Program
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Dr. Etienne Wenger - Communities of Practice: A Social Discipline of Learning
Etienne Wenger is a globally recognized thought leader in the field of communities of practice and their application to organizations. He was featured by Training Magazine in their "A new Breed of Visionaries" series. A pioneer of the "community of practice" research, he is author and co-author of seminal articles and books on the topic, including Situated Learning (Cambridge University Press, 1991), where the term was coined, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Cambridge University Press, 1998), where he lays out a theory of learning based on the concept of communities of practice, and Cultivating Communities of Practice: a Guide to Managing Knowledge (Harvard Business School Press, 2002), addressed to practitioners in organizations.
Etienne is also a founder of CPsquare, a cross-organizational, cross-sector community of practice on communities of practice. His work is influencing a growing number of organizations in the private and public sectors. Indeed, cultivating communities of practice is increasingly recognized as the most effective way for organizations to address the knowledge challenges they face.
Etienne helps organizations apply these ideas through consulting, public speaking, and workshops, both online and face-to-face. His new research project, "Learning for a small planet," is a broad, cross-sectoral investigation of the nature of learning and learning institutions at the dawn of the new millennium.Sunday Evening Keynote Presentation
How would one take as the foundation of a learning theory the common observation that we are social beings? Could such a perspective give rise to a social discipline of learning? The first step is to recognize that the world of human knowledge is composed of a huge constellation of practices. The living communities that develop, share, and refine these practices then become a key element of learning. And so are the boundaries between these communities - boundaries where new possibilities can be negotiated. As we enter, engage with, and leave these communities, our trajectories reflect this potentially creative interplay of established practices and shifting boundaries. Learning is a social journey as well as a cognitive process. It transforms both our participation and our identity; it also transforms the world itself. This perspective entails a social discipline of learning, which has relevance for a broad range of contexts in which learning is a concern - whether these are informal or involve a substantial design component.
Carol Daunt Skyring - I can see Clearly now: Videoconferencing Past, Present and Future
Carol Daunt is an experienced educator and businesswoman who has been involved in the design, application and effective use of eCollaboration since 1986. She works with lecturers, teachers, trainers, health workers and management from government departments and private organisations throughout Australia, New Zealand, USA and Europe. Carol was heavily involved in the foundation of the industry in Australia.
Carol holds a Dip T; Grad Dip Dist Ed; B Ed & M Ed (Research) - her thesis investigated the nature of interaction in videoconferencing. She has been published in numerous journals and is a frequent speaker at international conferences, having most recently given papers in seven countries both in person and via videoconference. (Some of these are available at www.learntel.com.au)
Carol is Founder and CEO of LearnTel Pty Ltd, a company that helps organisations improve their business operation by providing practical advice and training in skills for effective use of eCollaboration technologies.
Carol was Executive Director of the Australasian Teleconferencing Association 1995 - 1998 and was Chair of its Education Committee from 1992 - 1994. She is currently the Executive Officer for the Learning Technologies User Group (www.ltug.org). She is an active member of numerous industry panels, boards and committees.
Monday Morning Keynote Presentation
Where has videoconferencing come from and what does the future hold for this technology? Carol will take an amusing look at where videoconferencing has come from and where it is going. In looking at the possibilities, Carol will question our thinking and speculate on how teaching and learning in the future may differ from that of today. She will examine how we will need to prepare differently and how professional development will be an important part of moving into this new world. She will share her experience in working with many teachers and educational institutions to give advice on how to make videoconferencing in education successful.
Julia Shildmyer-Heighway - Creating Connections
Julia Shildmyer-Heighway spent 15 years in Museum Education as an Educator/Programmer at Children's Museum of Indianapolis and Director of Education & Programs at Hook's Discovery and Learning Center.
While at each museum, Julia was instrumental in designing and delivering successful interactive videoconferencing programs.
She currently serves as Director of Content Services for the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC - http://cilc.org/c/about/about_cilc.aspx). In this role, she works with over 140 cultural organizations, providing support, training and mentoring through consultation and workshops.
She has presented at both regional and national conferences regarding videoconferencing and museum education.
