Connect Your Classroom to an Author Via Videoconference

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.

Offering Schools New Links to the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

Cooperating School Districts is pleased to partner with the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University for a  unique videoconference experience for 8-12th grade students, their teachers, or other adult learners. This interactive videoconference is free, and could be a great curriculum supplement for language arts classes, social studies classes or art (history) classes. History, poetry, plus much more are covered.  (This would be a great addition to summer school curriculum).

History, Heroes, and Symbolism: Visual Analysis of George Caleb Bingham’s Iconic Painting Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap

Program Description
American artist and Missouri native George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879) is known and regarded for his genre paintings focused on the then Western frontier that feature the cities, people, and life along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Fascinated with Daniel Boone and the heroic stories of his life, Bingham’s Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap painted in 1851-52, is considered one of his most iconic works. Telling the story of the 1777 event, this painting is full of symbolism and classical art historical references. In this program, we will explore the painting compositionally, historically, and delve deeper into the symbolism represented.

Objectives

1. To introduce students to visual analysis.
2. To explore the historical, religious, and classical references represented in Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap.
3. To introduce students to Ekphrastic poetry.
4. To provide students with the tools to thoroughly examine works of art and to learn to look deeper.

Program Format

1. Intro video to the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum
2. Introduce George Caleb Bingham and Daniel Boone
3. Explore the painting compositionally using known art elements and design principles
4. Discover references to classic Greek and Roman art history
5. Discuss the religious symbolism and Daniel Boone as hero
6. Discuss the painting as it relates to Manifest Destiny
7. Incorporate the writing of an Ekphrastic poem
8. Wrap up/question and answers

Program Length 1 hour; this program is available by request only
Date/Time Notes this program is available on Tuesdays only; please request at least 2-3 weeks before desired date

If you have questions, or would like to register, contact Diane Tinucci.

‘Tech in a Northern Town’

Guest post by Amy K. Marshall. Library Director of The Craig Public Library in Craig, Alaska. Amy recently participated in a videconference- her first- with Cooperating School Districts’ and the Kemper Art Museum. Amy shared the experience with us:

I’m showing my age here, but I’ve always loved that catchy tune from the one-hit-wonder The Dream Academy: Life In A Northern Town. We don’t have a Salvation Army Band, but it is, for the most part, a staid life in Craig, Alaska on Prince of Wales Island.  People fish, hunt, gather berries and other resources—there is a strong subsistence-based population here. If you came to visit, you might not notice it so much, except when the herring are spawning and everything is “Fish Egg” Excitement like it is, well, this week!

Into this place, technology has touched a toe to the water. The Craig Public Library, thanks to the generosity of the AlaskaOWL Project (and the US Department of Commerce, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rasmuson Foundation, and other contributors) is linked! The first link came with the installation of a T1 Broadband connection. The second link came with the installation of videoconferencing equipment that truly opened the world for the Prince of Wales Island Community. That the purveyors of the AlaskaOWL thought to train library personnel for the installation and use of the equipment is nothing short of inspired. And, when librarians from around the State of Alaska converged on The Golden Heart City of Fairbanks for the AKLA Conference in February, the AlaskaOWL Team had one more surprise for us: CILC.

“It’s there for you to use.” Alaska State Library’s Head of Development Sue Sheriff’s simple statement rang out as nearly a challenge for all the librarians in the room. We now have the technology. We need to put it to work for our communities and videoconferencing was one way in which to do that.

The first videoconference the Craig Public Library conducted was with the Mildred Kemper Art Museum: “History, Heroes, and Symbolism: A Visual Analysis of George Caleb Bingham’s Iconic Painting,” I was terrified. I know my patronage, and I knew there would be people who would want to be there for it, but I also had that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling hostesses get when they realize they could be planning a party that no one will attend. I should never have worried. And, when Anchor Point out on the Kenai Peninsula, 750 miles away, joined us, the party stretched more than 3,000 miles across the Earth. Groups of people separated by these distances were able to see one another and exchange ideas: that is the power of this technology.

Our host, Allison Taylor, led us through a discussion of the painting, pointing out other period-specific works of art from which Bingham drew inspiration. We talked about the use of propaganda in art, how what was propaganda at the time could be viewed through the lens of history and somewhat softened (or not) depending upon the subject matter. What Allison probably did not realize, although she could see us talking, was that, when we politely muted our microphone on the Craig end, there were three or four in the group who were telling other stories, gesturing to the painting and scribbling notes. It was a far better party than I had imagined.

And now … a poem. As I watched eyes widen around the tables in Craig and Anchor Point, I thought, no one’s going to come to another party again. It was a writing exercise—for us to write an Ekphrastic Poem. We had fun with the word, because it’s so fun to say, but it is, in the end, a poem inspired by a work of art. Allison led us through it, and I was happy to see everyone scribbling notes, setting down words, following the instructions, heads bent, eyes narrowed, scanning the picture for colors, shapes, objects, for movements (no “ing” verbs allowed), implied or otherwise.

“Now,” Alison said, still smiling, “I want you to write five sentences or so, and link your nouns to your verbs in ways you wouldn’t expect.”

