LCDLC Updates 1/30/06

DON’T READ OUR EMAILS … WATCH THEM!

http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/LCDLCUPDATES/LCDLC_UPDATES_1-31-06.wmv


To: LCDLC Superintendents, Principals, District Advocates, LCDLC Listserv
From: Dave Miller
Date: 1-30-06
Subject: LCDLC Updates 1-30-06


1) WVIZ FREE PROGRAMMING (Careers - Interviews, Red Cross, Carpenter/Electrician)
2) NEW PROGRAMS THROUGH CILC
3) ONE TO ONE LEARING BEST PRACTICE SERIES FOR ADMIN & TEACHERS
4) CLEVELAND ZOO – UPATED PROGRAM CALENDAR
5) DISTINQUISHED ADMINISTRATOR SESSION “WORKING WITH DATA TEAMS”
6) AMA-ZONE PD SESSIONS
7) UCIC SEEKS TEACHERS TO CO-DEVELOP LESSONS (STIPEND AVAILABLE)




1) WVIZ FREE PROGRAMMING (Careers - Interviews, Red Cross, Carpenter/Electrician)
DL Liaisons and Coordinators:
Please share the attached distance learning program information with your respective schools and teachers.
Thank you.
John
John R. Ramicone Director of Distance Learning Services-WVIZ/NOTA 4300 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44134-1191 phone: 216-739-3940 fax: 216-398-4245 email: jramicone@wviz.org

2) NEW PROGRAMS THROUGH CILC


The following programs and collaborations are new offerings.

Detailed information can be found on the CILC website at www.cilc.org.

Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Critters in the Cold
Audience: Education: Kindergarten, Grade(s): 1, 2, Public Library:
Library Patrons
Description: Discover how animals survive and thrive when it's cold outside. You'll experiment with insulation and take a virtual trip to Antarctica to act out the life story of an Emperor Penguin. Learn how this amazing animal has adapted to living in the coldest place on Earth.
Program Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY

Owls From the Inside Out
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 3, 4, 5, 6
Description: An avian expert uses LIVE birds to highlight characteristics that aid owl's predatory way of life. Students dissect owl pellets to investigate the diet of barn owls, learn about food chains, the role of avian predators in an ecosystem, while gaining an introduction to skeletal anatomy and prey identification.
Program Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY

CILC Professional Development

Direct Instruction of Vocabulary
Audience: Education: Curriculum Director, Paraprofessional, Administrator, Teachers Grades K-12, Public Library: Library Staff, Content Providers: Educator
Description: Join presenter Amy Leeson as she takes a look at direct vocabulary instruction and vocabulary strategies that can help close the

achievement gap.
Program Availability: Published Date(s) and Time(s) ONLY

Growing Fluent Readers: Strategies that Work with Real Kids in Real Classrooms
Audience: Education: Title One Coordinator, Paraprofessional, Grade K-5 Teachers, Reading Specialists, Literacy Coaches
Description: Reading fluency is a building block-part of the foundation for developing comprehension. These skills are "connected at the hip", and both are vitally important to developing confident and capable readers! In this two-session series, at the awareness/skill building level, teachers will learn strategies to spice up oral reading in the classroom and specific strategies for struggling readers.
Program Availability: Published Date(s) and Time(s) ONLY

HealthSpace Cleveland

Keep On Smiling
Audience: Education: Kindergarten, Grade(s): 1, 2, 3, Public Library:
Library Patrons
Description: Learn about the structure, function and proper care of your teeth. Discuss what a cavity is and what causes tooth decay. Learn how to prevent dental diseases through proper flossing, brushing and visits to the dentist.
Program Availability: By Request/On Demand ONLY

Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach

Do I know you? Dealing with Prosopagnosia
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 11, 12
Description: Can you imagine not recognizing people whom you have met many times? Even your friends? Prosopagnosia or Face-blindness is the inability to recognize a familiar human face by sight. Dr. Edward Butterworth is both a research scientist and individual who has this affliction. This program will give students first hand knowledge of the disorder.
Program Availability: Published Date(s) and Time(s) ONLY

Seeing is Believing: Virtual Lab Tour - Vision Systems for Mobile Robots
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Public Library:
Library Patrons
Description: How and what does a robot see? Dr. Wilkes, an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, researches robotic vision systems. This is a Virtual Lab Tour with demonstrations.
Program Availability: Published Date(s) and Time(s) ONLY

Time Isn't What You Thought!
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Description: Meet Dr. Charles Brau, Vanderbilt Professor of Physics as "Einstein". Einstein completely overturned our understanding of space and time. By examining some simple examples (like how the news of the green-cheese eating contest reaches different colonies on the moon) we will see that time doesn't have the properties you thought.
Program Availability: Published Date(s) and Time(s) ONLY

COLLABORATION
Compare Michigan Seasons with Desert seasons tdougherty@coorisd.k12.mi.us
Audience: Education: Grade(s): 2, 3, 4
Objective of Collaboration: I have a Michigan 3rd grade class that would like to connect with a desert region to compare "seasons". Each class would do a presentation about what makes their area unique and exchange letters and/or materials to enhance the experience. Dates: February
8,15 or 22 Time: 10:30 - 11:30am ET

Thanks!
Julia

Julia Shildmyer-Heighway
Director of Program Providers
Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC)
Office: 317-231-6529
Jheighway@cilc.org


3) ONE TO ONE LEARING BEST PRACTICE SERIES FOR ADMIN & TEACHERS

Hello all,Please forward this to all of your district administrators! Administrators – Please invite staff members to also participate in this Video Session! We will be offering a Best Practices session on the topic “One to One Learning” on February 2nd, 2006 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm. This will be offered via video conferencing so that you do not need to leave your district. One to One learning is the concept that students use available technology to create, publish, collaborate, learn, share and grow academically. This presentation will demonstrate what a 21st century classroom can become. Technology today is part of every learner’s environment, not as an accessory, but as a tool for success. Using technology to increase student achievement, attendance, and ultimately academic success is what One to One Learning is all about. Through this presentation, you will also learn how this can be done in an affordable manner.It’s time to rethink the value of your students’ potential and how you can prepare them to succeed in the 21st century with One to One Learning. To Register for this Best Practice Session ... Please go to www.tchesc.org and click on Best Practice button on the left-hand side of the page. Then fill in the Sign-Up Form. We do need a PO number and the cost is $50 for the session. Contact Hours are Available. Please register by January 30th, 2006. If you have any questions or concerns please email Michele Carlisle at Michele@tchesc.org or call her at 330-308-9939 x 220Thanks,LuAnne JacksonTechnology DirectorTuscarawas-Carroll-Harrison Educational Service Center834 East High AvenueNew Philadelphia, OH 44663Phone: 330-308-9939 ext. 250Fax: 330-308-0964www.tchesc.org


4) CLEVELAND ZOO – UPATED PROGRAM CALENDAR

Hello,

Just a friendly reminder letting you know that the distance learning calendar is now on-line. Please visit http://www.clemetzoo.com/education/dstlrn/distlearn.asp for on-line registration.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

I look forward to another great distance learning year.

Sincerely,

Cathy Ryan
Education Specialist &
Distance Learning Coordinator
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
(216) 661-6500 Ext. 4479 (DL Lab 3326)
cmr@clevelandmetroparks.com


5) DISTINQUISHED ADMINISTRATOR SESSION “WORKING WITH DATA TEAMS”

Hello Everyone,

Some of you have participated in our Distinguished Administrators Series in the past and we have an excellent presenter set up for February 22nd from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Dr. Paul Kapostasy will be discussing "Working with Data Teams"
which your school can participate in through distance learning.

This is an excellent opportunity to bring many of your school administrators aboard withunderstanding the benefits of professional development utilizing videoconferencing and web casting technologies. Please let me know if you have any schools that might want to participate. The flyer is attached for you to make copies and distribute to your schools.

Thank you,

Michael Bloom

Michael Bloom, Director, Instructional Technology Lake County Educational Service Center


30 South Park Place Suite 320
Painesville, Ohio 44077
(440) 350-2563 ext 723 - Office 440-350-2566 - FAX
(216) 403-4019 - Cellular 722-0102 - ATM Number
www.lcesc.k12.oh.us/neo-linc



6) AMA-ZONE PD SESSIONS

WNEO PBS 45/49, SPARKS ESC and the Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium have teamed up to provide teachers with professional development, materials and resources. Each in-service will cover a different curriculum theme. Participating schools will be able to keep any materials for the lesson sent by WNEO PBS 45/49.

The second session AMA-ZONE is scheduled for Wednesday February 22nd at 3:30pm. Schools can sign up by contacting Paul Hieronymus, Phiero@Leeca.org.

See the attached flyers for the AMA-ZONE program and the entire professional development schedule.


Paul HieronymusCurriculum Technology CoordinatorAvon Local Schools3075 Stoney Ridge RoadAvon, Ohio 44011Phiero@leeca.org(440) 829-8273ISDN: 614.722.0019IP: 66.144.122.221www.avon.k12.oh.us/distancelearning

7) UCIC SEEKS TEACHERS TO CO-DEVELOP LESSONS (STIPEND AVAILABLE)

University Circle Interactive Cleveland is seeking teachers to serve as co-developers for the creation of a dynamic distance learning series with videoconferencing components leading to understanding of the era of historic transformation associated with the years bracketing America around 1945.
The lessons will be piloted through Fall 2006 and will serve students in grades 9-10. The emphasis on the curriculum is the impact that a transition from war to peace has on society.

Teachers are needed for the following lessons with the participating
institutions:

The Western Reserve Historical Society --- "So, You Want to Buy a Car in 1945?"
This inquiry-based lesson will address Social Studies Standards in Economics, History and Social Studies Skills and Methods.

