Students and staff can connect with locations as close as Richardson and Allen, as well as Austin, Indiana, New York, California, Pennsylvania and even Europe!   Students can interact with experts from aquatic museums, holocaust survivors, broadways actors, authors, or students and staff within WISD or other districts.   

 

WYLIE GOES GLOBAL

WYLIE GOES GLOBAL AGAIN!

In partnership with The Global Nomads Group (GNG) and Polycom (www.polycom.com), Wylie ISD again videoconferenced with students inside the U.S. and abroad.  On December 18, 2002 students from Wylie High School connected with students in New York City, Los Angeles, Tacoma (Seattle) and Tel Aviv, Israel.

Through the months of November and December, more than 3 billion Christians, Jews, and Muslims worldwide celebrated the holiday season through diverse religions and cultures. In today's turbulent environment, tolerance and understanding of this diversity have become increasingly important.


Global Nomads Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering dialogue and understanding among the world's youth, in partnership with Polycom, a worldwide leader in interactive voice, video, data and web communications, have created a unique holiday event, designed to bring together Christian, Jewish and Muslim school children from Israel and the U.S. to unite and celebrate their diversity.

Meeting via international videoconferencing,  teenagers in Wylie, New York, Tacoma, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, Israel shared insight into their holiday customs and explored ways in which other holidays are observed. In Tel Aviv, Christian, Muslim and Jewish teenagers who attend the Open House   Community  Center (in nearby Remle, Israel) offered a unique perspective on understanding diversity and tolerance in today's global climate. All of the students interacted face-to-face, and similarities and differences among cultures were shared.  WISD students created and presented a video tribute to show how the Wylie area celebrates the Christmas holiday season.  All participants gained a deeper understanding of diversity around the world.

To review other international conferences in which WISD has participated, see the Videoconference Highlights below. 

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GETTING STARTED

GETTING STARTED

You have an idea or topic with which you would like to incorporate videoconferencing, but where do you start?  We will help you!  See your TIM to get started!

Visit our SimmaNar page for streaming video tutorials on using videoconferencing technology.

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FORMS

FORMS

Videoconference Request Form	Videoconference Lesson Plan Template
Student Permission Form in English	Student Permission Form in Spanish
Wylie Personnel Permission Form	Non-Wylie Personnel Permission Form

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PARTNERS IN VC

PARTNERS IN VIDEOCONFERENCING

Many of the videoconferences and videoconference trainings in which Wylie students/staff have been privileged to participate could not have taken place without the help from our videoconference partners.  Please visit their websites at the links provided below.  Feel free to contact us for more information.

The consummate professional solution for your videoconferencing training and content provider needs, VibrantC excels in bringing the world alive to your staff through this technology.  Marci Powell has a gift for making videoconferencing non-threatening and inviting for participants.

The Global Nomads Group (GNG) is a non-profit organization with a passion for the global education of students around the world to facilitate mutual respect and understanding, cultural diversity and peace to a world of conflict.  The indefatigable team at GNG have made it possible for students in Wylie to communicate directly to kids in countries like Jordan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, as well as with pupils from Washington, Illinois and New York.  Because our conferences occurred after the 9.11 attacks, these conferences with students in the Mid-East were of particular importance in helping our students process the bitter and chilling change that had come upon our world.

 

Vibrant C Consulting Marci Powell, President 210-402-0109 http://www.vibrant-c.com/

Global Nomads Group 214-564-5758 (Dallas) 917-821-2456 (New York) http://www.gng.org/

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FINDING CONTENT

FINDING A CONTENT PROVIDER

Visit the following websites in your search for the right content provider:

Videoconferencing Adventures by PacBell

Vision Athena

TWICE (Two Way Interactive Connections in Education)

L.E.A.R.N. Port Clinton, OH School Site

Chippewa Falls, WI School Site

Virent Broadcasting

Vibrant C Consulting

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The Ocean Institute of California