Tuesday Morning Keynote Presentation
This keynote address focuses on utilizing interactive videoconferencing to create connections. Being able to personally connect with new content is essential to every learner. In the age of ever changing technology, how can we leverage it to empower students to make personal connections? Using examples of best practices, Julia will share various types of content available to the classroom teacher though interactive videoconferencing. Content highlighted will be from a variety of sources including cultural organizations, teacher and student collaborations, and professional development providers. Participants will explore how this technology can be harnessed for differentiated instruction and creating cross-curricular, cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical connections.
Ted McCain - It's Not About The Technology - It's Our Instructional Approach That Needs To Change
We are pleased to announce our fourth keynote presenter for Elevate 2008, Ted McCain. Ted McCain is Associate Director of the Thornburg Centre for Professional Development in Chicago, Illinois (http://www.tcpd.org ).
With 25 years of teaching experience in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Ted is an innovator in technology education and has authored and co-authored books on the future and effective teaching with technology. He has designed courses for his school district and the province of B.C. in computer science, data processing, desktop publishing, computer networking, website design, digital animation, digital film effects, and sound engineering. He feels the only way to keep instruction relevant and interesting for students is to be continually changing and updating what he teaches.
Wednesday Morning Keynote Presentation
Technological power is developing at an astounding rate. New devices and new software are radically changing the way things get done in world. Video conferencing is one of those technologies that has the potential to change the way teachers and students communicate. But has it really changed things all that much in education? Have teachers really altered the way they teach or have they just grafted this new technology onto a long standing approach to instruction that was designed for a world that has now disappeared? In this session we will look at some of the issues that are pressing educators to create a new approach to teaching. We will look at some of the remarkable developments that are on the horizon that will greatly change the way life happens in the near future ? changes that will put even more pressure on educators to explore new ways to teach. We will also look at the impact the digital world is having on the brains of students and consider what this means for keeping our instructional approach effective in the 21st century. Finally we will consider what some of the attributes of a 21st century approach to instruction might look like ? an approach that will be effective regardless of the medium being used.
Workshops Announced for Elevate 2008
Developing and Delivering Teacher Professional Development Across the Curriculum Through Videoconferencing - Catherine Kullman-Macklam and Cathy King, 2Learn.ca Education SocietyIn this workshop, participants will learn how to plan for and deliver effective and meaningful teacher professional development experiences across the curriculum using videoconferencing and supportive technologies. (Please note that pre-registration is required for this pre-conference workshop.)
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Instructional Design for 21st Century Learning Through Videoconferencing and Supportive Technologies - Dr. Sharon Friesen, Galileo Education Network AssociationDelivering courses through videoconferencing presents unique challenges and opportunities that need to be planned for. In this workshop, participants will learn how to engage students in a videoconferencing environment using effective instructional design methods and a blend of technologies. (Please note that pre-registration is required for this pre-conference workshop.)
IVC: Challenging Students and Educators to Learn, Collaborate and Celebrate - Julia Shildmyer-Heighway and Monica Cougan, Centre for Interactive Learning and CollaborationIn this workshop, participants will explore the use of videoconferencing in their schools to utilize multitude of resources and cross-curricular programs that engage students and enhance curriculum. Participants will also focus on developing student-led projects and problem-based approaches that connect students in cross-cultural conversations, creating global interactivity and decision-making in the classroom.
Designing Quality Interactive Classroom Projects for Videoconferencing - Janine Lim, TWICEIn this workshop, participants will learn how to design interactive videoconferencing projects for class-to-class collaborations. Using activity structures and formats that have been used in popular national videoconferencing projects, participants will learn to develop projects which focus on meaningful educational activities such as sharing a science experiment, solving a mystery, or exchanging information.
