World Issues Class Connects to Pakistan

This morning we connected again to Pakistan, this time with a sophomore World Issues class from Edwardsburg High School.

Our class shared the seven themes of culture: social organization, holiday celebrations (Halloween & corn mazes), language (slang), arts & literature (types of music), religion, government, and economics.

They used skits, pictures, costumes, and props in their presentation.

The class in Pakistan shared information on their form of government and what parts of their culture are similar to the U.S. Another student shared how they celebrate religious holidays in Pakistan.

They showed us the shalwar and qamis national dress and held up examples of handicrafts to show us. They also showed us their money which has the picture of the founder of Pakistan on it, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

We also listened to their presentation about the different provinces and types of terrain in Pakistan.

In the last 5 minutes, students asked questions back and forth.

We connected a bit late because they had lost electricity in Pakistan. It's quite typical in the summer months to lose power occasionally.

The classes talked about summer holidays, winter holidays and other times off of school, and how education is not compulsory for some students in Pakistan. They also talked about sports and explained the rules of football and discussed favorite teams etc.

It was a great experience for all & I'm sure we'll connect again!

Janine

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Recruitment Event

This morning Benton Harbor High School students participated in a college recruitment event coordinated by CILC. This unique event allows students to hear from many recruiters from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The recruiters are onsite in Indianapolis. Each recruiter comes up and the classes get to ask questions of the recruiter in round robin format.

The recruiters only get a few minutes, but they cram in useful information, trivia, and fun facts into their quick presentation. After one set of recruiters present their information, students ask questions in round robin format. Then we disconnect and reconnect to another set of recruiters at another location in Indianapolis.

Students get a great overview of the myriad options available to them for college. This is the second year Benton Harbor has participated in this tightly organized event. It's a good model for others trying to get a college recruiter interview videoconference organized.

Sharing Communities with Pakistan

Today after hurried preparations, we did our first international connection of this school year. A second grade class at E. P. Clarke Elementary in St. Joseph connected with some 2nd, 3rd and 4th class students in Karachi, Pakistan.

The two classes shared information about their homes and families. One Hindu student in Pakistan shared how he lived with his nuclear family. Another student in Pakistan shared how he lived with his extended family.

The two classes shared clothing and the students in Pakistan showed their shalwar qamis. Both classes shared what type of weather and climate are common in their area.

The class in Pakistan shared their alphabet with us. They are going to email us the whole alphabet and how to say the letters.

The classes also shared their holidays. Our class shared how we celebrate Halloween, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. They also shared holiday celebrations with us and showed how the bride & groom dress for a wedding.

The format of the videoconference was basically sharing back and forth. Students at one site would share information, then the other class would share information on the same topic. Other topics covered included money, transportation, sports, entertainment, school topics, and landforms.

The students in Pakistan taught our students how to say, "how are you," "thank you," and "we are fine" in their national language, Urdu.

We finished with questions back and forth between the schools, thanks and goodbyes! An excellent experience for everyone involved!

New Middle Schools Online

Yesterday I tested with the three Benton Harbor middle schools who just installed used Polycom 512s. I'm so excited that they now have access! A huge barrier to using videoconferencing in my middle schools is the transportation to the high school to access the technology. It's easier for one or two elementary classes to come over and use it, but for 6 sections of a middle school subject area, it's pretty much not worth the hassle. So now that these middle schools have the technology in the building, I know they will be using it much more this year!

A few other factors will make them successful this year, I'm sure. Each building has an assigned distance learning coordinator, mostly media specialists, who are in charge of the equipment. They are excited about the possibilities and find the Polycom remote easy to use. Having an enthusiastic "advocate" is what makes the difference in usage among the schools in our two counties.

In addition, most of the teachers already know what videoconferencing is. So instead of doing "awareness" sessions, we're doing "pick your program" sessions. We're trying out a new format for this professional development. The school will connect to me in my office for the whole day. Then as teachers have their conference hour, they will stop by the library to talk about what program(s) would be appropriate for their curriculum. They will be able to see the technology in action, experience how their videoconference setup works, and talk to me about possible programs or projects. I'm hoping that this will help teachers feel comfortable with their selections. I will help them fill out our mini-grant/scheduling request forms as well.

To my local principals & distance learning coordinators, if you want to schedule this type of professional development for your teachers, just contact me!

Best 2nd grade VC programs

So you're a 2nd grade teacher and trying to pick the best VC program for this year? Here are what I consider to be your best choices.