The Cleveland Institute of Music --- "1945: A Turning Point for Music and Society"
Two highly interactive lessons will address Social Studies Standards in Geography, People in Society and Social Studies Skills and Methods.

The Temple Tifereth Israel ---"Europe 1945 - The Holocaust Wall Hangings of artist Judith Weinshall Liberman"
Two lessons will address Geography, People in Society, History and Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities.

Judson Retirement Community --- "Witness to War: Oral Histories of 1945 "
Lessons will address People in Society, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities and Social Studies Skills and Methods.

The Cleveland Museum of Art --- "Schrenkengost and Lowey:

Streamlining Design for a Consumer Society "
Lesson will address People in Society, Economics and Art/Design History.

Teachers will participate in the development, piloting and evaluation of the each unit. Teachers will receive a stipend for their assistance. Please contact

Sandy Kreisman
by email skreisman@univerisitycircle.org
<mailto:skreisman@univerisitycircle.org> or by phone (216) 707-5021.
Please specify which lesson(s) you are interested in co-developing and share a bit about yourself as an educator and teacher. Please contact Sandy by February 3.

Story Time Program goes to the birds…

The Story Time Program is an interactive story read to students from Avon East Elementary Schools and a connecting site. The January Story Strangers in the Woods by Jean Stoick and Carl Sams II demonstrated the multiple ways that animals communicate.

What better way to demonstrate the calls animals make in the forest than with a naturalist from the Lorain County Metro Parks. Gary and Tim shared several bird calls and had students from the connecting sites make Barn Owl, Chic a dee, and grackle calls.
Connecting sites were from Rock Hill Schools in South Carolina, Western Reserve Elementary School in Collins, Ohio and West Salem Schools in Columbiana County.

Antarctica Anne and one cool bug helps students better understand hydration

Marianne Kaput finished her videoconference schedule with her best presentation yet! Students from Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia and Ohio spent time with the staff at Palmer Station, Heath Space Cleveland and the Cleveland clinic to learn more about the Antarctic Bestiary and the role is could play in medical and sport science.

Heath Space Cleveland provided the students with a demonstration on how freezing points which was followed by a discussion on organ transplants with a surgeon from the Cleveland Clinic. The session was followed by Q & A with Marianne and the Palmer Staff with their day to day operations that event that occurred on their trips.

Thanks Marianne for provide students with this great opportunity!

LCDL Updates for January 23rd

1) PANEL DISCUSSION “CAREERS IN PRE-SCHOOL & SPECIAL EDUCATION”
2) POETRY PLEASE – REVISED DATE
3) WNEO PBS 45/49 IN-SERVICE SCHEDULE
4) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY; GROWING FLUENT READERS
5) FREE PROGRAMS WITH THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL MUSEUM
6) ANTARCTICA ANNIE – LAST CHANCE TO VISIT MARIANNE KAPUT, AVON LAKE FROM ANTARCTICA

1) PANEL DISCUSSION “CAREERS IN PRE-SCHOOL & SPECIAL EDUCATION”

Please join us for a presentation on careers in Pre-School and Special Education

Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Katrina Dieringer M.Ed.
Distance Learning Consultant
Cell 216.346.2651

2) POETRY PLEASE – REVISED DATE

Hello Friends.

Please re-circulate to your teachers with these adjusted dates for our culminating videoconferences for Poetry PLEASE. This is a wonderful program! Please help me promote it with your schools and teachers!
Sandy Kreisman, Community Education skreisman@universitycircle.org University Circle Interactive Cleveland 10831 Magnolia Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (216) 707-5021 office phone(216) 791-3935 fax (330) 221-0421 cell

3) WNEO PBS 45/49 IN-SERVICE SCHEDULE

WNEO PBS 45/49, SPARKS ESC and the Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium have teamed up to provide teachers with professional development, materials and resources. Each in-service will cover a different curriculum theme that the participating school will be able to keep.

The first session Antarctica 90 degrees South is scheduled for Wednesday January 25th at 3:45pm. Schools can still sign up by contacting Paul Hieornymus, Phiero@Leeca.org.

See the attached flyers for the Antarctica program and the entire professional development schedule.



4) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY; GROWING FLUENT READERS

The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration is offering teachers the opportunity to discuss reading fluency techniques and strategies with Kimberly Tyson on February 8, 2006.

Please see the attached flyer for program details. Schools can schedule this event through the CILC website http://www.cilc.org/ or they can contact Dave Miller or Paul Hieronymus for scheduling assistance.

5) FREE PROGRAMS WITH THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL MUSEUM

The following programs are available for schools to be scheduled on demand.

Title: Pearl Harbor Survivor SeriesAudience: Education: Grade(s): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Gifted and Talented Coordinator, TeacherDescription: The Pearl Harbor Survivor series offers a distance learning opportunity like no other. Now, students have an alternative way to learn about our history. They get to experience a historical perspective from those who were there that fateful day.Learning about World War II can be a moving experience. Communicating directly with a Pearl Harbor Survivor, however, can be invaluable.

Title: Interpretive Ranger Series Audience: Education: Grade(s): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Gifted and Talented Coordinator, TeacherDescription: In the Interpretive Ranger Series students view a 17 minute USS ARIZONA underwater dive videotape while a National Park Service Park Ranger gives a voice over interpretive lesson. Students view the USS ARIZONA from a perspective the public does not have access to. The Park Ranger describes ongoing preservation of the ship and the underwater archeology teams that are constantly studying the ship. Students are shown via a document camera a USS ARIZONA oil sample.

Julie Eisner-Coxwitnesstohistory@hawaii.rr.com1 Arizona Memorial PlaceHonolulu, HI 96818United StatesPhone: (808) 753-4428Fax: (808) 485-2747
http://arizonamemorial.org/


6) ANTARCTICA ANNIE – LAST CHANCE TO VISIT MARIANNE KAPUT, AVON LAKE FROM ANTARCTICA

This Wednesday, January 25th is the last opportunity for ms students to visit Marianne Kaput, teacher from Troy intermediate school as she shares her experiences working on Palmer station in Antarctica, studying the unique characteristics of an insect called the Belgica Antarctica. Don’t miss out on this session to take place from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. Contact Dave Miller to register.

Dave Miller
Director of Distance Learning
Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium
1885 Lake Avenue
Elyria, OH 44012
440 324-5777 ext 195 Office
440 610-0782 Cell
dave.miller@leeca.org

LCDLC Updates and Opportunities for January 17, 2006

** Don’t have time to read all the updates? Watch our 75 second video clip to catch the highlights!

http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/LCDLCUPDATES/LCDLCUPDATE1_18_06.htm

1) WNEO PBS 45/49 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHERS GRADES 3-6
2) MAGIC SCIENCE SHOW FOR FIRST GRADE CLASSES & HOW TO DO A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE CLASSES
3) SOITA’S TELETECH TUESDAY SECOND SEMESTER SCHEDULE
4) THREE WISHED VIDEOCONFERENCES: 8-10 LITERATURE/WRITING CLASSES
5) NEED 3RD GRADE CLASS FOR READ ACROSS AMERICA
6) SEEKING PARTNERS FOR MOCK TRIAL-GRADES 10-12
7) POETRY PLEASE
8) SQUARE OF LIFE PROJECT– GRADES 2-4
9) ENGLAND UP POLITICAL COMPARISON SESSIONS
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1) WNEO PBS 45/49 Professional Development Opportunity for teachers grades 3-6

WNEO has received several grants to create curriculum units for teachers and is willing to share these resources with our consortium. As per their grant in order for schools to receive the materials they must participate in an in-service which can be done over videoconferencing.

The curriculum packets contain a teacher’s guide and their alignment to Ohio’s content standards, online resources and a video to be used with the students. WNEO will be providing each participating school a curriculum packet that can be shared with your staff. Avon has participated in this program before and the materials are excellent. We would like to share this opportunity with other schools in the consortium.

On January 25th at 3:45pm WNEO will present Antarctica: 90 Degrees South. During the in-service the teachers will discuss the activities, web resources, materials and the video that is included with the curriculum. This program is best suited for science and social studies teacher’s grades 3-6, but fits multiple curricular areas and grade levels.

To learn more about the curriculum and to look over the online resources teachers can visit the WNEO website http://www.pbs4549.org/antarcti/index.htm . They are also welcome to look over the other curriculum units that we will be offering throughout the year at http://www.pbs4549.org/CLASSRMP.HTM

If you would like to be a part of this program please contact me over email with an approximate number of attendees from your site. I will be sending you a curriculum packet prior to the connection to have during the session.

Paul HieronymusEducational ConsultantLorain County Distance Learning ConsortiumPhiero@Leeca.org
440.829.8273
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2) Magic Science Show for First Grade Classes & How to do a Science Fair Project for Fourth and Fifth Grade Classes

Magic Science Show:
Tri-County North Elementary School is offering to a regular first grade class a Magic Show presented by gifted 3rd-6th graders. Each magic trick is based on science that the audience doesn’t yet understand. Science concepts include air pressure, water pressure, inertia, polymers and chemical reactions causing fizz or change of color. The audience will be observing what happens in the tricks and participating for example by counting by twos as books are added to the Super Slide Tablecloth. Each trick will be introduced with a close up view of vocabulary words such as water, color change, vase, cloth, water box. After the video conference is over we would like the audience to write thank you notes to our students either individually or as a whole class. These notes should use the vocabulary words (water, box, mug, color change, cloth, needle) in describing what they observed & liked in the show.

NOTES: We have presented this show to two different first grade classes in our school & the students were engaged the entire 45 minutes!

WHEN: We will present the show three different times, once on Thursday, January 19th at either 10:00 or 10:30.(Pick which time.) and once on Wednesday January18th & 25th at 1:00. The show lasts about 45 minutes.