| Spotlight Presentations Announced for ELEVATE 2008 | |
| Dr. Jeremy Cooperstock Interactive Music with Videoconferencing | The session will take participants through a journey of high fidelity HD videoconferencing and its impact in education. Dr Cooperstock will share his experience in teaching music over distance using HD ultravideoconferencing to allow for real time music performances between group of distance students. This presentation will show participants what the future of videoconference will look like. |
| Roxanne Glaser 123VC - Jazzing Up Your Curriculum with Videoconferencing | Partnering with other videoconference coordinators to create collaborations is the new model for keeping videoconferencing equipment from getting dusty! Many districts purchase videoconferencing equipment through grants and try to teach teachers how to use it by bringing in a consultant to "tell" teachers about all the amazing connections that are possible. "123VC? breaks that paradigm by immersing participants in videoconferencing and supportive technologies. Leaders from around the globe share their best curriculum videoconferencing ideas and projects in this amazing training. |
| Dr. Philip McRae Risk, Complexity and Uncertainty: Educationally Forecasting Our Rapidly Emerging Future | Emerging technology innovations are reshaping societies at an exponential rate of change. This presentation forecasts some of the complexities, risks, and trends related to the dynamic changes taking place on the Internet, and ways in which globalization will be impacting the field of education in the coming decade. |
| James Tapankov The VC7 - Brain Based Learning Techniques in VC |
This session will explore the use of brain-based learning techniques in the videoconferencing environment. The VC7 is a list of seven approaches that are guaranteed to enhance the level of interactivity and value to every VC, regardless of its focus. The session will involve the history of the development of the VC7, from its beginning roots to the current project with the VCRLN (Videoconferencing Regional Leads Network) to develop an online multimedia reference to highlight effective aspects of learning via VC. |
| Roger Edmonds and Chris Roberts Creative Connections with Videoconferencing, Virtual Classrooms and Virtual Learning Environments in South Australian K-12 Education | This interactive presentation will discuss a framework for delivering videoconferencing, virtual classrooms, digital content and an online work space in South Australia K-12 education. Case studies will demonstrate several creative connections we have made with videoconferences between schools and the community. A highlight will be a videoconference to South Australian teachers who are integrating VC with online work spaces to deliver a sports academy, flexible learning in Trade Schools, music programs, marine education and professional development and training to teachers. |
| Cathy King PD Supports for VC-VCRLN Resources | Looking for VC PD opportunities? Want to know how to access VC content providers and resources? Interested in learning about effective collaborative VC strategies? Want to be connected to the Alberta VC community? Want to find out more about class to class collaborations? Seeking better ways to integrate VC to enhance your curriculum? If you have answered yes to any of these questions than this session is for you. Participants will be guided through the resources and services the VCRLN offers to teachers across Alberta and shown tips and tricks to effective progress forward with your VC collaborations. |
Vendor Spotlight Presentations
Phoebe Arcilla - Sponsored by SMART TechnologiesNew Learning Possibilities with SMART Technologies
This session is for those who wish to explore new classroom learning possibilities with SMART Technologies and will feature new developments and updates in the Notebook Software, Senteo interactive response system, and other SMART technologies. Learn how to use PowerPoint, Excel, and PDF documents with SMART Board, page recording so students can access archived lessons, and other effective teaching and learning strategies. Phoebe will share prepared lessons she has taught in high school math other subjects based on her four years of experience teaching through videoconferencing with the SMART Board and other SMART products. Hands-on practice and question inquiry will be part of this session.
You Want Me to Teach How and With What?: Blended Learning for the 21st Century Classroom
Today's classroom environment and the world we live in is quickly changing. Additionally, pressure is on teachers to adapt yet they have so much to cover and so little time in which to do it. Still, change is inevitable if we want to prepare students for their futures and not our past. Given the right opportunities and right technologies, teachers can transform the learning environment, motivate students to learn, and ultimately, raise student achievement in a tight time frame. This session will examine technology trends and programs in education and how these technologies may be combined to create a 21st century classroom.
Concurrent Breakout Presentations - Monday, August 25
Debbie Glasgow, Janine Lim - ASK Literature-Based VC
Imagine your students interviewing authors or guest speakers! This session will walk participants through a process of using videoconferencing designed to develop student journaling, interviewing and literary skills. Come join the literary circle of VC fun!
Sandra Davenport, Jaeda Feddema - Cree Language Instruction via VC
This session will share the experiences of a teacher who has taught Cree Language and Culture courses as well as Aboriginal Studies at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels by videoconference for the past five years. This session will focus on what drives the instructor to deliver these programs, the instructional strategies employed, as well as providing a sampling of the student responses to these courses.
