Tag Archives: Content Providers

Singing with Rudolph

07-12-05rudolph.jpgWe’re lucky enough to have four classes from Mars Elementary included in Region 12’s Holiday Extravaganza, Singing with Rudolph program yesterday and today. They are all kindergarten classes and they loved it!

Rudolph starts out asking the kids to show their antlers and to laugh like a reindeer. This breaks the VC ice and gets the kids moving & interacting. Rudolph sings songs like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Jingle Bells. Rudolph also asks the students some questions such as: What do elves learn in school? The elf-abet! This is a short but excellent example of getting the students to interact from the very beginning of the session. They answer questions, do motions, sing, and participate the whole way through!

I grabbed a picture of “Rudolph” from Roxanne’s blog. This way you can see how it’s done. “Rudolph” also has his own band – check it out!

This is a fun and easy program that introduces kids and teachers to videoconferencing in a low-key format. It hooks them on VC to try other programs. Thank you to Shane & Roxanne for sharing this program with us!

Indy Zoo: "The Mitten"

07-12-05indyzoo.jpgThis afternoon Eagle Lake Elementary is connected to the Indianapolis Zoo for “The Mitten” program. We had a few little glitches with this program. The zoo had a fire, and some of the animals for this program were injured, so this program has been adapted to the book The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett instead. We’re glad that we can still do the program.

In addition, this morning Eagle Lake had a 2 hour delay due to the snow. Thankfully the Indy Zoo could squeeze us into the 1:00 slot so we could still participate.

After introductions, student brainstorm various clothing items to pack when traveling to the Arctic. Then they brainstormed what animals they might see on a trip into the north. The presenter reads the book, The Three Snow Bears, and asks the questions predicting and comprehension questions throughout the story.

After the story, students discuss the similarities and differences between this story and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They learn facts about polar bears, see a polar bear skull, and learn about the polar bears who live at the Indy Zoo. Students also get to ask a few questions at the end of the program. Students really enjoyed the interaction.

Lumberjack Life

07-12-04lumberjack.jpgToday Moccasin Elementary is connecting to Northern Michigan University for their Lumberjack Life program. The program started with a lumberjack song for the students to listen to. During the program the students saw many pictures showing how the lumberjacks worked, what they ate, what machines they used, and more. Students learned about several different type of trees that were logged and what they were used for. The presenter also tells some delightful stories of real northern Michigan lumberjacks.

07-12-04lumberjack2.jpgThe program consists of a mostly telling and pictures, but is jam packed with details about how the lumberjacks lived and worked. Students are encouraged to answer and ask questions throughout the program. The program is like talking to a real live lumberjack!

Adventures in Writing with Janie P.

This morning while the Thankgiving program was going on, one of my schools connected directly with author Janie Panagopoulos for her Adventures in Writing program.

Janie is set up with videoconferencing in her home now; and she is very experienced with VC, including multi-points. She’s been doing ASK programs in Michigan since at least 2000. Polycom has assisted her with an upgrade to a Viewstation and she also invested in a document camera for showing the writing process.

I chatted with her via Skype to find out how it went. I thought you’d be interested in the support she’s providing to the school along with the VC program. She’s creating a personalized handout for the teacher as a follow-up to the program. In addition, the students will be writing a story for her and she will post it on her website.

So if you’re looking for an author videoconference that can be scheduled when you need it, you should definitely check out Janie Panagopoulos as a potential author to connect with.

Live Surgeries from LSC

Hey! Check this out. I was just wandering across the Internet and ran across this: Live Surgeries from Liberty Science Center. But, upon reading further, it sounds like an opportunity that you can only access while you are physically AT the Liberty Science Center. It’s an interesting model.

We’ve all been connecting to museums and science centers offer content from their location to schools. Here is one using VC to bring content to students who are visiting their center on a field trip.

What will they think of next?

I just wish this was offered to outside schools too!!

Complete this survey…

Please help out the content providers who offer us great content. Take some time to complete this survey:

Dear Colleagues:

I invite all K-12 practitioners involved with decision-making related to interactive videoconferencing to participate in a survey entitled “Understanding the Utilization of Interactive Videoconferencing in the K12 Setting.” This survey has been designed to provide Cincinnati Museum Center and other content providers with a more accurate picture of who is utilizing interactive videoconferencing in the K-12 setting and what factors influence their decisions. It is also hoped that practitioners in the K-12 setting may also find the information useful in better informing their decision-making.

