Monday, June 23, 2008

21st Century Skills- What are they and why I should care?

How much of our curriculum is centered on authentic problem-solving, teamwork and information literacy? Administrators and educational leaders need to rethink our K-12 education using 21st Century Skills to help students be successful in the global economy. We will assist you to integrate and implement the use of Digital Tools to:Collect, Retrieve, Interpret, Present, Organize and Manage informationEvaluate the quality, relevance, and usefulness of informationGenerate accurate information through the use of existing resourcesDevelop Information, Communication, Thinking and Problem-solving skillsCreate Interpersonal and self-directional skillsUse Digital Age Literacy to promote Inventive Thinking ,Effective Communication and High Productivity

Program Length:1hr 15 min


Cost per Site: $225.00

10 Rules for Revolutionaries in the 21st Century Classroom

Our students deal with an enormous number of sensory inputs on any given day. Helping them focus attention is a critical first step when engaging students. Getting their attention is only the first step. Learn how to keep your learners' interests piqued so you can keep them engaged. Find out what it will take to compel students tod o things differently and how to engage with ideas, information and each other, on terms they define for themselves.Our Digital Kids learn from watching, showing and sharing with others who care as much as they do. Discover what social learning is all about and how to allows students latitude with social learning and give learners a sense of feeling personally engaged.To provide a 21st Century learning environment, we need to engage learners in the active negotiation of new knowledge so that new learning will be relevant to each and every contributor and will provide a memorable learning experience. If we learn how to change the learning environment then the greater the likelihood students will remember what they've learned.Learning is unique to each individual, and we need to discover how to give the learners the skills to decide where to engage. In today's socially networked world, it's important to help students feel connected to the community.

Program Length: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cost per Site: $225.00

Howie DiBlasi
928 River Walk
Georgetown, TX 78633
(970) 749-0760
Fax: (512) 819-0627

Monday, May 19, 2008

FREE: Virtual Paleotrek: Paleontology in the Comfort of your own Classroom

How could a “virtual field activity” work in your science classroom? What elements would it need to be a successful addition to your curriculum? Join geologists and paleontologists from the Saint Louis Science Center as they seek your feedback on a pilot “virtual field activity” program they are developing as part of their Paleotrek program in Montana. Help the experts plan future virtual field trips that your students could be a part of. Partner with other science educators from across the country in a professional conversation about what has worked with field activities in your classroom and what you’d like to do even better.

We are offering three different videoconference sessions for your participation. Each of the sessions will include:

  • Interaction with geologists, paleontologists, and teachers participating in the Saint Louis Science Center’s Paleotrek program in Montana
  • Participation in “virtual” field activities taught by geologists and paleontologists from the Saint Louis Science Center during their field program, Paleotrek, in Montana
  • Sharing your successful field activities with teachers engaged in the conference
  • Professional conversation on how best to include field activities in the science classroom
  • Professional conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of “virtual” field activity experiences and how best to incorporate them into the science classroom
  • Evaluation of the “virtual” field activity you participated in

You are invited to join any or all of our videoconferences. Please look over the dates and times below and see which professional conversation and virtual field activity pilot experience works best for you to join. Know other colleagues who might be interested also? Be sure to share this information with them.

Tuesday, June 17—11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Daylight TimeVirtual Field Trip Activity: Go to the Science Center’s Montana field site. Learn about the use of topographical maps, fossil identification and prospecting in the Montana badlands.

Wednesday, June 18—11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Daylight TimeVirtual Field Trip Activity: Participate as the Science Center explores fossil microsites. Interact as they prospect and collect the fossils that make up microsites.

Thursday, June 19—11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Daylight TimeVirtual Field Trip Activity: Engage in field orienteering using GPS technology. Interact with Science Center experts and teachers as they excavate an actual dinosaur fossil.


Program Format

  • Interaction with geologists, paleontologists, and teachers participating in the Saint Louis Science Center’s Paleotrek program in Montana
  • Participation in “virtual” field activities taught by geologists and paleontologists from the Saint Louis Science Center during their field program, Paleotrek, in Montana
  • Sharing your successful field activities with teachers engaged in the conference
  • Professional conversation on how best to include field activities in the science classroom
  • Professional conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of “virtual” field activity experiences and how best to incorporate them into the science classroom
  • Evaluation of the “virtual” field activity you participated in
Tim Gore
School District of Clayton#2
Mark Twain Circle
Clayton, MO 63105
(314) 773-6934

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Introducing loc.gov: Orientation & Research Strategies

