Please share your responses to the readings here. What did you like about the article? How does it add to your learning? What ideas do you have from reading the article? How can you implement what you learned?
Be sure to tell me your first name so I can give you credit. Tell us which article you read as well.
Melissa The name of the article is Going Global:Rural Washington Students Connect with the World. This article talks about how much the students enjoys sharing their ideas with outher students. They are also able to share their ideas in writing and they can change it with no problem. My art teacher does this type of project with our fourth graders and they really loved it. I didn’t realize their were projects for younger grades. I can’t wait till we have our technology day in July with our whole staff and share some information with my staff about VC information. Hopefully I can get some staff member excited or at least on board with scheduling some this next school year. I just keep trying to think of ways to get my staff involved in VC’S.
yes!! I’m glad to hear that you’ll be able to share what you learned soon!
“TWICE connects readers across America via two-way videoconferencing”
Even though this article was dated 2003, it was interesting to see how one seemingly “small” idea has grown into a virtually world-wide activity. It amazes me how the internet and videoconferencing trend keeps growing and growing. The possibilities are endless. Things that were only a figment of our imagination when I was in school and college have become a reality and beyond! Communication and connections are surely a thing of the present now and not simply someone’s “wild” idea. I am very excited to see how this program and others continue to grow.
In this article, a Distance Learning Specialist breaks videoconferencing down into four categories: credited coursework, virtual field trips, interactive one-time videoconferences, and collaborative ongoing projects. Based upon that categorization, my question is: would the MysteryQuests be considered collaborative ongoing projects? Is it the case where you prepare your students ahead of time and they present their project (city) to another school? Or would MysteryQuests be considered an interactive one-time videoconferences? Either way, I am definitely interested in setting up a Spanish MysteryQuet for my students!
I also think that a virtual field trip would be a great way to introduce culture to my Spanish classes. For example, my students could “visit” the Cleveland Museum of Art to look at Aztec Art!
Finally, I like the idea of “epals.” My students would be thrilled to test their speaking skills during a classroom exchange. According to the article, all of those projects serve as an easy way to connect “people of all ages who would never get the chance to meet each other any other way.” This is so true…many of my students have never ventured outside of the Michiana area. Therefore, videoconferencing would be a great way to open their eyes to a new part of the U.S. or a new part of the world.
I’m with you on the “either way” – sometimes the definition or categories don’t matter right?
I look forward to your VCs working out this year!
Out on a Lim with Technology is an article written by Janine about MysteryQuest videoconferences. Yesterday’s MysteryQuest Beaches was a challenging, fun and educational exercise. This article made me realize just how educational videoconferencing can be. While MysteryQuest targets middle school students studying world geography, it can be adapted quite easily. Students can create presentations and clues about anything they are studying – math, science, social studies, literature and so on. This will require students to think creatively, design visuals, research, take notes and practice cooperative learning. In the end, students won’t even realize just how hard they’ve worked! I look forward to witnessing this with my students next year!
“Interested in meeting authors using distance learning? Well, just “ASK” shows the added motivation students have in reading a book when the reason is real life or VC interaction with the author. They journal their questions and thoughts as they read. Well, if we could incorporate Hispanic literature or Hispanic-American authors, the upper-level students could use this program to motivate their reading.
Two points from this article struck me. First, “it has been suggested that video conferencing affects styles of teaching more than learning.” It made me think immediately of the Socratic seminars that I have done, in which the teacher directs students in their evaluation of the discussion process as well as in the discussion itself. So students are constantly reviewing how well the conversation is going, what they can to do improve its quality, etc. Kind of a “meta-processing” of the experience, which I think is always a path to higher level learning…
Secondly, it mentioned again that establishing contact w/ a group before conferencing may be helpful; I agree. And finally, there was mention that small groups may be able to conference via desktop internet connections. I can imagine a situation where the larger group used an ISDN connection and then split into smaller groups with individual computers for small group collaboration, then returned to the larger group to report back.
Whoops! I forgot to say the article was “What the research says about video conferencing in teaching and learning.”
Learning from the Pros: Experts Help Students Move from School to Career
by Fran Smith
This article discussed how students learn how to create and design animation projects with people who actually work in the field. The part of the article that was interesting to me is how by using video conferencing, students can learn how to apply life long skills such as giving and recieving constructive feedback. It seems that so often people get into the habit of saying, “Nice job!” rather than something like, “I really like how you made a pattern with the colors that you used, it shows you are really putting a lot of thought in this project.” Often times, when a person tries to give a suggestion to a student to help improve the quality of thier work or performance, they become very defensive. I personally think these are skills that students use to improve their self-esteem and relationships with others thorough out both their professional and personal lives.
“Room with a View” by Wesley A. Fryer clarifies some of the technical vocabulary related to VCing, defining Apple’s iChat and Windows NetMeeting versus Web conferencing, along with distingusing the difference between bridge meetings and point-to-point/direct meetings. In this particular article, Fryer discusses how to best equip classrooms with VC equipment; his advice seems to outline the best practices of VC equipment/technology. He notes the difference, for example, between “fixed” and portable VC units. We have a “fixed” VC location in my school building, which I’ve always appreciated. It seems to keep the equipment fresh and new, and likewise, keeps the VCing experience exciting for students: “We get to go to the VC room!” Certainly, I see the benefits of VCs in all classrooms—portable units—but am doubtful that we’ll have money in the budget, locally, for such portable equipment. At least in the next few years—economically, this won’t be possible. In our county, Janine, which is more common–fixed or portable? Also, which do you find more effective?
Jamie Culver
Jamie – I don’t know if one is more effective than another. I think it really depends on the school building situation – whether a room is available, how accessible it is, etc. I think each school has to figure out what works best – sometimes with experimentation.
Read: Interactive Videoconferencing Planting the Seeds for Global Learning and Caring
In the article I read I liked how the students were able to get to do projects that make real world connections with others. I feel that this is a lost quality in our world today, and it really helps children gain empathy for others they would otherwise not have the opportunity to be exposed to. I think the children emotionally get involved easily by listening to others stories and and actually seeing the situations that they are in and how different it is from our way of life. Children as well as teachers have an opportunity to get involved to help gain a better quality of life. This helps teach children that they can work together to actually make a difference in others lives for the better.
I would be interested in involving my students and their families in a project that would help others in some way. In the fall my goal is to start to do a couple of point to point video conferences to make some positive connections to classrooms first before being ready to be involved in a service project. The learning for the children by videoconferencing will be unmatched to what they can learn by just reading a book about a country, people, etc.