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The Connected Classroom

Information on and from Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis' Learning Division

Category Archives: Videoconferencing

Patricia and Fred McKissack

Patricia and Fred McKissack during a 2008 webinar

by Martha Bogart

Fred McKissack died last Sunday, and the world just isn’t the same place without him.  Fred was one of those men that you always hear about on the news when they die—he was so nice, so friendly, such a good heart, etc. etc., except—Fred was the genuine article.  I don’t think I have ever met a better human being than Fred.  He and his wife, Pat, helped us here at CSD to create the New Links to New Learning videoconferencing program from scratch.  This was at a time, back in 1998, when if you asked someone to do a videoconference, the response was, “A what?”  But, CSD had received a grant from Southwestern Bell and Ruth Block’s task was to get schools interested and participating in videoconferences with students.  She approached Pat and explained what she wanted to do—provide students with videoconferences from children’s authors—and Pat and Fred were immediately in.  They didn’t know what it was, exactly, but if it helped kids, they were going to do it.

And do it they did!  Those first videoconferences were scary—Would the equipment work? Would the school personnel be able to dial in? What should the programming and content delivery look like? Would the kids like it? Would they learn anything?  But from the very beginning, the author visits were magical.  The camera would zoom in, and there would be Pat and Fred, smiling and talking, and answering questions from children about the books they had written, how they got their ideas, their writing process, how they went about researching for each book, which book was their favorite, and so much more.  How wonderful to be speaking directly to the authors of a book they had just read right from their classrooms, no matter where they were in the world!  And eventually, as we worked together to perfect the process, the students even got to do some original writing and have it critiqued by real authors.

No videoconference would have been complete without their signature sign-on—a map of Missouri with a star on the city of St. Louis. Pat would say that they were from Missour-ee, and Fred would say that they were from Missour-ah.  Then they would explain that people living on the east side of the state used the French pronunciation with an “e” on the end, while people on the west side used the Native American pronunciation with an “ah” on the end.  The kids got a kick out of it, and I never tired of that intro.

So many wonderful programs, it’s hard to pick a favorite.  Like the one where the kids developed a service project after they read Messy Bessey, and they collected toys and clothing they no longer needed to donate to others.  Or, the study of winter holidays around the world students did after reading Messy Bessey’s Holidays. Fred was the main presenter of the research process that he went through when he and Pat wrote Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters, a wonderful book that takes place on a plantation during the Christmas before the start of the Civil War.  Then, there was the summer reading program we did with the St. Louis County Library where every student got a signed copy of Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba. Children came to several branches of the library, and we did multipoint videoconferencing with Pat and Fred who were broadcasting from CSD.

Fred was in his element when he talked about the research process.  He emphasized the use of the library and the reference librarians, and he talked about primary sources and all of his and Pat’s trips to various locations around the globe to gather first-hand stories and information that formed the basis for much of their books.  He also loved to talk politics and was up on current affairs and the state of the union.  I remember having long talks with him that were interesting and insightful—with lots of laughter in the mix!  Fred was a real gentleman, and a truly “gentle” man.

What a role model Fred was to young African-American boys!  Here was a brilliant, funny, sweet man who had traveled the world, written books, researched in libraries all over the place, and yet was so approachable and willing to talk to kids and answer their questions no matter what they were.

We will miss you, Fred.  Thank you for all that you did for CSD, for the children of our region, and for embracing new technology and taking risks. God speed, my friend.

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this week in csd pd

This week, area educators and students at a distance took advantage of the educational resources offered by Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis in areas like Special Education, Early Childhood Education, STEM, U.S. History, School-wide Positive Behavior Support and Common Core State Standards. To see what’s coming up on the professional development schedule, visit www.csd.org/pd_programs.

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march sklanskyAmy’s distance learning programs through Cooperating School Districts, including full descriptions, including costs and standards covered, can be found at: www.cilc.org.