WHO: 1st graders

COST: Free except for your postage to mail your thank you notes to us

How To Do a Science Fair Project

Tri-County North Middle School is offering to a regular 4th or 5th grade class a presentation given by gifted 5th & 6th graders. Several students will show and explain how they completed their projects. Other projects will be shown that feature both good and poor characteristics. The audience will participate by assisting with the critique and conclusion of how to conduct a good scientific project.

WHEN: We will present the show two different times, once on each or these Tuesdays January 24th at 10:00 and January 31st at 10:00 . The show lasts about 45 minutes.

AUDIENCE TARGET: 4th or 5th graders

COST: Free

CONTACT: Virginia Wysong via email
virginia_wysong@preblenet.preble.k12.oh.us
Virginia Wysong
Tri-County North School (K-12 complex)
Teacher of the Gifted (3-7)
Tech Coordinator/ IVDL Coordinator
Lewisburg, OH 45338

Teacher’s Name_____________
Number of students___________
Telephone for teacher_______:

Technical Person’s Name_________
Telephone for technical questions______________ Telephone in Video Conferencing Room (cell or regular?)_____________
DID for In State __________ Speed for In State_________ School name in which equipment is located __________
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3) SOITA’S TeleTech Tuesday Second Semester Schedule

Our second semester TeleTech Tuesdays are quickly approaching! Registration information is at the end of this e-mail. Cost for each TeleTech is $50, regardless of how many of your staff participate! Participation is limited to ATM sites.

<>

Click on http://www.soita.org/Events/TeleTech_Reg.pdf to download a registration form that lists all TeleTech offerings for the remainder of this school year. The form is an interactive PDF and you can complete it and either fax it back or return it by e-mail. If you have difficulty opening the registration form, please e-mail me and I will send you a copy.
Please call or e-mail if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Bob Stricker
SOITA 150 E. Sixth StreetFranklin, OH 45005Phone: 937.746.6333 or 800.964.8211http://www.soita.org
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4) Three Wishes Videoconferences: 8-10 Literature/Writing Classes

We're looking for one to three classes to participate in the following videoconferences related to the Three Wishes TV show. We can connect IP or ISDN.
No charge!

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January 24 11:30-12:30 EST "Celebrate the Arts"

Teacher Preparation: Prepare a presentation about a local landmark that needs saved. Preferably the students should make wishes as to which places in their community should be refurbished and used to celebrate the arts (i.e. a warehouse made into an art gallery or an old school house used as a dance studio, etc.)

Presentations should include name & location with a map; background information on the town; history of the town; background information on the landmark and why it should be saved. Have students work in groups to do various parts of the presentation to get as many students involved as possible. Be creative with the presentation.

Videoconference Format: Students will introduce their communities to each other, and then they will present their landmark to be saved to the other schools, pretending as if the other schools are selection committees on the show Three Wishes. As Amy Grant's crew always does something for the arts community, these researched projects can be submitted on the NBC website.
Contact coordinating teacher Lynn Rouse, lrouse@remc11.k12.mi.us if you have questions.

Curriculum Connection: social studies, language arts (researching, writing, presenting)

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February 14 11:30-12:30 EST "May Your Wish Come True"

Teacher Preparation: Students will have to write essays about who their dream valentines would be. Teachers must remind students to choose people most people would know.

Videoconference Format: We'll play some mood music and have a romantic theme. Students should have a way of showing a picture of their love interests. I'll do a lead in about "love" being a theme of literature throughout the ages. Then the students will read their love letters to their unrequited loves. After each essay, students will respond to the writing, commenting on what they liked about the love letter.

Curriculum Connection: literature, speech, current events

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March 17 (tentative) 9:00-10:00 EST "Luck of the Irish"

Teacher Preparation: Students should research some part of St. Patrick's Day to present to the rest of the classes. My class is doing Notre Dame lore. Each class should tell me what part of the day they are researching before the big day. By then, I hope to have a way to get Amy Grant with us.
Cross your fingers.

Videoconference Format: I hope to have each school take a turn presenting and questioning. If Amy Grant signs on, we'll definitely work around HER!

Curriculum Connection: researching, presenting, history, folklore (Language Arts and Social Studies)

More Details & Online Registration Here:
http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/threewishes/index.htm
Janine Lim
Instructional Technology Consultant
Berrien County ISD
711 St. Joseph Ave.
Berrien Springs, MI 49103

jlim@remc11.k12.mi.us
Ph: (269) 471-7725x101
Fax: (269) 471-1221
Web: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl
Blog: http://bcisdvcs.blogspot.com/
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5) Need 3rd Grade Class for Read Across America

A third grade class at Bluebonnet Elementary School in Round Rock, Texas, would like to pair with a class participating in Read Across America. We will share introductions to ourselves, our school, and a reader's theater presentation by video conference. Please contact debby_jones@roundrockisd.org or karen_lovelace@roundrockisd.org.



Debby Jones
Curriculum Integration Specialist
Caldwell Heights Elementary (512)428-7344
Bluebonnet Elementary (512)428-7731
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6) Seeking Partners for Mock Trial-Grades 10-12

Trial by Wire will allow several locations to try a murder case together. This project will entail research by the students and their participation in a videoconference. They will be simulating a court trial (taken from an actual state of Missouri court case). A librarian from the St. Louis County Library will act as judge and will help students research the case. We need three classes from different schools to participate. One will act as the prosecution, one will be the defense, and one will be the jury. Right now, we do not have a date/time, but want to coordinate this between the three schools. This fits best with a block scheduling high school, but if you are not on block scheduling and would like to participate, we might be able to arrange this for you. Here is the actual breakdown of the videoconference:1. Prosecution presents their evidence and argument 2. Defense presents their evidence and argument 3. Both sides present their final arguments; jury is allowed to question the judge before deliberating. Judge instructs the jury as to their task and deliberations; jury deliberates and reaches a verdict.4. Jury announces their verdict; jury explains their verdict. Judge makes a statement. Students ask additional questions and discuss their learning experiences. (Depending on time, this may have to be done at a second videoconference or over email.)Email if you are interested.

Martha BogartCoordinator, Distance LearningCooperating School DistrictsEducation: Other Educational OrganizationSt. Louis, MOUnited StatesPhone: (314) 692-1258mbogart@csd.org
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7) Poetry Please (See Attachment)

Please open and circulate to your schools. We are in our 4th year of producing this program in conjunction with Cleveland State University. It has always been a tremendous success. I would be happy to schedule informational videoconferences with your teachers if they are interested in learning more about this program.

Thanks as always. Contact me with questions.
Sandy Kreisman, Community Education skreisman@universitycircle.org University Circle Interactive Cleveland 10831 Magnolia Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (216) 707-5021 office phone(216) 791-3935 fax (330) 221-0421 cell


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8) Square of Life Project – Grades 2-4

Arizona Elementary School classes seeking partner classes to work through 'Square of Life' collaborative project. This on-line, fully developed project, directs students to catalog and map an area of ground around the school. Students share discoveries and findings with partner class, students post findings to project website - scientific inquiry, writing, compare & contrast, graphing. Email as soon as possible and be part of our planning process too!!!Formal Registration Feb 2006http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/squareproj/ We would like to hear from you in January so that you are part of our planning process!We would like to video conference with our partner classes as part of this project!

Amy ChayefskyEducation: Media/Technology SpecialistMaricopa Unified School District # 20Education: High SchoolMaricopa, AZUnited StatesPhone: (520) 568-5129achayefsky@musd20.org

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9) ENGLAND UP POLITICAL COMPARISON SESSIONS

Dear Colleagues,

I have received the following request from one of our allies in VC from England. If anyone is willing to connect, please contact him directly ...

Contact: Sacha Cinnamond, sacha.cinnamond@mct.suffolk.sch.uk
School: Mildenhall College of Technology (16-18 year olds)

His email follows....."Finally I was wondering if you had contact with many schools in your area who may like to do some collaborative VC work with us. In particular we run an Advanced Level course (more able 16 to 18 years old) in government and politics, a third of this course involves a comparative study of the British and US political systems. If you could forward me the e-mail addresses of teachers or schools who may be interested I would be most grateful."


Jason A. Dennison
Manager of Educational Initiatives
Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45203
TEL: +1 (513) 763-2315
FAX: +1 (513) 287-7095
MOBILE: +1 (513) 377-1585
E-MAIL: jdennison@cincymuseum.org


Dave Miller
Director of Distance Learning
Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium
ESC of Lorain County
1885 Lake Avenue
Elyria, OH 44035
440 324-5777 ext 195 Office
440 610-0782 Mobile
dave.miller@leeca.org

Wooing Wed Widing Hood Unveiled

Miss Fecko’s 3rd grade class at Avon Heritage South Elementary School had the opportunity to see a preview of Oberlin High School’s Drama Department’s presentation of Wooing Wed Widing Hood Unveiled during their dress rehearsal. The Oberlin students performed selected scenes of their play and asked the Avon students to identify the events and meaning of the scenes and compare them to Folk Tale Little Red Ridding Hood. Next week the Avon Students will follow up this activity by creating fan mail for the performers to share over the videoconferencing system.

Oberlin High Schools Drama Department offers a children’s theater performance every year. Their performance of Wooing Wed Widing Hood will be on January 14th at 2:00pm at Oberlin High School Auditorium. Going by what I saw in the dress rehearsal this looks to be a great performance. The Drama class will also make a visit to the elementary schools in their district.

