Tag Archives: Collaborations

The New Kid on the Block

Did you know there’s a new kid on the videconferencing block?

Have you learned about Whirlidurb yet?

Whirlidurb is a solution that provides engaging learning opportunities for students. The Whirlidurb team loves video conferencing and collaborating. We create learning opportunities for teachers and students. Read more…

Whirlidurb services include:

  • Content for the classroom
  • Professional Learning Network
  • Video bridging management and operations
  • Video conference scheduling
  • Consultation and new site registration
  • Help desk and technical support

Shane Howard and Roxanne Glaser are the dynamic duo behind Whirlidurb.

Do you remember my research from last year?

One of the results was that schools who are using curriculum videoconferencing more have two essential external supports:

  • An organization offering and targeting programming to the school’s curriculum
  • Outside technical support for videoconferencing

In my research, this type of support was offered by an educational service agency, or by organizations like CILC, TWICE, etc. You can see the full list here.

Well now, you have another choice for bringing this type of support to your school. Guaranteed to generate increased use of curriculum videoconferencing in your school, and increase the best practices of VC in your school. I say this because I’ve partnered with Shane and Roxanne for 5 years, and I’ve seen the results in their schools.

So, if you’re in need of a boost to your VC program, or need help dusting off a unit in the closet that could be used to bring the world to your classroom, think about Whirlidurb.

Full Disclosure: Berrien RESA has a partnership with Whirlidurb and I am clearly a fan of Shane and Roxanne’s work.

Tech Camp Skype Planning

To my Tech Camp Around the World in 80 Clicks Session 1 participants:

Here is the link to many Skype resources.

Assignment: Please use the comment feature below to document your plans for using Skype in your classroom this year.

  • What ideas do you have?
  • Where do you want to connect?
  • What do you want to learn from/with another class?

Three Wishes: Students Share Their Writing

8/20/2010 note: I’m moving this article from my website to my blog for archiving. This lesson/collaboration was written by a high school special education / remedial reading teacher. These videoconferences were an early example of powerful sharing of writing via videoconference. Student feedback to each other was excellent.

Three Wishes Videoconference Series: Students Share Their Writing

Background
Niles, Michigan will be the host of the NBC Three Wishes TV Show in March 2006. Leading up to this event, teachers are incorporating the three wishes idea into their lesson plans.

Coordinating Teacher: Lynn Rouse

Online Registration: Please fill out the online form.

Event #1.

November 16. 11:30-12:30, EST. Three Wishes. Participating Schools:

  • Host: Niles High School
  • Olean, Western NY

Teacher Preparation

Students read Monkey’s Paw. They write at least one (up to three) wishes in the format for the show Three Wishes.

Each class should read the wishes to each other and vote on your top three wishes. Those students should then practice reading their wishes aloud so they can do so clearly over the videoconference.

Videoconference Format
During the videoconference Nov. 16, we’ll start with greetings from each school. Each class should introduce themselves with a bit of information about the school and a map of your location. Then we’ll rotate through each class sharing their 3 wishes. If there is time, we may hear more than those three wishes from
each school. At the end we’ll have time to allow the students to ask each other questions and give feedback on which wish moved them most.

Event #2

. December 15. 11:30-12:30, EST. It’s Your Birthday! Book Talk.
Background. Mpanga from Zambia, a student in Niles, hasn’t had her birthday celebrated and her wish was to celebrate her birthday.

Close your Eyes; Make a Wish by Mpange

One wish that I would want in my life right now would be just to have a birthday party. I have never had a birthday in my life. I would like to have one. I think why I have never had one is no one wanted to make me a cake or had the money to plan one. If my mom were not dead, she could have created a birthday party for me. This is the most important wish in my life right now. I would also wish to go back to Africa (Zambia) to see how things are going and tell the people whom I miss that I love them. I also want to buy souvenirs for people I love in America.