Clowes Memorial Hall, Indiana

Lynne Reid Banks, Author from England

New York Hall of Science

San Diego Zoo

Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, CA

Ford Middle School, Allen ISD

State Museum of Pennsylvania

The Challenger Learning Center, Indiana

NASA-Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

Author, Dr. Michael Sampson

Dr. Dawn Boothe, Veterinarian, Texas A&M

Toledo Zoo

Children's author, Jerry Pallotta

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VC HIGHLIGHTS

VIDEOCONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Global Nomads Group:  Terrorist Attack on NYC/DC - High School to NYC, Chicago, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka On September 11th, terrorists attacked the World Trade Centers in New York City as well as the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.  A few weeks later Chuck Williams' journalism and history students videoconferenced with students from New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Karachi, Pakistan; Pune, India (150 miles from Bombay) and Colombo, Sri Lanka on the topic of the terrorist attacks.  Due to the importance of this event, media members from The Wylie News, The Dallas Morning News, Channel 8 (ABC) and Channel 4 (Fox) were in attendance. Click here to see a copy of The Wylie News article re-printed with permission of The Wylie News.   Click here to see a copy of The Dallas Morning News article re-printed with permission of The Dallas Morning News.

Global Nomads Group: Moving Ahead I: Wylie High to Tacoma, WA
As a newly selected "Ambassador School," Wylie High School students in Leigh Spillyards' and David Black's Humanities classes participated in the first session of a program called "Moving Ahead."  Via videoconference, WHS students met with Clover Park HS students from Tacoma, Washington to share thoughts and ideas which will be discussed in an upcoming videoconference with students in Amman, Jordan.  This two-session program focuses on cultural sharing and understanding stereotypes between the USA and the Middle East. The "Ambassador School" pilot program and "Moving Ahead" sessions are part of the continuing program of "9/11 Response and Beyond" organized by the non-profit organization, Global Nomads Group. 

Moving Ahead II--Wylie High to Amman, Jordan and Tacoma, WA
Following Moving Ahead I, Leigh Spillyards and David Black's students (as well as students in Tacoma) were ready to converse with students in Jordan.  The result was a powerful two hour videoconference that attracted the attention of Anna Martinez of WFAA Channel 8 (ABC) News.  Many topics were discussed including terrorism, Palestinian-Israeli relations, September 11, and television.  

The session included cultural exchanges.  A student in Tacoma performed a rap.  For WISD, a flute quartet from That Wylie Band played, and Leah, a student, recited the poem she wrote called "My Dream."

"My Dream"
I nestle into the warm comfort of my bed at a quarter past twelve,
Not knowing what fantastic adventures await me in the labyrinth called my mind.
As I slip from consciousness and open the invisible door,
Colors race into my head from a world unknown.
People, places and things I have never seen are suddenly very real.
How my simple mind can fathom such wondrous things is beyond my comprehension.
A man with gray hair and a weathered look stares at me knowingly.
I know him not, yet I see familiarity in his face.
He speaks to me with such forcefulness that I obey his every whim,
He is master and I am his servant.
I am suddenly aware of my surroundings.
Africa is my home, yet America is where I am, a slave without a name.
"This is not real," my subconscious alerts me.
"Why should I conform to this tyrant's will?" I ask myself.
I speak against his unreasonable ways, yet when I open my mouth strange words emerge.
Words not my own, not even of my tongue.
This defiance earns me a sound and harsh thrashing by a man who reeks of alcohol.
Fear now crowds my mind; sweat cascades down my brow and adrenaline rushes through my body.
This is only a dream... or is it?
As he draws his hand back to serve the first lash,
I jump out of my bed in a cold seat.
History can produce the most horrible of nightmares.

The conference ended with the Global Nomads Group interviewing Wylie students.   Mark von Sponeck, Director of International Relations with GNG, led the dialogue from the Blue Room at WHS, while GNG members from Manhattan asked many questions of our students regarding their impressions, feelings and suggestions for future conferences.   An enormous thank you goes to Mrs. Spillyards and Mr. Black for working to prepare the students; to the students themselves for their interest, maturity and passion;  and of course to the Global Nomads Group for their indefatigable support of WISD.

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One of the goals of the Instructional Technology Department for the 2002-2003 school year is that more of our own teachers will take part in presenting lessons via videoconferencing as Akin Elementary teacher, Janet McMillen and Wylie High School teacher, Mr. Terry Hibbitts, did during the 01-02 school year:

Mrs. McMillen, presented a lesson to a class from Hartman Elementary on how earthworms are the best recyclers of vegetable matter!  She showed them how amazingly simple it is to create a closed worm habitat.  Some of the materials needed are a vented plastic tote, sand, shredded newspaper (black and white only), peat moss, distilled water, dead leaves and vegetable scraps. Mixed together, these ingredients make the perfect home for red worms. Food scraps can be collected weekly from the lunch trays, or from the teacher's kitchen and fed to the hungry earthworms. The worms eat the rotting scraps, and as the food moves through a worm's digestive tract, enzymes break down the food.  Worm waste--know as "castings"--makes excellent natural organic fertilizer for plants and worms are wonderful classroom "pets."  The class from Hartman made plans to create their own earthworm habitat for their classroom.
 

