KC3 First Place Winners

Kids Creating Community Content
No matter where you live in the world your community is unique. What can others learn from your area, your citizens, your natural or agricultural resources or your local and national treasures? What can you share with others that will enhance their view of your culture, your country or your heritage and our world? This standards based project seeks to tap into the creative nature of students as you look at your community with new eyes and explore ways to share your findings with others using videoconferencing and technology as a resource.

Learn about the two First Place Winning Projects below.
High School Division: Texas Cowboy Reunion
Middle School Division: Ranch and Rodeo

KC3 Contest: First Place: Middle School Division
Ranch and Rodeo
Breckenridge Junior High School, located in Breckenridge, Texas, is a rural community with an abundance of resources. Kimberly Fuller, Gifted and Talented teacher, decided the KC3 contest would be a great project for her group of 7th and 8th graders. She felt it would help them develop and use their critical thinking, speech, presentation, research, various curriculum, and technological skills.

Getting Started
In October 2008 the class began developing their program to teach those that do not live in a rural community about how Ranch and Rodeo are connected. One of their students is a roper, so they built the interactivity around his ability. Another student's dad was an ex-bull rider, which gave them another source. The class felt that they could make a good field trip with the extras needed to make it special.

Putting It Together
The T.A.G. team (Talented and Gifted) used the internet for research and incorporated computer programs such as power points and word documents. Digital cameras, the document camera, the camcorder,the laptop computer, and the distance learning lab equipment completed their technology suite.

• All these technologies were used to develop a thorough program. Students used technology to give overviews of information, present live footage, show different views of certain elements contained within the program, and to complete various other aspects of the program.
• Overall it worked very well. They kept everything that was at their disposal in mind, and tried to incorporate it into the program. Because they didn’t want too much of one type of technology, they had to decide who was going to use what. They brainstormed to determine what they could develop to incorporate all of the technologies.

Ongoing Work
While the class finished the project for the judges in February, they plan to present it for the rest of this school year and next year. This year they will present to:

• Cardiff, Wales, because they did a very short segment for them
• Hawaii, because they formed a lasting relationship last year. In fact,  they will trade programs with them.
• South Elementary in Breckenridge, Texas (After Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test)
  They will continue to present as long as the program continues to be requested.

Next Steps
Kimberly’s class will develop another program for next year while continuing to offer “Ranch and Rodeo”.

Participate in This Project
Breckenridge’s T.A.G team is becoming a content provider on www.cilc.org. Thus, you will be able to register for “Ranch and Rodeo” through www.cilc.org in the fall of 2009! Watch the Fall Issue of CILC e-News for details.

Why Do this Project
We asked Kimberly why she felt this was an important project for her students.
She said, “I believe that it rounds off the students that I have. It makes them mentors and teachers. It puts them into an adult position because they become the presenters. Unused distance learning equipment is such a waste. I have the ability to provide at least this one group with the experience and novelty of videoconferencing. As a result, other classes have been pulled in to participate with various programs. We are trying to integrate Distance Learning into our curriculum. It has been used a great deal this year. I hope that it increases every year!”

Impact on Students Involved
Kimberly said, “This is a very positive experience for all of those involved. Even though we have deadlines and specific appointments, it is a pretty calm atmosphere in which to work.

Group Work
The class has to learn to work as one group with lots of individual goals. Team work teaches them to:

• deal with different personalities within the group
• use their individual talents to add to the overall goal of the group
• learn to give as well as take, which is really hard for the gifted and talented group to do
• support and encourage one another when facing obstacles.

Communication
The community is very supportive of the project. My students learn to communicate with different people and businesses in the community depending on the project.

On Their Learning
This project provides the hands-on personal experience that is lacking in some classrooms. It gives an extra resource to use to help students understand the information that they are studying. All programs are supposed to be aligned to the National Standards. When we set up our program, the students have to research the standards. The students learn about why there is so much emphasis on what is done in class.

We did not know much about Pittsburg, PA before the virtual field trip, but after we were the receiving site, we knew quite a bit. The students on the other end of our program didn't know much if anything about ranches and rodeos, but after the program they knew the basics.”

Impact on Other Students in Our School
“Many individuals in our school benefit from the program because they get to participate. We have increased our efforts to use the Lab as much as possible; therefore, they get to see programs that they normally would not. Without the program, our distance learning system would be gathering dust like most because no one has the time to learn how to use it. The program has made teachers aware of what a wonderful tool they have at their fingertips. The entire world is ready to explore with the distance learning lab. It takes a lot of time, effort and hard work to effectively use the resources, but it is well worth it all.”

Impact on the Teacher
“I try to let the students go any direction with the program that they choose. I facilitate; I do not do it for them. I leave most decisions up to them. I am only around for feedback. It is kind of hard to let them struggle, but that is the only way they will learn how to reach their goals. With G.T., they would gladly let me tell them what to do and do it. They have to learn to be independent thinkers.

I am the only teacher that is directly involved in the project. My greatest surprise was when we connected with Cardiff, Wales. They have castles. The students hope that we can connect with them to learn more about Cardiff. It is a wonderful city with many things to teach us about that we will probably not get to experience first hand.