The survey can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JdJ429V8pxF1W_2fFwTn08hg_3d_3d (please note any potential line breaks).

After tabulation of results, findings will be made available in a variety of forms both on the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Distance Learning website (http://cincymuseum.org/distance) and in professional conferences and publications. No individual responses will be shared.

Your participation is voluntary, but greatly appreciated. If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact Jason Dennison at Cincinnati Museum Center at (513)763-2315 or by email at jdennison@cincymuseum.org.

Sincerely,

Jason A. Dennison
Director, Instructional Technology
Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
TEL: +1 (513) 763-2315
FAX: +1 (513) 287-7095
MOBILE: +1 (513) 377-1585
E-MAIL: jdennison@cincymuseum.org
URL: http://www.cincymuseum.org/education

First ASK Program of the Year: Ice Bear and Little Fox

07-10-24icebear3.jpgToday we have nine classes participating in our first ASK program of the year, on the book Ice Bear and Little Fox. Students have read the book, journaled, and written great questions, following the ASK process. Four of the classes are from Region 12, TX, as we are mentoring Region 12 in doing their own ASK programs too.

Students are interviewing Rebecca Balk, at the Buffalo Zoo. This is our first 07-10-24icebear2.jpgyear using the Buffalo Zoo for this program and we are delighted with the results. Rebecca is weaving into her answers extra visuals and items to show the students, related to the questions they are asking. She is also great at really quick answers for young attention spans. Sometimes we keep track of how many questions we get in an ASK program, and in the first session this morning, Rebecca answered 32 questions in 45 minutes. Which is quite a record! Since the ASK program is question based and students spend so much time preparing their questions, we sure appreciate authors and specialists who can give concise interesting answers.

Here are some examples of the students’ questions:

  • 07-10-24icebear1.jpgHow long is the mother polar bear pregnant with a baby polar bear?
  • Does the polar bear have bones in it’s body that humans don’t have?
  • How deep can a seal dive?
  • How long do polar bears live?
  • What do killer whales weight?
  • What is your favorite thing about polar bears?
  • How many polar bears are left in the world?
  • Do walruses attack polar bears?
  • Do polar bears hunt foxes?

If you’re thinking about starting an ASK program, this is a really easy one to start with. Rebecca knows how ASK works; her sessions are reasonably priced; and your schools probably already have the book! So you’d just need to share with your teachers the ASK training materials – linked at the top of the TWICE ASK page.

Interesting Characters to VC With

So, who could your students talk to today? There are some really creative ideas floating around on the vc blogosphere!

These are just a few. What ideas do YOU have?

Polycom Special Events

Polycom is offering a set of free special events this year. You can read about all the details and register here. These are offered through a partnership with Berrien County ISD (for registration) and Macomb ISD (for bridging). Here is a taste of the programs available:

  •  ASK program with author Janie Panagopoulos October 30 and May 1. You can read about a past program with Janie here.
  •  Project Africa, an interview with a student on a service learning project and his published book.
  • Interview with John Porter on the topic of bankruptcy.
  • Interview with Bill Hyche on setting goals.
  • ASK program with author Margaret Willey on her book Clever Beatrice Christmas.
  • ASK interview with blind author Jim Stovall on his book The Ultimate Gift. You can read about a past program with Jim here.
  • ASK program with Ben Carson, author of Gifted Hands and Think Big.
  • ASK program with Sue Stauffacher, author of Nothing But Trouble, the story of African American tennis player Althea Gibson.

Hopefully you can participate! Questions should be sent to Sue Porter.

Preservice Teachers Hooked on VC

Last evening I hosted a group of 18 preservice teachers from Western Michigan University who are part of an elementary science methods class. We took a trip to the Cleveland Institute of Music for a taste of their Science of Sound program. None of the students had experienced a videoconference before.

Afterward a great demo from CIM, we had some Q&A time.  I found it intriguing that immediately they wanted to know how they could access videoconferencing in the buildings where they are doing their practicums and student teaching. A few are non-traditional preservice teachers and wanted to know if their kids in local districts had access to VC. One of the parents has students in a district that shares one Polycom VSX 7000 among 5 buildings. She was interested in grants and ways to use building funding to get another unit for the building where her kids attend.

They immediately saw the value of videoconferencing. They were enthusiastic and hooked!

This class is taught by one of our local science teachers. She has used videoconferencing in her classroom and wants to make sure her students are exposed to it. We do this session each semester that she teaches the class; and clearly it works out well!