International Schools Live in Second Life
A series of regular meetings in Second Life:
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Title:
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International Schools "Live" in Second Life
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Time:
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Wednesdays (4:00a.m. S.L. time)
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12:00 lunchtime (London)
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7:00pm (Thailand)
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8:00pm (Hong Kong)
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9:00pm (Tokyo)
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11:00pm (Sydney)
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Purpose:
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to share the experiences of the invited guests
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to involve all participants in the discussions
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to have themes and issues that are particularly relevant to International Schools Communities
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to have an enjoyable learning experience
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to increase exposure working in a 3D online virtual world (i.e. individual professional development)
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Organisation:
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length one hour
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sessions to be run 'Larry King' style
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two or more guests invited to each session
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on the sofas
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chaired by Shamblesguru Voom and/or other volunteers
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topic to focus on the strengths of the invited guests
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emphasis on the International Schools Communities where possible
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visuals (ppts) can be used by the guests if they wish
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audience .. invitation open to anyone
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audience members encouraged to participate and contribute
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sessions will be run using voice for the main guests and (in the main) text chat for ongoing audience participation
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Venue:
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Contact/Organiser
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Pilot Sessions
Three pilot sessions are being organised to trial this programme and if successful then a regular ongoing series will be organised for 2009.
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12th November
- Theme: This session is expected to take on an ESL, TOEFL direction although it is also quite likely that Fire's "zombie attacks game" might well come up ... and it's educational value of course. ;-)
- Paul Preibisch : fire@eslteacherlink.co.kr http://EnglishVillage.Asia
- S.L.Avatar: Fire Centaur
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based in South Korea
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owner, founder, creator, developer of English Village in Second Life (in S.L. since 2006)
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Other Guest
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19th November
- Theme: Library / Information Literacy
- Dianne McKenzie : diannecm@gmail.com
- S.L.Avatar: Dimac Dastardly
- Teacher Librarian, Discovery College, Hong Kong
- Doug Johnson : doug0077@gmail.com
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26th November
- Theme : recruitment with emphasis on applying for and working in an International Schools in Asia, Jon and Jeff will be sharing their personal experiences, it would also be an excellent opportunity for you to bring your own questions should to be considering applying for a teaching job overseas.
- Jon Zurfluh jzurfluh@scischina.org
- S.L.Avatar:
- Head of School, Pudong Campus, Shanghai Community International School
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Jeff Utecht thinkingstick@gmail.com
- S.L.Avatar: Utes Torok
- ISB Bangkok
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This page is live .. work in progress ... any comments you have would be most welcome ... really!
Chris Smith
csmith@csmith.info
PRESS RELEASE
Text to use when sending out information to others
START
International Schools Live in Second Life (Speakers Series)
A series of regular meetings are planned to run in Second Life (3D online virtual world) that are designed to have relevance to international schools communities and to also take place at a time convenient to those living and working in Asia.
Initially 3 sessions are planned for November as a 'pilot' series and then, if there is demand, a regular series during term time.
For these sessions think a cross between "Larry King" and "Oprah Winfrey" ... with guests on the sofas ... and audiences invited to contribute.
Full details at Google Doc http://tinyurl.com/6gf5ul
Wednesdays ... times: | S.L. time 4:00am | Thailand 7:00pm | Hong Kong 8:00pm | Tokyo 9:00pm |
Venue: International Schools Island (Mountain Top 2)
| SLURL : http://slurl.com/secondlife/International%20Schools%202/96/158/54 or http://tinyurl.com/2o44dw
| BLOG : http://internationalschoolsisland.info/
12 November: topic ESF / TOEFL
with Fire Centaur owner of English village and teacher in South Korea
other guest yet to be confirmed
19th November: topic Libraries / Information Literacy
with Dianne McKenzie (Hong Kong Teacher Librarian) and Doug Johnson of BlueSkunk fame
26th November: topic Recruitment / Interviews / Applying for jobs in Int.Schs.
with Jon Zurfluh Head of School, Pudong Campus, Shanghai Community International School
and Jeff Utecht of Thinking Stick fame, teacher at ISB, Bangkok.
For more details of the format and invited guests see the Google Doc ... http://tinyurl.com/6gf5ul
If you have not tried Second Life ... it is FREE ... visit http://www.secondlife.com, register, choose your avatar name, download the viewer .. and fly over
More details at http://tinyurl.com/6byf9j
or
Contact
Chris Smith (csmith@csmith.info)
in S.L. 'Shamblesguru Voom'
END
Question BANK
In those sessions we kept quite informal and had a bank of questions that we could choose from depending on the interests and topics on the day.
One guiding "theme / strand" in all programmes was (is) the relevance to educators working in an International environment .... or relevance for those considering working overseas.
Here are the question/guidelines. (but still editing them)
Principals/Headteachers (HEADcasts)
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intro ... ... about who you are and what you’ve done ... 3 minutes … what’s it like working in (location)?
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pro and cons (challenges) of being a Head in an International School in Beijing (as opposed to elsewhere) ... is it a unique position or could it be in any school worldwide .. public & private sectors? ..
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advice to anyone applying to be a Headteacher in an International School in China ... what should they be prepared for.
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advice to teachers applying and being interviewed for a position in an international school in China and probably across S.E.Asia ... I
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what are your favourite interview questions at teacher interviews .... either used yourself or by others.
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what have you seen as the most beneficial aspects of bringing ICT to teaching and learning ... any particular examples .... maybe also some of the challenges ... could touch on infrastructure, pedagogy, teacher professional development etc. your choice.
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what are your personal 3 favourite websites or pieces of software
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What are you passionate about?
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Question related to present initiatives in the school
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exit ...recount fun/memorable experience/anecdote during period as a Headteacher/Principal ...
ICT Co-ordinators / Directors (TECHcasts)
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intro ... ho you are and what you’ve done?
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Looking back over the past five years then what are some of the advances in the use of ICT in teaching and learning that you've been involved in and that you have felt particularly good about.?
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If you could time travel back and repeat those five years is there anything you would have done differently?
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What advice would you give to a new ICT co-ordinator or manager starting work in an International School ?
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Do you talk with ICT coords in other schools in the country ... e.g. in Thailand have ISTEC
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Where do you think the front runners (In International Schools) will be in five to ten years time with respect to using ICT? .. what will they be doing?
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What are your personal 3 favourite websites ..... or software packages?
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where does web 2.0 fit into all of this ?
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What do you feel passionate about?
- Soft exit ... any recountable/fun/memorable experience/anecdote during period as an ICT coordinator
Library Staff (LIBcasts)
Miscellaneous (ASIAcasts)
- these sessions covered such a variety of different people/topics/locations .... each session negotiated individually