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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!

President Obama to Speak to Students September 8 Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Web 2.0.
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Obama on Creative CommonsPresident Barack Obama will deliver an address to students September 8 at 11 a.m. central time. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the President will challenge students to work hard, set education goals, and take responsibility for their learning. You can find associated classroom activities at www.ed.gov. Here’s some more information on the event:

From Education Secretary Arne Duncan (click to read his full letter): “This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation’s school children about persisting and succeeding in school. We encourage you to use this historic moment to help your students get focused and begin the school year strong. I encourage you, your teachers, and students to join me in watching the President deliver this address on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. It will be broadcast live on the White House website www.whitehouse.gov 12:00 noon eastern standard time.

In advance of this address, we would like to share the following resources: a menu of classroom activities for students in grades preK-6 and for students in grades 7-12. These are ideas developed by and for teachers to help engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives. We are also staging a student video contest on education. Details of the video contest will be available on our website www.ed.gov in the coming weeks.”

photo by ex_magician on Flickr

Using Digital Photography in K-12 Classrooms Monday, August 3, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Tech PD, VLC Programs.
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Flickr Creative Commons - kid photographerCooperating School Districts will once again offer Classroom Projects Using Digital Photography. This popular tele class goes over the basics of digital cameras, as well as best practices for using it in lessons. Those attending will gain information about how to integrate images into classroom plans and activities. Participants will be encouraged to develop a lesson that incorporates the use of digital images This fall, the workshop will be offered over two evenings,  November 10 & 11 from 4 to 7 each night. This class costs $138 CSD member; $214 non-member; register here. (photo from Flickr’s Creative Commons)

Free Smithsonian American Art Museum Videoconferences Monday, July 13, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Internet safety, Videoconferencing.
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Flickr Creative Commons - maveric2003

Can't take your students to D.C. for a field trip? Try a VC!

Here is a list of recently updated videoconferences from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. All the videoconferences are free, and available upon request, though on certain days. Videoconference presenters guide your class on a tour of artworks in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection. Visit www.cilc.org for more specific details on each program.

America’s Signs & Symbols

Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY – specific days available
Audience: Education: Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Contemporary Craft: Clay, Fiber, Glass, Metal, Wood
Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY – specific days available
Audience: Education: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Found Object Artwork
Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY – specific days available
Audience: Education: Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Free Within Ourselves: African American Artists
Videoconference presenters guide your class on a tour of African American artworks in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection. The lives of African American artists lend insight into the historical, social and cultural context of the artworks.
Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY – specific days available
Audience: Education: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

To See Is To Think: Visual Literacy
Videoconference presenters guide your class on a tour of artworks in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection. Students learn the literal language of art and consider the many choices artists make when creating art.
Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY – specific days available
Audience: Education: Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Also, if you visit the museum’s education website, you’ll find student created podcasts.

Two Big August Deadlines to Remember! Friday, July 10, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Conferences, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing.
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Flickr Creative Commons Photo : LeSmou ImperatorPotential Midwest Education Technology Conference presenters- proposals are due by August 20! For more details, please visit the METC Moodle: metcconference.org. This year, METC is Februrary 8, 9, 10.

Also, ACT takers- the videoconference prep course offered by Cooperating School Districts and The Princeton Review starts September 22. In order to get all the materials to participants, we need students to register with CSD by August 31. For more details, please visit the New Links to New Learning website.

June 09 Global Nomads Group Videoconferences Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaborations, Distance Learning, Videoconferencing.
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From Global Nomads Group:

Though we are nearing the end of the school year, our work is not done. GNG will round out the 2008-2009 school year by rapidly responding to most recent headlines.  We will be offering one last week of exciting programming in June: Rapid Response: The Democratic Republic of Congo and Swine Flu: Pandemic or Hysteria?.  In addition, following the success of Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist, the World Science Festival has offered another opportunity for students to get connected.

drc_civil_war_congo

Democratic Republic of Congo

Rapid Response: The Democratic Republic of Congo
Since 1998, more than 5.4 million men, women, and children have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo primarily due to the consequences of its civil war (diseases, bloodshed, etc.). Just recently, the on-going conflict in the DRC has been splashed in the major headlines as the country is on the brink of another war. In this special PULSE series, students will be introduced to the challenges facing the DRC and learn to identify the root causes of its conflict and the humanitarian and environmental issues as a result of it. In addition, students will learn to celebrate the history and culture of the DRC and identify the ways to bring hope to its future.

