Big Picture Videoconferencing

Introducing Denzil Paul

2006-07-27T13:40:00.000-04:00

Denzil Paul
Interactive Media Director
Videoconferencing / Big Picture Online
dpaul@bigpicture.org
(401) 378-6095

Please welcome Dezil Paul to the Big Picture family! Denzil will be overseeing our videoconferencing program (as well as BPO) effective July 31rst, so please contact him with all your VC ideas. Andrew Barkan will be going on to graduate school for film music in New York -- you can reach him forthwith at (917) 847-1663 or andrew@andrewbarkan.com -- VC-4-EVA!

VC in the House!

2006-06-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

At long, long, long last, Big Picture co-founder/director Elliot Washor finally has videoconferencing capability in the comfort of his own San Diego home. Less travel, more collaboration, and even 2K6 Fireside Chats may ensue!

64.47.43.94

Please enter the above IP address for "Elliot" into your VC Phonebook. In order to set up a VC with Elliot, contact him directly or try abarkan@bigpicture.org for further assistance.

"Cool."
-- Elliot, upon connectiong his first multipoint VC

California Scheming

2006-02-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

VC around the network is heating up, and no state is hotter than sunny CA:

Virtual Pizza Party

[Sacramento-Providence]: Eliazar and Raquel got their 10th grade advisories together while 3,000 miles apart to discuss their passions, compare cultures, and devour delicious Domino's pizza. Wouldn't you like to party like that?

Eliot Workshop 4: Rigor & Reality

[San Diego-Oakland-Providence]: This time co-director Elliot Washor got STUDENTS around the network together to define rigor and examine the qualities of quality in Big Picture student work.

College Transition

Nationa College Transition Director Shezwae Fleming is all over the VC landscape, conferencing cross-country while on the road in San Diego and Oakland to keep the dialog flowing. Go Sezi!

April Conference Planning

[Shenandoah-Sacramento-Oakland-San Diego-Providence]: Planning BP's upcoming conference on Personalization & Real World Learning is a gargantuan undertaking, so we're bringing all four CA schools together with MC Jill O-C from the Met to help the West Coast's maiden conference voyage set sail.

MetWest's New VCA!

Meet Darnell Johnson, the new student ambassador for videoconferencing at MetWest. He is among the first to join this national project to get students to lead their respective schools to videoconferencing success. Pictures and an introduction from the man himself coming soon!

Global Nomads Group update

2006-02-06T09:03:00.000-05:00

I. PULSE: Islam & the US
II. Semester at Sea Opportunity for Teachers

I. PULSE: ISLAM & the US
Back by popular demand! - Islam and the US: a clash of cultures? In this PULSE videoconferencing series, students explore the basic principles guiding Islam and debate whether the fastest growing religion in the world collides with American values.

Ahmed Younis, the Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) is back by popular demand to provide participants a unique insight into his religion!

When: February 15th and 16th
More info: http://www.gng.org/programs/p_islam.html

II. SEMESTER AT SEA OPPORTUNITY FOR K-12 TEACHERS

GNG partnered with Semester at Sea this past Fall to bring you CURRENTS, a journey through 9 different countries to explore the global effects of HIV & AIDS. We wanted to extend the following opportunity from Semester at Sea to teachers who feel as passionate about teaching about the world as we do:

The Institute for Shipboard Education, Semester at Sea, is in the process of accepting reservations for the Summer 2006 "Teachers at Sea" voyage.

As a K-12 teacher, you are invited to join the program, designed by the Geographic Alliance in Nevada, for a sixty-five day voyage of discovery along the Pacific Rim. Stops will be made in such countries as Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, China and Singapore. A detailed itinerary can be found at Semester at Sea’s website: http://www.semesteratsea.com.

The "Teachers at Sea" program is open to all certified K-12 teachers. Participating teachers will earn six continuing education credits from the University of Nevada Reno and be considered a part of the Continuing Education community. A reduced program fee is available for all certified teachers enrolled in this program resulting in a base cost of $6,975.00 per person double occupancy and $7,975.00 for singles.

Reservations are available for download and printing on the SAS website, or you can call 800-854-0195 to request a Continuing Education Program brochure.

For additional information on the Geographic Alliance in Nevada please feel free to contact Herb Thompson at (702) 454-3967 or at GeomanLVNV@aol.com.

