November 2003 — Applications
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Videoconferencing Takes Cape Elizabeth Middle School on a Distance Learning Adventure
Establishing a Path to Success
Besides technical challenges, there were other obstacles within the school system. It was tough convincing the district's technology department to devote some of its limited resources in time and personnel to experiment with a brand new concept that might or might not be successful. This was at a time when there were already major technology initiatives taking a fair amount of everyone's attention. The first was a statewide initiative to provide every seventh-grader in Maine with a laptop computer. The second initiative was the proposed installation of ATM technology at our high school. Because I was still learning about equipment and connections myself, I wasn't able to answer many of the questions asked by the technology staff.
Fortunately, I did have the support and encouragement of my principal and our superintendent. Halfway through my sabbatical, they asked me to submit a midyear report to the school board informing them of my progress and, more importantly, to articulate the impact this project could have on the education of students in our district. Writing the report made me reflect on my progress - I had to decide whether or not to continue with the goal of bringing videoconferencing technology into the classroom. By this time, it was clear that continuing meant that other sabbatical goals couldn't be pursued because the videoconferencing project would take the remainder of my time for research and study. Would connecting to content providers and other primary sources make a difference in the education of children in Maine? My explorations thus far had already convinced me the answer was yes.
The reaction to my midyear report was overwhelmingly positive, even though a clear path to success hadn't yet been established. I had shared the EEZ's philosophy in the report: equitable access to resources for all students, connecting learners to people rather than to information, and application of knowledge to better understand real-world problems and issues. The collaborative efforts of teachers and content providers within the EEZ consortium convinced us in Cape Elizabeth that videoconferencing could offer students resources and expertise that would otherwise be unavailable. Having the support of the school administration and the school board was critical because there were no funds specified to finance the project.
Making Connections
I always tell my students that perseverance is the key to success. So, I was determined to bring educational videoconferencing to my classroom by the end of my sabbatical; although, I was running out of ideas to overcome the technical difficulties. Finally, at an EEZ meeting, I shared my frustrations with Steve Kohn of Verizon who suggested borrowing equipment from NYIT and using the institute's gateway for the purpose of a "proof of concept." The gateway might have been the solution for an Internet connection from my school to meet with an ISDN connection from a content provider outside of Maine. Silverman was willing to lend a videoconferencing unit to my school for an indefinite time period along with the ongoing assistance of his staff, which continues to this day.
The next step was to find a content provider willing to try the experiment. I eagerly flew to NECC 2001 in Chicago, where I met Linda Unger, then the distance learning consultant to the Bronx Zoo. Unger listened attentively to my story and invited me to become a test site for a new videoconferencing program the zoo was developing. I was fortunate enough to meet Unger who had great faith and patience, since at that point my equipment hadn't even been set up in Maine or tested.
