Videoconferencing in Education

Videoconferencing is an exciting possibility for educators.   Imagine this: a 5th grade class in a small town in Iowa would be able to open up their experiences and share with a classroom in London. Or Africa.  Or Russia.  Of course, there is a major obstacle to some areas sharing with others and that would be time.  However it’s only a detour, in many cases sessions could be scheduled off hour, a sort of evening field trip for one class that might meet at 7 p.m. for a class that is just starting their day on the other side of the globe.

Not only does the technology allow classrooms to open up world-wide with each other, teachers can access institutions around the world for instant field trips.  Museums, technology centers, universities, even manufacturing facilities for vocational resources would be able to share real-time information, instruction and opportunities with students. The possibilities are incredible.

Full Screen Video Conferencing (Picture courtesy of Scott Feldstein, From Flickr Creative Commons)

As future teachers, we need to consider the potentials of technology that we have today.  Things change so quickly and what seems futuristic right now will be commonplace in a few years in our classrooms.  Techlearning.com is a great site that explains this technology as well as other opportunities for educators.

After writing this blog, I read an AP story about 10 schools who videoconference weekly with scientists and teachers in Antartica.  The students can ask questions and see what the teachers are discussing, which is primarily climate change.  To read the article, click here.

Podcasts Blog Post -Chatting About Books from Read,Write, Think

I chose Chatting About Books from Read, Write, Think because I enjoy teaching writing and love reading.  I really liked this podcast because there was great information on books for children age 4-11.  The speaker, 3rd grade teacher Emily Manning, is informative and has lots of insight into age-appropriate books.  I chose to listen to a podcast about election books and the election process, which has current and relevant information.   The first speaker highlights good points about three specific books and points out the positive parts of the book as well as caution against one book that may be challenging on some levels.

Then she has a “cookies and milk” conversation with a 4th grade student named Jared and the interaction is charming and helpful.  In fact, the student turned the tables on the teacher and got the teacher to question her own point of view during discussion of a certain book.

Next, the speaker talks to Kathleen Krull in “expert chat;” she interviews the actual author of the books she recommends, which is incredibly insightful.  She asks the purpose of the author’s blog, www.inkrethink.blogspot.com,  a group of non-fiction writers who write about interesting non-fiction for children.

Author Kathleen Krull, as a child

Podcasts are a wonderful use of technology in education.  To listen, check out my widget on the sidebar, there’s a link to the feed or go to the podcast at Read,Write,Think

Podcasts- What are they and why am I using it?

The Mission

For some reason, the title of this blog makes me think of a Harrison Ford movie– like, The Fugitive.  Maybe it’s because we were talking about Blade Runner in English 306 yesterday ( the book was first called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?….by the way…) or maybe it’s because I’m taking cold medicine.   Our assignment for EDUC260 this week was video editing, which is very fun. It’s also very challenging for me because I wasn’t class yesterday because of bronchits.  Ick.   So I’ve had to teach myself, playing around with Windows Movie Maker.  It’s really interesting and I think I’ll enjoy using video more now that I understand it a little better.  Oh, and how was I in Eng 306 yesterday, you ask?  Because it’s online on Tuesdays.   So here’s a link to the movie that I edited from an unedited video that was produced in class.  I’m suppose to be in it, but since I wasn’t there, I hope Prof. Trusty recognizes that I substituted someone else.