Thanks again Mrs. Price and the Students of Oberlin High School

Avon HS Art Students learn how to sand cast

Mrs. Petrulis’ High School art students met with their partner class at Amherst Middle School to learn how to sand cast. Being that sand casting is a messing project, takes time to complete and Amherst has carpet in their distance learning lab, the project could not be done online. To help the students of Avon understand the project and to see the steps to completing sand casts Mrs. Morris videotaped her advanced class. The video was edited by their districts video department and was played through the VCR to the students at Avon HS.

This format allowed students to ask questions and get feed back from the Amherst Jr. students on the project. The students enjoyed the interaction and the opportunity to ask someone that had already completed the project. Avon HS Art Students will follow up this activity in a couple of days to show off their projects in a virtual show and tell conference.

Thanks again Miss Morris and her class at Amherst Junior High!

Miss Lavelle’s Class Dreams of Snow with the Columbiana ESC

Miss Lavelle’s second grade class at Avon East Elementary School had the opportunity to share Eric Carle’s story Dream Snow. Using the document camera Mrs. Straub from the UNITE Consortium read the story to the students giving the program a reading rainbow type effect to the story. The students used clues from the story and the shape of the figure to guess which farm animal was coved by snow. Once the guesses were made the students voted on the most likely animal.

After the story Mrs. Straub demonstrated how do make hidden pictures like the images in the story. The students will make the pictures back in their rooms to share with each other. Mrs. Straub did a great job sharing the story and interacting with the students.

Thanks again Columbiana ESC :)

LCDLC Updates and Opportunities for January 9, 2006

Don’t miss out on these GREAT videoconferencing opportunities!!!

1) TOWN HALL SPEAKER SERIES PRESENTS: T.R. REID, THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE AND THE END OF AMERICAN SUPREMACY
2) HEARTS FOR A SAFE HARBOR, THE PLIGHT OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN NORTHERN UGANDA
3) MYSTERYQUEST WORLD GEOGRAPHY
4) TECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX: WHAT IS A BLOG AND HOW CAN THEY HLP IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
5) GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHERS
6) FAMILY CONSUMER SCIENCE TEACER MEETINGS OVER IVDL
7) NEW PROGRAMS FROM THE MUSKINGUM VALLEY ESC
________________________________________________________________________

1) TOWN HALL SPEAKER SERIES PRESENTS: T.R. REID, THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE AND THE END OF AMERICAN SUPREMACY


WVIZ/PBS and NOTA in conjunction with the Town Hall of Cleveland will be presenting an hour with NBC Washington Post columnist T. R. Reid on Monday, January 23 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Plan to have your students meet with the Mr. Reid via the NOTA and/or ATM distance learning networks. Students of the Town Hall Youth Council will host the program.

If you are interested in your students participating in this program contact John Ramicone at 216-739-3940 or jramicone@wviz.org by January 18th to reserve a NOTA or ATM connection slot. Based upon the number of schools participating an email address and/or dial-in phone number/will be available during the program for your students to ask questions of Ms. O’Donnell.



Careers in Criminal Science Investigation 1/12/06
Careers Exploration Program: Careers in Pharmacy 1/26/06

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2) HEARTS FOR A SAFE HARBOR, THE PLIGHT OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN NORTHERN UGANDA

Reminder that Julie Maruskin's Hearts for Safe Harbor presentation is January 19th at 8:30. Julie will share about her time in Gulu, Uganda.

Please let me know if you are interested in either presentation.

Thanks
Katrina

Katrina Dieringer M.Ed.
Distance Learning Consultant
Cell 216.346.2651
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3) MYSTERYQUEST WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Berrien County ISD is offering a middle school geography projectvideoconference to schools around the country. The only costto participate is the line fees for you to dial in. Read on for details.Technical Info: We can connect IP or ISDN.MysteryQuestThis project is designed for middle school students studying worldgeography. Through video conference technology, students are able tomeet other students while learning about cities and countries in the world.The following areas of the world are featured:AfricaWestern HemispherePreparationPrior to the video conference each classroom will create a presentationwith clues about their ONE mystery country and city. The other classrooms,using maps, the Internet, textbooks, and other resources, will try todiscover the mystery location presented by each participating classrooms.Six classrooms connect at a time for this project.WebsiteSee http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/MysteryQuest/ for more details,including an agenda.This project is FREE and best for one classroom per connecting site.We welcome multiple schools/classrooms dialing in on one line!FlyerIf you'd like to print a one page flyer to share with your teachers,visit the web site: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/MysteryQuest/Topics & Dates:Visit this page for the latest availability...http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/MysteryQuest/classrooms.htmlRegister for the project ASAP!Teachers need to start preparing their presentations!Register online: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/MysteryQuest/First click on Classrooms & Dates and make sure your preferredtime slot is still open. Then click on Contact & Registration to fill out theonline registration form.Looking forward to a few more schools joining us!Janine LimInstructional Technology ConsultantBerrien County ISD711 St. Joseph Ave.Berrien Springs, MI 49103jlim@remc11.k12.mi.usPh: (269) 471-7725x101Fax: (269) 471-1221Web: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dlBlog: http://bcisdvcs.blogspot.com/TWICE Read Across America Coordinator 2006http://www.twice.cc/read/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) TECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX: WHAT IS A BLOG AND HOW CAN THEY HLP IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING

You have heard the term, seen them in the news, but what is a Blog?

Join Paul Hieronymus and Bridget Ereditario from Avon Heritage South Elementary School on a virtual tour of Blogs. Thursday January 12, at 3:30 on Ohio’s ATM video network Paul and Bridget will share the many ways that Blogs can be used for parent communication, to enhance class projects, to create web based distance learning applications and to enhance written expression. They will walk teachers through the creation of a Blog and how easily they can be maintained. Bridget will show her students Blogs and discuss the advantages they have had on Language Arts Classes. We look forward to seeing you online!

This program is free, but we will limit this program to 10 interactive schools. To sign up for this program contact Paul Hieronymus via email. HieronymusP@avon.k12.oh.us


Paul HieronymusCurriculum Technology CoordinatorAvon Local Schools3075 Stoney Ridge RoadAvon, Ohio 44011Phiero@leeca.org(440) 829-8273ISDN: 614.722.0019IP: 66.144.122.221www.avon.k12.oh.us/distancelearning
Educational ConsultantLorain County Distance Learning Consortium1885 Lake AvenueElyria, Ohio 44035Office: 440.324.5777 ext 104Cell: 440.829.8273ISDN: 614.722.0051IP: 156.63.190.212http://www.lcdlc.org/
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5) GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHERS

Please open these attachments for some great opportunities for teachers in your district. We are looking for some great high school educators to participate in our Creative Career Series with The WWestern Reserve Historical Society, The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Cleveland Institute of Music.

Our 1945 grant-funded project is also a unique opportunity for teachers to co-develop lessons with our content providers.

Sandy Kreisman, Community Education skreisman@universitycircle.org University Circle Interactive Cleveland 10831 Magnolia Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (216) 707-5021 office phone(216) 791-3935 fax (330) 221-0421 cell
Learn more about distance learning at http://www.ucicdl.org/

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6) FAMILY CONSUMER SCIENCE TEACER MEETINGS OVER IVDL

The Family and Consumer Science Teachers across the state are starting to schedule some of their state-wide meetings via videoconferencing. In an effort to reach as many FCS folks as they can I have been asked to use our listserv to spread the word. I am requesting that you pass this information along to your district contacts and ask them to distribute to the intended audience on their end. The meeting information is in the attachment.Thanx...LSakemillerFCS Instructors - You may wish to attend the January 31st Inservice. See the web site for locations.FCS Supervisors - Please email out to your teachers as a reminder.


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7) NEW PROGRAMS FROM THE MUSKINGUM VALLEY ESC

Here are 2 new interactive distance learning programs for your districts, as well as a few favorites from the past year which work great with the upcoming winter holidays. If you have anyone interested, let me know as soon as possible to secure your spot. As always, they are available upon request, and are $50.00 per connection. Each session comes with correlations to the Ohio Academic Content Standards as well as extension activities that can be used following the connection.

Leslie Charles
Distance Learning Manager

Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center
205 North 7th Street
Zanesville, Ohio 43701
740.452.4518 ext 133
lcharles@mvesc.k12.oh.us
www.mvesc.k12.oh.us/tap/

Mrs. Meikle’s 5th graders head south on a chilly day in January

The fifth grade science classes from Avon Heritage North Elementary School meet their partner school in Miami Florida to start our gardening project using Earth Boxes. The Students from Miami County Day School shared common facts of Ohio and Florida and the students of Avon use Google Earth to show a birds eye view of our schools and local hot spots. Hearing the local weather forecast for Miami and Avon made us envious while their students were thrilled to hear we had a 30% chance of snow (we didn’t get any). One important comment I over heard as the students left was that “they were just like us”, we hope to hear more comments like that.

In two weeks the students will plant lettuce seeds to start our gardens. Both classes will plant their crops in Earth Boxes purchased from http://www.earthbox.com/. The Avon students will use grow lights and the students in Florida will plant the same crops but will place their earth boxes outside. Throughout the year the students will compare plants and discuss what changes each group should make as they chart their plants progress.

We look forward to working with our new friends at Miami Country Day :)

Amelia Earhart kicks off 2006 with third grade students at Avon Heritage South.

Mrs. Fecko’s third grade students has the opportunity to receive a visit from Amelia Earhart and to discuss her life and place in the history books. This lifelike presentation by Pat Jordan of Virent Broadcasting was only made possible by videoconferencing as she preformed from Rose Tree Media in Pennsylvania.

The students had just started reading a story about Amelia Earhart which made this program a perfect fit into the 3rd graders Social Studies and Language Arts Curricula. After her performance the students had several questions about her life, accomplishments and tragedies. It was a great learning opportunity for the students and one that they will remember for some time.