The host class is making birthday cake posters with their favorite book.Students will share their favorite book & why. The other classes will sing happy birthday to Mpange. The other classes are encouraged to have cake & punch.

Teacher Preparation: Have each student write about a favorite book and be prepared to convince others to read it. Students should be creative in making presentations, a la Reading Rainbow.

Videoconference Format: We’ll start off singing “Happy Birthday” and then we’ll take turns saying, “It’s your birthday” (slang for “it’s your turn”) as students come up and convince others to enjoy their favorite book.

Curriculum Connections: English, Reading

Event #3

. January 24 11:30-12:30 EST “Celebrate the Arts”

Participating Schools

  • Host: Niles High School, MI
  • United Communities’ Assistance Network, South Carolina
  • Mineola High School, TX
  • Holland Christian, MI

Teacher Preparation: Prepare a presentation about a local landmark that needs saved. Preferably the students should make wishes as to which places in their community should be refurbished and used to celebrate the arts (i.e. a warehouse made into an art gallery or an old school house used as a dance studio, etc.)

Presentations should include name & location with a map; background information on the town; history of the town; background information on the landmark and why it should be saved. Have students work in groups to do various parts of the presentation to get as many students involved as possible. Be creative with the presentation.

Videoconference Format: Students will introduce their communities to each other, and then they will present their landmark to be saved to the other schools, pretending as if the other schools are selection committees on the show Three Wishes. As Amy Grant’s crew always does something for the arts community, these researched projects can be submitted on the NBC website. Contact coordinating teacher Lynn Rouse, lrouse@remc11.k12.mi.us if you have questions.

Curriculum Connection: social studies, language arts (researching, writing, presenting)

Event #4

. February 14 11:30-12:30 EST “May Your Wish Come True” Teacher Preparation: Students will have to write essays about who their dream valentines would be. Teachers must remind students to choose people most people would know.

Videoconference Format: We’ll play some mood music and have a romantic theme. Students should have a way of showing a picture of their love interests. I’ll do a lead in about “love” being a theme of literature throughout the ages. Then the students will read their love letters to their unrequited loves. After each essay, students will respond to the writing, commenting on what they liked about the love letter.

Curriculum Connection: literature, speech, current events

Event #5

. March 17 (tentative) 9:00-10:00 EST “Luck of the Irish” Participating Schools

  • Host: Niles High School, MI
  • Brocton Central School, NY
  • Karachi High School, Pakistan
  • Andover High School, MI

Teacher Preparation: Students should research some part of St. Patrick’s Day to present to the rest of the classes. My class is doing Notre Dame lore. Each class should tell me what part of the day they are researching before the big day. By then, I hope to have a way to get Amy Grant with us. Cross your fingers.

Videoconference Format: I hope to have each school take a turn presenting and questioning.

Curriculum Connection: researching, presenting, history, folklore (Language Arts and Social Studies)

Voices of Twin Cities Past

8/19/2010 note: I’m moving this article from my website to my blog for archiving. This project has continued each year since its inception in various forms as teachers and schools changed. In addition, this project marked the first installation of videoconferencing carts in elementary schools in our service area.

Voices of the Twin Cities Past

A Videoconference Project By Linda McConville and Diane Nye, E. P. Clarke Elementary, St. Joseph Public Schools

This project is shared online with the authors’ permission and with the purpose of encouraging other communities to create a similar project.

Background
Since the publication of the book Other Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz, the two documentaries “Twin Cities: Understanding the Issues” by WNIT and the “Tale of Two Cities” produced by Michigan Public Broadcasting, and the Jimmy Carter Habitat Build in Benton Harbor during the summer of 2005, there has been a community focus on the need for understanding between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. In addition, the civil unrest in Benton Harbor in June 2003 that received national attention escalated the need for programs and opportunities to bring a sense of unity to the two cities.

