the Planet

Yesterday in our 20 Day Challenge kickoff post, Roxanne suggested that an excellent way to start off with videoconferencing is to participate in projects managed by others. So this week, we want to spend a little time thinking about how best to integrate participation in Read Around the Planet with your curriculum and videoconference program.

What is Read Around the Planet (RAP)?

So what is this project anyway? Here are some basic facts:

  • Read Around the Planet started as a Read Across America celebration in Michigan, and it is still primarily U.S. schools that participate.
  • Read Around the Planet is like a dating service! TWICE matches the classes and provides teacher materials. It’s up to you to make the relationship work!
  • It’s open to K12 schools with access to IP or ISDN videoconferencing (H.323 or H.320).
  • Read Around the Planet targets language arts and world language classes.
A class acts out a story during Read Around the Planet

What do you do in a RAP videoconference?

The recommended Read Around the Planet format is very simple:

  • Introductions and sharing maps
  • My class leads an interaction/presentation
  • Your class leads an interaction/presentation
  • We ask each other questions about our communities, studies, and daily lives.

This format is easy for first-timers. Teachers can share anything they are currently studying in language arts. World language classes share games, skits, songs, and readings to practice the target language.

Targeting Teachers

Sound like fun? It’s a great whole school celebration of reading and videoconferencing. Some schools use RAP as the highlight and mainstay of their videoconference calendar each year. Some make a bulletin board with pins showing all the places their students have connected!

Today’s Challenge

So, now it’s time to convince teachers to participate. What should you do?

  1. Show the teacher training video in a staff or departmental meeting. It’s just under 13 minutes long.
  2. If it is your first year participating, pick 5 or less teachers to participate.
  3. Pick the teachers who are the most flexible and able to deal with surprises and glitches. Yes, ANYTHING can happen in a real-time videoconference!

Your Turn:

Please comment!

  • If you’re new to Read Around the Planet, what questions do you have?
  • If you’re a pro with Read Around the Planet, what tips do you have for newbies?

Reminder: If you are totally new to collaborative projects and/or would like step by step assistance (including for RAP), sign up for Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections, a six week online course beginning January 25.

Day 1: 20 Days to Better VC Projects

This year for our 20-day challenge we are again writing for anyone who is supporting videoconferencing in their building or their district. 20 Days to Better Videoconference Projects will focus on how to increase your videoconference usage by scaling projects and managing your time. During this challenge we will share specific examples to get your 2010 off to a great start.

Schools that are using videoconferencing to enhance and support curriculum begin by connecting with content providers and participating in managed projects to introduce the technology to their teachers and students. Those are both highly structured and supported avenues to implementation. Two challenging aspects to them are content providers cost money and if someone else is running a project, it might not meet your timeline as you need it to. In addition, you may have more classes that want to participate in a project than the available spots.

A solution can be to scale a collaboration so that it can meet your teachers’ timeline and curriculum. How can you assist with this with all of the other responsibilities in a timely manner?

Our plan is to create posts around weekly themes and walk you through a step-by-step plan. To get the most out of this challenge, we invite you to share tips and management that you have found effective so that we can learn together. If you are unclear about anything that we share, be sure to ask questions.

  • Week 1: Getting Your Feet Wet with Read Around the Planet
  • Week 2: Managing Exploding Projects and Collaborations
  • Week 3: Designing and Scaling Your Own Projects
  • Week 4: Time Tips and Tune-Ups

We’re targeting school level coordinators as our primary audience, but we know district and regional level VC coordinators will benefit from this exercise too. We will be collaborating and cross-posting each day’s challenge on our respective blogs as we did last year.

Task

  • If you missed last year’s 20 Days Challenge, be sure to review it!
  • Make sure you have an account in Collaborations Around the Planet (CAPspace), and that you have filled everything in under My Settings. Review this blog challenge from last year if you need more information.
  • Subscribe to either of our blogs in your favorite reader (Roxanne or Janine ), or via email. You can also follow both of us on Twitter: Roxanne and Janine.

Your turn:

  • What do you think is the best benefit of collaborative videoconference projects with other schools?
  • What do you think is hardest about making collaborative videoconference projects happen?