  • INSIDE A POET’S MIND (Grades 2 – 5) Peek inside the mind of a published poet as Amy shares poems from her books and discusses the various places a poet finds inspiration and the different forms poetry can take. Grades 3 and up have the option of writing a poem during the session.
  • WHERE DO CHICKS COME FROM?: Author Visit and Eggs-periments  (Grades K – 2) Learn what happens inside an egg from fertilization through hatching as Amy uses her book to outline stages of writing: research, revisions, artist’s sketches, etc.  She also performs hands-on eggs-periments that reinforce the scientific method.
  • COOKING A BOOK (Grades 1 – 3) Meet Amy as she puts on a chef’s hat and coat to “cook” a book. Help her put inspiration, drafts, revisions, pencil sketches, and more into her cooking pot as she explains how an author’s idea becomes a published book.
  • FROM INSPIRATION TO BOOKSTORE SHELF (Grades 3 – 6) Work together to learn where an author gets her ideas and how she crafts them into a book. Amy offers ideas around these questions and shares examples from all seven of her books.

“Mrs. Sklansky was engaging and really helped the students get excited about writing not just poetry, but all kinds of writing.”

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Tech Lead AcademyThe 14th Technology Leadership Academy (TLA) wrapped up earlier this month. In the final session, the group participated in an interactive videoconference with the Challenger Learning Center in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Challenger Learning Center is part of a network of centers established in memory of the crew of the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle. The center provides a unique hands-on learning experience designed to foster interest in math, science and technology- for students, and for teachers engaging in PD like TLA did at Cooperating School Districts. To see more images from this session, visit Flickr.

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flickr creative commonsWe’ve all watched the local TV weatherperson & wondered just what they do to create the forecast they give us. What equipment do they use? What kind of training do they need? How do they determine when conditions are ripe for certain types of storms, whether temperatures will rise or fall, whether or not they should break into TV programs to provide a breaking weather update? What is the science behind forecasting?

Join HEC-TV Live! on April 4 to interact with St. Louis’ KTVI Fox2 meteorologist Chris Higgins to take a tour of his weather studio and find out what goes into creating a forecast.  The program will focus on two very different spring days of actual St. Louis weather—one with clear skies and temperatures in the sixties and one where conditions produced dangerous storms and tornadoes.  How were the forecasts created?  What technology was used to follow the changing weather conditions on that stormy day? What conditions forced the announcement of a tornado watch and later a tornado warning?  How does Mr. Higgins read that Doppler Radar and pinpoint where the tornado is located?  How does he take what he has learned and translate into understandable language for every TV viewer?  Enroll in “The Science Behind Weather Forecasting” videoconference by March 28 to find out the answers to these questions and more.

After enrolling for the program, you will receive pre-program materials that include website resources, information on the two actual weather days that will be used as examples during the program, and pre-program worksheets designed to get your students thinking about the topic of weather forecasting and creating questions they most want to ask Mr. Higgins.  If you wish to participate as an interactive school, be sure to note the deadline for returning these pre-program worksheets to us so we can incorporate your student comments and questions into the program.

Date:  April 4, 2013
Times:  10 to 11 a.m.  and 1 to 2 p.m. Central Time
Grade Levels: 4-8
Cost:  no fee, but please register online

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New Videoconference from HEC-TV Live!:
Abraham Lincoln and the Passage of the Thirteenth Amendment

Date:  March 21, 2013
Times: 10 to 11:00 a.m. or 1 to 2:00 p.m. CDT
Grade Levels: 7-12
Cost:  NO CHARGE
Complete information and registration online

Join us for this exciting exploration.  Ask your questions of archivists and historians & bring history to life!

It’s January 1865.  Abraham Lincoln has just been re-elected President of the United States in November of 1864. With the Union public hoping against hope for an end to the seemingly endless Civil War and results on the battlefield looking to make that result more and more likely, President Lincoln decides to move forward for passage of Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the historic legislation to end slavery in America.  This program will focus on the story of the passage of this historic legislation.

In conjunction with their upcoming Social Action Campaign, “Stand Tall: Live Like Lincoln,” which kicked off on February 12, Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed film Lincoln, a DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox film, in association with Participant Media, will be distributed to all middle and high schools, both public and private, throughout the United States when the film becomes available on DVD.  As part of that initiative, this program will include excerpts from the film Lincoln as well as pre-recorded interview excerpts from Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tony Kushner and others.  Students will also interact with, and ask questions of, Lincoln scholars joining us for the program.