Virent Broadcasting offers many impersonators of historical figures. Pat Jordan can also be seen presenting Betsy Ross, Deborah Franklin (Ben Franklin's wife), Abigail Adams (President John Adams’ wife), Sarah Gibbons (a colonial indentured servant), Fanny Kemble (1880’s Actress & Abilitionist), Dorothea Dix (Social Reformer), Louisa May Alcott - (author), and Mary Poppins (Fictional Character). Programs and descriptions can be found on the web at http://www.virent.net/ .

Avon Middle School has been fortunate enough to play host to John Swartz more commonly known as George Washington and Thomas Edison to the IVC world. John is currently traveling the nation doing only life performances. We wish him luck and hope to see him online again :)

Thanks again Virent, Pat and Rose Tree Media Schools

Happy Holidays from the Avon Local Schools

The Avon Local Schools would like to wish all of our distance learning partners, content providers and future sites a happy and safe holiday.

Thanks for all of the great opportunities you have provided to our students. We look forward to working with each of you again making 2006 our best year ever!

Happy Holidays!

LCDLC Teacher will Connect from Antarctica

You may have seen the article on the front page of the Morning Journal yesterday already, but if not, you'll be interested to know that Marianne Kaput from Troy Intermediate School, Avon Lake City Schools will be leaving for Palmer Station, a research station in Antarctica. Marianne will join 4 researchers there as they study an insects (the Belgica Antarctica) ability to survive extreme temperature changes down to 50 below zero! Research findings could have far reaching effects for us. One of the largest benefits could allow transplant surgeries to be more successful by preserving organs longer! Other applications will be discussed as well.

We'll be conducting a total of 4 sessions for our Antarctica Annie sessions. Session 3 (1/19/06 9:00 - 10:00 A.M.) and Session 4 (1/25/06 9:00 -
10:00A.M.) will take place from the Antarctica Station. We'll be using their Satellite and taking most of their bandwidth to connect back to middle school students in Lorain County, Ohio, and the nation.

This project is available at several levels of interactivity. Students may connect for Session 3 and 4 only to visit with Marianne, or may choose to participate in a more advanced level using a "Creative Problem Solving Method" coordinated by our Gifited and Talented consortium. All four sessions are listed in the attached sign up sheet. Interested parties should fax this sheet back to be included.


Want to know more.
Here's some info directly from Marianne from a recent presentation about her voyage:

I'll fly from Cleveland Ohio to the tip of Chile to a place called Punta Arenas. Flying is only part of the journey. I'll ring in the New Year in Chile and then board a research vessel to Antarctica. There's no airport for a plane to land at Palmer Station where I'm going- the back yard is just glaciers!

Then we have to go through the dreaded Drake Passage- famous for being the roughest waters of the world! Antarctica took a long time to be
discovered because the early explorers could not make it across this strip of ocean. The waters are very rough with waves up to 30 feet! Up here around Lake Erie, there are small craft warnings called when waves reach around 5 feet! But not to fear, our ship is made just for travel like this- I sure hope I am! It has been said that you first must "Pay the Drake" before you can begin to appreciate and begin to enjoy Antarctica.

Anyway- I'm sure life at a research station will be quite different than teaching in a classroom. First, there are only 22 researchers there. We will be 5 of them! The 17 others will most likely conducting environmental studies, biological studies, meteorological studies and much more. I'll tell you more about who is there when I get there.

Sign up Today while we still have spots left! Visit our Calendar from our website at http://www.lcdlc.org/ to see all our Antarctica Annie Session listed during January & February.

Program Flyer: http://www.avon.k12.oh.us/distancelearning/Downloads/ProjectAntarcticaFlyer.doc

Dave Miller
Director of Distance Learning
Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium
1885 Lake Avenue
Elyria, OH 44012
440 324-5777 ext 195 Office
440 610-0782 Cell
dave.miller@leeca.org

Health Students become DNA Detectives

Avon High School Students had the opportunity to be DNA detectives with Heath Space Cleveland. After an overview of DNA and their roll in human development the students were divided in to groups of 4 and 5 and assigned a suspect of a crime screen. Using a sample of that person’s DNA sequence. The students cut the DNA sequences and into manageable numbers for comparison to a sample taken from the victim.

This program was made possible through a generous donation by the Henkel Adhesives Corporation that donated funds to Health Space Cleveland for distance education for Lorain County Ohio Schools. If you would like to learn more about the distance learning programs provided by Health Space Cleveland check them out at www.healthspacecleveland.org/education/education.asp?detail=9

Avon East Participates in the First Annual Holidays Traditions Conference

After a huge snowstorm that blew through the North East canceling the conference the previous week, the Holidays Traditions Conference launched their first conference on this morning. Avon East Elementary School was in and out of the conference due to schedule conflicts with the video systems but felt the conference was a huge success and look forward to being a part in the program next schools.

Originally Miss Lavelle, Schaffer and Mrs. Bunnevich’s classes were scheduled to sing their choir pieces to the conference, but the rescheduled date did not make this possible. Instead I read the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” otherwise known as the “Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore. Our remote audience was 4th and 5th grade students from Taylor Texas. Using PowerPoint and images downloaded from various sites on the Internet the students enjoyed images of the first visit of St. Nicholas as the poem was read to the local and remote audiences.

Mrs. Masin and Miss Lavelle’s students enjoyed meeting the students from Taylor Texas and discussing the weather with Mr. Claus between sessions. The students were also treated to a discussion of the Christmas Traditions of Africa from Dr. Mbeje and Dr. Dinar, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, PA .

A special thanks to the students from Miss Lavelle’s students that won door prizes drawn from Santa himself. Megan L., Joseph Y., Meghan H., Alicia S., and Ryan M.,

Way to go EAGLES!

Other schools in attendance were Central Cambria Elementary, Ebensburg, PA, St. Paul School, Taylor, TX, Glendale Elementary School, Flinton, PA, Mt. Zion Elementary School, Mt. Zion, PA, St. Francis University, the Ohio State University and St. Francis University.

Catch me if you can

3rd grade students from Avon Heritage South discussed the various ways that they can hunt and protect themselves out in the wild. Using Ohio’s wildlife the Lorain County Metro Parks French Creek Nature Center showed examples of camouflage and hunting techniques. The Catch me if you can program demonstrated how animals are hunted and they various ways that they protect themselves. Leslie our naturalist used images, live animals and video clips to interact with the students.

The program started with the students identifying animals that are predators, prey and animals that are both. The students did a great job classifying the animals shown and had great questions for Leslie about the animals behavior.

The Lorain County Metro Parks is the Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium’s (LCDLC) newest content provider which offers programs to grades K-12. Their programs are scheduled on demand and are free to LCDLC schools. Other schools can schedule their programs for $40.00. www.loraincountymetroparks.com

Way to go Lorain Metro!

LCDLC Updates for 12/12/05

1) FREE ELEMENTARY PROGRAM - "Wooing Wed Widing Hood" Unveiled: A Children's Play in the making - Behind the scenes
2) INSTANT HARMONICA WORKSHOP with Blues great Billy Branch
3) VIRTUAL TEACHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM SUMMER 2006
4) FREE CHAPTERS PROJECT
5) VISIT WITH SANTA AND HIS ELVES
6) CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA INVITE
7) ANTARCTICA ANNIE VIDEOCONFERENCE (Local teacher visits Antarctica for 30 days)
8) MERRY CHRISTMAS



1) FREE ELEMENTARY PROGRAM - "Wooing Wed Widing Hood" Unveiled: A Children's Play in the making - Behind the scenes

Our existing teachers have developed some GREAT programs. Pat Price is offering the following three part session to any elementary school that would like to participate. For details on the lesson and/or to view Pat’s short video promo, click on the following link
http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/projects.htm . Pat’s program is listed under the Elementary Programs.


2) INSTANT HARMONICA WORKSHOP with Blues great Billy Branch
For the third year running, the Museum of Science and Industry is pleased to offer the "Instant Harmonica" Workshop with Blues great Billy Branch. In this interactive 45-minute program, students will learn the basics of playing the harmonica. We will offer two sessions of the program on Thursday, February 23rd only. This is a very popular program and registration will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis. These sessions are open to students in grades 4-8 only.
Please call Anel at 773.684.1414 to register. 10:00 and 11:00 AM CST, February 23rd only. Cost is $90 and includes harmonicas and song sheets for up to 35 students.
Sarah Tschaen Senior Education Coordinator Museum of Science and Industry 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive Chicago, Illinois 60637-2093
(773) 753-6254 direct line (773) 684-9844, Ext. 6254


3) VIRTUAL TEACHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM SUMMER 2006

Virtual Teacher Exchange Program

Austin Urban Debate League, World Class Schools, and ALOUD are not proud to sponsor a new and innovative program- Summer School Virtual Teacher Exchange programs. Teachers will be matched with schools in other coutnries or other areas of the US and teach summer school. This will allow schools to obtain the best and brightest minds in the world to teach their students. The rewards will be professional development, participating in a project on the ground floor, and inservice or CE credits. Imagine teaching in another country and home in your own bed each night. Sounds exciting then you are the person we need.

For more details

email
Michael Cunningham
mcunningham@del-valle.k12.tx.us
or call 512-386-3219



4) FREE CHAPTERS PROGRAM

Hello all,

I am trying to find grade 5 and 6 teachers who would be interested in participating in the Chapters project, a web-based writing project with a culminating videoconference presentation. I have attached the flyer that advertises the project. I have requests to participate from teachers in Texas and Cambridge, Ohio, but I don't have enough area teachers to partner them with for the project.

Please share the attached flyer with your fifth and sixth grade teachers and ask them to contact me if they are interested in participating. I am hoping to schedule the project for January and February.

Thank you.



