The Power of Everyone: Collaborations in 21st Century Schools
"Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand." Old Chinese Proverb
The Power of Everyone: Collaborations in 21st Century Schoolsis an instructional initiative designed to connect K-12 students with educators from both formal and informal educational institutes and organizations as well as with other students across the world through the power of videoconferencing and other communication tools.
Collaborating with Informal Institutions of Learning
Studies tell us that when students make connections with informal institutions of learning, they often find their passions. At Loudoun, we have hundreds of classes engaged in hundreds of videoconferences with museums, learning centers, zoos, and other organizations.We want to share some of the institutions we connect with each year.
Look below for lists learning opportunities that are available as videoconferenced activities from a variety of museums, learning centers, and other organizations. They are organized by subject, grade-level and learning standard and contain a brief description. Some are free; most are fee-based. Most resource providers will also customize their activity to meet teachers' specific requests. If you see an activity that looks interesting that you think could connect with your curriculum focus, consider contacting the provider to ask for that customization.
Collaborating with Schools through Partnerships Loudoun County Public Schools has a number of partnerships with both private and public schools around the world. Some of our partners are
Singapore - Hwa Chong Institution Romania - Ministry of Education Northern Ireland - Ministry of Education International Schools - Benjamin Franklin International School of Barcelona, Marymount of Paris, American Overseas School of Rome
Collaborating with Schools through Global Programs These organizations provide a community for meeting and collaborating with teachers/classrooms from around the world to develop projects and share finished products via videoconferencing.
ePals - The Internet's largest global community of connected classrooms provides a great repository of global projects for all ages and subjects. Just click on "Join Project" button to view all of the global projects available or start your own project with another button click.
In2Books - a continuous support network which develops intellectual relationships that challenge and motivate students though thought-provoking books and online mentoring:
CAPspace - social networking tool for educational videoconferencing allows you to find others who want to connect
CILC.org - The Center For Interactive Learning and Collaboration - collaboration center for teachers
NASA Distance Learning Network - NASA's Digital Learning Network™ provides science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM content featuring NASA missions and research. Register for free, interactive events listed in their catalog or watch webcasts listed on their site. Learn more about this resource at : About DLN
Collaborating with Global Organizations for Professional Development
Participating in key partnerships with organizations that are dedicated to developing the knowledge and skill sets of K-12 teachers and administrators is an important component to the Power of Everyone.
The Global Education Conference - Loudoun, as part of a global grass roots effort, is a founding partner in the Global Education Conference, a free week-long online professional development event bringing together educators and innovators from around the world. Now in its 3rd year, sessions that are ongoing in multiple time zones and languages will be held this year from Monday, November 12, 2012 through Friday, November 16, 2012 (actually, Saturday, November 17th in some time zones).
Microsoft Innovative Educator Program - Loudoun County Public Schools is proud to be a member of the Microsoft Innnovative Educator Program. For the last three years, Loudoun has had between two and four teachers invited to their annual Microsoft Educators Forum. Our teachers share their best practice and come back with lots of other best practice strategies.
Promethean Planet - Loudoun's partnership with Promethean is strong. Each year Loudoun sponsors an ActivLoudoun Conference at which Loudoun teachers provide professional development to each other on the use of the Promethean interactive whiteboards, but we don't stop there. Through Promethean Planet, teachers share their lessons and resources with other teachers around the world.
Creating Collaboration Events
TEDxAshburn - Come join the Power on September 29, 2012.
