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.
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I read the article< “Good Practice in the Use of Video Conferencing” by Geoff Turrell. I liked how the very first good practice mentioned in this article is planning and preparing for the video conference. Everybody knows that, if one isn’t well-organized, well-planned, and well-prepared in any lesson, the whole thing very likely could simply fall apart and not work well at all. The same goes for video conferencing, if not more. There is a lot involved in the process of video conferencing, and it just takes something small to mess up the whole timeline, and then, possibly the whole project or activity. Turrell then moves on to some of the things that we have all been discovering throughout our experience during the Jazz workshop, such as, speak loudly and clearly , check for understanding throughout the process, be animated and enthusiastic so you hold everyone’s attention, look at the camera, etc. The information in this article was all very important for any video conference participant/facilitator to know.
Eric – When reading the book, “The Fabulous Flying Fandinis,” I immediately thought about stubborn teachers and their rufusal to try new things like technology. I related Bobby to the stubborn teachers who have their own ways of doing things and do not want to do anything different or try something new that will make them uncomfortable. The Fandinis are the tech people who are asking these stubborn teachers to try something new especially technology that might be fun, exciting, and something they can use and become a better teacher. How many times have the tech people asked teachers to just try something? Many times probably. That is this story exactly but in relation to education. I am opposite of Bobby, I am Johnny his twin brother who is reckless and willing to try anything once to see if it works. I hear a good idea, I try it. It might be the best thing you have ever done. Sometimes it may not work, you just hope the thing you try is not the high wire. Like they say, if you are afraid to fail, greatness will never be achieved. You must risk something to get something in return. I loved the concept of this book!!!
Nice reflection and connections…. “Johnny”!!
I read, “Interested in meeting authors using distance learning? Well, just ASK”.
Although I already have done one ASK videoconference (my first one!!), both this week and the article help set the stage for me even more. I really like the idea of journeling, responding, and then writing questions. I like the higher level thinking skills that are involved in coming up with questions that expect more than yes/no and more than answers that can be found in the story.
Our first experience as a class was good. We were all nervous! They were nervous to be on camera and I was nervous that we hadn’t correctly prepared and really wanted to impress the author! The experience made all of us feel proud, and opened up a whole new realm of possibilities.
We used Tomie dePaola later in the spring for our writing unit on Authors as Mentors. We learned an author’s writing style and technique and then tried to pick the pieces of it that we liked and incorporate it into our writings. It would have been so much fun to have met him through a VC after our unit of study. I had one little girl, a poor reader who didn’t connect to much who fell in love with his story “Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs”. It would have been a thrill for her to have “met” him in a VC. I hope I can begin sharing the stories that match the authors who are connected with the ASK programs and then connect the kids to them to bring the authors to life and get the kids even more excited about books, writing, and reading.
I read the article called Learning from a Distance Brings it Home by Barbara Bray. One key point mentioned in the article and also mentioned in class was the fact that with limited budgets teachers can still take their classes on field trips. That is so true in our district. Our PTO has been helping to fund field trips for our classes, but now we may not even have that funding this up coming year. We can charge our students, but it gets pricy. Our bus costs are about 25 dollars an hour with 1/2 hour prep time before and 1/2 hour prep after. It is cheaper to video conference and you can travel around the world, not just across town! The article also mentioned that videoconferencing connects people who may never get the chance to travel of meet other students from different backgrounds. What an awesome gift to those students. They will use this gift to be more diverse and acceptable of those across our globe.
I read the article “Global Videoconferencing for Engaging Student Learning”. I liked the way Janine brought in different examples in her article. One being a 5th grade student connecting with four Mayan children in Guatemala. I can’t imagine the difference it made with each of their lives. I think more children need to see and understand the differences between cultures. Some children don’t realize how others are working at such a young age and don’t have the freedom to play as they wish. Another example that was mentioned in the article was the AIDS epidemic in South Africa and environmental disaster facing them. What an awesome way to show children what’s happening around the world. Nice article Janine!
Day 5: I read the article, “Good Practice in the use of Video Conferencing” by Geoff Turrell. The article discussed which factors improve or detract from making a VC a success. Planning is, of course, the key to providing a meaningful experience for the students. A VC should be held if it is going to add to the outcomes you are teaching. Another point that was brought up was to let the parents know what the VC is about and encourage their involvement. I hadn’t thought that parents would not want their child involved in a VC. There may be child protections issues that I had not thought of. This will be a question that I will bring up for discussion tomorrow in class. I liked the video conference checklist that was given at the end of the article. It will help me cross all the t’s and dot all my i’s!
“Learning from a Distance Brings it Home” by Barbara Bray was the article I read. I have taken two on-line courses; however, not in a videoconference format. For both courses, the syllabus had statements urging students to pace themselves and stay on top of assignments, because it is easy to fall behind since there is not that in-person accountability. Videoconferencing may be a solution to that problem, because there’s a visual interaction among facilitators and participants.
As one participant stated on Thursday, as well as, the article stated, with budget money being a static element, virtual field trips will be the affordable way to give experiences to our classroom.
In order to compete globally, videoconferencing needs to be learned. The earlier exposure we can give on etiquette and possibilities to students the better. I’m looking forward to my first graders diving into videoconferencing this year.
“Good Practice in the Use of Video Conferencing” by Geoff Turrell
The article starts off with the importance of preperation and planning for a VC. We have talked about that this week. I think it is so important for students to feel successful in their VC experiences. Each year after we practice a couple times for our first VC of the year we make a top five rules for a fabulous VC. We review this before every VC we do. Some of the things that make the list that were touched on in the article are, loud clear voice, clear diagrams and props, no extra noise, and ask informative thought out questions of the presenter. I also add to this list that it is OK to start your question over or demo if you make a mistake. That is another very important rule to VCing.