Science
Of all the possibilities we've correlated to the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations for 2nd grade, I'd say choose one of these providers:

1. The Center for Puppetry Arts has excellent programs. They are designed well for young students' attention spans because the students work on making a puppet, glue a little, then learn something while it's drying, then glue a little more. By the time the program is done, they have a puppet! I highly recommend these programs!
2. We really enjoy both the Columbus Zoo and the Cincinnati Zoo for the adaptations and/or life cycle/bug programs.
   
3. Consider also the Lake County Waste Management District for their environment programs. The presenter is an incredible storyteller and connects very well with the students. Plus they are free!
4. If your students are "designing a system that encourages growing of particular plants or animals" MI.SCI.III.5.3, consider sharing your "system" or worm farm or other experiments with another class. Last spring we did a worm-farm sharing project that was highly successful!
5. If your students are studying weather, you may want to connect to a class in a different area and share local weather/climate conditions.
6. If your students are learning about "seasonal changes in Michigan's weather" MI.SCI.V.3.2, you may consider presenting the four seasons to another class. Or connect to a partner class four times during the school year to share the four different seasons.
   

Social Studies: Communities

1. Joan Roehre, Kenosha, WI, shared a really neat local community history idea on her blog. She's running this project for her local districts in March. We could do the same thing here in Berrien County if we have a few interested teachers!
2. The Around the World program from the Museum of TV & Radio is one of the best programs that shows different types of communities around the world. Highly recommended!
3. You could also connect with a class in a different type of community anywhere in the world, really. Canada & the U.S. are the easiest places to find a partner class, but other international locations aren't out of the picture - they just take a bit more work to find! To my local teachers, email me if you want to do this!
   

Language Arts

1. Of course, don't forget the possibility of participating in Read Across America in March 2006. That would be free.
2. For my local teachers: We have some good ASK programs coming up that you'll want to consider. Remember we send you the books.
   ****Stellaluna by Janell Cannon; Grade Level: 2-3, Topic: Bats.
   Date: November 3, 2005: 9:30-10:30; 10:45-11:45; and 1:00-2:00 p.m.
   You'll interview experts at the Bat Conservatory at the Cranbrook Institute of Science.
   ****Ice Bear and Little Fox by Jonathan London, Grades 2-3. Topic: Polar Bears
   Date: March 16, 9:30-10:15 and 10:30-11:15 a.m. (3 slots each time).
   You'll interview an expert at the Indianapolis Zoo.
   
3. You could also, at any other time of the year, present a choral reading, play, or original class book to another class.
4. There are several good content provider programs based on children's literature as well.
   

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Best 1st grade VC programs

So you're a 1st grade teacher and trying to pick the best VC program for this year? Here are what I consider to be your best choices.

Science
Of all the possibilities we've correlated to the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations for 1st grade, I'd say choose one of these providers:

1. The Center for Puppetry Arts has excellent programs. They are designed well for young students' attention spans because the students work on making a puppet, glue a little, then learn something while it's drying, then glue a little more. By the time the program is done, they have a puppet! I highly recommend these programs!
2. The Columbus Zoo is excellent at tailoring their programs to your students' level. These are also very good programs, but you'd be schedule ASAP! The fall schedule is full and the rest of the year is filling up very quickly!
3. Consider also the Lake County Waste Management District for their environment programs. The presenter is an incredible storyteller and connects very well with the students. Plus they are free!
4. If your students are "designing a system that encourages growing of particular plants or animals" MI.SCI.III.5.3, consider sharing your "system" or worm farm or other experiments with another class. Last spring we did a worm-farm sharing project that was highly successful!
5. If your students are studying weather, you may want to connect to a class in a different area and share local weather/climate conditions.
   

Language Arts

1. Of course, don't forget the possibility of participating in Read Across America in March 2006. That would be free.
2. You could also, at any other time of the year, do a reading project with another class. One idea is to share a pattern book, such as Chica-Chica-Boom-Boom or Do You See What I See? One TX teacher who took my online class, Planning Interactive Curriculum Connections, partnered up with another class in NY. Each class took a turn at reading the book to each other, then they read the book aloud together. What a fun simple idea! You could extend it and have each class write their own book following the same pattern, and share that with each other via VC as well.
3. There are several good content provider programs based on children's literature as well.
   

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

What About Math? Elementary Possibilities

If you're interested in doing a videoconference related to math, you may have found that there aren't as many opportunties as other subject areas. However, there are still some good choices.