5) VISIT WITH SANTA AND HIS ELVES

The TCHESC has some limited time slots left for the Distance Learning content, Santa and his Elves. This program will last between 30 and 4 minutes and Santa will do his best to call on as many children as possible. The sessions are limited to 35 children, so that Santa can call on as many as possible. He will also be sharing facts about reindeer and comparing them to white tailed deer. He will discuss mammals, herbivores, and other characteristics of the animals. The elves will also be making an appearance.
This session costs $50 and we must have the PO prior to connecting. To register, go to http://www.blogger.com/www.tchesc.org <http://www.tchesc.org/> and then look on the left side of the page for a link to a reservation system called Santa and his Elves. After successfully registering, you can go to this web address, http://www.blogger.com/www.tchesc.org/santa to download the materials. It is IMPERATIVE that if you are able to register, you MUST fax us the form called wish list by Thursday, December 8th so that Santa has time to see all the requests.

Thanks!

Michele L. Carlisle
Gifted and Instructional Technology Specialist
Tuscarawas Carroll Harrison Educational Service Center
330-308-9939 x 220



6) CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA INVITE

DL Liaisons:
I still have ATM slots available for your schools to participate in Thursday's Careers with a Symphony Orchestra. Please share the attached flyer with your high school and middle school music departments.
Thanks.
John
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7) ANTARCTICA ANNIE VIDEOCONFERENCE (Local teacher visits Antarctica for 30 days)

Visit with Marianne Kaput from Troy Intermediate schools, Avon Lake as she researches the unique characteristics of the Belica Antarctica, an insect in Antarctica. She will be on Palmer station with 30 scientists. Marianne (Antarctica Annie) will be conducting two live videoconferences from their Satellite uplink while there. There are multiple levels of participation for students. This program is geared for grades 5 – 8 and will include the creative problem solving model for schools who wish to participate. See attached flyer “Antarctica Flyer”.


Dave Miller
Director of Distance Learning
Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium
1885 Lake Avenue
Elyria, OH 44012
440 324-5777 ext 195 Office
440 610-0782 Cell
dave.miller@leeca.org



8) MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone. It’s hard to believe, but this may be our last communication before the Christmas break! If we don’t talk to you again before the break, Merry Christmas!

Avon Presents at SOITA Technology Conference

The Avon Local Schools were proud to be a part of the SOITA (Southwestern Ohio Instructional Technology Association) Conference at the Dayton Convention Center without leaving my office in Avon, Ohio. With a short month in December and an all day in-service the next day this would have been impossible to be done onsite. Instead I was able to practice what I preach and provide the audience with the same if not a better presentation from my office.

The topic was getting the most out of your videoconferencing system. The focus of this session was classroom to classroom collaborations and other uses for your IVC unit. We started the session off with an exciting game of IVDL jeopardy and discuss the various ways that my district uses IVC to enhance (not replace) our existing curricula. Video clips from team teaching and classroom projects were used to demonstrate our usage. A special visit from “Duct Tape Man” demonstrated that multiple video formats can be used with any vender’s product as we tried to show that it is the content that makes the videoconference.

I hope that the audience enjoyed the presentation and that it leads to future IVC collaborations. We hope to see our friends in Southwest Ohio online again in the future.

Thanks again SOITAhttp://www.soita.org/

Avon Heritage Students take a ride on the Polar Express

Dressed in the PJ’s and their chair lined up in rows resembling seats on a train the third grade students from Mrs. Michelich’s 3rd grade class at Avon Heritage South prepared for an interactive journey to the North Pole on the Polar Express. Presented by the UNITE Consortium of Columbiana County.

On an over-night holiday train the students improved vocabulary, sequenced events, recognized characteristics and features of different types of literary forms and genres and identified the theme of a literary text. Narrated by Mrs. Straub of the Columbiana ESC the students were treated to a fun and valuable experience.

The students shared hot chocolate and had a silver bell to signify the end of the story. As each student rang their bells it was obvious that all shared the Christmas spirit was the sound ringing echoed the room.

Avon Heritage South is a proud and active member of the UNITE Consortium with half of the buildings teachers previously at Avon East which was award their equipment through the Telecommunity Adding Partners Grant as part of the UNITE Consortium. Avon continues to be a part of the group with Avon East and Heritage South Elementary Schools.

Thank you Columbiana County for a great program!

LCDLC Updates & Opportunities 12/5/05

For a complete listing including our past opportunities, visit our web site and view our VC Classifieds at http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/vc_classifieds.htm.
1) RUSSIA VIDEOCONFERENCE
2) WVIZ/CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PRESENTS PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN - VIOLINIST
3) HOLIDAY TRADITION CONFERENCE
4) A VISIT WITH MRS. CLAUS
5) CAREERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS: SERVING PATIENTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
6) THE ENVIROSCAPE – WATERSHEDS & POLLUTION
7) READ ACROSS AMERICA BY TWICE – LAST CHANCE
8) CHAPTERS PROJECT
9) WORLD WIDE POETRY JAM


1) RUSSIA VIDEOCONFERENCE (See Attachment “Russia Videoconference.doc”)

We invite your middle and high school students to meet Patricia Carr via distance learning to learn about her visit to Russia, exploring the similarities and differences in cultures with the former Soviet Union.

Carol Straub, Ed.S.
Distance Learning Education Department
Columbiana County Education Service Center 38720 Saltwell Road Lisbon, Ohio 44432
330-424-9591 ext 170

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2) WVIZ/CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA PRESENTS PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN – VIOLINIST
Ohio ATM Network Sites Only
DL Liaisons, Advocates and Tech Coordinators:
Please share the attached information with your teachers regarding the Cleveland Orchestra Invite.
Thank you.
John
John R. Ramicone Director of Distance Learning Services-WVIZ/NOTA 4300 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44134-1191 phone: 216-739-3940 fax: 216-398-4245 email: jramicone@wviz.org
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3) HOLIDAY TRADITION CONFERENCE
Cost: Free
Live stream and participate in the virtual chat room

Holiday traditions have always varied between cultures and regions. Now, thanks to Internet2 and videoconferencing, we are able to share holiday traditions beyond borders that once existed. In the tradition of Internet2, Megaconference, and Megconference Jr. we ask you to participate in the first ever Holiday Traditions Conference.

Program Schedule: http://www.cermusa.francis.edu/holidaycon/

Sign ups for the Holiday Tradition Conference via Videoconference are closed, but classes can still watch the program through a lived stream through windows media player. Information on the webcast can be found on the following hyperlink.

http://www.cermusa.francis.edu/holidaycon/Streaming.htm

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4) A VISIT WITH MRS. CLAUS

30 minutes for grades K-4

This program allows your students the opportunity to visit with Mrs. Santa Claus. She will read a short story to the students and then they will have the opportunity to ask questions about her, Santa Claus, and the North Pole.

Cost: $50.00

Contact: Theresa Neuser
tneuser@cesa7.k12.wi.us
595 Baeten Road
Green Bay, WI 54304
United States
Phone: (920) 617-5641
Fax: (920) 492-5965


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5) CAREERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS: SERVING PATIENTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Hello Everyone.

You received an email from me about 2 months ago about a Career Series that unfortunately I could not get paid registrations. HealthSpace has generously agreed to go ahead and offer this one for FREE. Please send out to your school contacts on Monday and encourage registration for this great career panel for high-school students coordinated by HealthSpace Cleveland with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

They can register on the CILC site or email me directly. Thanks so very much.

Sandy Kreisman

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6) THE ENVIROSCAPE – WATERSHEDS & POLLUTION

Program Title: “Lake County Solid Waste Management District
The Enviroscape”

Cost: Free

Grade(s): 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 for 60-90 minutes

Using a 3x3-floor model, Students create a "real-life" city while discussing and demonstrating sources of pollution. Students will gain an understanding of watersheds, run off, and point/non-point source pollution

Objectives: Students will:1. Gain an understanding of watersheds.2. Identify point-source pollution.3. Understand the effects pollution has on a community.4. Learn about "eco-friendly" solutions and products.

Contact: Lara Gonzalezlgonzalez@lcswmd.com7820 BroadwayMerrillville, IN 46410United StatesPhone: (219) 769-3820 ext. 103Fax: (219) 769-3890


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7) READ ACROSS AMERICA BY TWICE – LAST CHANCE

Paul Hieronymus has completed the site verification for the consortium and will be happy to assist any teacher that would like to be a part of the RAA program. Teachers that would like to signup will need to contact Paul for the consortium pin # required for signup.

Local contact: Paul HieronymusHieronymusP@avon.k12.oh.us
440.829.8273

Take your students ‘Across America’ to celebrate Read Across America!
March 1-3, 2006
Cost: FREE

Virtually travel across America for the NEA event, Read Across America - use interactive video to connect your class with a class from a different area of the United States, and read to each other. Your students can take part in the two-way video Read Across America event that connects classrooms to classrooms around the United States. The activity is sponsored by the TWICE organization, in cooperation with the NEA.

This activity is open to all K-12 students in public and private schools who have access to two-way interactive video equipment (ISDN or IP). If you are unsure whether or not you have access to this type of equipment, check with your school's technology coordinator. Your class will be matched with a class from a different area of the United States and each class will exchange reading activities. Classroom to classroom connections will take place the week of March 1-3, 2006. Each connection is scheduled for an hour: 15 minutes for testing connections and introductions; 30 minutes for the reading activity (15 minutes per class); 15 minutes for exchanging information about respective schools and communities. Activities can range from reading a favorite book passage, to a “battle of the books” format.

Activity Ideas: Skits, Plays, Raps, Songs, Illustrations, Dramatizations, Student created books, “Battle of the Books” just to name a few.