Upcoming VCs: 2.2-2.9

2006-02-02T09:18:00.000-05:00

Please comment below or email me with changes or updates!

Thur 2.2
- 9:30a Sezi (IND) – Met VC check-in w/Intern & Advisor
- 3p-4:30p Career Cruising: Met (Don) – Bloomfield (Jennifer)

Fri 2.3
1:30-3p AHSI Coordinary VC: Gordon, Sam cell, NLC and Gates

Mon 2.6
- 2p EST/11a PST – Elliot 4: Rigor & Reality (SD, MET, OAK)
- 3:30 E / 1:30 M / 12:30 PST — Jennessa (Skyland) – Elliot (SD)

Wed 2.8
- 12p EST / 9a PST Sam Brown (Met) – Sezi & Mario (Oakland)
- 1:30p Jill (MET)– Michelle (DET)
- 2p Motivating 9th Graders: MET(Courtney, Tim) – DET(Elvin, Camille, Tiffany, Mari)

Thur 2.9
- 12p EST / 9a PST April Conference Multipoint: Jill (MET) – CA Schools (SD, OAK, SAC, SHEN)

Met Sacramento ready for business!

2006-01-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

Give them a video-ring = IP# 64.47.51.238

Intro to VC - Icebreakers
Monday Jan 30th @ 11a Pacific / 2p Eastern

CA Principals Videoconference Call
Tuesday Jan 31rst @ 10:30a Pacific

Virtual Pizza Party!
Raquel & Eliazar's Advisories
Wednesday Feb 1rst @ Noon Pacific / 3p Eastern

Liverpool

2006-01-26T14:40:00.000-05:00

Today Ben Bruder and I sent our personae virtually across the pond to bonnie old England with our friend Paul Bradshaw of the United Kingdom's Liverpool school district. Orchestrated by Robin Thompson in New York, the multipoint conversation revolved around planning partnerships and collaborations between our Big Picture schools and the their secondary schools in Britain. If you're interested in international collaboration, email bbruder@metcenter.org to find out how you can participate. Cheers!

Met Radio

2006-01-26T13:19:00.000-05:00

Interested in a cool, rigorous, real-world project? Check out the Met Radio show! Josue and E-Man, two seniors at the Met in Providence, want to do a short VC presentation of their work at each school in the network: they'd love to advertise their product and give your students a behind-the-scenes look at what an in-depth project can involve. You can download Met Radio from Big Picture Online by searching the Knowlege Exchange with the keyword "radio". Email jlopez@metcenter.org to schedule a virtual visit from these music production masterminds in our midst.

This Week in VC

2006-01-13T13:26:00.000-05:00

Sat 1.14
2p EST / 11a PST Sam Grabelle - Elliot

Tues 1.17
10:30a VC Ambassador Training: Ariel (Justice)
12p EST/9a PST Jill - Loran

Wed 1.18
12:30p Sezi (ATL) – Exhibition (Liberty)
2p Dress rehearsal – 2pm Vanderark

Thurs 1.19
10:15a Tom VANDERARK – Camden -- Detroit
11:30am VC Ambassador training: Andrea (Liberty)
12p VC Ambassador Training: Detroit
1p EST / noon CNT / 11a MNT Sezi (CHI) – Calvin (DEN)
4p EST / 3p CNT Carol (IND) - Kira (CHI)

Fri 1.20
No conferences scheduled

Sat 1.21
Masergy Systems Update

Great VC: Motivating 9th Graders

2006-01-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, Joe, Courtney, and Tim (above) from the Met in Providence had a great discussion with advisors Tiffany, Elden, and Camille from UPHS is Detroit about the issues of getting 9th grade students to turn in work on time. The conference covered the challenges of aclimating students to a new type of rigor, motivational techniques, and different ways to make deadlines work for different kids. There will be a follow-up conference on February 8th @ 2pm Eastern.

TGIF 1.13.06

2006-01-13T12:48:00.000-05:00

“In interpreting the Constitution, I think we should look to the text of the Constitution, and we should look to the meaning that someone would have taken from the text of the Constitution at the time of its adoption.”
—Judge Samuel Alito, for Wednesday’s hearings

“Doomed…You’re all doomed!”
—Crazy Ralph, from Friday the 13th

doom ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d m)n.
1. Inevitable destruction or ruin.
2. Fate, especially a tragic or ruinous one.
3. A decision or judgment, especially an official condemnation to a severe penalty.
4. Judgment Day.

