Snow Day Etiquette

Posted on February 5, 2007 by Janine Lim

I’m reminded today of the importance of snow day etiquette. Today was yet another snow day (got some cross country skiing in!) with some of my schools closed again tomorrow.

Today we were supposed to have a full session with the Columbus Zoo for some pre-service teachers. When I emailed Carrie to let her know, she replied,

“Thanks so much for the heads up! We really really appreciate that…otherwise we’re just standing down there waiting!”

I also spent some of today rescheduling a MysteryQuest session. Due to that shuffle I have a few openings again.

And tonight, checking school closings for tomorrow, I discovered that two of our connections with Peace River, Alberta, will be affected. Thankfully I was able to email our Albertan friends tonight. This response from the coordinator reminds us of the seriousness of rescheduling VCs.

They will have to switch classes, rebook a sub, rebook the bus, and give the VC teacher time to find space for her students.

Yet more reminders of the importance of informing the person on the other side of any schedule changes.

Finally, as I put my 78 RAP connections on my calendar, I’m really praying for no snow days in March!

Filed under: Collaborations, Content Providers | Comments Off

The Future of Collaborations

Posted on February 5, 2007 by Janine Lim

After reading Andrea’s report on the NY & TX Mini-Jazz second session from this past weekend, I was inspired yet again with the power of collaboration.

Yes, collaborations are the third wave of videoconferencing. But to make those collaborations sustained, frequent, and high-quality, it takes training, planning, and nurturing. The best training is also done in collaboration, models the experiences we expect for students, and provides opportunities and support for teachers to create and implement their own project ideas.

This Jazz idea is brilliant (not my idea originally, so I can say that!). The way it is morphing to additional during-the-school year formats is wonderful to behold. I really do believe that if you want to have sustained collaborative projects with others, you need to begin a collaboration with another organization like yours, preferably out of state. I certainly am beginning to have plans simmering in my brain for additional trainings like this for 2007-2008.

What do you have in the works? How will you promote collaborative projects beyond just telling teachers about the possibilities??

Filed under: Collaborations, Professional Dev. | Comments Off

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