VIDEOCONFERENCING ADVENTURES!
Welcome Science Academy!
April 16, 2003
"Oh, the places you'll go, and the things you'll see"... when you and your students use interactive videoconferencing! Students can see and hear each other simultaneously whether across the FCSC district, the state, or around the world. Making videoconference connections outside the classroom increases student motivation and learning. Videoconferencing is ideal for virtual field trips, for collaborations, and for community events. Explore the sites to familiarize yourself with the potential of this technology, and begin thinking of ways that you could bring the "world" into your classroom.
Some thoughts on VC:

"When students plan a videoconference, they learn communication skills."

"Videoconferencing helps to meet school standards and benchmarks!"

"Use videoconferencing when a live field trip is not possible."

"Collaborative learning is practically automatic with videoconferencing."

"Videoconferencing is powerful! Teachers can meet over videoconferencing for staff development."

"With videoconferencing, students have greater opportunities to form meaningful relationships with students who may be different from them."

"Learning is from a primary source in videoconferencing."

"Videoconferencing, new to most teachers, librarians and students, allows people at different locations to see, hear, and interact with each other."

"Students perceive videoconference guests as important."

"Students take classes not offered at their school via videoconferencing."

"Multipoint videoconferencing allows more than two sites to connect."

"When the videoconference is over, evaluate it to help make future telelearning more effective. Were the intended outcomes achieved?"

"Make sure to check content provider charges before a videoconference!"

"Invite the "world" into your school or library with videoconferencing."


ASSIGNMENT:
View the sites below to become familiarized with VC. Think about how you could use VC in your classroom. You may find a VC site that you could use in your webquest as a resource. 

Plan a presentation with your small group in your choice of software - Inspiration, PowerPoint, Word, Netscape Composer, Publisher (try something different), that will include an engaged learning lesson that will utilize videoconferencing. Please include Indiana curriculum standards and include NETS for students. 
National Educational Technology Standards:
http://cnets.iste.org/index2.html. 
Indiana Curriculum Standards:
http://doe.state.in.us/standards/welcome.html

Your presentation should include:

  • an engaged learning lesson 
  • resources
  • a VC site
  • standards, both curricular and NETS
  • an assessment component
  • an idea for videoconferencing between FCSC schools
  • some benefits you may see in using videoconferencing
  • imported graphics from the internet that will enhance your presentation 
SITES:

The first 3 sites are from Pacific Bell - Knowledge Network Explorer. Great place to learn about videoconferencing with several clicks to make it easy to understand.

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/classroom.html
What is videoconferencing?

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/adventures.html
Lots of sites that videoconference

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/classroom.html
Videoconferencing directory, go to the bottom of the page and click on Directories
Check out Ocean Institute

http://classroom.tinet.ie/vc/
PowerPoint on VC

http://www.netc.org/digitalbridges/
How to use VC

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/CoE/Coemain.html
NASA site for VC

http://www.seatrek.org/

http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3362.cfm
VC, desktop, but ideas

http://www.netc.org/classrooms@work/
Classrooms at work, click on the opening box

http://www.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/hotlists.html

http://www.nybeacons.org/videoconferencing.html

http://www.tcet.unt.edu/webmem.htm
Internet Projects and Consortiums