Content Providers

1. On the Wall: Drawing on Math from the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We've really enjoyed this program. Students use math to solve an art problem, show their solutions to the presenter, and then at the end of the videoconference they see how the artist solved the problem. Real-world applications of perimeterand area!
2. We really like the Lake County Waste Management District, and they offer two free programs: Scales & Tales – Environmental Fun with Measuring and also Talkin’ Trash. I haven't seen these two particular programs, but I've heard good things from DL colleagues who have done them.
3. If you've been reading this blog, you already know we love COSI Toledo here in Berrien County. Andy Campbell has a program called What's the Chance? If it's anything like the rest of his programs, it will be excellent!
4. We enjoy the Baseball Hall of Fame as well. They have a program called Math: Batter Up for 5^th grade & up. It covers long division, batting averages, and slugging percentages.
5. Another possibility is Mathematical Visions from the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts. I haven't seen this one yet, but it sounds interesting. Same with Ani-math from the Indianapolis Zoo.

Math Projects with Other Classes
Don't forget that you can do creative math projects with other classes. These are usually free too! Here's some possibilities:

1. Math Problem Solving is an idea shared by teachers at a TWICE workshop.
2. Linda McDonald, Katy ISD, TX, has a great project she runs called Math Marvels. Her website has the flyer information, sample problems, etc. under Documents. (Note, the links don't work if you're using Firefox, so look at this in Internet Explorer.)
3. I'm sure you can think of other ways your math class could share a love of math with another class!

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

BCISD VC Programs Update Sept. 16

Just a couple tweaks to the BCISD VC Program Database today.

1. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo just opened registration for their free programs. They fill up quickly with these date specific programs. They also have a few new ones.
2. Added new free October author programs from MAGPI (Internet2/384K H.323 only).
3. Updated the Museum of TV & Radio, LA listing.

Dream Factory VC Idea

In August I read an article in Wired Magazine titled The Dream Factory where the author designed his own guitar, sent the design to a "fab lab" and for about $1000 received his own guitar back in the mail. Very intriguing in the possibilities!

Of course I'm always thinking of the videoconferencing possibilities! Wouldn't it be neat to somehow find around $500 for two classes to work together to solve a problem with an invention. You could have one of the classes be a class in New Jersey close to the fab lab mentioned in the article so they could go pick it up and avoid shipping costs. A middle school technology/computer class would work, as well as a high school design/manufacturing class. If the two classes met at the same time, they could easily connect to each other. The two classes could decide together on a program and/or design the problem together. Then they could have teams of students design solutions. A panel of student judges from both classes could pick the winning design. After they send it in, the class in NJ could pick it up, get a tour of the "fab lab" and make an iMovie about it to share with the other class. Maybe they could then ship the "invention" to the partner class?

Just some wild ideas that I thought of when reading that article....

Metablog (thinking about blogging): The cool thing about a blog is you have a place to keep your wild and crazy ideas!

High School Expert Interviews

There's also a stack of expert interviews from several locations. We really like the COSI Columbus ones. They are available on many science topics.

1. COSI Columbus has many experts available on topics such as: climate change, migratory birds, athletic performance, PC robotics, memory, ecology, genetics, forensics, and more!
2. Vanderbilt Virtual School and Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach both offer several expert interviews on science topics and career interviews.
3. And don't forget all the great NASA programs. Most of the NASA Glenn programs are interviews with NASA scientists.

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Foreign Language Classes

We've had quite an increase this year in programs available for foreign languages. Here's what's available:

Spanish

1. The Cleveland Museum of Art, one of our favorite providers, will present a couple of their programs in Spanish if requested.
2. The Indianapolis Museum of Art offers an excellent interactive program called the Speak to Learn Game Show. It's available in Spanish, French, German or ESL! I love this program. Kids speak in the language about the art they are viewing and get points & medals for their work in the game show. Very fun. Students often say afterwards, "We should talk in the language more!"
3. Global Education Motivators has a program, Recognizing the Rights of People with Disabilities that can be presented in Spanish. The presenter is a gymnast from Columbia who suffered an injury to her spinal cord while performing on the vault. This sounds like a powerful program for English or Spanish!
4. The Indianapolis Zoo has a new program on Animales en Español. It says K-8 but would probably be good for a 1st year Spanish class as well.
5. Camden Children's Garden is offering all of their programs in Spanish this year (as well as English).
   
