Elluminate a Virtual Environment

 

 

Technological Challenges

 

 

We experimented this week using Elluminate http://www.elluminate.com/ . We used it to connect kids together, in groups both large (50 students) and small (4). We found that our internet bandwidth was barely sufficient to handle 50 individuals and in one of our conferences connections were constantly dropping making meaningful communication difficult. Even in the session where bandwidth was not such an issue it became clear that the medium required very focused educational outcomes with clearly defined and simple tasks. Despite the problems the students were extremely motivated and took the technological glitches in stride. They were patient and attempted to complete the assignments to the best of their abilities.

 

The experience with Elluminate left us feeling confident in our plans to use it as a tool to facilitate online literature circles. Groups of 12 participants should work well. We will continue to practice with small groups in our own schools so we become proficient working and sharing in the virtual environment. Having someone in the same physical room as you makes is much easier to trouble shoot if something unexpected happens.

Photo: Paul White

Beyond the Bricks and Mortar

 

Cayoosh Kidz record an News episode.

 

 

I’ve taken a break from writing report cards. Why don’t the people that design report card writing software ever think to ask a classroom teacher what they need? It drives me crazy when software developers produce substandard products that are less useful and more time consuming than paper and pen. People, we have the technology, get it right. However, all is not darkness and doom.

 

An interesting product that has just come out is the Owle http://www.wantowle.com/Welcome.html . It is an adapter for the iPhone and markedly improves the video quality. While this product is designed for the iPhone, the principle could be applied to any smartphone. A smartphone can become a useful information gathering and sharing tool. With online video editing such as Movie Masher http://www.moviemasher.com/ you can take decent video clips, edit, and share them on the web, in minutes. If you want to brush up on your video skills try Video 101 http://www.video101course.com/Editing/e_50.html

 

Copyright is always a thorny issue when you are trying to illustrate a blog or some other work you want to share with a public audience. There is always creative commons which allows certain uses of images. Flickr  http://www.flickr.com/photos/grade5/ offers such a service. I recently found a site that claims no copyright and has a selection of excellent photos http://aksinya.wordpress.com/ .

 

The connected classroom project has started to use Moodle http://moodle.org/ . Moodle is the FaceBook of education. It is part of an emerging class of social media that has the potential to change the way children are educated.  Moodle offers a way to manage all the tasks that teachers and students need to accomplish in a totally digital format. Moodle is not perfect but it is functional. Colleagues at my school are beginning to transfer all their assignments onto Moodle. With Moodle, a Smartboard, Bridgit and Elluminate we can provide a powerful educational experience without paper and possibly without a bricks and mortar classroom.

 

Well I guess it is time to get back to the report cards. Writing the blog has reminded me of all the great technology available and has restored my faith in the web 2.0 future. Hopefully, by this time next year I can report that report card writing has left the dark ages behind.

Connecting Classrooms- Week One

Students watch a frog in the school's wetland pond.

Connected Classrooms has begun. Despite minor setbacks the enthusiam and commitment remains high. The students especially are excited about being involved in the process. They seem to sense that it is real and relevant to their lives. They can’t wait to get their hands on the new netbooks!

We found that the video conferencing facilities were excellent; we easily connected with another classroom. Despite the fact the buddy class was seven years advanced, there was a remarkable level of connection. Somehow the digital filter of video conferencing negated much of the social distance you might have expected. Tanberg makes an excellent video conference system.

Our use of Elluminate Live has been a little slower. This is because the netbooks have not yet arrived. They are absolutely promised by this Thursday. I can tell you that the kids will riot if they aren’t in by then. Now the organizational dust of the first week has settled we are busy learning about flash drives, email addresses, netbook management protocol, etc. Of course to begin with, we are practicing these skills in the school computer lab.

Strangely the area that has caused the most frustration is the lowly Smartboard.  Our IT department’s resources are stretched so thin it is amazing how much they do accomplish. Without a dedicated IT support team this project would never get off the ground.

So after a week with Connected Classrooms we are, if anything, more excited by the possibilities of creating a new digital environment to learn, grow and develop all our skills in.

VSS Vancouver Conference – Mind Expanding

You Can't Hide Your Head In The Water - Web 2.0 Is Here.

The Virtual Schools Society conference was mind expanding. At every session I saw people doing things with technology that I had never seen before. It was a combination of necessity, new software and grand imagination.

During a session with Steve Dotto, I watched as a wave of Twitter responses followed his presentation. The interaction elevated the experience to a level of community participation I have never witnessed. We became engaged in a shared dialog with Steve.

The conference was one of the most creative I have attended. Each presenter demonstrated a unique approach to the challenges of creating meaningful content using Web 2.0 tools. The techniques and pedagogy weren’t always refined, but all the sessions were thought-provoking. For most of my fellow participants the dominant question at the conference was: How can I use what this presenter is sharing in my own context?

The keynote presentations were fascinating and often used examples from industry to illustrate or make predictions about what was happening, and going to happen in education. A dominant theme of the conversation was that we have entered a new paradigm of social interaction. A paradigm where we the educators are obliged to find progressive ways to apply the new models to enhance student achievement. As a rural teacher I see these new changes in the educational landscape providing students with opportunities they have never had before. In one session I joined isolated kindergarten students from across northern BC and the Yukon as they interacted and shared stories using Elluminate. In another session I watched while high school students created and shared multimedia presentations. One group was situated in a classroom, while the other group was spread around the province. Technology had rendered distance insignificance.

The presentations at the VSS weren’t always flawless. But they showed a potential for solving the problems that have often prevented rural students from reaching their potential in the past. It was inspiring; now the work begins.

Elluminate Live – Seeing the Light

 

 

The internet conferencing program Elluminate was a bit of an of an enigma to many of us who took part in the Rural Schools conference in Vancouver this Fall. Frankly after the first training session on Elluminate Live, I am impressed, and from the feedback other participants have given me they are too.

 

An affordable, flexible and functional system for distance education has powerful implications for the democratization of rural education. It gives a glimpse of a near-future where collaboration and in-service can be accessed in every corner of the province. Elluminate also suggests a number of innovative strategies for engaging isolated students in an active process of learning. The possibilities are exciting and inspiring.

 

If you haven’t had a chance to try Elluminate go to http://www.learnnowbc.ca/lnbcresources/elluminate/default.aspx . There are a wide range of resources there. You can book a session with Elluminate and practice using it. This is a very cool tool.