Virtual Learning Center Presentation Friday, April 4, 2008
Posted by Rebecca in Blogs, Collaboration, SMART Board, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing.Tags: Cooperating School Districts, videoconference, Virtual Learning Center, Web 2.0, wikis, teachers, social networking, ThinkLink, blogging
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Today the Virtual Learning Center staff spoke to several St. Louis districts about what the VLC does, and why what we do is important for today’s digital native students. We help teachers integrate technology- technology that students often are already using outside of school- in the classroom.
What did we cover? A lot- videoconferencing, blogging, wikis, social networking… many Web 2.0 applications. (We were even view-only for the last few minutes of a videoconference between Lafayette High School and the New York Institute of Technology). I’m going to ask my colleagues to share their thoughts on the day in the comments section, and also request any readers who attended the meeting for some feedback. We weren’t the only ones speaking today. ThinkLink also presented on their product, and two teachers from Hancock Place reported out their experiences with ThinkLink. Our audience also participated, by listing A - Z, how to include technology in the classroom. Some answers? For “C” we got Collaboration; “Y” we got Yahoo; for “U” we got YoU Tube.
Here are some snap shots of the day! (And, since I was the photographer most of the day- actually, most days- I didn’t get my picture taken much during our presentation … so I decided to use my camera on my iMac to take a photo of my as I worked on the blog (I do exist)!)
Rebecca
mbogart
smadlinger
Whew! What a day! LOTS of info. I think we covered the gamut. It was a pleasure to be a part of this meeting with a terrific group of dedicated educators who truly are working hard for students every single day. I hope the day was informative for them and we didn’t go too fast. Sometimes, I felt like I was speeding through, but we had a time limit. The title of our PowerPoint presentation was, “The MySpace Mind or, How to Think Like the Squirrels.” You had to be there–we showed an old EDS commercial that had the men in Spain running with squirrels instead of bulls. Look it up on YouTube–it’s a riot. Anyway, thanks to all for a great day. Exhausting, but fun.
Thanks for another great blog Rebecca. The morning was an eye-opener for many educators in the room. I think we not only overwhelmed the audience but more importantly made them think! Speaking of thinking…ThinkLink is a product of Discovery Education, who provides many of our school districts with Discovery Streaming (formerly unitedstreaming).
The afternoon was drilling down into the data that supports our instruction. ThinkLink is an awesome product that allows the user to assess every MO GLE in Reading and Math, Science is coming soon. The assessments are immediate and easy to analyze. Each child can then have an independent learning path using the other resources provided in ThinkLink.
We also shared the Administrative portion of Discovery Streaming. All of our districts have this wonderful tool, however are not aware of the summary reports available. Many were thrilled to learn the link with CSIP, MSIP, and other Core Data.
Rebecca,
Good job on your post and I also appreciate the comments from Martha and Stephanie. My memory of the day is that we had 45 interested folks listening to and participating in our great presentation. The only issue for me is that there were only about 20 curriculum folks. The rest were tech people sent by curriculum folks to listen to our awareness presentation. What’s up with Curriculum and Instruction folks? Were you too busy with MAP testing or is technology integration not on the radar? Let’s hear your story. I am interested and sincerely want to listen.
Good Saturday. The sun is out and I loved the pictures Rebecca.
I am still thinking about the impressive group assembled on Friday. The presenters were excellent and the assembly of participants exceptional as well. I do hope our assessment presentation stimulated more thought toward the use of formative assessment and the use of data for important decisions. The teachers from Hancock Place were inspiring!