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EGUSD in the Spotlight
Megaconference Jr. 2008 - Arthur C. Butler Students Take Their Voices to the World
For twelve hours on February 21, thousands of K-12 students from at least four continents and 22 U.S. states joined together in a virtual classroom using advanced videoconferencing technology to deliver presentations and activities focusing on a wide array of projects. This year’s Megaconference Jr. participants included Jim Faires’s 6th grade classroom at Arthur C. Butler Elementary School.
Photo:
Butler students get ready for the conference
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Faires and his students presented their year-long online Youth Radio project to a worldwide audience. Thanks to their site's recently increased bandwidth, the students were able to connect to the Megaconference Jr. 2008, an annual international event designed to give students in elementary and secondary schools around the world the opportunity to communicate, collaborate and contribute to each other's learning in real time, using advanced multi-point interactive video conferencing technology. This technology has been made possible because of the network bandwidth (ranging from 10mb to 1 gigabyte) provided by the K12HSN (K12 High Speed Network), BESTNet (a high speed network provided through the combined efforts of the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium, the Sacramento Cable Commission, and Comcast), and the enhanced EGUSD network.
As the Butler students demonstrated what goes into producing a podcast, they were able to interact "face-to-face" with students from Australia - who were attending summer school - and students in Taiwan - who were already a day ahead of the Butler students. “During the Megaconference Jr, we left our classroom,” remarked Shyanne Sanchez, “without ever leaving our classroom.”
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Butler students watch the screen as other schools logon to the Megaconference
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This year marks the second time Jim Faires has “taken” students to the Megaconference.
"Through the Youth Radio project and international events such as Megaconference Jr., my students are becoming expert communicators in a digital world as they plan, script, and shape audio and video to fit their intentions,” Faires said. “The opportunity to take their voices to a worldwide audience, within their regular instructional setting, has motivated them to build on the real world skills needed to succeed in the 21st century."
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Students from Taiwan (upper left) greet the Butler students
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For more information about videoconferencing in the classroom, the Megaconference Jr., or the Youth Radio project, please contact Gail Desler in Technology Services.
Spotlight Archives
2008
March 17, 2008 - Elk Grove Unified Joins Call to Fix Governor’s Proposed Budget
March 4, 2008 - Elk Grove Unified Hosts Sacramento County Superintendents’ Press Conference on State Budget Cuts
Feb. 19, 2008 - 4th Annual High School Conference helps train the leaders of the future
Jan. 16, 2008 - Laguna Creek High School hosts ConnectEd Policy Site Visit
Jan. 02, 2008 - Senior Attendance Drive returns for second year
2007
Dec. 12, 2007 - John Ehrhardt Elementary students combine academics and community service
Dec. 03, 2007 - EGUSD’s Commitment to Service Learning Honored
Nov. 15, 2007 - Winners announced for No Excuses – Go to School Rhyme & Poster Contests
Nov. 13, 2007 - Veterans Day celebrated at Elk Grove Unified
Oct. 23, 2007 - Time of Remembrance Project and Website
Oct. 15, 2007 - Markofer Elementary offers “Donuts for Dads/Muffins for Moms"
Oct. 3, 2007 - EGUSD elementary schools participate in Walk to School Day
Sept. 18, 2007 - Options abound on new College and Career website
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