A long, long time ago, in a school division far, far away, I was a member of a class whom took Calculus with a teacher and 10 students in the room, but 5 other students in 2 other towns. The precursor to videoconferencing, it was a PictureTel unit that allowed us to interact with the other students, see their work and have them see what was being demonstrated on the board. We chuckle about it now, as it seems a bit prehistoric -- we had a 20 inch TV (tube, of course) to see the students on, the entire unit was probably on the fritz just as often as it was working and the camera would zoom into the loudest noise in the room...so any outburst of laughter, and you were the embarrassed star of the show!
Fast forward approximately 6 years, and as a teacher, I was a member of a group piloting the use of a full videoconferencing suite at the school I was teaching at. Boy, was it ever slick in comparision to what we'd used less than a decade earlier! The focus of it's use had also changed: we were not primarily using it to deliver or receive curriculum, but rather to broaden our interaction and collaboration with peers and experts.
But where to find said experts and peers? There are a couple of sites that list videoconferencing opportunities, or just contacts that you can make to set up a VC on your own.
VC Alberta -- the original site set up to facilitate connections, it still houses a list of VC suites in K-12 around Alberta
2Learn2Gether -- branched out from the original VC Alberta, this is a current place to find upcoming VC opportunities, pd seminars, forums and events.
iCCAN -- connects nearly 60 communities in Alberta, with a searchable list of current sites.
These are just some available specifically in Alberta. Of course, there are numerous other ones out there with links to areas beyond Alberta's borders. Some are free, some cost money. Personally, I'd highly recommend Social Studies teachers checking out Global Nomads Group (GNG) for some great VCs with a global focus. Enjoy connecting, talking and brainstorming with people outside of your classroom!
Vanessa