Project
As classroom teacher and media specialist, we designed a research project, Voices of Twin Cities Past, using distance learning to unite two diverse fourth classes and impact their learning about the history of the two neighboring communities. The specific program was to teach and use the Big6 research model to learn about important individuals from the past who made a difference in our Twin City history. We focused on schools and parks that the students attend or frequent. After designing the project we applied for and won a local Rotary Grant to pay for the distance learning equipment for both schools. Our working group consisted of fourth grade teachers from both districts, a media specialist, a social studies consultant, technology coordinators from both districts, and the Distance Learning consultant from our RESA.

Michigan Curriculum Framework
The specific measurable outcomes that apply to Voices of Twin Cities Past were derived from the Michigan Social Studies Curriculum Benchmarks (from the Michigan Department of Education -assessed by MEAP)

  • Strand 1. Historical Perspective – Students use knowledge of the past to construct meaningful understanding of our diverse cultural heritage and to inform their civic judgments.
  • Standard 1.2 Comprehending the Past.
  • Standard 1.3 Analyzing and Interpreting the Past. All students will reconstruct the past by comparing interpretations written by others from a variety of perspectives and creating narratives from evidence.
  • Standard 2.1 Diversity of People, Places and Cultures.
  • Strand V. Inquiry -Students will use methods of social science investigations to answer questions about society.
  • Standard 5.1 Information Processing
  • Standard 5.2 Conducting Investigations

Time Frame
To complete our project, we established the following timetable:

  • Fall / Winter 2004 — Order equipment and determine project participants.
  • Spring / Summer 2004 — Classroom teachers and media specialists from partner schools meet, consult with tech coordinator of each district, receive training, further develop and refine collaborative activities, survey current available resources and develop rubrics.
  • Fall 2004 — Begin video conference activities with partner schools, give pretest, help students narrow research choices, teach Big 6 Interviewing and Research techniques, and plan timeline for completion of project.
  • Winter 2005 — Continue videoconferences to monitor progress and share resources. Teach skills necessary for completing choice of project.
  • Spring 2005 — Assemble and produce projects. Give post-test. Share and distribute final projects.

Evaluation
The methods of evaluation we used to measure the outcomes of Voices of Twin Cities Past were:
A pre and post test were given to the fourth grade students to determine their knowledge of local namesakes of schools and parks. The pretest results showed that more than three-fourths of the students were unaware of the historical connections of names they see daily. However the results of the posttest showed the impact on students’ learning as over 90% of the two classes scored in the satisfactory range. Both classes also showed an increased interest and excitement when discussing the names of schools and parks with their peers and parents. In addition, both classes used the distance learning equipment at other times to connect the two classes. Because of this project, the students were able to develop friendships that were fostered when they met in real time through field trips and other activities. As the project progressed, we quickly discovered there was virtually no material written at a fourth grade level on the names chosen from our local history. Parent volunteers worked closely with student groups on the notetaking portion of the research to help decipher the difficult syntax and content of the primary documents.

The Inquiry outcome was measured using a rubric from The Big 6 Research Skills Model. All students successfully used all steps in the research process to produce the final written project. They also showed increased understanding of the importance of the rich history and stories of our communities.

The students’ final project was to create a “historical postcard” which included digital pictures and corresponding information on each historical figure. A full set was produced for each classroom and each media center. In the future we plan to include other final projects such as booklets, tri-folds, CDs, videos, and web logs.

Community and School Support
We received strong support on this project because administrators recognized that the potential impact of Voices of Twin Cities Past could have on students’ learning of local history, Furthermore, the community was eager to endorse a project that would facilitate collaboration between the school communities. Our superintendent wrote a cover letter of recommendation to the Rotary and our school board president signed our application. Upon receiving the Rotary grant award, our principal attended the awards luncheon with us. The technology directors and the RESA consultant worked closely with us in selecting the distance learning equipment. In addition many community members and our local Historical Society shared with us stories and primary documents of local history to use in our project.

