Today we had several classes participating in our Turkey Trade programs. The video conference portion focuses on students identifying similarities and differences. My hope is that we can use this face-to-face time to get students using accurate, descriptive language with their peers. Here are some of the observations that I heard today. The feathers are [...]

This fall we have had quite a lineup of careers that students could learn about. Last week, we had Walter Abercrombie in the studio with us. It was a popular program and the students were quite excited to talk with a professional football player. The five classes had great questions prepared for Mr. Abercrombie. I [...]

I love Landmark Challenge because it takes what I believe to be effective learning principles and puts them in action. The power of video conferencing is in the engagement and interaction of the students and this project has a great deal of learning before the video conference connection and then application/review of that learning during [...]

We are excited to kick off our Landmark Challenge for 2nd Grade. This program is specifically designed for second graders. There will be three classes in each connection with the students actively engaged during the entire connection. Some teachers get very creative in creating backdrops and such for their classes. This is not required. The [...]

Here are some of my notes from the Apple keynote. The main idea was 21st century skill outcomes. I have been thinking about them as they relate to our video conference projects. Relevant and applied curriculum Programs such as our ASK programs, Hometown Holidays, and Math Holiday Stories are examples of connections where students are [...]

Now we have come the the last day of our challenge. We hope that you have learned some tips to help you coordinate videoconferencing within your building and assist your teachers. Our last challenge to you is “Just Do It”. Many times we find that people wait until every little detail is perfect until they [...]

Guest blogged by Janine Lim One of the scariest things about videoconferencing is when it doesn’t work and you have a classroom of students waiting. Yesterday Roxanne gave you some great tips for accessing your lifelines. Today, we’ll examine the most common problems in a videoconference and give you tips for solving them. This is [...]

Schools’ resources are valuable and must be spent wisely. Resources are both staff time and money. Here are some tips about evaluating the quality of your connections so that you can spend your time and money wisely. Top 3 Quality Indicators for Curriculum Videoconferencing Connections 1. Are you teachers and students actively engaged during the [...]

Guest blogged by Janine Lim How much do you let students help you with videoconferences? For this challenge, let’s think about some appropriate ways to involve students in the production of the videoconference. Microphone One of the most simple ways to involve students is to have them in charge of muting the microphone. I’ve seen [...]

Guest blogged by Janine Lim This week, we’ve been giving you tips to improve the quality of the interactions in your videoconferences. The question and answer time can be when the videoconference spirals out of control, or it can be a profitable learning experience. Has this ever happened to you during Q&A time? No one [...]