Food for Thought Fridays

IPFW is embarking on a new venture this fall called Food for Thought Fridays. Each Friday, beginning in early October, area students and teachers will have a FREE opportunity to interact with an IPFW professor or faculty in a two-way videoconference at their school. Sessions will take place from approximately 11:30 to 12:30, and a schedule of presenters and topics will be posted in advance. Interested students and teachers must pre-register and participation is limited to 4 locations per presentation. Contact me at schaufes@ipfw.edu for more information. You can also watch the ACELINK website for the schedule.

A Good Read for IVC Pros

I've been reading a great book called, Engaging the Online Learner, by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson, published by Jossey-Bass, 2004. The book is based on a framework for engaging online learners which the authors call "the Phases of Engagement". The book also provides specific ideas for tested activities that help improve the online learning experience.

I got really excited when the authors began Chapter 1 by showing the links between the constructivist and problem-based learning philosophies within a collaborative context. This combination naturally creates a student-focused, engaged learning environment, which is ideal for teaching with emerging technology. The authors stress that engaged learning requires "engineering" by the instructor or teacher, and they proceed to share practical techniques.

Key chapter titles and topics in the book include "Adapting Classroom-Based Activities," "Choosing an Effective Communication Tool," and "Measuring Online Engaged Learning." The second part of the book is packed with actual activities that teachers/instructors can use to engage learners in the two-way interactive or other online environments.

PS-- IVC is a common acronym for "interactive videoconferencing"

Free Virtual Field Trips

Through our partnership with TANDBERG, Allen County educators have access to FREE virtual field trip content. ACELINK offers a limited number of free virtual field trips to partner schools using Tandberg two-way video equipment. You can now take your students inside the Smithsonian or interact with the National Baseball Hall of Fame...and be back in time for lunch!

To register for this program, teachers need to send their name, school, email and phone number to me at schaufes@ipfw.edu. You'll be notified by email as soon as new programs are announced, and requests will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. You'll also need to work with your district/building technical support staff to request the use of equipment in your district.

IPFW Offers Guest Lecture Series to Schools

Using the Allen County Education Network to provide network capacity, IPFW faculty will take a leading role in the delivery of rigorous and engaging content through this emerging technology.

During the fall 2005 semester, various faculty will present 45-minute interactive discussions on their research areas or other relevant topics. The series will be offered on Fridays from 11:30 - 12:30, beginning September 9. Both students and teachers will be able to join a two-way interactive conference with IPFW faculty, and there is no cost for Allen County schools to participate.

ACELINK staff and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning & Teaching (CELT) will be providing technical support for the project. Tandberg two-way video equipment will be used to connect with IPFW from the schools.

Stay tuned for more information and a schedule of presentations. If you'd like to be notified of opportunities as they are planned, send an email to schaufes@ipfw.edu.

Alan November Coming to Fort Wayne

ACELINK is partnering with IPFW's Division of Continuing Studies to bring Alan November to Fort Wayne on October 10, 2005. His keynote address helps to kick off a year-long recognition of the Division of Continuing Studies' 30 years as partners in community and corporate education. Alan will be sharing how educators, business and city leaders, and students can partner together to "Create New Cultures for 21st Century Learning".

Alan November is recognized internationally as a leader in education technology. He began his career as an oceanography teacher and dorm counselor at an island reform school for boys in Boston Harbor. He has been a director of an alternative high school, computer coordinator, technology consultant, and university lecturer. As practitioner, designer, and author, Alan has guided schools, government organizations and industry leaders as they plan to improve quality with technology.

Alan is well known for applying his humor and wit to inspire us to think about applying technology to improve learning. His areas of expertise include information and communication technology, planning across the curriculum, staff development, long-range planning, building learning communities and leadership development. He has delivered keynote presentations and workshops in all fifty states, in every province in Canada, and throughout the UK, Europe and Asia.

Alan was named one of the nation’s fifteen most influential thinkers of the decade by Classroom Computer Learning Magazine. In 2001, he was named one of eight educators to provide leadership into the future by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse. His writing includes dozens of articles and the best-selling book, Empowering Students with Technology. Alan was co-founder of the Stanford Institute for Educational Leadership Through Technology and is most proud of being selected as one of the original five national Christa McAuliffe Educators.

The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Neff 101. Contact IPFW's Division of Continuing Studies at 260-481-6239 for registration information and other details.

ACELINK hosts Megaconference Jr. Event

On Thursday, May 19, ACELINK and IPFW hosted a FREE event to check out cutting-edge uses of the new Fort Wayne area broadband network and videoconferencing technologies. Elementary and secondary students and teachers from over 100 schools in 11 different countries were teaching and learning at the Annual Student Megaconference. We connected to Megaconference Jr. as virtual observers, and over 30 local educators, administrators, faculty and students participated in the event.

We saw presentations like a student drum line demonstration, native American Indian dancing and costumes, a tour of Barcelona, Spain, and more. We also discussed opportunities for videoconferencing in Allen County and participating in this event next year. The Megaconference Jr. presentations were typically 12-15 minutes long, with some live question and answer opportunities. For a schedule of presentations and global participants at the event, go to the conference website at: Megaconference Jr.

Foellinger Grant funds coordinator position

The Foellinger Foundation awarded the Education Consortium a generous grant for two-year project support for construction of a broadband internet connection network to build a county-wide learning community that promotes the knowledge growth, understanding and recognition of diverse strengths that can provide a basis for a dynamic civil community.

Using these grant funds, the Education Consortium, along with IPFW's Division of Continuing Studies, hired Sandy Schaufelberger on March 21, 2005 to coordinate the content, collaboration and uses of the network among the partners and other resources.