Continuing the Project
After completing the first year successfully, we plan to continue this project with the original teachers and media specialist and the new incoming fourth graders in both districts. Involving other fourth grade classrooms in the two buildings is this year’s goal. This will require adding additional local names to use in the Big6 research process to expand the printed final project. To encourage others outside our local community to replicate this project, we have shared the information that will appear as a vignette in the new updated State of Michigan Technology Plan. We have also been invited to present Voices of Twin Cities Past in March 2006 at the MACUL conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and plan to present at MAME in the fall of 2007. In addition, we are working on a multimedia presentation to share with the community at a local Rotary lunch.

Around the World: Misconceptions Resolved

I’m cleaning my website again, and archiving old things here on my blog. This is a lesson plan / planning page for an international project we did in 2008. The report from 2008 is on my blog here.

Around the World: Misconceptions Resolved

Description: Students will identify misconceptions they hold regarding other cultures, while identifying and dispelling misconceptions held about their own culture. Preparation will involve researching other countries, journaling responses to reading, and formulating questions for interaction with students in other countries.

Subject Area: Reading and Writing
Intended Grade Level: Middle School (ages 12-14 – negotiable)

Time: This project will require several 45 minute videoconferences with interested schools throughout a 12 hour period. Before the videoconference, students will need approximately three weeks to research and present information to their classmates.

Moodle Project Website Login
Need help logging in? Email Janine at janine.lim@berrienresa.org.

Preparation Materials & Lesson Plan

Preparation: The host class, Coloma Middle School, will divide classes into groups to interact with each partner school.

The participating classes may also wish to divide students into groups to research the other countries, but they will only interact with Coloma Middle School in their time (see the schedule). They will be able to watch the streaming live, or watch it recorded later. (Windows Media Streaming).

After class discussion about why we develop misconceptions abut other cultures, students will engage in the following activities:

  1. Identify misconceptions other cultures have about citizens of your country
  2. Research the other countries participating using the suggested links, other links, as well as encyclopedias, almanacs. Be sure your sources are credible and relevant. Be aware of potential bias.
  1. Create Jeopardy game questions to be used in the video conference
  2. Create a skit that humorously dispels misconceptions others may have about the your country
  3. Respond (through journal writing) to teacher reading aloud books that introduce cultures of other countries. Suggested books may be found on these websites:

Optional: Create a brochure or poster to depict the country you researched. Be able to locate your country on a map. Topics may include major cities, urban and rural life, vital resources, ethnic foods, arts, cultural creations exported, type of money used, deadly wildlife, and any other important aspects of the country. Pictures will enhance the brochure.

Each participant is asked to prepare questions for discussion with students from other countries. Questions may include any of the following or those you create.

  • What do students your age do for fun or recreation?
  • Describe what you think describes the typical American student.
  • What are your typical schools like? (length, classes)
  • What misconceptions do you think others have of your country?
  • What do you think are the biggest problems in the world today and how can we solve them? What should be your country’s and the USA’s role in solving these world problems? What can I personally do to change things?
  • Should the goal of culture or government be to make people better or make them better off?
  • What is the best thing about living in your country?
  • Explain the various opportunities in education and chosen professions for each gender and economic class.
  • Do couples in your country choose their own marriage partners, or do their parents make that arrangement for them?
  • What values or personality traits are most valued in your country? (What have I learned while growing up?

Learner Outcomes:

  • W.GN.07.03 formulate research questions using multiple resources, perspectives, and arguments/counterarguments to develop a thesis statement that culminates in a final presented project using the writing process
  • W.PR.07.01 set a purpose, consider audience, and replicate authors’ styles and patterns when writing a narrative/informational piece
  • R.IT.07.01 analyze the structure, elements, features, style, and purpose of informational genre, including persuasive essay, research report, brochure, personal correspondence, autobiography, and biography
  • R.CM.07.01 connect personal knowledge, experience, and understanding of the world to themes and perspectives in text through oral and written responses
  • R.CM.07.03 analyze global themes, universal truths, and principles within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by drawing conclusions, making inferences, and synthesizing