Here’s mine:

Rifles set at shoulders
Grey-blue skies billow as a
Shadow’d bird leans into the wind.
Branches brown and broken
Whip away the sun in set
As light glows against the
Red and brown of horse-borne hope.

After the videoconference ended and we all waved good-bye from our respective locations, the group around the tables in Craig remained rooted. We all shared our poems. We all shared our thoughts on the experience. We talked for over half an hour past the time of the video conference. Around us, other patrons drifted in to use the public use computers, to thumb through magazines, to take in the view of Klawock Inlet… and I knew they were there, but in that moment, there was just… us. There’s something about a shared experience. There’s something about creating anything in a group—be it a poem, a story, a building, or a fresh-baked pie. There’s a greater understanding of it. You see a collective process—how each individual approaches it. You’re better for it. That’s also the power of the tech and of presenters like Allison and programs like that of the Mildred Kemper Art Museum. We’re all better for it.

Going Green: Back to Nature from HEC-TV Live! this April

Date:  April 12, 2012 | Times:  10-11:00 a.m. and 1- 2:00 p.m. CDT
Grade Levels: 4-8 | Videoconference Cost:  No Fee
Register: www.cilc.org, search for
HEC-TV Live! Presents Going Green: Back to Nature

Abstract:
Students will learn about the importance of watersheds and what to do to protect them as they participate in a lab activity to test stream water for macro invertebrates & water quality at the Little Creek Nature Area in Florissant, Missouri.

Description:
What are watersheds and why do they matter so much to the health of the planet? How can we know how healthy a watershed is? What are ways to test for water quality? What steps can we take to reduce man’s negative impact on a watershed and help it thrive? What steps can we take to help a watershed struck by a natural disaster? To investigate the questions and more, HEC-TV Live! invites your students to join us outdoors and in the lab at the Little Creek Nature Area in Florissant, Missouri, to learn more about what we can do to protect the watersheds that are so vital to the health of the planet.

During the program, students will participate in a two-part lab activity. Your students will interact with students from the Ferguson-Florissant School District who will join us on site in the lab at the Little Creek Nature Area along with teachers from the Ferguson-Florissant Outdoor Education Center at Little Creek and representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Part 1 of the lab activity will focus on the process used to take water samples from a stream or pond to test for macro invertebrates living in the ecosystem. Together, students will identify samples of macro invertebrates collected from the waters on site, record the number of each type and analyze what these results may indicate about the health of the ecosystem.  Part 2 of the lab activity will focus on testing water for dissolved oxygen, nitrate, phosphate, ph and turbidity. Students at Little Creek will test samples of the water collected on site and interact with your students to analyze the results of those tests.

Members of the Missouri Department of Conservation will answer your student questions about watersheds, water quality, and ways we can help protect both. Preparatory materials both written and in video form, as well as handouts that will be used during the program itself, will be sent to you after your enrollment is confirmed for the program.

Archival Viewing:
Can’t join live?  No problem!  All HEC-TV Live! programs are archived on the station website, www.hectv.org and on the HEC-TV page on iTunes U for on-demand viewing. Archives are usually up & running about a week after the program’s original air date. For questions, contact live@hectv.org.

The Many Hats of Author Barri Bumgarner

Author Barri Bumgarner currently is a content provider for Cooperating School Districts’ New Links distance learning program. For 2011-2012, Barri’s videoconferences will be available upon request. For costs, email Rebecca Morrison at CSD. Here are the interactive writing videoconferences she’s offering upon request for middle school & high school classes:

“Let’s Get Digital”: Teaching today should embrace technology when it works for a unit, not just for technology sake. This interactive workshop, with students in a computer lab or with laptops, will demonstrate how to tell a story digitally, using free PC software. We assume kids are tech-savvy, when in reality, they only know the technologies they’re surrounded by everyday (Facebook, texting, gaming). Enticing students to tell a story digitally will open up the world of research, creativity, and show them that they can express themselves in a variety of ways with the world at their fingertips. Join author Barri L. Bumgarner in an interactive workshop that will teach students and teachers the possibilities with digital software.

“Soundtracks of Our Lives”: Let your students explore their lives through the lens of songs. In this session, students will listen to songs during a modeling session, consider the stages of their own lives, and illustrate each with a song that fits that portion of their lives. This interactive session will let students self-evaluate, use media to accentuate their writing, and see the value of technology in the writing world. Join author Barri L. Bumgarner in an interactive workshop that will allow students to see themselves through the eyes of music.

“The Many Hats We Wear: Getting Inspired to Write What You Know”:  Tapping into inspiration for students is often as easy as helping them figure out who they are when they write… and can they change “hats” to write something different? This session will help students explore their many inspirations and find out how differently they can write when they don different hats. Join author Barri L. Bumgarner in an interactive workshop that will motivate kids to self-reflect, write, and explore the nuances of who they are when they write.

“Crime Scene Analysis”: The focus is on a writing exercise designed to be creative, deductive, and interactive. This writing workshop videoconference is for 8-12 grades. Students will see a portion of an episode of CSI. After viewing the initial “crime scene footage,” each writer will play investigator through a variety of interviews. Once they conducted each of their interviews, students will then write their version of what happened. Join author Barri L. Bumgarner in an interactive workshop that will get their creative and analytical juices flowing!