Classrooms Connecting

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Starting Close to Home
Baptism by Fire
A Different Type of Summer Experience

Starting Close to Home

A First Experience

Native American students from the Konocti Unified School District in California ended the year with a landmark opportunity. Pomo and East Lake Elementary students connected for their very first video conferencing experience.

When the camera came on, the students were surprised when they realized they were seeing students at a school some twelve miles away.

"The students were at first real shy with each other, covering their faces and such," said JoAnn, "but after a while, when they realized that not only were some related, but that they had friends in common, the level of comfort increased and some good dialogue took place."

Each class had compiled a list of questions they wanted to ask the other tribal students. For 45 minutes they went back and forth asking each other about their tribes, schools, even their favorite music. Since most of the students participating were from the local Pomo Nation there was a recognition of song and dance styles. All agreed that traditional dress and dance were fascinating and were glad to have participated.

What we learned
This first experience was quite successful. The equipment is very user friendly and it is hoped that students can soon be running the show.

We had hoped to connect with Native Students in different tribes across the nation, but as we have five (5) reservations here in Lake County alone, we realized that we should focus on our own area first. We plan to use the video conferencing system and techniques to connect our students on a deeper level.

Eventually, we hope to branch out to include other students throughout the nation.

Next Steps
In our next adventure we hope to have the students bring in examples of their own tribes' regalia, musical instruments and history. We will focus the interaction around helping the students understand how they are integrating their traditional culture with today’s dominant culture.

To support ongoing activities, major upgrades to the network throughout Konocti USD are close to completion. This will drastically improve the quality of their connections.

About Konocti Schools
Mt. Konocti is located on beautiful Clear Lake 30 miles north of the Napa Valley in California. The Konocti Unified School District includes the towns of Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, and Lower Lake as well as Spring Valley and a portion of Cobb Mountain. A portion of their mission statement is “to provide students an engaging curriculum, high quality staff and learning experiences which prepare them to succeed in a diverse and ever-changing society.” It appears that video conferencing will be a welcome tool to support this goal.

Kudos to those involved

• JoAnn Saccato, Education Liaison with the Native American Community Education Center (NACEC), facilitated the session.
• Karen Gekas, librarian at Pomo Elementary School, provided technical and encouragement assistance as well as direction for the first connection of First Peoples in the district.
• John Prellwitz (JP), Technical Support Specialist for the Konocti Unified School District, assisted with the videoconferencing equipment at East Lake Elementary School.
  
• Michael Schenck, Director of Technology in the Konocti Unified School District, coordinated equipment and contact with the CILC organization
• Glen Goodman, Education Liaison with the NACEC and co-facilitator of the event, learned to navigate the controls and felt at ease with the students.

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Baptism by Fire

Prior to the 2006-2007 school year, Martin Jennings had served in a high school classroom for 28 year. In the fall or 2006, he realized that in one week he would be responsible for an experience that impacted over 3,000 students in a one week timeframe. He was to be the coordinator for Read Across America in Genesee County in Michigan. Both the experience and opportunity were daunting. Martin states, “While this experience was a ‘baptism by fire,’ it has certainly given me a broader and more enthusiastic approach to ALL the new possibilities for bringing students and their learning together that will exist in the future using live interactive television .”

The What
“Read Across America” is a yearly project coordinated at the highest level by TWICE (Two-Way-Interactive-Collaboration-Events), spearheaded in Michigan by Janine Lim of the Berrien County Intermediate School District.

While the initial project started as a one-day event in honor of world-renown story teller, Dr. Seuss, the project has expanded to include all kinds of reading and sharing opportunities for schools connected through two-way interactive videoconferencing. Unlike many local organizations around the country who acknowledge the famous author, the project has students doing more than just reading across America at the same time; they are literally linked and engaged through the two-way interactive process in an opportunity to read across the world!

Our Participation
Genesee County Schools as members of GenNET (Genesee Network for Education Telecommunications) were able to connect 56 Genesee County Interactive Television Classrooms with 56 schools from across America, Canada, and the United Kingdom using the high speed fiber infrastructure that interconnects all local instructional buildings in GenNET member schools . The 56 schools involved represented an average of 30 students per classroom for a total of approximately 3,360 students reading across the world beginning March 1 through March 8, 2007.

The How
Genesee County Schools, Michigan built and own a 400 mile fiber optic network called GenNET (Genesee Network for Education Telecommunications) that connects over 200 instructional buildings via fiber to transmit voice, video, and data. This infrastructure managed by Genesee Intermediate School District through the leadership of Beverly Knox-Pipes, Assistant Superintendent for Technology and Media Services, allows all high school and middle school buildings in GenNET to have live two interactive video experiences such as Read Across America. Elementary sites will soon be completed so these types of experiences will be able to be hosted at the elementary school sites as well. Through a registration process beginning in November, teachers registered their desire to participate in Read Across America with the Geneese Intermediate School District (GISD). Once local registrations were closed in early January, all potential participants were paired with schools for the event.