Students will be joined by individuals and experts who have worked deep in the trenches of this conflict including: Bryan Mealer, author of “All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in the Congo.”

Mealer was the Associated Press staff correspondent in Kinshasa, Congo, and has reported from locations across the African continent, including Nairobi, Somalia, and Togo. His writing has appeared in Harper’s and Esquire, among others.

Tuesday, June 2 | High School: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM EDT
Thursday, June 4 | High School: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM EDT
Cost: $300 per VC or membership price*

Mexico City Flickr

Mexico City

Swine Flu:  Pandemic or Hysteria?
In the recent months, the outbreak of Influenza A virus subtype H1NI, also known as the Swine Flu captured the headlines as the effects of this virus spread across the globe.  As reports of confirmed H1N1 cases steadily increased around the world, the UN’s World Health Organization responded by expressing concern over a potential world-wide flu pandemic, citing the outbreak at a “Phase 5” level of alert (out of 6).   “In announcing the notching up of the alert level to Phase 5 last night, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said it was a signal to Governments and to the private sector that preparatory actions should now be undertaken with ‘extreme urgency’” (www.un.org). As a result, many schools have taken extra precautionary measures as seen through the number of schools closing where there are confirmed cases or in many scenarios, where there are suspected cases.

In this Rapid Response session, students will have the opportunity to share how H1N1 has affected their local community.  As GNG reports live from NYC, with one of the highest confirmed numbers of cases in the US, students will learn about its effects first hand.  Students will also delve deeper into the effects of H1N1 by speaking with an expert and learn how they can take better preventative measures against this influenza.

Friday, June 5 | Middle and High School: 11:00-12:00 PM EDT
Cost: $150 or membership price*

World Science Festival
Following a successful program featuring the filmmakers of Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist, the World Science Festival is excited to bring another opportunity for students to plug-in through Pioneers in Science!

On Thursday June 11, selected New York City High School students will interview Nobel laureate and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Harold Varmus, and preeminent marine biologist, Sylvia Earle. Wherever you are in the world, you can be part of this event by submitting your questions for the scientists.

Submit questions for two Pioneers in Science! The World Science Festival may choose your question to ask at the Pioneers in Science live interview on June 11. Don’t forget to check back to watch video from the event!

price breaks on three-part tele workshops Friday, May 15, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in SMART Board, VLC Programs, Web 2.0.
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Movie-Making in the Classroom: Creating Digital Stories & Photo Essays
June 22, 23 & 25 | 8:30 am-3:30 pm
WAS $414 CSD member; $598 non-member
NOW $325 CSD member; $450 non member
(Two Grad. Credits Available from Lindenwood University; $60/credit hr.)
Wondering if movie-making is too difficult?  This class is for you! Help your students create their own digital stories by experiencing the process yourself. This three-day workshop teaches the pre-production, production and post-production phases of movie making. You will have an opportunity to choose one of three easy software programs to use: Windows MovieMaker (PC), iMovie (Mac), or PhotoStory 3 (PC). The class is a cross between a writer’s workshop and a movie-making symposium. Bring a story to share, or select from one of the stories provided. Participants will walk away with their own 3-5 minute movie and lots of ideas about how to help students create one.