Mr. Terry Hibbitts, AP Biology teacher at Wylie HS, shared his extensive expertise on snakes with the Akin 4th grade classes. As a tie-in to 4th grade's studies of reptiles and animal adaptations, Mr. Hibbitts displayed several of his own snakes that he keeps in his classroom. He showed his Corn Snakes, a King Snake, a Rubber Boa, a Hog-nosed Snake, and the students' favorite, a 10 foot long Burmese Python. The students discovered how well the coloring, patterns, and body shape of snakes help them to survive in the wild.

For more information on Mr. Hibbitts and his snakes, see www.kingsnake.com/dfw

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Videoconferencing with another school district or even another class from your own district can be just as educational and effective as conferencing with expensive content providers.  Here's just a few examples of things WISD has done in the past within our own district and with other districts, both local and distant:

• The first grade classes at Birmingham Elementary really got BUGGED by Joyce Carson's Biology students from the Lowery Freshman Center in Allen, Texas. As part of their study of insects, the 9th graders shared their insect collections with the 1st graders. They explained how they caught, mounted, and identified their insects. The first graders really enjoyed seeing the roaches, ants, bees, butterflies, and dragonflies that the 9th graders showed them.

• Mrs. Velia Vela and Mrs. Doris McDermott's 4th graders from Akin Elementary videoconferenced with 4th graders from Eaton School in Mexico City to discuss the celebration of Cinco de Mayo.  The Akin 4th graders prepared and presented information about Texas and how Cinco de Mayo is celebrated here.  The Eaton School 4th graders in turn, presented (in English!) information about the celebration of  Cinco de Mayo in Mexico, Mexico City, the pyramids and other places and events in Mexico.  The students exchanged a few questions with each other and all of the children gained an insight into the cultures of their neighboring country and found the whole experience to be valuable.

• In celebration of Dr. Seuss's 98th birthday, schools across America joined together with the use of videoconference technology to celebrate reading.  Wylie had a number classes participating on various campuses.  Mrs. Sloppy's 5th grade class from the Wylie Intermediate participated with a school from Yale, Michigan; Mrs. Vogt's fourth grade and Mrs. Johnson's kindergarten class from Akin Elementary participated with a fourth grade class from Armada, Michigan; Mrs. Clayton's class from the Jr. High participated with a class from Long Island, New York; Mrs. Rudolph's HOST students and Mrs. Gaines' students from Wylie Intermediate participated with classes from neighboring Allen ISD; and Mrs. Carr's kindergarten class from Akin participated with Mrs. Shermer's class from Wylie Intermediate. 

• After studying a novel about the life of Helen Keller, 3rd graders at Akin elementary really wanted to know more about sign language and deafness.  Guest speaker Cheryl Clark, Plano ISD Itinerant Teacher for the Hearing Impaired, traveled to Akin to give a presentation on teaching the hearing impaired and deaf.  Mrs. Clark taught the students how to sign the alphabet as well as some everyday words.  The Akin students were joined in Allen ISD by students at Reed and Kerr elementaries.  Mrs. Powell's class at Kerr had learned a song in sign language and performed that for all the participants.  Mrs. Clark also taught all of the students a fun holiday song in sign language and everyone enjoyed singing AND signing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

• From Akin Elementary, a 4th grade class, along with their Spanish teacher participated in a conference with the Advanced Placement Spanish II class at Wylie High School.  The classes shared what they had learned about the Mexican holiday of Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  The younger students did a great job practicing some of their Spanish vocabulary with the older students.  At the end of the conference, the high school students were surprised with a special treat,  Pan De Muertos sent by the Akin Students.  This traditional Mexican bread was happily shared by all of the students together.
  

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• Professional Development

• Teacher Collaboration - within or outside of WISD

• Attend meetings without leaving the comfort of your campus

• Student orientation to a new campus

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