6. The Videoconference Organization Seminary in Spain offers several programs. A little on the pricey side, but they are a connection to Spain!
7. To my local teachers: In addition, I have a couple contacts in Latin America that we could set you up with a class to class conversation if you wish. You could also connect to another local Spanish class and talk to them en Español if you wish. A couple neat projects ideas are: Epals Hablar and Simon Dice.
   

French

1. The Indianapolis Museum of Art offers an excellent interactive program called the Speak to Learn Game Show as mentioned above.
2. The Cleveland Museum of Art, one of our favorite providers, will present a couple of their programs in French if requested.

German

1. The Indianapolis Museum of Art offers an excellent interactive program called the Speak to Learn Game Show as mentioned above.

Italian

1. The Cleveland Museum of Art added a new program, Italian Art, that can be presented in Italian if you wish.

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Studying the Holocaust & World War II

Is your class studying the holocaust? There are several good options of videoconferences to supplement your studies.

1. The Museum of Tolerance offers interviews with holocaust survivors. A little expensive, but well worth it. They are in California, so classes in the EST timezone can't schedule before about 12:00 noon.
2. The Holocaust Memorial in NY has a nice set of programs. I haven't seen them, but they look good! These could be scheduled during your class period.
3. Global Leap offers connections with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. They are scheduled about 8:30-10:30 a.m. EST (at least right now - daylight savings might change that) about one Wednesday a month. This sounds like an incredible experience!
4. Mr. Sacavage from Intermediate Unit 29 in PA offers a program on Holocaust and Tolerance Education. He has lots of experience, stories, pictures, and resources to share and can tailor the program to what you wish. We used him as the expert for the ASK: Daniel's Story program last year and probably will again this year.
   Note to my local teachers: This ASK program is available for scheduling if you wish. If you use the ASK format, we pay for it. Otherwise you can apply for a mini-grant. We could schedule Mr. Sacavage to go with a different book such as Night or Anne Frank's Diary. Email or call me at the ISD to discuss options.
5. Vanderbilt Virtual School is offering four 35-40 min. videoconferences with survivors this fall. They are scheduled at specific times, so plan ahead!
6. In addition, you may want to search the BCISD VC Database for World War II for additional choices, or check out Eyewitness to American History from the Battleship New Jersey or the programs from the Arizona Memorial Museum Association.
   
7. In February, we will be offering Lest We Forget interviews with our local World War II veterans. Depending on scheduling and local interest, we may have a few slots for classes outside our area to participate. Stay tuned here for details.

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Best 5th grade VC programs

So you're a 5th grade teacher trying to decide which VC programs to do this year? Here's my "best picks" list.

Social Studies

1. For U.S. geography and history, consider the program we run in April every year: MysteryQuest USA. My local teachers pick times & dates, then we advertise to everyone else. This program is always free.
2. Another highly recommended program is Musical Geography of America from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
3. See also our list of programs for 5th grade: colonization and exploration. I haven't seen any of these enough to strongly recommend any, but they all sound good.
   

Language Arts

1. For my local teachers: We have some good ASK programs coming up that you'll want to consider. Remember we send you the books.
   ****Roanoke: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen. Grade Level: 5th. Topic: Colonial times. Date: March 16, 2006; 1:00-2:00 p.m. 3 slots available.
   Students will interview a historical impersonator: a colonial craftsman.
   ****The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully, Grades 4-5
   Topic: Labor / US History
   Date: March 14, 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST (3 slots)
   ****Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman. Grade Level: 4-7 (5th is best). Topic: Tornadoes - weather. Date: Open to scheduling when you want it. Students will interview a local meteorologist.
   
2. See also the Grade Level Content Expectations for 5th grade language arts. These are all good choices.

Science
Of course look at the Grade Level Content Expectations for 5th grade science. Of those, I highly recommend the following:

1. Gadget Works from COSI Columbus for your simple machines unit. Excellent program! Kids take apart toys and learn about the simple machines in them during the program. Very highly recommended.
   
2. Anything from the Cincinnati Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Buffalo Zoo, COSI Toledo, or the Lake County Waste Management District.

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Best 4th grade VC programs

4th grade teachers, need help picking a videoconference for this year? Here's what I consider to be your best choices.

Social Studies
Of course there are many great options for studying Michigan!