Cathy Simpson, Victoria Forchuk - LearnAlberta.ca - Enhancing Teaching and Learning via Videoconferencing.
Join us for this exciting, hands-on workshop where we will explore engaging and interactive multimedia resources available through the LearnAberta.ca website. The site provides online learning resources in English and French to Alberta's K-12 community. Our resources are curriculum-based and are correlated with Alberta Education's Programs of Study. Learn how to search the site and discover how to use links in your VC lesson planning.
Gordon Booth, Kurt Scobie - K-12 VC Program Development
The Grande Yellowhead Regional Division has actively pursued the use of videoconferencing technologies in a variety of settings over the past six years. This session will explore the applications of this technology in this division and will focus on the processes used in program development. How did we get from hardware installation to staff acceptance to meeting the needs of our students and staff? Needs assessment tools and processes as well as divisional policies will be discussed with a focus on the needs of the participants in this session.
Lisa Lozanski, Terry Godwaldt - Traversing the Globe: Four Nations Classroom
We live in a global environment where the leaders of tomorrow will be students who have the technological skills and mindset to see the world's cultural diversity as an asset rather than a liability. The Four Nations Classroom is developing student leaders in Alberta by connecting classrooms from around the world and using a variety of synchronous and asynchronous technologies to facilitate the collaborative learning of a shared curriculum. Come listen and participate as teachers from Mexico, Pakistan, the USA and Canada share their experiences in this radically new classroom!
Kerry McKinnon, Wendy Murphy - VC Rehab Services for Rural Students
In this session you will learn how David Thompson Health Region Pediatric Rehabilitation Assessment & Consultation Services and Clearview & Prairie Land School Divisions are partnering to supplement existing rehabilitation services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy, and psychology services to pediatric clients in schools through videoconference visits. Outcomes of this type of service model are improved access to health services, reduced travel costs, enhanced services, and increased collaboration with other service providers.
Erna Carter, Lynn Damberger - Telemental Health ? School Based Education Series
This session will outline the School Based Mental Health Education Series, presented by videoconference as a component of the Mental Health Capacity Building projects. The projects are led by the Alberta Mental Health Board and Alberta Education and developed in partnership with stakeholders including school jurisdictions and their staffs, parents and service providers. The Education Series was designed to support the professional development of project staff and community partners by providing access in educational settings to experts on mental health issues in education.
Carol Teitelman, Carol Willis - Moving Molecules to Pixels ? The Transition to VC Teaching
Making the transition from face to face instruction to IVC teaching takes more than technical know-how. In this session you will learn about fostering high-level engagement and the best practices for moving beyond the electronic interface. Leave with materials that will guide you in creating legible, eye-catching visuals that are best suited to this medium. After this session you can meet the most common challenges with knowledge gleaned from experts around the globe.
Joan Kollewyn, Rita Dickson, Tracy Drefko - Dinosaurs, Forensics, Writing ? Connecting Classroom with the World
Using a framework of technology, pedagogy and curriculum, this session will profile the development of a whole-school initiative in course enhancements using videoconferencing. The initial conceptualization, decision making, engagement of teaching staff and students, technical support structures and lessons learned will be profiled. Participants will have an opportunity to learn how videoconferencing enhanced teachers' instructional practice and encouraged the integration of technology at a whole school level.
Concurrent Breakout Presentations - Tuesday, August 26
Roxanne Glaser - Bluebonnet Conference - Increasing Literacy and Student Motivation
The power of videoconferencing is in the immersive sensory experiences of instantly seeing and hearing students from other locations near and far. The challenge of videoconferencing is managing the logistical details, training building coordinators and teachers, educating administrators and creating effective student projects. How can that be done without losing your sanity? Participants in this session will see the "behind the scenes" procedures and technologies used to manage large-scale student projects including Polycom PVX, blogs, wikis, Moodle courses, and other supportive technologies.
