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Show-Me Your Movie Monday, November 2, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, VLC Programs, digital storytelling.
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FAQsShow-Me a Movie is a digital storytelling contest for Missouri students to demonstrate their creativity and digital moviemaking skills. Based on curriculum and with a content focus, the videos will showcase what students know, care about, and are able to do. Join us in this fun event!

RulesContest Timeline

December 14, 2009 Contest Deadline: Entries must be received no later than 5 p.m. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered. E-mailed entries should be sent to: mbogart@csd.org. All mailed entries must be addressed to:

showme Show-Me a Movie
Cooperating School Districts
1460 Craig Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63146

Winners will be showcased at the Midwest Education Technology Conference (METC) at the St. Charles Convention Center on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

April Media Literacy VC for K-12 Staff: News Violence & the Effects on Young People Monday, November 2, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Distance Learning, Links, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing.
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Flickr Creative Commons - Ernst MoeksisNEW DATE! April 14, 2010:
This Just In!: News Violence and the Effects on Young People

Around the clock, breaking news is a staple of our culture. We have more access to up-to-the-minute information now that ever before, and so do young people. So, when an event such at the Virginia Tech attack or the failing economy streams nonstop into the lives of young people, does it have an effect on them and their view of the world?  Is it a public health concern? Learn when a bounty of information can become too much information, and the role of adults in building resilience in young people.

This Mental Health series videoconference is free for New Links to New Learning members; non members pay $85 per site. Sara Whitlock of BJC Healthcare will present this one hour distance learning event for K-12 educators from Cooperating School Districts in St. Louis, Missouri. Come and connect with questions! To sign up, phone 314-692-1274.

Winter Holidays Videoconference Registration Deadline Approaching! Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, Distance Learning, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing, Web 2.0.
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World renowned children’s author, Patricia McKissack, teaches students how to write over distance learning. During hands-on and highly interactive videoconference sessions, participating students discuss plot, themes, character development and more. Patricia will also post to her blog and answer students questions during her series. Next up on her three part writing series: Winter Holidays Around the World.

Chinese New Year : London

Chinese New Year

In the first videoconference, the author meets with the participating teachers to discuss the goals of the author visit and refers them to the book she will be discussing, Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters. In the second, the author dialogs with the students, discussing winter holiday traditions and how she wrote her book about Christmas on a Virginia plantation in 1859. In the third videoconference, she gives feedback to students about the writing and illustrations the students have done. Past winter holidays students have written on include Chinese New Year, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan.

We hope to see you this holiday session! Here are the dates – please register no later than November 1 with Rebecca Morrison:
Teacher Session: Thursday, November 5 at 4 pm CT
First Student Session: Tuesday, November 24 at 11 am CT
Second Student Session: Tuesday, December 15 at 11 am CT

The cost for this three part series is $650 for New Links to New Learning members, $750 for nonmembers.

Virtual Learning Center & Flickr Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Tech PD, VLC Programs.
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cadre 1To see pictures of the latest Virtual Learning Center activities, make sure to visit our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtuallearningcenter.

We have current and past photos of our academies, videoconferences, tele classes, the Midwest Education Technology Conference, and special events gathered in one place. The photos above are of the most recent Ritenour iTEA Cadre I meeting in October. All of the pictures are public and most can be found in Creative Commons!

October 2009: Creating SMARTBoard Lessons to Engage and Motivate Students Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, SMART Board, Tech PD, VLC Programs.
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orienting the SMART BoardCreating SMARTBoard Lessons to Engage and Motivate Students
October 28 & 29, from  4:00-7:00 pm
$138 CSD member; $214 non-member
(One Grad. Credit Available)

Do you already have a SMART Board and consider yourself a user? This intermediate class is for you! Come learn the advanced features of the SMART Board and create lessons. Become adept at creating recordings of what you do on the SMART Board for future playback! Find out how to use the video player that comes with your SMART Board to annotate videos. Learn how to attach audio files to objects on the SMART Board, and how to save items that you use often and want to share to the My Content folder. We’ll show you how to find hundreds of lessons that have already been created for use on the SMART Board. You’ll be able to create your own usable lesson, either from scratch or by tweaking a downloaded lesson.

