Tag Archives: Resources

CBS Features VC Field Trips

Just received this tip from Bob Dixon via several listservs. CBS did a story on virtual field trips that is nice and concise and features several content providers we’re familiar with. Great student quotes too.

The clip also features Jody Kennedy, who has written several articles about videoconferencing. These are the ones I know of.

Content providers featured include Mote Marine, Reef HQ in Australia, and the Center for Puppetry Arts. The clip is only three minutes long and perfect for workshops and training sessions. Check it out!

Cross Platform Desktop VC

Here’s a nice little blurb from Tech4Learning about cross platform (Mac to PC) desktop videoconferencing.

Another option the teachers could pursue is using the commercial software Trillian Pro on the Windows-side. Users of Trillian Pro can videoconference directly with Macintosh users running iChat AV videoconferencing software.

Did you know that? It was new to me. If anyone has tried this, please leave a comment as to how well it works.

Evaluations of Codecs

Just found this on the Megaconference Listserv. JANET, the UK’s education and research network, has done very specific tests and evaluations of various codecs. What a wealth of information for those making decisions on purchasing equipment!

K12 Videconferencing in Ontario

I just ran across a community site for interactive videoconferencing in Ontario. It looks like a Moodle site with RSS feeds from several VC blogs including mine. Neat site. Seems like they are just getting started. Check it out!

Why it's been quiet here…

Yes, my blog has been a little quiet lately. Here’s a quick run down of some interesting things happening…. So much to write… so little time!

November 15 we did an awesome Operation Montserrat Training with CET Challenger Learning Center. Teachers were excited and jazzed and we’re scheduling 9 sessions with them this year. Stay tuned on the results of those VCs.
November 16 I finished the last all day training of building contacts for our RUS grant. 60+ teachers and local staff trained over 4 days! Lots of excitement about VC keeping me busy. The new building coordinators are so excited. Tonight one building is presenting to the board connecting between two buildings in the district to show how it works. With students showing a sample of what they could do in the Read Around the Planet project (and they haven’t participated yet!!).

November 17 we had two sessions of ASK: Monkey Island in celebration of homelessness awareness week. Andrea Israeli blogged an excellent summary!

I’ve been scouring high & low for Canadians to connect to in January & February for 6th grade classes studying Canada. Things are coming along on that custom project.

November 20 TWICE hosted Margaret Willey for ASK: Clever Beatrice. Wrote about it last year.

The Read Around the Planet project has been expanding insanely, with a not-so-smooth ride on the new database this year. But everyone has been patient with the process and we seem to be in for another record year of participation. Thanks to TWICE and Polycom for making the expansion possible this year!!

Requests for VCs from my 18 districts are coming out of the woodwork! Last year at this time I had 102 requests for the year, and totalled 279 programs for the whole year. Today I already have 245 and I haven’t advertised RAP to my schools yet! Yikes! I’ve hardly advertised anything at all. Usually I’m emailing them constantly with things they could do. This year we’re swamped and it’s a great feeling to know everyone is interested in using VC.

And I have to mention Andrea’s blog on the Cisco ad. Did you see it? While it’s cool that VC in classrooms is getting ads on TV and the quality looks cool, I wish that the example was a bit more educational. And more realistic on the time zones. It implies an Asian connection during the day for both schools which is impossible. Still it’s a step in the right direction of helping the general public understand what we do!

Hope things are hopping in your VC land too!

Cool Qlock

Today since I was stuck in my office for lunch due to VCs, I peeked into the ongoing K12 Online Conference. The session at the top of the list was from Joseph Papaleo, Around the World in 80 Minutes. I noticed he was talking about videoconferencing, so I listened. Of course we can always learn something new! Joseph had a nice overview of Google Earth and VC in the classroom. And then, the gem!

Qlock! Check out this tool. I installed it right away and set up the cities that I’m doing VCs with in the next few months. Very cool. Considering I had a timezone oops today, it was just in time learning! Try it out for yourself!

Animation Mentoring via VC

I’m updating the reading assignments for the class Kid2Kid Videoconference Connections that starts on Monday, and I ran across this article. This group presented at the Keystone Conference last year and I blogged their session. This article has wonderful detail and even a little 7 min. movie overview. Take a moment to learn from this today!

Smith, F. “Learning from the Pros.” Edutopia. July 2006.

Research on VC Implementation

Do any of you know of any published research on the implementation of videoconferencing? Especially for K12 and for enrichment type activities (vs. shared classes)? I’m interested in any research related to videoconferencing. What kind of data is being collected? What type of research questions are being posed? etc.

I know about the research bibliography on the TWICE website, and also the research from VCAlberta. (The Alberta Videoconferencing Research Community of Practice Research Report is excellent.) Do you know of others?

We are starting to collect data on our three year USDA DLT RUS grant and that’s why we’re interested in the information. I’ll share back what I find out. Thanks!!

A few more VC articles

While exploring on the web, I ran across another review of a NECC session from this summer. Global VOICES : Videoconferencing Opportunities, Information and Cultural Encounters. Another great example of international VC collaborations.

Also, here’s an article just added to the TWICE VC Bibliography page.

Bennicoff-Nan, L. and Schenck, M. “Broadening the Vision and Eliminating the Barriers.” California School Library Association CSLA Journal, vol. 29, no. 2, Spring 2006, pp. 7–29.

Great reading for your weekend!