Perhaps “doom” isn’t the right word. Though his nomination may be inevitable, Sam “I Am” Alito will prove more of an uphill slope for progressive legislation than actual destruction or ruin. Keeping perspective on this is important—a lot like keeping perspective on state testing standards we have to battle to provide our students with real education. Our design is about what works for kids, whereas the government’s standardization is not. Implementing this design successfully in a world fraught with state tests and antagonistic districts is not doomed to fail – it’s just an uphill battle that won’t level out as long as the country’s current leadership is in place.

Skyland Active

2006-01-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Skyland is VC Active! Hooray!

Denver - Skyland
IP 64.47.21.226
VC Contact: Cindy Chavez (720) 427-1656
Tech Contact: Dave Ross (720) 988-7402

VC Ambassadors

2006-01-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

The VC Ambassadors Initiative is designed as a joint project for students around the network to lead their schools in forming engaging connections via videoconference. A student representative from each school will:

- learn the technical basics of VC and teach others
- research new VC opportunities for their school
- generate new ideas to connect schools around the network

This initiative will spread knowlege about the ins and outs of VC, give every site a point person to talk to about setting up conferences, and increase the relevance VC can have at each school.

Welcome to our first two VC Ambassadors, Andrea from Liberty and Ariel from Justice! (see comments, below)

An Office at Work

2006-01-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

TGIF 1.6.06

2006-01-06T12:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Hectic New Year,

The retreat was a good way to start getting my feet under me after an intense tour of family and friends in California. Unlike my girlfriend, "Objectove" was not my first word so I appreciate activities that guide me toward establishing clear priorities.

One of my priorities (and I think it's been a focus of our professional development this year) is to improve communication, to get more access to the information that will inform my work and inform others of the happenings in VC world. Thus, the blog. Free, easy to create, easy to update. Everyone in our network could have their own free personal website that acts as a journal, a newsrack, a platform for networking, and a forum for the dialogues we continually seek to foster. Blogs are more active and more connected than a paper TGIF, but serves the same spirit--to keep each other up to date, to reflect, to document, and to set plans in motion.

For instance:

Joe and Jill, here's that baby name website we talked about.

Wayne, check out "Blink".

Elliot, pick out a new monitor for your home VC in San Diego.

I have a lot on my mind and more on my plate, so I'll start cleaning that before I continue ranting here. I miss Celia and Jeannie already.

NEXT WEEK IN VC

Mon 1.9
11a Meet Joe
2:00p DET (3 9th Adv.) – MET (2-3 9th adv???)

Tues 1.10
9:30a Michelle (DET) – Tim (CAMDEN)
9:40a Initiate Project VCI (Internships)
2:30-3:15 Camden / Bloomy / Joe – Project Timelines
7p Marlon Carey does Slam Poetry @ Brooklyn Cafe

Wed 1.11
LTI VC: Project Depth?

Thurs 1.12
2:30p Coach Call
set up/test Data Solutions box w/ Joe’s laptop

Fri 1.13
9:30a BPO Training: Joe - Indi

Notes from January Retreat

2006-01-06T10:34:00.000-05:00

VC TASKS & PROJECTS 2006

FIRST TWO MONTHS:

Final Follow-Up on E-RATE Applications
Set Up & Energize Sacramento, Skyland
Energize Chicago, MetWest, Peace, Sheppard
Hook AHSI & Elliot Up
VC Mentoring: Specific Pairings around the Network
Advisor-Advisor
Student-Student
Generate & Schedule Topic-Based Workshops
LTIC
QR / ER
Book Groups
VC Portfolio piece / Newsletter / Webpage
Plan VC Demo for February AHSI Conference
Integrate VC into culture of Site Visits

FIRST SIX MONTHS:

Study Effective VC Protocol & Moderation
Explore & Experiment New Technologies – PZM; WebCam / Scipe (Pilot)
Video Library: Compile Excellent VC Workshops
Develop Protocol for Consulting & Room Rental
Initiate VC Speaker Series
Antoine Fisher
Elaine Brown
Rabi Kula
Paul Farmer
Establish Directory of Colleges & Universities with VC
Classes Offered?
Admissions Interview/Info Sessions?
Rental?
Establish International VC Partnerships
Liverpool
Australia
Netherlands
Establish Directory of Outside Resources
Baseball Hall of Fame
Global Nomads Group
Museum of TV & Radio
Exploratorium
NASA

1) Andrew . . . projects big & small:
a) “strengthen our schools”
If a school does not Videoconference (VC), this will help us determine who , what and where the focus should be. What is the best way to serve all. For instance, if we have $400,000 and 45 schools, how do we figure out the best way to use the funds.