The program will focus on three major areas related to passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. First, we’ll look at Lincoln’s motives for the amendment.  Why did he believe it was necessary when he had already issued the Emancipation Proclamation?  Second, we’ll explore the timing of the historic passage. The Amendment had already passed in the Senate in the spring of 1864 but failed that same spring in the House of Representatives. Flush with re-election victory and an increased number of Republicans elected to the new Congress that was set to start its session in March of 1865, why did Lincoln decide to pursue passage in January 1865 in a lame duck final session of the outgoing Congress rather than waiting until March?  And third, we’ll explore the political process of getting the legislation through the House of Representatives. What deals were made? What politicians made a difference?

The videoconference program will consist of several segments. Student questions and comments for our expert guests will be included in each segment of the program. The program will include excerpts from the film Lincoln as well as pre-recorded interview excerpts from Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tony Kushner and others.

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Author Amy Sklansky conducts interactive videoconferences live from Cooperating School Districts for elementary classrooms. Learn more about her sessions here:

In Cooking a Book, she will put on a chef’s hat & coat to “cook” a book. Into her large cooking pot go inspiration, rough drafts, revisions, pencil sketches, and more as she explains how an author’s idea becomes a published book. She will use her fifth book, The Duck Who Played the Kazoo, as her primary example, although she will also read from her other selections.

In Author Visit and Eggs-periments Videoconferences (pictured), Amy discusses her book Where Do Chicks Come From? This book, part of the well-respected Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, explains what happens inside an egg from fertilization through hatching. Using visuals in a highly interactive videoconference session, Amy outlines various stages of writing the book — research, revisions, artist’s sketches.

With Inside a Poet’s Mind, Amy gives students a peek inside the mind of a poet. Sharing poems from her own books, she discusses the various places a poet finds inspiration. Then she gives examples of the ways a poet may revise her work – emphasizing concepts such as word choice, line breaks, action verbs, and punctuation. She encourages students to write a poem on their own during the videoconference using the same process.

For Amy’s programs, CSD members pay $155, nonmembers pay $195 per session.To schedule a videoconference, contact Cooperating School Districts.

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Distance Learning consists of many technology facets, allowing for a variety of learning opportunities, including e-Learning, online projects, and videoconferencing. In the Distance Learning Academy offered by Cooperating School Districts, participants will learn and experience methods of hybrid learning while also participating in projects with other classes. Additional uses of distance learning through point-to-point videoconferencing (VC) and multi-point connections using a Polycom, LifeSize or Cisco system will be examined. Participants will also learn and use other collaborative technologies such as Google Docs, blogs & wikis. This academy is designed to immerse participants in collaborative projects over distance learning – they will develop supplemental curriculum for project-based learning activities & lessons over the course of the sessions. The value in creating this personal learning network (PLN) is in the networking and connections between the participants and the distance learning experience throughout the academy. Participants will meet face to face at CSD and:

• Understand the definition of distance learning and become comfortable with – - – Videoconferencing, Skype & Google Apps
• Learn distance learning etiquette
• Understand social networking protocols
• Develop a collaborative Personal Learning Network
• Explore blogs, wikis, and other free collaborative online tools
• Examine problem based activities & lessons
• Participate in webinars

Dates:  Oct 17 | Nov 15 | Jan 10 | Feb 12 or 13 (METC) | March 12 | April 23 | participants choose to attend at least one webinar

Time: 4-7 pm each day, except for attendance to the Midwest Education Technology Conference (METC) which is 8:30 am – 4:15 pm

Cost: $395 member ; $495 non-member (includes the book) | Register Online

Here are the top five blog posts for the past month on The Wired Classroom — have you read them?

(1)  New Technology Leadership Academy Dates Announced
(2)  LEARNco Program Updates!
(3)  Level 3 SMART Board Workshop Next Week
(4)  Author Visits: Howitt Happens
(5)  about metc ISTE affiliate

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Kemper Art Museum‘s Allison Taylor connected to Cooper Landing Library in Alaska today via videoconference to talk about art, history, and art history.  Another part of the conversation  that wasn’t included in the curriculum was comparing weather- the VC participants had on sweatshirts and spoke of temperatures in the 50s, while Allison shared St. Louis is experiencing yet another 100+ degree day with no rain. The Kemper Art Museum presents free videoconferences from Cooperating School Districts on Tuesdays. If you are interested, contact CSD.

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