This project has added an entire new level of learning and experience for my class and the other classes that help us out. Parents of G.T. children in lower grades can't wait for their kids to get to junior high G.T.; it is helping pave the way for my future G.T. students. It is also becoming a well established part of my curriculum, as I cannot get the same or as many effects from various other things that we do. I am always surprised at how well it comes out each time we present the programs. The students get really serious when it comes to the real thing. I cannot express the joy that I get seeing the students grow throughout the project. It is inspiring how well the team learns to work with the participating sites. They have more patience than I give them credit for when it comes to presenting.”

Impact on Others
The Swenson Memorial Museum
“We had to coordinate a time to visit the Swenson Memorial Museum. We usually walked to lunch and then to the museum to retrieve the information that we needed for our programs. They have worked with us for two years. We would be missing vital parts of our program if it weren't for their help.

Other Teachers
The teachers at Breckenridge Junior High School have been very supportive. Often, my students have to miss at least one class period other than my own when we present. Time constraints are our biggest challenge. Without the cooperation of the teachers, we could not do this project at all. The students are very willing to make up any work that they miss. I coordinate everything, which is probably my biggest role in the project.”

Lessons Learned
Technical Lessons

• The participating site needs to keep their lights on in order for the presenting site to see to call on them.
• A microphone up by the TV will drown out the volume coming from the participating site.
• Presets are the way to go for most of the camera positions.
• If your laptop does not show your power point, it might be because of the way the laptop reads the initial start up.
• Once you have set your program up on the school website, it is much easier the second time.

Presentation Lessons

• Speak loud and clear and be confident to keep your audience interested.
• Eye contact and happy faces are a must.
• Teamwork is the key: listen to and help one another when something isn’t working.
• Know how to ask questions of your audience.

Communication Lessons

• Emails between teachers are a must.
• Know if your pre-lessons have been done before you present.
• Know how much prior knowledge your audience has before you present.

Overall Lessons

• This project takes time, but it is well worth it.
• Create enough teacher materials to evaluate the learning.
• Everything is easier the second time around, so don’t get discouraged after the first time.

Thank You
CILC congratulates Kimberly Fuller and her 7th and 8th grade Gifted and Talented Class on their winning project and thanks them for letting us share it with you.

Contact Information Kimberly Fuller Breckenridge Jr. high School Breckenridge, TX 254-559-6581

Breckenridge Junior High School Gifted and Talented Class:
7th graders: Jamie Dye, Clay Boaz, and Bailee Russell
8th Graders: Janie Davis (2nd Year participant) and Eric Venekamp
Special Guest: Paul Russell.
Technology Support: Tommy Bearden, Dwayne Dove, Scott Keting, Patricia Sullivan
Community Support:
Swenson Memorial Museum
Librarian: Susanne Fleenor
Principal: Brent Evans
Vice Principal: Lee Garner

KC3 Contest: First Place: High School Division
Texas Cowboy Reunion
Stamford High School is located in Stamford, Texas, a very small, rural community.
Debbie Birdsong, technology teacher, felt that the KC3 project would give her students access to the world by building relations with students in other parts of the country and potentially around the world.

Getting Started
For the past 78 years, Stamford, Texas has hosted the “Texas Cowboy Reunion.” This four (4) day event, known as the largest amateur rodeo in the United States, centers around a rodeo that honors the traditions of the working cowboy and draws participants from ranches all over the United States. As several of Stamford High School students are involved each year, Debbie reasoned that by creating and presenting content around the ”Reunion,” her students would engage younger students to learn about this culture.

Putting It Together
Stamford students used a wide rage of technologies from simple digital cameras to industry standard software. They captured video with a digital video camera and edited it in the classroom. Each student was responsible for research, editing, and presenting. While presenting, they were also responsible for working the videoconferencing hardware.

Next Steps
The Stamford students then delivered their content. So far they have presented their field trip to schools in New York, Connecticut, and California. They hope their project will be an on-going event and will grow as they learn more about their history. Debbie and her students also hope to develop other virtual field trips to share over video conferencing.

Participate in This Project
Debbie is in the process of adding the “Texas Cowboy Reunion” as a virtual field trip in the Content for Students database on www.cilc.org. You will then be able to request this program for your students through cilc.org.

Impact on Students Involved
Debbie says, “My students enjoy and are excited to meet with other students. They love the interaction - you just do not get that from a book. They also gain confidence as they become the teacher and realize that they can impact other students with a simple conversation that just so happens through videoconferencing.

This project gives our students the opportunity to apply knowledge that they have gained in the classroom. They have ownership in what they learn and teach. No standardized test can measure the experience students gain through this videoconference experience.”

Impact on the Teacher
For Debbie, the scariest time is when her students ask for questions from the audience. She shares, “I never know what will be asked or how my students will respond. The entire video conference is in the hands of my students. All the research has been gathered and prepared. It is now their time to present and I have to give up control.

Lessons Learned
The audience has a vital role and it is important not to forget them. If a relationship is not established with the audience and audience participation is not encouraged, the outcome of the virtual field trip will not be successful.”

Thank You
CILC thanks Debbie for allowing us to share her project insights with us!

Contact Information
Debora Birdsong
Stamford High School
Stamford, Texas
325-773-2701