If everyone was told that it would cost you $10,000 to keep your system, what would you do (red pill, green pill).
· E-rate apps. For 2006 – 2007
· Develop protocol for consulting & rental
o We should charge for access to our techniques & programs
o We could even charge for use of our equipment

2) Setting up/Energizing Schools
i) (Denver not up/Sacramento not up)
b) Andrew wants a plan to bring them on board.
i) If its useful, people will us it!
ii) Chicago, MetEast, Shepherd and Peace also do not use it.

3) Pairing (VC Pairings around the Network)
a) The strong help the weak (partnership)coaches are working on a rubrick
b) Start up ideas (Highline VC w/Doc)
i) VC blogs (Andrew idea)
ii) VC demo @AHSI (possibly)
(a) People were interested . . maybe cash can be available

4) Integrating Videoconferencing into Site Visits
a) Meet w/ & establish agendas prior to VCs or follow up Post Visits

Q&A: Jass: accessibility
Web Cams!
Long Term: is to investigate webcams & acquire new equipment (PZM)
(web cams for spontaneity)

Elliot: Article Re: videoconference (group think on Rigor)
Jass some of my work will help inform your work (Andrew)
Long Term: Explore & Investigate studying protocols & moderating

Long Term: Continue to Rocard VCs (research colleges & Universities
(1) rent space
(2) VC w/students
(3) College Transition

5) Directories of Outside Resources
a) Follow up International Homies (schools)
i) Aussies
ii) Holland
iii) Liverpool

6) Overview

a) Tasks:
i) E-rate
ii) Set up and Energize
iii) Hook HIS w/Elliot
iv) VC mentoring
v) Topic based workshops
vi) Advertise
vii) AHSI Conference
viii) Site Visits

b) Carrying out the tasks
i) Interns are a possibility
ii) Andrew will train others (principals and Interns)
iii) Mentoring Pairs
iv) BP staff

c) What kind of Communication w/Others
i) Email, Meetings, VC, Phone Calls, phone conferences

d) Who will Help
i) Coaches, BP, AHSI: by identifying school needs, making VC a necessity not a burden.

This Week in VC

2006-01-04T16:12:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 1.3
1:00p Jill O-C (MET) - Loran & Jill Badger (San Diego)

Wednesday 1.4
8:30a Radio Show PMU: MET - Camden
8:45a Coach Retreat: VC issues

Thursday 1.5
BP Retreat - 2 motnh/6 month VC tasks/projects/goals

Friday 1.6
10:00a Gateway Workshop: DET - MET
2:00p Gateway Workshop: DET - MET SHEP

IP / Contact Directory

2006-01-04T15:28:00.000-05:00

BIG PICTURE
Gordon Ave 64.47.32.10
Doc 64.47.78.20
Joe 64.47.78.19

SCHOOLS
Bloomfield 64.47.126.122
Camden 64.47.47.170
Chicago (BOY) 64.47.29.90
Denver (Skyland) 64.47.21.226
Detroit 64.47.29.110
Highline 64.47.110.86
Indianapolis 207.250.133.208
Providence-Public 64.47.78.21
Providence-Sheppard 64.47.125.242
Providence-Peace 64.47.125.234
Oakland 64.47.51.250
Sacramento 64.47.51.238
San Diego 64.47.91.118
Shennandoah 207.166.19.185

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES?
Network Operations Center (877) 462-7374 – for connection issues

Andrew Barkan – (401) 378-3593 – director of videoconferencing
Brian Mills – (401) 714-7281 – in case Andrew is unavailable
Doug Forster – (703) 846-0167 – for account issues
Dave Marinelli – (203) 623-4940 – for equipment issues

Andrew's Contact Info

2006-01-04T14:03:00.000-05:00

Please feel free to contact me with any of your videoconferencing requestions!

Andrew Barkan
Videoconference Coordinator
abarkan@bigpicture.org
(401) 378 - 3593

The Big Picture Company
17 Gordon Avenue #104
Providence, RI 02905