Read Around the Planet


Read Around the Planet

 

A Celebration of "NEA's Read Across America"

Sponsored by Polycom and TWICE

 

Register Now! CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

(for SCKDLN Schools only)

 

Dates: February 23 - March 6

Grades: K-12

Cost: FREE

 

This project consists of classrooms connecting over videoconference to celebrate reading. Each class will create their own reading activity (idea list below), then connect with their partner class to present their reading themed activities to each other. Students love to share about their school and community as well.

 

Instructions to Participate:

 

Step 1: Register 

Teachers will need to get signed up by contacting their building/district IDL Facilitator. Facilitators will fill out registration form (below or go to registration page) complete with all teacher information including ALL times teachers are available during Feb. 24-March 7. Remember, the more often the teacher is available the easier it is to partner with others. There will be international sites participating, but you are not guaranteed an international partner. If your class is available during evening hours, you have a better chance of getting an international partner. Based on the number of classes participating, 90% of partners will be in the US. *High school and middle school teachers - if you would like to participate with more than one class, you will need to have a separate registration for each hour (example: 4 class periods would be 4 different registrations).

Register Online Here: RAP Registration

 

Step 2: Wait and Plan

TWICE will be working diligently to partner you with a class to meet your needs. Remember, the more times you are available the better. Below is a link to a teacher packet. I encourage you to look it over for planning and what to expect during your connection. Occasionally, there are leftovers and you may be asked to partner with someone from a different grade level. Be thinking of what type of a presentation your class would like to do. Some ideas are listed below:

 

Step 3: You Receive Your Partner Information

In January, you will receive an email from TWICE with your partner information. This will include teacher name, grade level, contact information, and technical information. Your partner will also receive your information. IT IS IMPORTANT.....just to be sure you read this correctly....IT IS IMPORTANT that you contact your partner (by email or phone) to confirm all information is correct and do any preparation planning before your connection date. Please, pretty please, do not wait until the day before the connection and you have not spoke to your partner yet and your not sure if your partner is ready. Your IDL Facilitator will handle the technical testing and troubleshooting, so if you happen to receive an email wishing to test from your partner, please forward it to your local facilitator or Audra.

 

Step 4: Work on Presentation

Now you have a month to work on the presentation for your connection. You will need to have a 15 minute (or so) presentation. If you already have an interesting project or play that you do in class, then you can use it and not have to create anything special. The "ideas list" is above. Feel free to be as creative as you like or work with your partner school on a project! You will also need to have a 5 (or so) minute small presentation about your school and community. Kids love to discover interesting things about other kids. You can do a PowerPoint, or have pictures to hold up or show on the document camera. Or have different students talk about interesting facts about the school and community (school district size, city/town population, famous people or facts, local agriculture, weather, etc...). If you need help with connecting document cameras or laptops to your equipment, please contact Audra or Bryan.

 

Step 5:  Practice Makes Perfect!

Once you have your presentation(s) finished, it is always a good idea to practice them on the IDL equipment! Practice once with no one connected so that you are seeing just your class. That will show you how it's going to look to others. If during your presentation you will need to move your camera around, practice where it will be moving to, or set presets to easily and quickly move around. If there are going to be other classes using the equipment for a presentation, make sure to use different preset numbers! If you would like to connect with someone to look at your presentation, contact Audra. Or if you have other schools in your district with equipment, practice with them!

 

Step 6: Connect!

Make sure that your facilitator/technical person has completed a test connection prior to your confirmation date/time. 

Now you have corresponded with your partner, created a presentation, practiced the presentation, and you are ready for your connection! Make sure to follow these simple etiquette rules of videoconferencing:

If you have any technical difficulties or need help setting up equipment please contact Audra.  

 

 

For information about teachers that participated last year, please review the RAP 2010 page.

 

Links for teachers participating in RAP:

 

Teacher Training Video:

http://www.schooltube.com/video/63dc2313fc8e4841bae8/Read-Around-the-Planet-Training-for-Teachers

 

Teacher Packet:

http://www.twice.cc/read/RAP-TeacherPacket.pdf  

 

Videoconferencing Etiquette & Tips:

Collaborating Etiquette

 

 

Back to Collaboration Page