Possible GLCEs:

  • W.EN.07.02 write a research report using a wide variety of resources that includes appropriate organizational patterns
  • R.WS.07.07 in context determine the meaning of words and phrases including cross-cultural expressions, …literary terms using strategies and authentic content-related resources
  • R.IT.07.03 explain how authors use writer’s craft and text features including metaphors, similes, captions, diagrams, and appendices to enhance the understanding of central, key, and supporting ideas

Time: This project will require several 45 minute videoconferences with interested schools throughout a 12 hour period. Before the videoconference, students will need approximately three weeks to research and present information to their classmates.

Materials
Template to create Jeopardy game
Construction paper for brochures or
Poster board for information display (use large lettering)
Props for play

Post Activities
Discussion of new information learned.

Journal Write reflection about what the student likes best about his/her country and the country studied. What have they learned? Would they visit the country they studied? What’s one thing learned that previously was not known? Which of the other country’s sports, hobbies or food would the students like to try?

Assessment and Evaluation

  • Students will be given a participation grade
  • Their journal writing will be assessed for quality, length, and content
  • Student-created brochures will be assessed using a rubric

Videoconference Agenda Updated!!
Each connection will last 45 minutes

  • 10 minutes – Welcome and Introductions. Each class shares location and brief information about school/area
  • Suggested format for presenting class (open to negotiation) 10 minutes – The presenting class will perform humorous skit depicting and dispelling misconceptions others may have about their country.
  • 15 minutes – The presenting class hosts a game show (Jeopardy or something similar) for the interacting classes to compete. The game show is about the host class’ country/culture. If you want, you can use a PowerPoint template.
  • 10 minutes – Discussion questions round robin. Any school can ask a question of any other interactive school in that session.
    Good-byes and sign off.
    (If extra time allows, students may share brochure projects.)

Schedule
Coloma Middle School will interact with each class. Each interaction will be recorded and streamed so the participating classes not interactive at that session will be able to watch the sessions they aren’t in.

Partners

We partnered with the following schools:

  • Karachi High School, Pakistan
  • Lincoln School, Costa Rica
  • American Nicaraguan School, Nicagarua
  • Instituto Experimental de la Asuncion, Guatemala

Project Authors:

  • Peggy Clore, Coloma Middle School, Coloma, MI
  • Stephanie Pevac, Coloma Middle School, Coloma, MI
  • Videoconference Support: Janine Lim, janine.lim@berrienresa.org

Lessons Learned: Reflections from Two Years Later

This project was very interesting for the students and teachers. However, we learned that the skits were very difficult to follow. Students didn’t speak up loudly enough, or the skit came too fast to understand. Each class tried to help the other class to understand the misconceptions about their culture, but it was difficult to understand what was true, what was the misconception, and why it was a misconception through the medium of the skit. We thought skits would be creative, but they actually made it very hard to understand.

A better way to do this might have been to introduce the misconception, explain why it is a misconception and what the truth is, and then do the skit – more slowly & clearly and with visuals to help explain.

Another interesting thing we learned was that, for example, one country might have thought the other country had that misconception, when really they didn’t at all. Or they had no conceptions at all, not even misconceptions.

So…. the next time you want to do an international videoconference, consider what we tried to do and what we learned from it. Our recommendations would be:

  • Make it simple
  • Use visuals to communicate clearly
  • Think about what both sides know about the other students already (if anything) … use that to guide planning

What other tips do you have for international connections?

Read Around the Planet Inspires…

Read Around the Planet Participation from 2009

I love it when Google Alerts sends me interesting Read Around the Planet notifications. Here are a few little tidbits to tantalize you as the last moments of summer slip away and you start to think about videoconferences for the 2010-2011 school year.

Read Around the Planet inspires Reader’s Coffeehouse

This little clip is from a teacher whose inspiration from Read Around the Planet last year inspired a “Reader’s Coffeehouse” to involve parents.

