Interested in meeting authors using distance learning? Well, just “ASK” by Jim Wenzloff

Link to article

This article’s link was dead, so I read it in Google’s cached mode.

I chose to read this article because I was unable to participate in the ASK procedure on Thursday due to a district meeting. As a reading specialist who advocates that children and people read to make meaning, this type of videoconference is the ultimate experience in reading.

To me, an ASK session does exactly what good readers do – question and search.  Putting together an author with a content expert is truly making meaning.  In addition, the art of narrowing down questions is a wonderful activity to teach critical thinking and reasoning skills.

In particular interest, Wenzloff details how he obtained technology grants to finance and put together kits.  I am wondering how much of the cost is actually the author or specialist appearance.  I would hope that authors around the country see this as a powerful tool to gain readership and not charge a lot for their appearances.

I would love to work on coordinating a project here in my own County.  I have a lot of ideas!

~Jill Proehl

Rockwood School District

CSD, St. Louis, Missouri

When Good Technology Goes Bad by Scott Merrick

Link to Article

This article was all about when your Plan “A” does not work according to plan.  The author referenced and linked the hilarious movie The Videoconferencing Zone, spun off of today’s popular TV-series The Twilight Zone.

He gave specific examples that he has endured as a facilitator of several videoconferences.  One piece of advice he gave that I never would have thought of is to protect the identity of the content provider.  Nor did I even think to complain about the “price” of an experience gone badly.  I guess that’s just a measure of good public relations.

One such hideous example really prevented the teachers involved from buying into the next time such an opportunity was offered.  I wil have to think about how teachers who are reticent to change think about this type of opportunity.  It is one thing to be like me, but I know there are other teachers who do not think about how positive this experience could be.

This article will make me think about how I will set up and structure experiences and to have a Plan “B” in place so that I won’t have to endure such embarrassing moments as the author has related.

~Jill Proehl

Rockwood School District

St. Louis, Missouri

Middle School Videoconferencing Fosters Global Citizenship

Jody Howard-Kennedy, July 2004

Link to article

This article was very interesting, charting the growth of the videoconferencing movement in an East Coast middle school. In three years, Eastview Middle School has tripled their availability of videoconferencing connections
The author points out one of the traits of videoconferencing that I have learned about so far in that it appeals to a variety of different learning styles, and particularly, those of what some might call egocentric middle school students. Middle school students’ social needs sometimes surpass their content needs, so videoconferencing is a perfect medium by which these students can express themselves.

This article points out that the world is now our resource, globally connecting many venues via this technology. The author points out several connections her students have made, even partnering with the British government’s DfES.

The power of this medium was described when 8th graders learned about HIV and then shared their projects with students from countries who had a more direct impact from this disease. The empathy that videoconferencing evoked was a result that was not expected. It illustrates the need for that human connection that we don’t necessarily receive with other media, such as chat.

The author reminds us of other uses, such as professional development, for videoconferencing as well. She also gives a few tips on setting up and purchasing equipment and selecting service providers.

This is another good article to have on hand while championing the use of this technology in my building as well as in my district.

~Jill Proehl

Rockwood School District

CSD, St. Louis, Missouri

What the research says about video conferencing in teaching and learning.

 http://tinyurl.com/s8324

While we were in whole group local discussion, one of our class members asked if there was research that videoconferencing affected student achievement. Since, as teachers, we are asked daily if our curriculum, plans, and objectives correlate to state standards, the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), and student achievement, this question was valid to us all. Ruth Litman-Block replied affirmatively that there was such research. So when I perused the bibliography in order to summarize a daily reading, this article naturally jumped out at me.

The article was nicely organized with easy to read sidebars that encapsulated important information. The focus centered around three types of videoconferencing and the research that supports the fact that it does impact teaching and learning. In addition, the article provides a supplemental bibliography which can be consulted if necessary.

The three types of videoconferencing were defined as: desktop units, roll-abouts, and room systems, all offering connections via the internet, using a digital or analog phone line; a network within an institution; and dedicated cables, radio waves or microwaves.

Quality measures were addressed, such as audio quality, lack of bandwidth, deteriorating video, and slow connections.

The impact that videoconferencing has on students is that it allows students access to experts within a particular field and collaboration between other students and teachers and raising motivation by encouraging interaction and lessening isolation. Teachers can maximize this technological advancement by establishing outcomes before planning a program (just as one would write backward-design curriculum), advertising the motivational effect of this technology, and planning global experiences between other teachers and classrooms.

Another benefit that videoconferencing affords students is to practice social skills and their application. In addition, students who usually wouldn’t have access to specialized content, both for remediation and enrichment, can now access that expertise. Students whose communication and literacy skills might be delayed in a non-visual classroom setting may now excel. Videoconferencing lends itself to multicultural education where communities hampered by geography can now be exposed to many different cultures across the globe, connecting cultures that may have been isolated or connecting differing cultures that may have been sheltered.

Some obstacles and myths to videoconferencing were also presented in this article. Not all students will access this technology appropriately. Those students who don’t feel comfortable bridging a language gap may be intimidated by the techology. In addition, technological failures may bring about long wait times, and careful consideration to classroom management must be applied. Also, there is a variety of stimuli going on during the time of the conference; for some children, this stimuli may produce a very unstructured environment.

Becta is an British organization which has taken data collected from a two-year DfES study about videoconferencing in schools. From this research, Becta has identified issues warranting further study: 1. feelings of anxiety and epsiodes of antagonistic group behavior, 2. different impacts of the three different styles of videoconferencing on interactivity, 3. the potential of this technology in a larger-scale setting.

While this article was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of research, I do think it is productive to have this research at my fingertips when it comes time to asking my building administrator for time to plan and execute videoconferencing projects. In a district as large as the one in which I teach, I believe it is essential to have equipment in several centrally located positions so that many of our schools can access this technology without it being connected to the hassle of a field trip.

Jill Proehl,

Rockwood School District

CSD – St. Louis, Missouri