IVC at NECC 2006

I meant to blog 1000 times at the NECC conference – but I kept running out of time! So now that I am settling back into work, I wanted to share a few things about my learning experiences.

I was able to meet up with my friend Carol – who I met in an online course about videoconferencing taught by Janine Lim. We also ran into Janine a few times and even got mentioned in her blog!

I attended a Birds-of-a-Feather session hosted by Scott Merrick (Snacks 4 the Brain) and Joan Roehre. It was a real thrill for me because I got to meet Scott and I have been reading his work for so long it was like meeting one of my idols. The session focused on desktop videoconferencing and they showed us a tool called iVisit. It is a desktop videoconferencing solution. It has the capabilities for multiple people and locations to conference together. It really has a lot of potential as a cost-effective alternative to room conferencing systems. We also looked at SightSpeed which is a video calling tool for desktops and the Polycom Communicator speaker to use with Skype for enhancing audio on computer calls.

I also attended the 1st Annual SIGIVC (Special Interest Group Interactive Video Conferencing) business meeting. It was exciting for me because last year, at my first NECC, I was able to sign the charter and here we are already having our 1st annual meeting! Our SIG decided to break off into 4 sections (based on survey input we collected earlier in the year) – Communications; Professional Development; Research and Technology. I joined the Research group alongside of Allen Greenberg of Wainhouse Research! Again, a total honor since each Wainhouse Research Bulletin and Forum are my lifeblood to the IVC industry.

I blogged on 3 sessions for eSchool News – They were:
Online Lessons: As Diverse as American Minds!
21st Century Education: A Blended Learning Environment
Experience HyperMirror Videoconferencing!

I really wanted to be able to attend more IVC showcases – but the ones I did were fantastic!

I attended Enhancing Visual Thinking Strategies and Promoting Acceptance through Videoconferencing which was actually a project done from the Mohawk RIC! This was absolutely fantastic. It was a cross-curricular project where students from South Jefferson Central School videoconferenced with students in France. The students created self-portraits, videos and worked on collaborative websites together. In addition, the project was shared with 25 future teachers at SUNY Oswego where they could see the impact and results of global project. The work the students did was fantastic and they also had opportunities to discuss current events like the Parisian Riots.

I also attended K20Connections: Virtual Field Trips between University Research and Pre-College Classrooms. Quyen Arana from the K20 Connections center at the University of Oklahoma created a mobile videoconferencing unit - fitted with a wireless bridge – which he used with scientists and researchers in the lab environment. The scientists and researchers were able to bring the videoconferencing unit into their labs, show the students around and answer questions. To show us an example we were taken on a tour of the Super Computer Lab at the University of Oklahoma. The researcher in charge of the Super Computer enthusiastically explained all sorts of aspects of the machine. The goal of this type of project would be to increase student interest in Math, Science and Technology while linking them with local universities. It was a terrific example of learning from an expert and seeing their enthusiasm for their life’s work!

Another IVC Showcase I attended was K2K Connections and Collaborations: Get Your Project and Partner Here! – hosted by Joan Roehre. It was a take off on speed dating, where we all partnered up for about 3 minutes discussed some collaboration ideas we had and made connections with new people and schools. I feel even luckier since Carol was at the same session so she and I were able to double-up on our resources!

Throughout the conference I met so many people who want to make connections with our schools – either through videoconferencing, blogging, collaborative websites and/or podcasting! I feel like the conference did a fantastic job on showcasing the power of kid2kid (or class2class) collaborations.

I have a lot of ideas for the upcoming school year – so start recruiting your teachers!