To learn more about the RAA Event visit http://www.twice.cc/read/index.html

Video Introduction can be viewed at http://dl.remc11.k12.mi.us/RAAOverview.wmv


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8) CHAPTERS PROJECT

Cost: Free
http://intercom.noeca.net/chapters/index.html
Through the NOECA InterCom Chapters project, teachers and students can collaboratively write chapter books that are then presented via video distance learning.
This is how the Chapters Project works:
-A title for the book is established. - Class A writes the first chapter. -Class B writes the second chapter.-Class C writes the third chapter. -All classes write their own conclusion to the chapter book based on the previous chapters.
-Each chapter should be written based on the previous chapter(s), unless your class wrote Chapter 1. The characters and plot should carry throughout the chapter book.
-Each chapter must have a beginning, middle and end. The end of each chapter should provide opportunities for something new to happen in the next chapter.
-All classes present their final chapter in an interactive videoconference. Classes may choose to "act out" their final chapter. The final chapter presentation should take no longer than 15 minutes for each participating class.

Contact Kathy Mohr at kathy@noeca.net or 419-627-1439 x224.


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9) WORLD WIDE POETRY JAM

Friday December 9th 7:30- 11:00 am Central

We are trying to have an open mic poetry celebration in this conference. If your school has students who like to write poetry and participate by reading their poetry please contact

Michael Cunningham
Del Valle High School
mcunningham@del-valle.k12.tx.us

512-268-4598

We are also having schools send in to us audio MP3 poems if you want your stuff heard and not have ITV equipment. We can provide a DVD copy if you would like after the event.

AHS participates in Virtual College Tour

Through Ohio’s ATM video network, Avon High School joined 27 schools from across the state to view the LCDLC Virtual College Tour. Each hour a local University provided students with a 30-45 min presentation about their university followed by Q & A lead by the LCDLC staff. 6 sites each hour were designated as interactive while other schools could submit questions via email which were read by the LCDLC.

The college from this years event included Lorain County Community College, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, The Ohio State University, Wright State University and Miami University. The program lasted from 8am to 2pm with limited breaks for connecting presenters and roll call for participating sites. LCDLC members schools that participated were Avon HS, Brookside HS, Firelandss HS,Amherst Steel HS, Elyria HS, Lorain Longfellow MS, Keystone HS, Oberlin HSLCCC - Elyria Early College Program and Lorain Whittier Tornado MS.

The program was a huge success and we look forward to participating in the Financial Aide program and the LCDLC Virtual College Tour II.

Thanks LCDLC!

The Avon High School Video I class competed against other Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium (LCDLC) Member Schools in the Henkel Adhesives Duct Tape Commercial Contest. AHS turned in six projects to compete against Elyria HS, Keystone HS, and Lorain Longfellow Middle School for the regional judging. The winner of the LCDLC judging advances to the State level judging on December 14th at WVIZ PBS 25 in Cleveland. Winner of the state competition will receive a Cannon GL2 video camera.

The scores were tight only two points on the scoring rubric separated first through third place. Avon HS’s Adventures of Duct Tape Man took a close second place in the judging out of 17 projects. The scoring of the projects were done in a multipoint videoconference with judges making up members of the local advertising field. After the projects were shown and the scores tallied the top three projects were shown and comments were made by the judges to the students.

The Avon Local Schools congratulate the students from all the participating schools and wish Lorain Longfellow Middle School the best of luck in the state judging in December.
All of the projects showed creativity and good use of video editing and production.

Great Job Everyone!

Freedom Calls from Heritage North Elementary School

Avon Heritage North Elementary School was proud to assist the Freedom Calls foundation by providing the use of our videoconferencing system for a happy birthday wish to a sibling in Iraq.

Tasha and her two children contacted the
Freedom Calls organization requesting the opportunity to say happy birthday to her sister stationed in Camp Cooke Taji in Iraq. After a couple of Emails, a two test calls the two sisters were sharing stories and updates as if they were in the same room.

Freedom calls is a non profit organization created to help soldiers abroad the opportunity to communicate with friends and family through phone and videoconferencing. They have been uniting families, creating new ones through virtual marriages and even connecting to hospitals for live births to help our soldiers. It makes you wonder if there are any limits to this technology!

To learn more about Freedom Calls. You can visit them on the web at www.freedomcalls.org/ .

Local Artifact Exchange

The clues have been delivered, the artifacts exchanged, students have met their partner school, but where are they from???

Mrs. Michelich and Mrs. Clark’s third grade classes met with their partnered school today over videoconferencing to ask questions about their community, geography and artifacts sent to their school. At the end of the videoconference the schools guessed their partners state. Stuffed animals representing species found in the Smokey Mountains, Moon Pies and pictures of trains help Avon’s students to identify the State of Tennessee as their partner’s state.

Our partners used buckeyes, carnations, a stuffed slider toy (Cleveland Indians mascot) and duct tape to identify Ohio giving some key clues as to our proximity to Lake Erie and Cleveland. The students will exchange one more series of poems providing clues to our cities and schools. December 15th the students will connect and provide their partner schools a presentation about their community followed by one last chance of Q & A before the sites guess their locations.

The students from both sites are very excited about the project and can not wait until their next connecting in December. We are so pleased that our friends in Tennessee shared this project.

Great job classes!

LCDLC Updates

Attached find our most recent updates for the week of 11/28/05. Don’t miss out!

1) SHARED VIDEOCONFERENCING LESSONS AVAILABLE FROM EXISTING TRAINED TEACHERS – WOW!!
2) LESSON AVAILABLE “Native American (Southwest U.S. & Central America) Student Projects”
3) LESSON AVAILABLE “Career Overview of a Clinical Laboratory Scientist”
4) FASFA SESSION “NOW I GET IT, GETTING MONEY FOR COLLEGE”
5) LETTERS TO THE OLD WORLD

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1) SHARED VIDEOCONFERENCING LESSONS AVAILABLE FROM EXISTING TRAINED TEACHERS – WOW!!

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to participate in some GREAT lessons our existing teachers have developed that can be shared over videoconferencing! This year, we’ve asked our existing teachers to develop three lessons that they would be willing to share with another school. Each teacher has developed a brief lesson plan describing their lesson. Additionally, many have created short streaming video clips to describe and promote the available lessons. The sessions with a icon of a clip beside the lesson is a hyperlink and will allow you to preview a short 2 – 3 minute video describing the lesson. You can view both at our website under our new section, “Projects” at http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/projects.htm.

Please view these and don’t miss out on any upcoming that might be available to you!

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2) LESSON AVAILABLE “Native American (Southwest U.S. & Central America)

Our existing teachers are providing three lessons that they’ll be teaching out to other schools this year. Herb Fiske from Lear North Elementary school will be providing a program on “Native American (Southwest U.S. & Central America) Student Project “. The event is 30 minutes – December 5, 2005 (10:00 – 10:30).

For more info, see Herb’s web promotion describing the lesson or click on the video clip icon to view a short streaming video of Herb’s lesson available to your students!

http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/Projects/Lesson%20Plans/NativeAmericanStudentProjects.mht

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3) LESSON AVAILABLE “Career Overview of a Clinical Laboratory Scientist”

This lesson by Barb O’Malia, Elyria HS on December 2nd is available for other schools to view. View Barb’s lesson at http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/Projects/Lesson%20Plans/ClinicalLabScientist.mht

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4) FASFA SESSION “NOW I GET IT, GETTING MONEY FOR COLLEGE”

Join us for a one hour session as Amy Kovalsky, College Advisor, gives an overview of how the college financial aid process works. Topics covered will include applying for aid and the importance of understanding the terminology. Amy currently works with students and families at North Ridgeville High School and is available to come to one of the participating sites to present. This is offered on a first come first serve basis. Sign up today!

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5) LETTERS TO THE OLD WORLD

Hi all,
I wanted to let you know about a unique video conferencing experience that is filled with Ohio history and community significance. Zoar Community Association, in Zoar, Ohio has developed an interactive and engaging video conference unit called Letters to the Old World. Through the eyes of an historian, the students will learn about this one of a kind community that existed for many years in Ohio. Zoar was a developed as a commune style of living, and the settlers were completely self supporting as a community. The content standards are available on the website below as well as all registration information. The cost of this program is $50, payable to the Zoar Community Association. Zoar is able to connect ATM or ISDN at speeds of 384kbps. A purchase order is required prior to the connection. This content is geared toward 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes. For more information, contact Michele Carlisle at michele@tchesc.org (330-308-9939 ext. 220) or Marilyn Roder at marilyn@tchesc.org (330-308-9939 ext. 251. Please check this out on the web at www.tchesc.org/zoar

Thanks,

LuAnne Jackson
Technology Director
TCHESC
834 East High Avenue
New Philadelphia, OH 44663
phone: 330-308-9939 ext. 250
cell: 330-243-4538
fax: 330-308-0964
www.tchesc.org

Amherst Steele High School installs Polycom System

The Lorain County Distance Learning Consortium welcomes our newest consortium member Amherst Steele High School. Dave Miller and I installed their Polycom this morning and made their first connection to Avon Middle School through Ohio’s ATM video network followed by an IP connection to the same site.

The system was installed early enough for Steele HS to participate in the LCDLC Virtual College Tour on November 29th. Amherst students will join 28 of Ohio’s High Schools as they learn more about Ohio’s College. The event will feature Lorain County Community College, Bowling Green University, Kent State University, The Ohio State University, Wright State University and Miami University. We look forward to working with Amherst Steele HS and seeing them online for future events and collaborations.

Welcome Steele HS!

Avon Heritage South Students visit the People of the Planes with the Amon Carter Museum

Using art work of the Amon Carter Museum students enhanced their knowledge of the Native American Tribes of the Great Planes. Divided into five groups, the students analyzed reproductions of art work from the museum as broke them into themes. The students identified specific images from each painting to help define the theme of the painting and to learn more about the tribes culture.