There is limited space available- sign up at www.csd.org/tele.

Next Mental Health Videoconference – November 12 Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Collaboration, Distance Learning, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing.
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Sign up today for  Autism Spectrum Disorders on November 12 @ 4 pm CT: Autism is the third most common developmental disorder in the United States. It affects 1:150 individuals and its cause remains unknown. Research today is focused on early diagnosis and intervention. This 1 hour presentation will provide an overview of autism spectrum disorders, current controversies in the headlines, goals for symptom management, identification of available treatment options, and resources. Presented by Brenda A. Brown, MSN, CPNP, Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Email Rebecca Morrison at Cooperating School Districts by November 9 if you want to participate in this professional development session for K-12 educators. New Links members get this program free, non members pay just $85.

Baikonur and the Soviet Space Race Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, Distance Learning, Links, Videoconferencing.
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Recently, Lafayette High School in the Rockwood School District participated in Baikonur and the Soviet Space Race, offered by the Inner Asian & Uralic National Resource Center.

This free videoconference  attempts to fill in the gaps in our understanding of the Space Race, as seen from the other side: namely, the Soviet Union. The content provider looks at both their successes and failures, as well as the modern reality of the Russian space program being located in the independent country of Kazakhstan.

I’d like to share some feedback I got from the school on this interactive videoconference from the Inner Asian & Uralic National Resource Center:

Our interaction today was one of the most educationally engaging and valuable that our school (read that, 48 videoconferences last year) has participated in. Your “product knowledge” was extensive and complex, and, truly, we would LOVE to spend another hour discussing this topic with you. As videoconference planner, I try so very hard to locate conference experiences of relevance and quality, such that the deviation from class lesson is no deviation but enrichment, and, wow, this presentation was off the charts. Thank you, sincerely, and thoroughly. If you could really speak with us again, please let us know. We don’t want to overextend our welcome, but, you and the information and passion you shared are the rare real deal.

A Spooktacular Good Time! Monday, October 19, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Distance Learning, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing.
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Amy Sklansky Jack o’ lantern,
Jack o’ light.
Jack o’ darkness,
Jack o’ night.

“Thrillsome, shocking, bewitching — Halloween!  It’s the only night of the year when a being can truly be . . . itself! But Halloween’s not just for goblins. Read along and see for yourself as bats, witches, daring adventurers, even ordinary kids (especially ordinary kids) come out for tricks and treats. Spooky fun poems and winning hand-beaded illustrations perfectly capture the spirit of this much-loved holiday…”

Today author Amy Sklansky connected with a group of second graders at Castlio Elementary in the Francis Howell School District Halloween Witchfor her videoconference Inside a Poet’s Mind. Today’s program had a Halloween focus, with Amy working exclusively from her book, Skeleton Bones and Goblin Groans (illustrated by Karen Dismukes).

To learn how you can connect your class to one of Amy’s fabulous videoconferences, visit the New Links to New Learning website.

Videoconference Kickoff Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, Distance Learning, Links, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing, Web 2.0.
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Amy-Pat-Lisa

Amy Sklansky, Pat McKissack, Lisa Suggs

Today is the Virtual Learning Center’s Videoconference Kickoff celebration!

Taking place- right now!- this all day event features New Links to New Learning content providers (see left), Alan November, plus demos from Polycom, SMART, and IDSolutions.

Educators from all over the St. Louis area are in attendance to take in this great day of professional development. Visit the VLC Flickr page to see photos of the day!

Limited Space Left in Federal Reserve Bank Videoconference on the First Bank of the United States Monday, October 5, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaborations, Distance Learning, Videoconferencing.
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Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

We still have space on October 16, 2009, high school students can connect at 10:30 a.m. CT or 1 p.m. CT to learn about the First Bank of the United States. The free videoconference lasts one hour. Register by noon on October 7 with school name, tech name, tech email address, tech phone, IP address, plus the number of participating students and what grade they are in.

During the videoconference, Dr. Andrew Hill, the economic education adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, will discuss the politics, operations, and importance of the First Bank of the United States (1791-1811).