1. Local Teachers: The free LAPS programs offered by Macomb ISD are one option. I've already emailed this information out. If you missed it, send me an email.
   Michigan teachers: Check with your ISD distance learning coordinator. This was advertised to TWICE members.
   
2. Local Teachers: Janie Panagopolous ASK programs: Train to Midnight, Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp, and Traders in Time. We supply a set of 30 books for you. You'll interview Janie, the author of the books. We're working with Macomb and Kent ISDs to schedule these. We may have openings in December, February and May. Send me an email if you are interested so we can save you a slot! (Free to my teachers.)
   This may be available to other Michigan teachers through TWICE but hasn't been officially advertised yet.
3. The very best content provider program on Michigan history is Great Lakes Native Peoples from Cranbrook. This one is really good and includes hands-on and group activities on trading, economics, types of government and more.
4. MSI: Museum Scene Investigation (Case File ­ A Fur Trader’s Cabin) from the Michigan State University Museum. I haven't seen this one, but it sounds excellent.
5. Don't forget the free TWICE coordinated Michigan Week Connections in May! Where in Michigan and Michigan Exchange are the two formats. During the May 8-19 window.

Language Arts

1. Of course, don't forget the possibility of participating in Read Across America in March 2006. That would be free.
2. And see the ASK programs listed above, as well as the MI Grade Level Content Expectations file for 4th grade language arts.

Science
Be sure to check out the MI Grade Level Content Expectations for 4th grade science. Of those, these are most worthy of consideration:

1. Gadget Works from COSI Columbus for your simple machines unit. Excellent program! Kids take apart toys and learn about the simple machines in them during the program. Highly recommended.
   
2. Anything from the Cincinnati Zoo, Columbus Zoo or COSI Toledo.
   
3. Don't forget the free NASA programs for your solar system units.

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Best 3rd grade VC programs

So you're a third grade teacher and trying to pick the best VC program for this year? Here are what I consider to be your best choices.

Social Studies: Regions
If you're studying regions, here are some great options.

1. Musical Geography of America, Cleveland Institute of Music. Also advertised for 5th grade, but we had a 3rd grade class do this last year and it was excellent. Highly recommended.
2. Geography from the Intrepid.Sea.Air.Space Museum is also excellent for 3rd grade region studies. We had a class do this last year who loved it!
   
3. Geography: Baseball Coast to Coast from the Baseball Hall of Fame would work well too. It's advertised for 4th & up, but I'm sure they could tailor it as needed.
4. I just found this one from NY. Regions of the U.S. from McClure Productions. Haven't seen it yet but it sounds excellent!
5. For my local teachers: If you want to connect to a class in a specific region to discuss their area, let me know and I can find a class for you! Another project idea would be to hook up a couple local 3rd grade classes and give clues about a region and try to guess which was presented.... These options would all be free.
   

Language Arts

1. Of course, don't forget the possibility of participating in Read Across America in March 2006. That would be free.
2. For my local teachers: We have some good ASK programs coming up that you'll want to consider. Remember we send you the books.
   ****Stellaluna by Janell Cannon; Grade Level: 2-3, Topic: Bats.
   Date: November 3, 2005: 9:30-10:30; 10:45-11:45; and 1:00-2:00 p.m.
   You'll interview an expert.
   ****Ice Bear and Little Fox by Jonathan London, Grades 2-3. Topic: Polar Bears
   Date: March 16, 9:30-10:15 and 10:30-11:15 a.m. (3 slots each time).
   You'll interview an expert.
   ****The Hard Times Jar by Ethel Footman Smothers, Grade Level: 3
   Topic: Poverty, value of education, economics
   Date: Still working on scheduling, 2nd semester. This one will also be available to Michigan classes through TWICE but hasn't been announced officially yet.
   You'll interview the author.
   ****Searching the Noonday Trail by Johnny Tuitel. Grade Level: 3-4. Topic: Cerebral Palsy. Date: Still working on scheduling, 2nd semester. This one will also be available to Michigan classes through TWICE but hasn't been announced officially yet.
   You'll interview the author.
   

Science
Of all the possibilities we've correlated to the Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations for 3rd grade, I'd say choose one of these providers:

1. COSI Toledo, one of our absolute favorite providers because of the hands-on experiments you do during the program.
2. Lake County Waste Management District for their environment programs. The presenter is an incredible storyteller and connects very well with the students. Plus they are free!
3. If you are studying adaptations, try the Animal Adaptations program from the Columbus Zoo or the Cincinnati Zoo, my two favorite zoos.

