Google Hangouts

Think Google Hangouts and you’ll come up with all sorts of ways your students can interact digitally with others. Perhaps, you’ll want to invite a few parents to “visit” your classroom to watch and interact with a group of students doing a special project?  Up to ten students and parents can hang out together in their own virtual space. An eduptopia article (February 1, 2013) suggests that Hangouts be used to connect with classrooms around the world, with experts in different fields, and with authors. To put Google Hangouts to work, you’ll need Google and Google Plus accounts and the inspiration to get a good conversation going.

Looking for Classroom Videoconference Opportunities?

Polycom, Inc. offers a database of programs, which are available from content providers such as the Smithsonian, historic sites, Presidential sites, NASA, National Archives, zoos, PBS, and universities. You can search for the programs you want by selecting from categories like Free Programs, New Programs, HD Programs, Award-Winning Programs, and Programs for Teachers. Examples of some of the 300+ free programs are “DNA and Your Health” (WVIZ/PBS ideastream), “A House Divided: Civil War” (Smithsonian American Art Museum), “Analyzing Primary Sources” (Library of Congress), “Rainforest Connection Live”, “Time Travel with Fossils (Badlands National Park),  “Videoconferencing 101 Teacher Tutorial (Smithsonian American Art Museum) and “Around the World in Eighty Bones” (Canadian Space Agency).

Vaddio—Transform Whiteboards in Video Whiteboards

It’s called a Squiggle, but it seems and is much more powerful than its name suggests. The Squiggle is a video whiteboard kit that can transform ordinary whiteboards into videoconferencing systems by creating a video output source.  The kit includes a digital control panel, a video whiteboard interface, a black marker, and an electronic eraser. The system can be installed alongside any whiteboard and is a stand-alone device—no computer is required.  For additional information, check out the Squiggle on the Vaddio site.