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with over 134.5 million books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts in its collections. It collects in over 460 languages, with materials ranging from rare cuniform tablets to born digital materials. Through its Web site, it provides access to resources, services, and over eleven million of its multimedia primary sources.How can you access this wealth of information? What resources and services can assist you? This orientation will provide an overview of what's available, provide strategies for accessing the materials, and introduce you to the resources created by staff to further your research into the Library's collections. The Digital Reference Section conducts a one-hour orientation monthly via Web conference. Throughout the program, there are opportunities to ask questions, try various search tools, sample the multimedia primary source materials online, and become familiar with the digital formats on the site.
Program Format

This is an interactive program. Participants will be moved around the web site, with stops along the way for exploration and questions. In addition, participant interests and requests will guide the choice of demonstration examples.

Objectives

The participant will:- be able to navigate to and through content areas of the web site.- be familiar with displaying the online multimedia files and how to download and print them.- practice strategies for finding and locating items of interest.




Judith Graves


101 Independence Ave, SE

Washington, DC 20540-4604

(202) 707-2562

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Smooth Transition to College for Students Using INFOhio's EBSCO Databases

May 1, 2008
3:30-4:45 p.m.

This interactive videoconference takes a look at the similarities in the INFOhio K-12 and academic EBSCO databases that make transitions from high school to college easy. The session will discuss search tips, feature utilization, common threads with interfaces and how new EBSCOhost features will tie into some of the common Web functionality that our students have come to expect from their favorite Web sites. Advanced search strategies and tips for college research will also be stressed.



Presenter: Scott Bernier, EBSCO Publishing

















Melissa Higgs-Horwell
Curriculum Integration Coordinator
SCOCA
175 Beaver Creek Rd.
Piketon, OH 45661
800-634-8828
Cell: 740-352-6820
Fax: 740-289-2082
melissah@scoca-k12.org

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Jazzing up Your Curriculum with Videoconferencing


123 VC! Jazzing up Your Curriculum with Videoconferencing
July 28 through August 1, 2008


Videoconference (VC) connections between classes open up a whole new world of collaborative learning for students! Immerse yourself in videoconferencing communication. Come learn about structures/templates for projects with other classes and other educational uses of videoconferencing. This class is team taught with VC colleagues in Ohio, New York and Texas. Team up with another teacher to create a VC project for next year. Along the way, learn about and use other collaborative technologies such as blogs & wikis.

Details
Times: 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM Monday through Thursday and 8:30 AM – 12:00 Noon on Friday
Location: North Central Ohio Educational Service Center, 59 St. Francis Avenue, Tiffin, Ohio 44883.
Cost: $100 for the week includes lunch on Monday through Thursday.
Credit: 2 graduate semester credits available through Ashland University. Tuition cost is $259.00 per semester hour. Certificates of Attendance will be available.

Outline
Monday: What is videoconferencing? Introduction to the technology. Meet your VC colleagues. Learn about VC project possibilities. Exchange Projects such as Read Across America.
Tuesday: Academic Challenges. Math Marvels. Testimonials from teachers who have used VC. Group project time.
Wednesday: Problem solving multi-point videoconferences. MysteryQuest. Mock trials. Racial dialogues. Group project time.
Thursday: Literature-based videoconferences such as ASK (Author Specialist Knowledge). Global videoconferencing. Group project time.
Friday: Group project time. Group presentations.

Registration
Space is limited to 15 participants. So register ASAP! Register by emailing Kathy Mohr at kmohr@ncoesc.org.
More Info: Contact Kathy Mohr (kmohr@ncoesc.org or 419-447-2929 x172).

Cancellation Policy: Refunds for any workshop will be made only if the NCOESC is notified two (2) business days before the start of the activity.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

INFOhio: Reports to Promote Your Library

April 10, 2008
3:30-4:30 p.m.
FREE
Reports for public relations - Share ideas on what data to include in your annual reports to administrators, methods for obtaining that data, and ways to present the data effectively.

This session will focus on running SirsiDynix/INFOhio reports to obtain information such as circulation statistics, titles used in the library, average publication year of your collections, value of your collections and more.

Hear from INFOhio experts with SirsiDynix software, discuss unique situations and needs, and come away with some tools to promote your library program.
Presenters: Greg Perciak, Support Specialist, Library Systems, LNOCASuzanne Johnson-Varney, INFOhio Liaison, HCCA
Cost? Nothing!

Contact:
Melissa Higgs-Horwell
Curriculum Integration Coordinator SCOCA
175 Beaver Creek Rd.
Piketon, OH 45661
800-634-8828
Cell: 740-352-6820
Fax: 740-289-2082
melissah@scoca-k12.org