participants may learn PowerPoint,
polish their e-mail skills, and be exposed to collaborative tools, such as
Google Docs, Skype, blogs, and Flickr.
Whether newcomer or master at integrating technology, they all have an
opportunity to expand their skills.
During small-group time, leaders
emerge who may have more experience with videoconferencing and
integrating technology into the curriculum. These leaders assist and mentor the other teachers as they write
collaborative lesson plans together. By
the end of the week, participants have
built learning communities of teachers
in two different locations.
Throughout the school year, the
participants often collaborate on videoconferences, including the formats they
learned during the summer workshop.
Sometimes they implement the projects they wrote together, and other
times they create new collaborative
videoconferencing projects. In some
cases, participants host the Jazz Workshop at their locations the following
year, continuing the cycle of learning,
collaborating, and sharing.
Learning within the community is
enhanced by the continual introduction
of newcomers. The newcomers provide
inexperience. Their involvement encourages reflection. Their contributions
polish our practice. In this way, even the
lead facilitators’ participation is peripheral in that the community is constantly
changing, growing, and learning.
How the Facilitators Fit In
To support this workshop, each of the
five lead facilitators mentors a group
of three or four facilitators. The lead
facilitators organize the activities, del-
egate tasks—such as leading a simu-
lation or preparing materials—and
coach the other facilitators. They all
pitch in to prepare for and deliver the
workshop. This way, the newcomers
have access to the veterans, which en-
hances their learning.
Local Web 2.0 and Videoconference resource instruction
Simulations of collaborative videoconference formats, such as Read Around the Planet,
Monster Match, Math Marvels, MysteryQuest, and the ASK program (four locations
meet together for simulations)
Lunch and local instruction
Guest speakers from zoos and museums that offer videoconferencing content (eight
locations meet together for guest speakers)
Local reflection time
Small-group planning time with groups created across state borders (four locations
split into 8–12 point-to-point videoconferences)
Reflection blogging
Group presentations
Grand finale celebration
