Elevate

The second of the VC7, found here, is:

2. Get Them Involved.

o Build in opportunities to:
o Move
o Talk
o Draw
o Role-play
o Play games
o Sing/dance
o Build
o SHARE

Active participation in VC collaborative projects makes sense for a variety of reasons, and point 2 of the VC7 relates directly to several other points of the VC7 which I’ll reflect upon in later posts as I address them.  For now, a couple reflections:

• When you consider the diverse needs, abilities, and interests of an entire group of learners, building in many different opportunities to create, express, and learn allows more students to become personally connected and engaged to the project.  As a classroom teacher I realized that I’d have a difficult time building in all of the elements of differentiated instruction into each project we did, however I’d attempt to build in at least a couple elements each time, varying the elements each project, so that all student abilities, interests, and learning styles would be hit over time.  For example, in the WasteQuest project (not a VC project) students were given options for the topic of study based on interest, the end product they created (a multimedia presentation which they would represent ideas visually with, a language-based report that they would present orally, or a kinesthetic physical representation they would create using materials readily available in class), and other options based on their ability level and interest.  Student choice can not only be a motivating factor for students, but it’s also something that helps meet them where they are at and increase buy-in and ownership in an activity or project.  Relating this back directly to videoconferencing, seeing the types of suggested ways to ‘get them involved’ 
   
• These suggested ways of getting students involved all integrate language, physical movement (i.e. increased blood flow through the body and brain), representing ideas in multiple modes – all things we know positively affect a person’s ability to learn and think.

Question: How do you get students involved in VC activities? Are there any drawbacks or considerations for getting students involved we ought to be reminded of?

I’d like to re-invigorate this blog, originally created for the ELEVATE conference in August 2008, as a tool for a personal learning journey that I invite you all to take part in.  This year with the VCRLN, we’ve done a pretty good job of getting a lot of teachers new to VC to take part in our sessions by creating a lot of multi-point events:

• Expert guest presenters that kids ask questions to
• Student-led VC events where kids prepare something to share in a scheduled, multi-point event around a topic
• Teacher professional development sessions around a variety of topics