This presentation was created for the recent ITEC 2014 conference at the Opera House in Sydney and demonstrates the exciting use of videoconferencing eg skype, google hangouts and virtual classroom software such as blackboard collaborate to connect classrooms statewide, nationally and globally. • The benefits and value of virtual conferencing and its essential place in transforming the classroom as we know it. It illustrates the innovative ways in which outside experts, classes and community can be virtually brought into the classroom, including authors, illustrators, virtual parades, for share ‘n tell, student forums etc

1. Amazing eClassrooms
Anne Mirtschin
@murcha
http://www.murcha.wordpress.com
http://bit.ly/R2pUCR

3. Learning with members of the Melbourne
Symphony Orchestra in the virtual classroom

4. • Emoticons
• Backchannel
• Recording
• Capacity to send files
• Interactive whiteboard
• Polling feature
• Videoconferencing feature
• Breakout rooms for group work

5. Virtual classrooms can be recorded for
those who are ill etc

6. The Bats
• Cara hawk: his wing looks like it's going to brake
• 4B DGPS: what age do the bats learn to fly?
• Billy-Jo Hawk: Did it try to escape from you?
• Grade 2/3 Woodford: How many teeth do bats have?
• Trevo hawk: what happen to it eye
• Cara hawk: how easy is it to brake a bats wing
• smithy: arent they posisoness
• Grade 2/3 Woodford: What do bats feel like?
• jasmine .j: do they hurt
• scottinea: are the bats dead or did u catch them alive?
• Grade 2/3 Woodford: What do bats eat?
• 4B DGPS: are they really blind?
• Billy-Jo Hawk: Is there black bats, like full black?
• Moderator (Miss Iro, Mrs Gow and year 6/7): do bats carry any diseases
• Grade 2/3 Woodford: What sort of fauna and flora live in the sinkholes?

7. .......................more chat!
• dont confuse me this tinme
• i dont get why you have that 400 on the debit
side
• i always get confused between debtors and
creditors, who do we pay, and who pays us??

8. Students shared on whiteboard and
chat how it feels to be bullied
“it makes you feel so bad that you want to
crawl into bed and never come out again”

9.  Girls created a movie
 Entered a global challenge and
 received an honourable mention

10. Virtual Easter Hat Parade
Year 7 Hawkesdale students view Boneo Primary students hat parade!

11. 40 students from 2 schools synchronously draw their
decorated eggs on the interactive white board

12. Safer Internet Use Day

13. The stats
• 1 classroom (virtual in Blackboard Collaborate)
• up to 17,000 students
• 170 physical classes
• A class of deaf students from Furlong Park
School
• 1 teacher (or presenter) – Greg Gebart from
Cybersmart

14. A screen dump from the presentation

15. How it looked from our year 5/6 students’
perspective!

16. Polycom videoconferencing equipment

17. Student Leaders from 2 small rural schools meet
at lunchtimes

18. Hands on Literacy through Pottery
With Ms Delightful!

19. Hands on Literacy through Pottery
With Ms Delightful!

21. Anzac Day

22. Mark Wilson - artist

24. The artist’s sketch using electroboard/document
camera/polycom with Year 5/6

25. Student engagement

26. Student Outcomes

27. Sharing Anzac Stories

28. Student Election Forum
Hosted by Gungahlin College, Canberra

29. How it looked - #gcf2013!

30. Learning with education staff from National Gallery of Victoria

37. Wisteria from Marriners Museum, Virginia USA –”Life at Sea”

39. What Students Liked
 Much better learning from someone like Wisteria than a
textbook
 How she showed the actual objects
 All of it was really good – Wysteria was a really good
presenter, asked questions and got everyone involved.
 Different time zone and it was interesting to know that she
was in my yesterday and there was a night time concert
outside while she spoke to us.
 Lady pirate Chin commanded 500 pirate ships, made me
interested in old history
 Liked how she was actually at the museum, and showed us
the actual objects from the ship
 To see the things they used – photos and objects

42. The Global Backchannel
Kar Wai
i kinda shiver sometimes when talking in front of
people
Georgina
yeah same

43. Malay Students Share Presentations
#Cheer On For Reshma
wow.. didnt know that
this is a fun room
i remember last time how we were talking about
Exo and Shaolin soccer :P Good conversations :)

44. Learning with students from Indonesia at lunchtimes

45. Students in Indonesia demonstrate how to cook a local dish!

46. Should Australia go to India to play sport?

48. With American School of Mumbai

50. International Peace Day with a Russian Special School

51. World Read Aloud Day
with prep/one students
from remote cattle
station, Australia

52. Learning Scratch with
Lana, USA over skype

53. Sprites for World Friends project on
World Museum site

54. You can’t ask
questions of a
textbook!

55. Do you teach or have any knowledge of the native wars
between the americans, seminoles, iroquois, cherokee
etc, in the times of george washington?

56. Mobile skype teacher – Lorraine Leo from USA solving
student problems in Scratch

57. Google hangout for World Peace Day

58. Sharing with Sebastian Panakal and wife Seena from India

59. From sharing a photo of a typical student lunchbox in
Australia with Year 7 Science Students in Germany

61. Connecting Canteen managers via German/English interpreter

63. • The German food day
will be on next
Wednesday. There will
be three dishes on this
day they are;
• Pork Schnitzel and gravy
rolls $4.50
• German pasta Bake $4.50
• Beef goulash with
spritzla & German
noodles $4.50

64. Mardi Gras Day with virtual global judges

65. Ghangout with German students

66. Thai Linkup

67. Sharing their Scratch outcomes using Skype

68. Making the Impossible Possible
Students from Cheery School in the biggest slum in Kenya
connect to the world.

69. What it meansWhat it Means
 Transparent
 Messy Teaching
 Spontaneous learning
 Essential to be networked
 Teach and learn ‘on the fly’
 Use ‘teachable moments’
 Risk taking
**Develop a powerful network**

70. Tips
 Teach and learn ‘on the fly’
 Be adaptable with tools
 Test
 Backup Plans
 Be yourselves – it doesn’t have to be perfect
or polished
 Have a grab bag!
 Have fun and take learning beyond what we
know it!

71. For Content Providers..
 Find Champion Schools/Teachers
 The web camera
 Interactivity
 Animated presenters
 Variety of media
 Backchannel
 Gauge body language of audience
 Set a maximum time limit