Interactive Videoconferencing Themes

Through the use of interactive videoconferencing, you have access to people, events, and unique content.  You are no longer limited by travel time or costs, and regional, national, or global expertise can be obtained for multiple persons.  The possibilities are unlimited! 

To further help you explore the ways you could use interactive videoconferencing, provided below are several themes:

Content Providers

Ohio has a wealth of content providers.  Content providers include various organizations that provide planned programming designed to meet the needs of students in many subject areas.  These programs are sometimes free but often cost a fee for participation.  Examples inside Ohio include the Cleveland Zoo, the Ohio Historical Society, and COSI Toledo.  National or global content providers may also be accessed.  Typical connection fees outside the state of Ohio are .60/minute. 

Team Teaching

Research demonstrates the benefits of teachers team teaching subject areas.  Teachers benefit from each others strengths and students are often provided diverse perspectives inside the subject area.  Team teaching provides an unique mechanism for project-based learning techniques where students interact with one another and take an active role in learning.

School Initiated Partnerships

School initiated partnerships are special events or sequences of events provided by an organization and are tailored to meet the needs of a specific class or group of students.  Businesses, community-based organizations, higher education, or specific individuals may provide content.  These events are not pre-designed and are typically set up and organized by an individual.  These require additional time from standard content provider sessions for coordination and are often considered unique and highly beneficial.  Examples might include contacting, designing, and arranging for a session with the Honda plant in Marion Ohio.  Specific learning objectives would be determined and students would be provided with one time or ongoing sessions from specific contact, which could normally not be accessed.

Specialized Programming

Specialized programming is one time or a series of sessions provided to meet specific student objectives.  An example might include a program entitled “Career Aware”.  Inside, 60 presenters from different career fields present specific career information over a period of six months.  One month is the health care cluster, another industrial and engineering.  Within specific career cluster months, presenters from business and industry present out to all sites.  An accountant may discuss the skills required to adequately perform his job, typical work activities, education, and anticipated income.  The goal of such programming would be to provide specific career information to students so they can make intelligent career decisions. 

Course Offerings

Course offerings are courses offered to students or teachers before, during, or after school hours.  Courses may be exchanged among schools.  Examples include one school sharing a French III course in exchange for a Spanish III.  Courses may also be accessed from higher education courses and may count as elective or for core course credit. 

Student Operated Classes

Schools may elect to create specific courses whereby students learn to operate and utilize the interactive videoconferencing equipment.  Often, students would assist and train other students and faculty in the use of the equipment.  Products are often created including videos and.  Students meet regularly, if not daily for such classes and could obtain a credit for participation.  Students often collaborate with other like classes in distant locations for collaborative projects or could collaborate with younger students inside their own district.