Video conferencing

Today we are takig part in a Regional Lead Network workshop on video conferencing and online desktop sharing (great for having students do collaborative work). Several companies such as Polycom, Webex, and Smart offer different formats and platforms. As with our recent visit to Smart HQ with some Dutch teachers, we are very eager to explore the opportunities this software presents, especially when used in conjunction with interactive whiteboards or student laptops.

Bridgit

At Exploding Beakers we have long been fans of students collaborating with other students in different classrooms and schools. We are particularly impressed this morning with a trans-Atlantic project between a school in NewBrunswick and another in the Netherlands using Bridgit software. Try it out for yourselves!

Being SMART

We are currently spending the day in downtown Calgary at the SMART offices, home to the makers of interactive whiteboards, a rapidly growing classroom technology, as SMART hosts a delegation of teachers from the Netherlands who have partnered up with teachers from the Calgary Catholic School District.

The teachers have spent the last few days visiting schools and sharing thoughts and practices surrounding innovative uses of SMART technologies in the classroom.

Check back soon for some more in-depth information.