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

BCISD VC Programs Update Sept. 13

A few little updates today.....

1. COSI Toledo has a few new programs: Animal Adaptations and Ship Science.
2. Hook's Discovery and Learning Center's programs increased to $100.
3. The Indianapolis Zoo has some new programs: An Afternoon with Jan Brett (Oct. 12), Animales en Español, and Nature's Neighbors.
4. Added the fall programs from the Vanderbilt Office of Science Outreach.
   

Enjoy!

Finding Demos with Content Providers

A few people have asked me this in the last couple days, so I thought I'd share it here too. If you're looking for a demo with a content provider, the best place to look is the TWICE Professional Development page. It has a customized search to the BCISD VC Programs database to find all the programs targeted to teachers. You can also do the search yourself and type "teacher" in the standards field and even adjust the cost to find free demos if you wish. Good luck planning your PD sessions!

Neighboring District VC Project

Last year, two of my local elementary buildings took on a wonderful project to study the local history between their two cities. With a Rotary Grant, they bought Polycoms for the two buildings, and used the distance learning technology to bridge across the river that is often said to divide their two communities. I encourage you to read more about the Voices of the Twin Cities Past project and do a similar project with a partner class this year!

Middle School Geography Videoconferences

There are a number of excellent opportunities for middle school geography classes. This list is for Michigan 6th grade classes studying Western Hemisphere and 7th grade classes studying Eastern Hemisphere. However, the ideas apply to other grade levels if your school studies geography in a different grade level.

1. MysteryQuest: World Geography. We run this project every year with sessions for Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has been in the fall, but due to state testing moving to October, we'll be running this in late January, early February. My teachers pick the dates & times, then we open up registration for all the rest of you! There's no way we could run enough for everyone interested, so you'll find information on running your own there as well if you want to do that. MysteryQuest is free for my teachers and the rest of you too!
   
2. For my local teachers, you could connect with a class in another country! I've been collecting contacts and could set you up with a class in Alberta or Ontario, Canada, or in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Pakistan, or Taiwan. We could possibly find other partner classes too. These are free!
3. I would really like to do an Around the World project like I've seen online a few places. I don't really want to stay up all night, but we could do a morning to evening time frame. Also we could focus on just one hemisphere as well. This idea would be free and we could have lots of local classes participate. Here are links of websites who have done this: Around the World in a Day, Boston, 2002; NJEdgeNet 2003, 2004 and a press release.
4. There are a few good content provider programs on Canada: Inuit: Survival in the Canadian Arctic, and Kigluait Adventures has some programs that mention Canada.
5. Another good one would be the Cleveland Institute of Music's new Musical Geography of the World. I really want to see this one, so to my teachers: write a mini-grant for this one!!
   
6. For Central and South America, tying in with science and doing something on the rainforest might be good.
7. For Eastern Hemisphere, try programs on Africa or Asia.
   
8. Searching geography in the standards field also will bring up a good list. You'll have to sort through the U.S. geography ones, though.

This should give any middle school geography teacher a good start at the possibilities!

To my local teachers, email me or visit www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl to schedule any of these videoconferences.

Funding for Programming

So where do you find funding for programming when doing videoconferences? The most creative list I've seen yet is from Karen Mosier, Allendale Michigan, media specialist supporting her teachers.

1. Ink Cartridge Recycling Program Funds
2. Local business contributions and civic organizations
3. Presentations made at Chamber of Commerce meetings
4. Funds received from Target and Meijer rebate programs–held in school activity funds
5. PTO fundraiser donations
6. Application for grants

Karen shared this list in a final project for the class Planning Interactive Curriculum Connections and I'm sharing it here with her permission. I always learn so much from participants in that class! We all learn together! Feel free to join us for the next session starting October 3!

First Videoconference of the School Year!

Today we're off to visit the Columbus Zoo in the first videoconference of this year. Thirteen third graders from Marie Wolford Elementary in Galien are learning about Animal Classification. As usual the Columbus Zoo is great at getting the kids to talk and interact during the program. The first animal students learned about was the legless lizard (see the picture). The Columbus Zoo always has wonderful hands-on activities for kids to do during the program. Today's activities included writing out your home address to compare with the process of classification, and working in groups to classify pictures of animals. Some other pretty cool creatures were shown too!

The Columbus Zoo's programs are excellent and they are booked pretty much solid for the fall already! So if you want to go to the Columbus Zoo, schedule soon!!