Participate in Read Across America with video equipment!

What? TWICE annually organizes a special celebration of the national NEA event “Read Across America” by providing the opportunity for schools in the continental United States to connect using two-way interactive video to both read to and be read to by another class. ACELINK will be working with 6th grade teachers from Carroll Middle School to implement this project, and other teachers in Allen County are welcome to join us.

Schools must have equipment verified in November, 2005 and register to participate in December, 2005 for the project. All Allen County schools have access to the videoconferencing equipment and bandwidth needed for this project, but if you have questions, contact me.

Why? The purpose of this celebration is to have students reading to students. What they read is your choice i.e., a Dr. Seuss book (this event is in honor of his birthday), a book about your community, a poem or an original story your class wrote. Just pick something you and your students love!

When? All connections will take place during March 1-3, 2006. When you register, you must choose a time and date to connect. This information will be used to match you with another class. Schedule the connection for an hour. You must commit to participate the full hour.

• 15 minute audio/video check
• 30 mintues: each class presents for 15 minutes
• 15 minutes to exchange information about your school and community and to ask each other questions.

Contact me at 481-0747 if you'd like more information, or go to the Twice website at: http://www.twice.cc/read/index.html.

7th Grade Virtual Field Trip

ACELINK helped connect the 7th grade team at Carroll Middle School to the Center for Puppetry Arts on October 13. The program was on Africa (Mali) and Blake Williams' students made Malian Rod Puppets. They also learned about African culture and geography, as well as climate, customs, puppet making, etc.

The program was highly engaging and very hands-on-- two keys to success in any virtual field trip. Check out the ACELINK website soon for pictures from the event. The Center for Puppetry Arts does a wonderful job of presenting content by two-way video, and their instructor connected well with a large group of kids.

Carroll Middle School participated in this program at no cost, thanks to generous support from Tandberg USA through the Connections program.

Mote Marine Lab Field Trips

The Mote Marine Lab in Florida provides some of the most interactive and exciting virtual field trips that I've ever seen. Their content is listed by grade level, and they provide teacher materials for each session. They offer programs on sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, coral reefs, and many more.

Check out their listing of content at: http://www.seatrek.org/programs.htm

Allen County Education Network teachers can use the new ACELINK mini-grants to underwrite the cost of a program with a provider like Mote Marine. Give me a call at 260-481-0747 if you'd like to discuss the opportunity or just send an email and I'll forward the application to you. We'll even help make sure it all works!

Sites from Keystone Conference

We've been attending the 2005 Keystone Conference, which is devoted to interactive videoconferencing topics. Bishop Dwenger High School is our remote site host, and we've enjoyed being one of the 250 remote sites around the world. In a presentation yesterday, several web sites were listed for teachers to find/search for collaborative opportunities. We couldn't read the slide, but I've located most of the references. I've worked with these sites and agree with the presenter that they are an excellent resource. I'd love to hear any feedback from users who are trying these resources.

Here are the sites:

1. http://www.iEarn.org - Started in 1988, iEARN is the world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and young people to use the Internet and other new technologies to collaborate on projects that both enhance learning and make a difference in the world. Membership fees may be required for this content.
2. http://www.global-leap.com - The Global Leap website is a resource for teachers around the world, enabling them to get help, advice and support to develop videoconferencing in the curriculum, and to find videoconferencing partners and to book interactive videoconference lessons. Also includes an international classroom exchange listing.
3. www.gng.org - Founded in 1998, the Global Nomads Group is a non-profit organization dedicated to heightening children's understanding and appreciation for the world and its people. Using interactive technologies such as videoconferencing, GNG brings young people together face-to-face to meet across cultural and national boundaries to discuss their differences & similarities, and the world issues that affect them. Check our their yearly themes.
4. http://www.indiana.edu/~global/giant.htm - The Global Interactive Academic NeTwork project (GIANT) is dedicated to the creation of a virtual academic community of scholars and students from around the world. This project is part of a multifaceted effort by the Center for the Study of Global Change at Indiana University to aid in the creation of an environment for technological innovation in International Studies.

Searching for Content

Many teachers have asked me how to search for virtual field trip content on the web. Because many people are already researching content and creating databases as resources in this area, I would strongly recommend starting with some of the better listings. Most offer searches by content, grade level, subject, cost, time, IP only, etc. Some even include ratings from previous participants or anecdotal reviews of the provider or content.

Two of my favorite sites for searching are:

1. http://www.twice.cc/fieldtrips.html
2. http://www.cilc.org/content.aspx

Both of these search tools are free to use and maintained by well recognized education professionals. I've also cross-posted this information on the ACELINK website at www.acelink.org.

Virtual Scientist Program

The Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach has a Virtual Scientist in the Classroom videoconference topic series for K12 classes.

The programs are free and ACELINK will be previewing the content on September 22 so we can give an evaluation of this resource. As with any of these programs, it is critical to test the IP connections BEFORE the conference. You'll need to plan at least one week in advance for these tests, and it may take some network staff involvement the first few times. Stay tuned for the review, or check out their content on the sites below.

Want your students to understand science, develop critical thinking skills, and realize the true meaning of science exploration? Then why not communicate with the scientist? Have your students learn from research scientists, science faculty, physicians, graduate and medical students who devote themselves to scientific and medical exploration and advancement. This year they will offer access to the research laboratory to see where it all happens, debate the ethics of genetic screening, reach for the stars with astronomers from their observatory, get an up-close view of a diseased human heart, talk to thinking robots, brainstorm with Albert Einstein and much more.

Cost: FREE

Connection: IP via Vanderbilt bridge

Registrations at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cso/vcsched.php OR

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cso/vidcon.php for more general information.

Additions will be made regularly so stay current and join our email list at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cso/emaillist.php.

Tandberg Tech Support

I've learned a very important lesson this week during two-way video testing. There are two VERY DIFFERENT ways to get technical support on Tandberg CODEC equipment. The difference comes from the provider of your service contract for the equipment. If your Tandberg equipment was purchased through Verizon, then you can call Tandberg support at 866-826-3237 for 24x7 assistance. When you call, you will need your unit's serial number, which can be found on a sticker on the bottom of the unit.

If your equipment was purchased through Visitec (Markey's, Video Images, etc.) then you must call Visitec technical support at 630-762-0300, ext. 102. Todd Curry is the main support person you'll talk to. Don't forget to have your Tandberg serial number when you call for help.

We are also very fortunate to have John Humphrey, Region 8, certified in Tandberg equipment. He attended the technical certification course this summer, and is very willing to help with questions/problems. He can be reached at Region 8, and the number is 260-439-8800.