The Why
This was an important project for us to do in Genesee County as it gave multiple groups the opportunity to experience first-hand a videoconference experience with relatively no costs. With the videoconference equipment available to our students and teachers at the middle school and high school levels, this experience has continued to open up a variety of uses for equipment beyond our high school direct-instruction courses.
• Teachers have become associates with other teachers around the United States.
• Students have now realized a world unlike what’s outside their classroom windows.
• The sharing of information among varieties of cultures and social backgrounds has been amazing.
• Elementary teachers are hoping for the installation of interactive television equipment right in their buildings in the coming years to enable other opportunities to expose young children to a new window around the world.

Mother Nature’s Hitch
Overall, most connections worked well. There were, however, some glitches. While students in the Flint Area were prepared for a special experience on a cold winter morning, unknown to them an upstate New York school was facing an obstacle. They were experiencing their 9th “snow day” in two weeks. Needless to say, that morning’s “reading” was cancelled!

The Impact
The pros of an experience like Read Across America certainly out-weigh the cons when thinking about the future. The positive impact the experience had on almost every single participant made the memory of having done this very positive.
• Students were seeing first-hand what their world will undoubtedly look like in the coming years as they enter into the professional world.
• Students were actively involved in the event and eager about learning and sharing. Everyone wanted to make a good first impression.
• All the children were fascinated by the daily routines of new friends across the country.
• One group of kindergarteners dressed up like popcorn to tell their story of what it’s like in a “bowl.”
• Another kindergarten class was proud to share the whole picture of life in Michigan by alternating sections of a story, “M is for Mitten,” thus bringing the realization to others that our very state is in the shape of what some wear on their hands during the winter.
• Visually, it was a chance for us to see over and over again (56 times) kids enthused about being in school, kids involved in the learning process, and kids anxious to participate in a quality experience for their benefit!

Read Across America is a natural fit for No Child Left Behind, as it covers four of eleven elements. These include:
• Improving Literacy by Putting Reading First
• Promoting Innovative Programs for Students
• Improving Teacher Quality
• Enhancing Education Through use of Technology

Lessons Learned
What has been confirmed for many of us is that if students can come together to share a simple reading experience, just imagine what else could be done with new friends in new situations using new core-subject learning during a school year.

“As a coordinator I learned that flexibility and teacher preparedness is critical. While some partnerships were simply to read to each other, others found the social networking a most valuable opportunity. It is critical to emphasize to teachers involved to have a plan and follow through. While we were most enthused to make connections with schools thousands of miles apart, some schools missed viewing this as a golden opportunity. I know locally, in the future, I would like to have a more progressive interest in those who register to ensure they are aware of what’s expected, what they can do, and how the whole experience can be even MORE memorable!”

Teacher Comments
Here are a few of the comments teachers shared shortly after their experience:

• “This was a wonderful activity. It has launched other tech opportunities for us. We now have SKYPE and will be keeping in touch with our new friends in Ohio. Thank you for this glimpse into the future of education.”
• “5 out of 5 in all evaluation areas! My class had a great experience today!”
• “Thanks for helping us with our global experience. Students are still talking about it. What an impact this has made with our students.”
• “We had a great opportunity to plan together and make this a successful experience for students.”
• “I plan to present information about this program to my staff so maybe others will participate next year.”
• “The children that participated last year are still commenting on how much they enjoyed the experience. The children who participated this year want to know how soon they can hook to the other school. They really have learned so much. It is an experience that will last a lifetime.”

Thank you for those who made this possible.
• Beverly Knox-Pipes, Assistant Superintendent, Technology and Media Services/GenNET, Genesee Intermediate School District
• Martin Jennings, Instructional Technologist
• Robin Medling, Project Specialist

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A Different Type of Summer Experience

A Different Type of Summer Experience…Studying Abroad in Southern Africa

Introduction to the Study Abroad Experience

This summer presented new learning opportunities for three individuals from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Debra Piecka (Department of Instructional Leadership in Education, School of Education, Instructional Technology), Mary Strasbaugh (Political Science and International Relations, McAnulty College of Liberal Arts), and faculty advisor Dr. Rodney Hopson (Department of Foundations & Leadership, School of Education) embarked for a month-long study abroad course, Global and International Educational Studies in Southern Africa and Namibia. The course is intended to give students an introduction to educational issues that beset an emerging democracy like Namibia, amidst the socio-historical context of education within the society. A number of comparative, international, and global educational topics are designed to enlighten American students to the realities of issues in a southern African context, such as the roles of gender in education, open and distance learning, equity and access issues in schooling, globalization, and other key topics that reverberate in education in Namibia.

The Global and International Educational Studies course provided multiple occasions for learning but none resembled a traditional teacher-student classroom. Studying abroad allows students to develop cultural intelligence through interfaces with community leaders, organizations, schools, and their every day surroundings. During the mornings, students volunteered through service learning opportunities in their field of study. The afternoons and evenings afforded additional chances to understand the economic, political, and educational ideologies of southern Africa through personal interviews, attendance at public seminars, lunch and dinner meetings, informational tours, and casual interfaces with new acquaintances. Students and faculty stayed in the capital city of Windhoek. On the weekends, they traveled to relax and visit destinations north and west such as Brandenburg, Swakopmund, and Gross Barmen.

