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A wide variety of events are run in the Department's virtual conference rooms providing learning and collaboration across Victoria. The range covers everything from practitioner led events where teachers work with a small group of students or colleagues, to Department wide forums where international experts talk to many educators.

MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids, is a dynamic, interactive site, which encourages individual expression and participation through video submissions from children worldwide. Through these video pod casts we hope to create a community of children, who learn the art of self-expression and storytelling through video.

The purpose of the New York State Education Department's Virtual Learning System is to encourage the use of the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning and to assist classroom teachers in locating Internet resources for instruction. VLS offers the full text of New York State's learning standards with their key ideas and performance indicators, as well as alternate performance indicators for students with severe disabilities.

This comprehensive set of resources will be extremely helpful in the development of an online learning community with an emphasis on virtual and blended modes of learning.

Excellent video from teachers and admin working in virtual schools. This could be a very good resource to show participants interested in learning more about blended modes of learning.

This video documents an excellent example of how students and teachers at the iSchool are taking their learning beyond the 4-walls of the classroom.

I enjoyed this article about virtual book clubs. It supports student engagement using technology.

Global community portal focused on Education Transformation through virtual collaboration. Funded by Cisco

Excellent examples of how schools in NYC are taking 21st century teaching and learning to the next level.

Blended Model Must Have: 1) Development of Cohesive Learning Communities - early & recurring face-to-face must occur - Initial meetings must emphasize "reflective dialogues" and "interactive activities" for bonding & buy-in. - participants must effective use early sessions for "curriculum planning" and "new pedagogical techniques." - Large Video Conferencing Does Not Work! (- but a webinar can engaged many people with buddy groups.) 2) Project Portal Must be Reliable and Simple - video conferencing is OK 3) Administrative Support is Crucial. 4) Facilitators are Essential. 5) Critical Component is the Ongoing Monitoring of Participant's Needs. - through surveys, evaluations, informal feedback, etc... 6) Successful Practices Structure Opportunities to Share and Discuss Teaching Practices. 7) Teacher "Risk-Taking" can be Increased - - for trying new technologies in the context of curriculum writing, 8) Effective Initiatives Build a A Critical Mass 9) True Transformation Requires Time

Educators are now using the videoconferencing tool to connect foreign-language students to native speakers, hold virtual field trips and host conversations with scientists and other experts

A former teacher and education-technology consultant says today's professional development needs to immerse educators in experiences that promote reflection and relationship-building.