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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!

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!

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.

Up to Your NECC in Instructional Technology… Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Collaboration, Conferences, Distance Learning, Tech PD, Web 2.0.
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necc09All this week Ruth, Nancy and Martha have been in Washington, DC, at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). For those of us who were not able to attend, there are plenty of ways to keep up! Here are just a few:

Twitter: go to Twitter.com and use the hashtag #NECC09 to see what people are saying (up to the minute!) about the conference.

ISTEVision Network: get daily and nightly news from all over the conference, feature stories, interviews, session and event simulcasts, 2009 video-on-demand sessions, ISTE Webinars, Second Life™ machinima clips, contest winners, and user-uploaded videos at the onsite communications network.

Flickr: see a photo pool at the NECC group with more than 1,000 picture uploaded already!

picture perfect pd Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Tech PD, VLC Programs, Web 2.0.
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cam

Flickr Photographer

A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. If you’d like to find out how to use this powerful tool in the classroom, Classroom Projects Using Digital Photography is for you! It will be offered the summer on July 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.. In this class, teachers will learn about the basics of using digital cameras and photography in the classroom. Come learn the parts of the camera, its basic operation, and possible activities that you can use with your students. Find out what can be done with digital images—how they can be enhanced, manipulated, and changed using basic photo editing software. Gain information about how to integrate images into lesson plans and classroom activities. Participants will be encouraged to develop a lesson that incorporates the use of digital images. Bring your own camera and photos, or borrow from us!

Last Videoconferences of the School Year Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Posted by Rebecca Morrison in Classroom Technology, Videoconferencing.
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mp_eds' photostreamavmaier's photostreamjelleprins' photostream

At the end of next week, we will have completed the 2008-2009 school year cycle of videoconferences!! So, here is what’s lined up this week & next, ranging from the Revolutionary War brought to us by the Smithsonian, to a program from NASA:

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!