In 2008, I considered having a Coffeehouse after remembering a snippet from Debbie Miller’s Reading With Meaning where she discusses twinkling lights, poetry, and a coffeehouse setting. After researching the history of coffeehouses, it made perfect sense to me.  I wanted to host a parent night, but I wanted it to be simplistic and sophisticated. After all, the students were maturing as readers and writers.  I suppose what set the idea in stone was our participation in Read Around the Planet.

Read the whole post here. Has Read Around the Planet given you new ideas by talking to students and educators in another location?

Community SlideShare for Read Around the Planet

Cheryl Morin recently posted online her slideshare with pictures her class shared with their partner class for Read Around the Planet. Great examples of how to capture community experiences to share via videoconference!

So, what ideas do you have simmering in your brain for the 2010-2011 school year?

Some Jazz Workshop Tidbits

The NY half of Small Group #6 in presents their project. I love these visuals!

Today is the facilitator debrief session for the 123 VC: Jazzing Up Your Curriculum with Videoconferencing workshop. We review the summer sessions and decide on changes for next year.

With that in mind, I thought I’d share a couple things:

  1. Learning and Leading with Technology just published an article about the Jazz Workshop. Check it out!
  2. I updated the History of Jazz post with this year’s participation. It’s interesting to see the changes over time!

Remember, if you’re interested in participating, review the documents on the right side of the Jazz website. Dates and application for next year should be up in a few weeks.

There's No Excuse

Geometric Transformations program from the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Here’s a great comment from the Jazz reflections today:

What excites me about videoconferencing with staff is the range of possibilities.  There really isn’t an excuse for any teacher to not use videoconferencing to enhance curriculum. What excites me about videoconferencing with students is empowering them to collaborate with students from other states.  Also, using videoconferencing would urge students to come to class…never know when an exciting videoconference could take place :)!

The Effectiveness of the “Jazz” Workshop

It’s the first day of another session of 123 VC: Jazzing Up Your Curriculum with Videoconferencing. I have 8 participants for this session: two high school teachers and six 1st and 2nd grade teachers.

Today I am just amazed at the eagerness and sharpness of my group! They are so excited!! In one day they have:

  • Experienced a simulation of Community Exchange, Animal Exchange, Read Around the Planet, and Monster Exchange
  • Experienced mini-lessons from The Mariners’ Museum and NASA
  • Met in small groups to get to know their group members from other states.

Attitude Changes
Due to these experiences, already attitudes have changed. Note these comments from their reflections:

  • I thought video conferencing was almost impossible to plan for in my class, but I know it is much easier than I thought. I can’t wait to see what trips I can plan for my class!
  • At first it was mind boggling to think about how we were going to put together a presentation in 30 minutes; however, once the creative juices started to flow, it became a race to see which idea could we make the most creative.
  • Even though I have already used some videoconferencing, already today I have seen other ways to incorporate more ideas into my current curriculum. I really like the sheet provided for recording the conferences that I might be interested in using each month. … When you are involved as the teacher, you’re so worried about your class and how they are behaving that it’s sometimes hard to notice the other small details that I had more time to pay attention to today.
  • The amount of things to do in VC is amazing. There is more to it than I actually thought would be. It is kind of intimidating at first. But wow, what a great thing to learn and use.

“We Need Equipment in our School!”
And, the piece I’m most excited about is that new equipment might come out of this workshop! I have a school that has dabbled in videoconferencing and has good sources of funding, but hasn’t been eligible for any of the grants we’ve written. They haven’t seen what they are missing to be motivated enough to pursue videoconferencing. But, after the exchange simulations, the three teachers from that school were ready to write a proposal for funding for a videoconferencing cart! Yay! I’ll be working with them further to get their system purchased and installed. I’m so glad!!

Whew!

And it’s only the first day of Jazz! What a productive day we had!!