Phoebe Arcilla, Kurt Hanneman, Frank McCallum - Delivering a DL Full Course Meal via VC
Are you hungry for information? Get ready for a full 3-course meal. We will be sharing preparation techniques (pre-meal), appe-teasers, main meal ideas (steak and all...or veggie if you prefer), and dessert! Plus the icing on the cake ? the after-presentation (dinner-mint...) question & answer session. We will share VC preparation suggestions, interactive web and technology supports (SMART Board, document cameras, etc.), main course delivery procedures, and a live VC connect.
Denise Hetman, Dean Coder, Jake Schmidt - Course Enhancement Teaching by Videoconference: Creating and Enabling Distance Learning through Videoconference
School District #73 (Kamloops / Thompson) has been delivering secondary school courses via videoconference to its rural secondary schools since 2002. Recently District #73 has included videoconference course enhancements such as interactive whiteboards, a learning management system (LMS), and collaboration software. This presentation will share tips, tricks, exemplars, and experiences to facilitate success for videoconference course delivery. Discussion around the impact on both teachers and students in the videoconference environment will be included.
Rocky Wilson - Collaboration Through the Use of VC to Enhance Robotics Club
Will student-constructed robotics and videoconferencing collaboration facilitate inspired inventions? Can the greatest learning occur when students are creating, designing, inventing and collaborating with others? Participants of this session will be introduced to the VC Robotic Club program. Our project focus was to incorporate the videoconference technology so that staff and students across multiple locations could collaborate with each other. Through collaboration, all participants took their knowledge and expertise with robotics to the next level!
Don Poelzer, Jake Schmidt, Dean Coder - Moodle Soup with a Side of SMART Board
When students are given the opportunity to engage in interactive and interesting activities, students learning is enhanced. This session will demonstrate that through the use of SMART Boards, an LMS such as MOODLE and a videoconferencing environment, instruction and learning can be highly collaborative. Through the use of two SMART Boards, MOODLE content, and a Sony videoconferencing unit, participants will be able to experience what learning looks like in a media-rich, technology-rich environment.
Terry Godwaldt - The VC for Hope - Linking the World to Make a Difference
The Videoconference for Hope, in partnership with Change for Children, Polycom and The Centre for Global Education, has brought thousands of teachers and students from around the world together to build schools in 3rd-world countries. Throughout this12-hour videoconference, students interacted "face-to-face" with the Nicaraguan students receiving the school. Learning about their culture, daily life and the hardships they surmount to receive an education were an important part of this event. Besides this remote connection, students listened to experts, debated issues, shared personal stories, sang, danced, and learned together.
Carol Willis - Collaboration Texas Style
Texas leads the U.S. in the volume of interactive distance learning opportunities in K-12 schools. Last year 131,000 Texas students participated in 2,550 electronic field trips, 11,000 students received credit for online college or high school classes and 30,000 teachers received professional development workshops using videoconferencing. Organizing distance learning coordinators from across the state whose focus is to offer quality programming made this level of participation possible.
Gord Smith, Bev Knutson-Shaw, Belinda Crowsen - Family Treasures - Museum Project
Videoconferencing is allowing schools and museums to work together in new and creative ways. Expanding on a 2006 pilot program with County Central High School in Vulcan, seven classes from across the Palliser Regional School District worked in cooperation with the Galt Museum & Archives to research and present their Family Treasures. This year, Grade 7 and 8 students from Vulcan, Champion, Arrowwood, Milo and Coaldale began their work on October 18 and presented their findings to fellow students, Galt Museum staff, parents and community members via VC.
Jocelyn Littlefair, Cathy King - VC Circles: People, Culture, Language
This session will focus on the use of videoconferencing in second language instruction. Tools, tricks, and techniques for using videoconferencing and supportive technologies in full course delivery, as well as examples of multipoint videoconference events involving French Immersion, Francophone, and French as a Second Language students will be shared.
Live VC Demonstrations
Live VC Demonstrations Monday, August 25th
- COSI Columbus
- Royal Botanical Gardens
- Centre for Puppetry Arts
Live VC Demonstrations Tuesday, August 26th
- Royal Tyrell Museum
- Canadian Space Agency
- Alberta Parks