Instructional Technology Impact

For the service learning component, Debbie Piecka worked with SchoolNet Namibia, a technology organization whose mission is to empower youth through the Internet and provide sustainable, low-cost technology solutions to Namibian schools. Debbie provided usability testing and formative analysis services for an Open Source pre-version of the SchoolNet platform. Pictured is SchoolNet’s desktop screen.

Besides working with SchoolNet, Debbie also had the opportunity to visit several schools that were referred by SchoolNet and WorldTeach, an organization that coordinates volunteer opportunities for teachers in developing countries (www.worldteach.org). She toured the academic facilities, interfaced with many teachers and students, and later coordinated three videoconferencing collaborations.

Videoconferencing in Namibia

Preparations

Prior to leaving for Namibia, it was important to ascertain the bandwidth capabilities of the Southern African region to determine the best ways to conduct videoconferences. After doing some research about connectivity issues in Namibia in the form of several Internet searches coupled with voice over IP (Internet protocol) conversations and email communications, it became apparent that Internet capabilities in Namibia had less speed and bandwidth than the high-speed options in the USA. Hence, it would be virtually impossible to connect a live, two-way videoconference over the existing infrastructure in several Namibian schools. To compensate for the lack of consistent, high-speed bandwidth, Debra investigated the potential for renting a satellite phone to make the connection. The Global Nomads Group conducted similar conferences over satellite hookups during Project Uganda. After testing the capabilities of a satellite phone for a trial period, she rented the device for the duration of the study-abroad course.

Another crucial step before leaving for Namibia was to invite schools to participate in the upcoming international partnerships. An online Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration request entitled Partnerships in Namibia, Africa announced the opportunity for schools to participate in these videoconferences.

Equipment

Equipment and software used for the videoconference included:

• Dell Latitude 820 notebook computer with XP Pro
  
• Logitech Quickcam 500 web camera
  
• Optimus 33-3022 boundary microphone
  
• Hughes 9201 BGAN Inmarsat terminal - satellite IP terminal and WLAN access point (leased)
  
• Polycom PVX Software or Skype
  
• Very long Ethernet cable
  
• Video camcorder to record the Namibian classrooms

Transmission required that the terminal be outdoors with a direct line of site to the satellite. When the satellite terminal connected, it blinked and beeped making it easy for a novice to create the link. This procedure conjured up many questions about the activity. Some students asked, “Are you with the space program?” Debra just laughed and explained that she was connecting students from two continents to talk about their daily lives and culture. Students were eager to help. They helped with both computer and room setup.

Partnerships

During July and August, Windhoek’s time zone was five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Thus, the three videoconferences occurred in the mid-afternoon in Namibia but early in the morning in the USA. All connections required test calls while some required more extensive troubleshooting than others. Audio issues tended to be more frequent than video complications. The three videoconferences included links between the following schools. The software platform for the videoconference appears in the rightmost column.

Windhoek, Namibia Organization	USA Organization, State	Software Platform
Mandume Primary School	Beaver River Central School District, Beaver Falls, New York	Polycom PVX
Katutura Community Arts Centre (SchoolNet Namibia)	The Pittsburgh Project, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Skype
Goreangab Junior Secondary School	Patrick Hamilton Middle School, Dowagiac, Michigan	Polycom PVX

Outcomes

These videoconferencing programs provided opportunities for students in the USA and Namibia to learn about one another’s culture including:

• geographical location through the use of maps
• population demographics
• structure of the national school system
• school hours and length of the school year
• national independence holidays/celebrations
• tribal/cultural heritage of students
• singing national anthems
• indigenous dances
• after school activities including sports, clubs, and homework
• school discipline and codes of conduct
• academic appreciation

Students listened carefully while others spoke. There were moments of laughter as well as solemn remarks as the children learn about their similarities and differences. Some exceptional remarks by the Namibian children included the following questions.

• “What tribes do you have in your school?”
• “What is your national dance?”
• “Do you have HIV/AIDs in your country?”
• “Who are your heroes?”

Debra not only connected students in the United States and Namibia, but she also offered an education to those she accompanied. Mary Strasbaugh, focusing her service learning project in an orphanage, would grow from shared time with Debra as well.

Technology fuels the process of globalization while connecting ideas and lives in a way little else can. Being immersed in a community not dependent on technology offered a unique opportunity not only to study culture on an interactive level, but to share information and experiences as well.

Debra Piecka is a doctoral student in instructional technology in the School of Education, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Her dissertation research focuses on interactive videoconferencing in a kindergarten classroom. Debra developed a series of professional development workshops to train educators about teaching with interactive videoconferencing. Her study abroad course, Global and International Educational Studies in Southern Africa and Namibia, provided a first-hand opportunity to examine the capabilities of interactive videoconferencing in multicultural settings.