We’re glad you are joining us for another 20 Day Challenge!
– Roxanne and Janine

If you are totally new to collaborative projects and/or would like step by step assistance making a collaborative project happen, from start to finish, sign up for Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections, a six week online course beginning January 25.

Holiday Videoconferences

Well, I for one am glad for a two week vacation coming up. We had 70 videoconferences this week. The last two weeks have been full of holiday videoconferences. I thought I would share with you just a few links for your inspiration and planning for next year.

Holiday VCs We Did

  • Several classes participated with ESC Region 12’s Holiday Extravaganza. In the picture you can see one of the holiday math story problems that students presented for the other classes to solve. Holiday math problems are a great way to celebrate the season and practice math facts. I hope to have even more classes do this next year.
  • One of my teachers created a Holiday Christmas Classics collaboration to share classic stories and books with each other.
  • We were scheduled for TWICE ASK Winter’s First Snowflake, but due to a snow day it’s rescheduled for January.
  • We had 58 local classes videoconference with our Mrs. Claus, which was written up in the local newspaper.
  • A class participated in the holiday storytelling with Vanderbilt Virtual School.
  • We had several Gingerbread Boy VCs with the Center for Puppetry Arts. Love those programs!

Other Great Possibilities

There are some other great holiday programs as well that others shared via Twitter in the last few weeks. 

How did YOU celebrate the season with videoconferences this year? Feel free to share & comment (even if if it’s after the holiday!). See you in the new year!

Going Global

Are you following the K12 Online Conference? If not, at least take a moment to review Kim Cofino’s keynote presentation and the resources for “going global” that she has posted on her wiki. Great stuff, including many videoconferencing resources!

After you get your feet wet with that, browse through all the other great presentations posted this week and the ones that are coming next week!

Remembering Pearl Harbor

It’s December 7, and we’re remembering Pearl Harbor by having three sessions interviewing panels of our local World War II veterans. Here are some of the questions the students asked:

  • What was your inspiration or motivation during the war?
  • Which front do you think was the most difficult?
  • Do you think it made a difference in your experience if you were drafted or volunteered?
  • Do you think the U.S. did anything to provoke the Pearl Harbor attack?
  • What did you miss besides family? (Coke & milk)
  • What do you think was your greatest accomplishment during the war?
  • How many pounds of equipment did you carry and what all was part of your gear?
  • How did Hitler’s decision to invade Poland affect your life?
  • Have you ever been back to Europe and what were your impressions when you went back?
  • How did the war affect you & your family economically?
  • Did 9/11 affect you the same way Pearl Harbor did?

We had three panels participate today:

9:30 session

Arden Pridgeon, Army; Frank Smith, Army; Don Sprung, Army; Frank Cupp, Air Corp.

10:45 sessions

Ray Sreboth, Army; Jimmy Butt, Army; Rich Ziebart, Air Corp.; Bob Ziebart, Army

12:30 – 1:30 pm

Rich Ziebart, Air Corp.; Bob Ziebart, Army; Val Ripsco, Women’s Army Corp

What a great set of panels and students asking questions! Another excellent day of learning!

TWICE ASK: Alexander Jefferson

Today we have four classes participating in the TWICE ASK program with Tuskegee Airman Alexander Jefferson on his book Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free. Wayne RESA hosted, bridged, and facilitated this videoconference for TWICE.

Some of the questions students have asked are:

  • What was the food like in prison?
  • What went through your mind as you ejected from your plane?
  • How was your mental and physical health affected by being in the war and being a prisoner?
  • What were some of the major battles that you participated in?
  • What did you do to help young people, other than teaching, after you got out the war?
  • Were you happy that you wrote about your experience as a Tuskegee Airman?
  • What was it like to experience segregation?
  • What was it like seeing war from above rather than on the ground?
  • If you had a chance to fly again would you? “Oh heck, yeah, in a minute!”
  • How did you feel when you had done so much for America and then you had to come back and fight for your rights?

Our World War II veterans are always adamant to tell students that the Holocaust did happen and don’t let anyone ever tell you that it didn’t happen?

This week we also had four days of ASK programs with author Janie Panagopoulos. There is still room in upcoming spring semester TWICE ASK programs.