The Amon Carter Museum out of Fort Worth Texas did an excellent job with their program. I would recommend this content provide to other schools. The Connect to Texas group made the connection easy and were very helpful during scheduling the program at a time convenient to our classroom teachers.

LCDLC Updates for 11/21/05

TO SEE ALL OUR VIDEOCONFERENCING OPPORTUNITIES, CHECK OUT OUR VC CLASSIFIEDS
http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh/vc_classifieds.htm

1) THE 3R’s: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
2) ODYSSEY OF THE MIND BEGINNERS WANT TO TALK
3) DIVERSITY DETECTIVES: TEACHING TOLERANCE
4) TxDLA 2006 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
5) ATTEND THE MIDWEST EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE IN ST. LOUIS
6) READ ACROSS AMERICA ’06 LAST CHANCE! VERIFICATION CLOSES NOVEMBER 23RD
7) LCDLC NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER (ATTACHED)
8) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
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1) THE 3R’s: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Students will learn the importance and concept behind the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle message by participating in games and demonstrations. Games
included: Natural Resource Match Game, Recycle Relay, and even a Fashion show of Reused and Recycled garbage demonstrated by the environmental educator.

Students will:
1. Understand the importance and concept of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle message.
2. Explore alternative products that are more environmentally friendly.
3. List and identify the components of trash.
4. Engage in discussion about waste reduction.

Cost: FREE
Scheduled on demand though www.cilc.org
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2) ODYSSEY OF THE MIND BEGINNERS WANT TO TALK

Our school is putting together an Odyssey of the Mind group for the first time. Is there a seasoned group that can talk to our kids about the fun and adventure of OTM? I think it could help them to talk to those who have experienced it first-hand.

Mr. Ogun Holder
Music Teacher - Upper School
University Academy
6801 Holmes Rd, Kansas City, MO 64134
Tel: (816) 412-5944
email: holdero@universityacademy.org
www.universityacademy.org
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3) DIVERSITY DETECTIVES: TEACHING TOLERANCE

Program Description:
Close your eyes. Now imagine that you have just exited a plane and are entering the Tokyo International Airport. How would you greet your tour guide? What questions would you be able to ask them? Are the gestures and customs the same as ours?

Girls Incorporated of Indianapolis instructors are eager to share their knowledge of various cultural traditions while promoting an eagerness to learn about others. During this high energy, interactive program, boys and girls will become official "Diversity Detectives". We will provide them with the information they need to, not only learn more about diversity independently, but also teach others about tolerance. Upon completion of the program, students will receive their own Diversity Detective Kit. This packet will include information on the topics covered including: American Sign Language, Japanese customs and information about celebrations from around the world.

Girls Incorporated of Indianapolis is a local affiliate of the national nonprofit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold. Girls Incorporated develops researched-based educational programs that encourage girls to master physical, intellectual and emotional challenges through thoughtful decision making and risk taking. Our programs address math and science education, drug abuse prevention, media literacy, economic literacy, adolescent health, violence prevention and sports participation.
Objectives:

Upon completion of this program, students will:• *Learn about American Sign Language *Have participated in activities teaching disabilities; the importance of being sensitive and the importance of communication.

*Be able to play Japanese games and greet each other using Japanese language and customs.
*Have participated in hands-on activities about other cultures and celebrations.
*Be armed with tools to be cultural conflict mediators and share information with friends and family.

Program Offering:
December 13, 2005 9:45-10:30 or 11:15- 12:00pm
Cost: $60.00
Scheduled through www.CILC.org
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4) TxDLA 2006 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA) invites presentation proposals for its annual conference, The Future's So Bright, March 6-8, 2006, at the Crowne Plaza in San Antonio, Texas. The Program Committee encourages anyone involved in the field of distance education, including administrators, business/industry professionals, corporate trainers, faculty, government agency employees, graduate students, healthcare professionals, higher education employees, K-12 educators, military employees, support staff, vocational/technical educators, and other interested parties to submit proposals for the following tracks:
* Teaching and Learning- Online
* Teaching and Learning - Videoconference
* Management, Administration, and Student Support
* Faculty Training & Professional Development
* Emerging Technologies
* Technology Used Everyday
* Hands-On Sessions
* Roundtable Discussions
* Exhibitor's Theater

Detailed information including guidelines for submission, presentation formats, and track descriptions can be found at www.txdla.org/conference.

Proposals should be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 16, 2005.
For further information please contact program co-chairs Terry Comingore, terry.comingore@brazosport.edu, or Barbara Buckley, barbara.buckley@brazosport.edu.
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5) ATTEND THE MIDWEST EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE IN ST. LOUIS

Are you interested in expanding your teaching practice and student learning experiences using technology? The Midwest Education Technology Conference (METC) 2006, St. Louis has two full days of breakout sessions devoted to Distance Education plus a day of preconference workshops you might find useful.

January 30, 2006, Tom March will conduct a hands-on preconference workshop on WebQuests that explores the pedagogical process of them in "The Second
Decade: Real, Rich, and Relevance Learning for All Student." As a featured speaker on February 1st, he will continue the conversation on second generation "WebQuests."
On Tuesday and Wednesday, January 31 & February 1, 2006, breakout sessions
include:
* Round Trips: Videoconferencing from Anywhere
* Incorporating Videoconferencing into Your Curriculum
* Currents Going Strong
* Ensuring a Quality Video Conferencing Experience
* Videoconferencing with a Goal in Mind
* Online Professional Development
* Using BLOGS to Improve Reading, Writing and Multi-Literacy
* Videoconferencing in the Classroom 101
* Motion Mania
* Virtual Anatomy Classroom
Hear Tuesday's keynote speaker Annette Lamb, who is known for her realistic approaches to technology integration and information inquiry, address the conference attendees on "I-TOTEMS: Seven Essentials for Successful Technology-Rich Learning." She examines specific technology resources and tools that can be used to facilitate life-long learning and promote information fluency in K-12 students across content areas.

On Wednesday Diane Lewis uses her experience, insight, and humor to guide teachers, administrators and educational leaders towards creating cultural change in classrooms and districts. In her keynote address, "Creating Classroom Communities on the Web," she shares how students can maximize learning through collaboration and publishing for authentic audiences on the web.

METC 2006 is frame worked within the No Child Left Behind legislation and qualifies as a high quality professional development conference. All 3-hr and 6-hr preconference workshops and 1- and 2-hour general sessions may address teachers' individualized learning plans and goals.
Registration for one day is $128.00 and two days is $246.00. Take advantage of the two group discounts. Send five or more people from your district and receive a 10% discount. Or, send five teachers from your district and one administrator or board member attends free.
Online registration is available at: http://www.techd.com/metc2k6/ A hardcopy registration form may be found at http://csd.org/csdrpdc/metc2006/Registration2006.pdf
For more information, please visit the METC website at http://www.csd.org/metc2006.htm or contact Nancy George at ngeorge@csd.org or 314.692.1251.

Martha Bogart,
Coordinator, Distance Learning
Cooperating School Districts
1460 Craig Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63146
314-692-1258 (direct),
314-872-8282 (switchboard),
1-800-835-8282 (toll free),
314-872-9128 (fax)
mbogart@csd.org
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6) READ ACROSS AMERICA ’06 LAST CHANCE! VERIFICATION CLOSES NOVEMBER 23RD

TWICE (Two Way Interactive Connections in Education) annually organizes a special celebration in conjunction with the largest national reading event "Read Across America". TWICE provides the opportunity for schools in the continental United States to connect using two-way interactive video to read to, and be read to, by another class. This project is open to all K-12 students in public and private schools. The school must have access to ISDN
(H.320) or IP (H.323) codec equipment to participate.

Event Dates:
This year, we will be scheduling connections for March 1 ¬- 3, 2006.
November Verification Registration Closes Nov. 23

TWICE implements a verification process before teacher registration opens in December. The verification process verifies the type of connection (IP or ISDN) and type of videoconference equipment that is available in (or to) the building.

Verification occurs Nov. 1 through 23. Buildings must be verified before teachers from that building can register to participate in Read Across America in March. Teachers will use the PIN supplied after verification to register.

Between November 1 and 23, sign-up your building for verification at www.twice.cc/read/ You cannot participate in this national Read Across America project if your building is not registered for verification by Nov. 23.

New Materials Online:
We've just posted new packets for Teachers, Coordinators, and Techs. If you've printed the materials recently, please come back and get the updated materials! You'll also find a new 5 min. video clip you can share with staff meetings. See www.twice.cc/read/ on the right hand side.
New Building Match for 2006:

New for 2006! Do you want to have more than 6 teachers from your building participate in Read Across America this year? Recommended for experienced RAA building coordinators only. This year, consider a "building match"!

Instead of one test call per teacher and pulling your hair out, partner up with another building, do one test, and negotiate the dates & times together! Do 30 min. connections back to back if you want. Negotiate around lunch and recess! Have the flexibility of connecting during March!
Buildings will be matched elementary to elementary, middle school to middle school, and high school to high school, based on the number of teachers signed up. It will be up to the building coordinators at the two buildings to negotiate times and which teachers are matched together.
More details online, as well as a special Building Match Coordinators Packet available here: http://www.twice.cc/read/buildingmatch.html

Join us in this unique celebration of reading and Dr. Seuss books by truly "Reading Across America"!

Janine Lim

Off-list questions may be emailed directly to: janine@janinelim.com

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7) LCDLC NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
Download the November LCDLC Newsletter!
http://lcdlc.lorainesc.k12.oh.us/resources.htm
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8) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone if Paul and I don't talk to you before the holiday! Eat lots of Turkey!