Preparing Questions for Your Videoconference

Preparing Questions for Your Videoconference

Some videoconferences are student question directed, such as the ASK programs, COSI Columbus’ Expert Interviews, interviewing your senator or representative, and other similar activities. Other content providers offer programming that includes a 5-10 minute question and answer period. The type of program may determine the number
of questions your students generate. But either way, preparing questions in advance will make your videoconference more educationally meaningful.

Content Lessons

Students should learn about the concepts to be presented in the videoconference. This may include pre-activities provided by the content provider or project organizer, or reading a book and completing the ASK process in preparation.

Writing Questions

Notes for Writing Questions: (Thanks to the ASK program for the details here.)

The answer to your question cannot be “yes” or “no.”
The answer cannot be found in the book, textbook, or other print materials. It should be something you can’t find out on your own.

Set your question up:

  • In the book……….
  • In chapter…………
  • On page …………..
  • In class we studied……
  • In lab we did this experiment….

Question starters that don’t work:

  • Did you ever…..
  • Do you know why…..
  • Have you ever…..
  • Do you think…..
  • Will you…..
  • Would you ever…..
  • Do you…..
  • Can you…..

Question starters that work:

  • Why do you think…..
  • Describe…..
  • Would you explain…..
  • Where did you…..
  • Where do you…..
  • How many…..
  • What are…..
  • How do you feel…..
  • What was your reaction…..
  • How would you…..
  • How come…..

Questions for Partner Schools

Sometimes also you may be participating in a videoconference with a partner class for a specific project. Often there is time for students to ask each other questions. While questions like, “What time is your recess? What is your favorite subject?” are interesting questions, you may want to delve deeper to take advantage of learning how people live
in a different area. Talk with your students about what you might want to learn from the partner class. Consider where they live, how it might be different, and what questions could help you learn more about them. Encourage students to think of questions related to the other class’ presentation as well.

Question Resources

Show examples.
As the teacher, you should also write some questions and show them to the students so that they can see how it should be done.

Place the students in pairs and encourage them to select their best four questions. Each pair should select only four questions that will be presented to the class.

Conduct a round robin elimination process. When your students have selected their best four questions, ask each group to read their questions to the class. Eliminate duplicate questions among the groups.

Revise the questions.
When the elimination process is completed, each student should have at least one unique question to ask in the interview. It is okay if the question has been rewritten to include aspects of duplicates that were eliminated.

Preparing for the Videoconference

Conduct a practice session. Have each student stand and read his or her question in a confident manner. This is very important. This practice session will prepare the students to interview the author or expert.

It’s a good idea to have students should ask their questions in pairs or threes. This allows more students to be on camera and reduces stage fright.

Question Asking Etiquette

Group students to ask the questions. Each group should have 3-10 questions (in case another school asks their question). It will work best if during the conference the groups come up to the mic together. They should say something like this:

  • Student 1: “Hello my name is Janine.”
  • Student 2: “My name is Sue.”
  • Student 1: “And our question is ……”

Students should stay at the mic until the presenter finishes answering their question. Then they should say “Thank you.”

This procedure will allow all students “on camera” time, even if they don’t get to ask their question. In addition, it gets all students involved, and takes away some of the pressure students feel standing at the mic alone.

While other schools are asking their questions, the teacher should get the next students ready. Students should be ready & standing at the mic when your turn comes. We don’t want to waste precious time with the guest waiting for students to move. So have them ready at the mic or lined up at the mic. You don’t have to move fast, but be organized.

In addition, everyone should listen carefully to make sure their question (or some variation of it) isn’t asked by another school. Don’t ask questions twice!

Organization

1. Have all the questions written on 3×5 cards. You may think students will remember their question, but there’s nothing like stage fright to clear the mind! In addition, 3×5 cards are harder to rattle. The microphone will pick up rustling paper. Have students bring the card up, put it down in front of them, and ask the question. You may want to have them practice.