Projects Booklet 2.0

Just in time for your summer workshops is a new version of the Project Templates Booklet that many of you have been using. (It’s linked on the TWICE projects page and on our BCISD DL projects page.)

New Project Templates
I’m really excited about this new version. It is twice as long (but still only 10 pages folded & stapled into a booklet). There are several new project templates, the results of ideas simmering in my brain since NECC last summer when I listened to Bernie Dodge talk about WebQuests. I have felt for a while that it’s getting time to increase the interaction and level of thinking in collaborative VC projects. Exchanges are easy to start with, but then you want more!

Middle school and high school teachers especially want more than just a simple exchange. My teacher who designed the Invasive species project hasn’t done it again because it didn’t turn out to be “meaty” enough for her curriculum goals. I think some of the new higher level thinking templates based on WebQuest tasks might work better for her class and other middle and high school teachers.

IP VCR / H.323 Video Recorder Projects
I’m also excited about the new IP VCR projects. I called them that because the Codian name IP VCR seems to be the most descriptive of what this box does. Is there a generic term for it? I haven’t heard one. But this year as I’ve learned about the Codian IP VCR, the Polycom RSS, and the TANDBERG Content Server, I’ve been thinking about the possibilities for projects, especially international projects. Any projects ideas challenged by time zones could be adapted to use one of these boxes. Classes dial in, record their part. Wake up the next morning, listen to the other class, record their response. See the projects booklet for more details!

Evaluation
Finally, at the prompting of my friends at VCAlberta, I added a page for evaluation. It’s a start towards thinking about how we evaluate videoconference projects.

So I hope this new booklet is useful for you in your workshops this summer. If you want to try out any of the new formats with one of your classes & mine, let me know! Your feedback and ideas are always appreciated!

0 replies on “Projects Booklet 2.0”

  1. Janine, what a great resource! I love the student roles and videoconference evaluation parts. The evaluation piece is really an important tool for guiding students – and teachers – on effective IVC preparation, purpose, and participation.

    One tip I might add is muting the micphrone. We’ve found that when a question is presented during an IVC, if the students mute the mics at both (all) ends and confer with their classmates for a couple of minutes, more students engage in the discussion, not just the handful of verbal students who are comfortable with spontaneous respones. Also, the quality of conversation improves.

    I’m very much looking forward to attending your NECC presentations. See you in Atlanta,

    Gail Desler (Elk Grove School District, California)

  2. Janine,
    Kings County Office of Education in Central California is now providing videoconferencing for our 45 schools. Thank you for providing me with
    excellent resources and our first Mystery Quest connection this spring.

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