Digital Learning Academy: The Read/Write Web for the Classroom
July 13, 14, 15 | 8:30 am-3:30 pm
WAS $414 CSD member; $598 non-member
NOW $325 CSD member; $450 non member
(Two Grad. Credits Available from Lindenwood University; $60/credit hr.)
This three-day, hands-on educational workshop is focused on helping teachers blend collaborative learning technologies into creative, powerful lessons and projects for K-12 students. Participants at the CSD site will be partnered with teachers in Oklahoma City, facilitated by Wesley Fryer, and they will interact with each other using videoconferencing technology, both Polycom and Skype. Some of the topics covered will be:

  • Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and Creative Commons
  • Social bookmarking – delicious
  • Podcasting – Gabcast
  • Photo sharing – Flickr
  • Digital storytelling – VoiceThread
  • Collaborative document building – Google docs and PBworks
  • Social networking – Ning
  • Online video – TeacherTube, YouTube and UStream

Register: http://www.csd.org/tele | More information: Joan Forrest, 314-692-1259

CSD Google Workshop for Educators: Search, Learn, Share! Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, Distance Learning, Links, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Web 2.0.
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Flickr Creative Commons: misshaBrought to you by the producers of the Google Teacher Academy, this summer class at Cooperating School Districts in St. Louis is a Google Workshop for Educators (GWE).  It will introduce participants to innovative ways Google tools can be used in education. This full day of fast-paced presentations and hands-on activities includes experience with advanced search techniques, collaborative web-based applications, and inspirational instructional strategies. Google Certified Teachers share ways they’ve implemented tools such as Google Docs, Google Earth, Google Sites, and more. Participants who complete the event are given access to the Google Workshops for Educators Network (GWEN), an online community focused on supporting educators as they learn more about the power of Google to drive student learning. Bring Your Own Laptop!

Google Academy: Search, Learn, Share!
8:30 am-3:30 pm now on July 16 at CSD
$250/person (One Graduate Credit available at an additional cost)
Register at www.csd.org/tele
(Creative Commons) photo by missha on Flickr

Digital Learning Academy: The Read/Write Web for the Classroom Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaboration, Distance Learning, Links, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing, Web 2.0.
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Wes Fryer and Karen Montgomery

Instructors Wes Fryer and Karen Montgomery

Digital Learning Academy:
The Read/Write Web for the Classroom

July 13, 14, 15 ; 8:30 am-3:30 pm each day
Three day class: $414 CSD member; $598 non-member (Two Graduate Credits Available)

This three-day, hands-on educational workshop at Cooperating School Districts in St. Louis is focused on helping teachers blend collaborative learning technologies into creative, powerful lessons and projects for K-12 students. Facilitator Karen Montgomery and participants at CSD will be partnered with teachers in Oklahoma City, who will be facilitated by Wesley Fryer. The groups will interact with each other using videoconferencing technology, both Polycom and Skype.

Some of the Web 2.0 topics covered in this tele class will be: • Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and Creative Commons • Social bookmarking – delicious • Podcasting – Gabcast • Photo sharing – Flickr • Digital storytelling – VoiceThread • Collaborative document building – Google docs and PBwiki • Social networking –Ning • Online video – TeacherTube, YouTube and USTREAM

Making the Connection: Bullying PD Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Collaborations, Distance Learning, Links, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Videoconferencing.
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by Steven FernandezIn a series of videoconferences offered by Cooperating School Districts, educational staff  learn about various mental health issues in children & adolescents from professionals at BJC Healthcare. Take a look at causes, treatment, and how to access mental health professionals if you spot children in your classrooms whom you feel need help. Sessions meet 4-5:00 pm CT; free to New Links members; $85 for non-members. Contact Rebecca Morrison at CSD if you are interested at rmorrison@csd.org. Thursday, March 12 is the last session of the 2008-09 school year, and the topic is Peer Bullying/Sibling Bullying – Making the Connection. Here’s what will be covered by presenter Lynne Lang: discover the connection between sibling and peer abuse during this interactive videoconference; learn to identify and address troubling behaviors that may be affecting your classroom climate. To sign up for this program-it’s next week- contact Rebecca by Monday, March 9.

bySteven Fernandez on Flickr’s Creative Commons