Partners in Distance Learning PDL

1. Partners in Distance LearningPDL http://www.partnersdl.org

2. Partners in Distance Learning • The Partners in Distance Learning is a non-profit organization founded in 1994 • http://www.partnersdl.org

3. Partners in Distance Learning • Offer videoconferencing, online learning, and information Web-based protocols. information taken from http://partnersdl.org

4. Partners in Distance Learning Membership: • $300 for entire school district • To join, go www.partnersdl.org and click on Join Today on the left-hand side • Includes eligibility for all PDL services

5. Partners in Distance Learning • Offers the following services: • Updates to Key District Contacts • Messaging Services • Travel Adventure Series • Beyond the Classroom Series • International Student Exchanges and Virtual Field Trips • Integrated Arts Learning Resources • Renaissance Series

6. Updates to Key Contacts Key Contacts: • Technology Coordinator or Curriculum Coordinator • Administrator

7. Updates to Key Contacts • Key Contacts receive a username and password after registering • They add the desired teachers to PDL, create a district management file with programming information • Key Contacts receive regular updates on sponsored programs • PDL has a service manager available • PDL offers technical assistance

8. Messaging Service Free; any enrolled teacher has access • Web Watch - Weekly updates and links to free educational websites • Quick Teach -Bimonthly recommendations in using online resources to create mini lessons (1-4 periods) • Artists’ Eye Group Share -Discussion forum about the drawing program, the Artists’ Eye.

9. Travel Adventure Series: Virtual Field Trips (Vacations) • Free to all teachers • One-two week mini vacations to historical destinations • Teachers receive pictures, text, and uncommon facts about the place • Two Trips Offered November: New England March: The Great Plains

10. Beyond the Classroom: • Wolves of Yellowstone • The Raptors of Hawk Mountain • Colonial Inn • Valley Forge: A Soldier’s Account

11. Beyond the Classroom

12. Beyond the Classroom • Course setup: All courses consist of three main components • Light (fun) reading • Challenge question (requires the use of scientific inquiry) • Shared responses to questions

13. Beyond the Classroom:Wolves of Yellowstone • Grades: 6th – 9th • Curricular Area: Science (Ecology), Geography (Map Skills) • Experts in the Field: Nathan Varley and Linda Thurston, Yellowstone Field Scientists • Most Highly Recommended Course

14. Beyond the Classroom:Wolves of Yellowstone How the Project Works: • A class is assigned a specific wolf pack from the wolf directory. • Each week, students are given reports on the pack they are following. • Learning materials (and staff training concepts) are sent.

15. Beyond the Classroom:Wolves of Yellowstone Example Activities: • Tracking the movements of the wolf pack • Solving challenges within the wolf pack • Sharing ideas and inquiries with other classrooms via chat rooms. 

16. Beyond the Classroom: Raptors of Hawk Mountain • Grades: (K-3) • Curricular Area: Math, Science • Experts in the Field: Naturalists/Volunteers from Hawk Mountain

17. Beyond the Classroom: Raptors of Hawk Mountain How the Project Works: • Fifteen-45 minutes per week with additional optional activities • Can be incorporated into a math or science class Example Activities: • Birdwatching/identifying species • Recording/tracking weather/climate conditions associated with migration • Develop and create stories about birds

18. Beyond the Classroom: Colonial Inn Grades: 9-12 Curricular Area: History, Economics, Consumer Science Expert in the Field: Lee Patrick Anderson, Historian and Program Director at For Mifflin Historic Site, Philadelphia

19. Beyond the Classroom: Colonial Inn How the Project Works: • Students research 12 historic colonial inns • Students discover the significance of inns in the development of our nation Example Activities: • Create and prepare colonial meals using the cooking appliances of the historic time period • Conduct a cost analysis • Engage in colonial everyday life

20. Beyond the Classroom: A Soldier’s Account Grades: 6-12 Curricular area: Math, History, Science Expert in the Field: Lee Patrick Anderson, Historian and Program Director at For Mifflin Historic Site, Philadelphia

21. Beyond the Classroom: A Soldier’s Account How the Project Works: • A composite type soldier sends letters to students sharing his daily life experiences at Valley Forge • All information shared is historically accurate Example Activities: • Letter sharing • Picture exchanging

22. International Student Exchanges • PDL works with Empower Peace in Boston and provides opportunities to interact with peers around the world

23. International Student Exchanges • The International Student Exchange is hosted by Empower Peace.   • Last year they set up a webcast with Dubai. The webcast was recorded for teachers to view if they were unable to attend the live session. • As long as you have a computer or computers with an internet connection (high speed or broadband is better) it can be viewed. •   Middle eastern countries are involved and a group of students gets together and might do a short presentation about themselves, and then it is all open discussion where anyone viewing the webcast can type in their questions. 

24. Virtual Field Trips Video conferences offered at a reduced rate for members: • Cleveland Institute of Music (50% discount) • Challenger Space Center E-Missions • American Labor Museum • Camden’s Children Garden • Pennsbury Manor

25. Integrated Arts Learning Resources • Artists’ Eye Drawing Program - Online drawing program for students - Can be used for all students (special needs and also gifted) • The Gallery and Stage I - Students can post their work online and receive feedback from artists, teachers, and peers • Arts Integrated Web Resources - Over 250 helpful websites • Arts Educational Programs • Educational lessons incorporating arts into core subjects - Lessons vary in length from one day to an entire semester

26. The Renaissance Series • Designed for gifted students in grades 6-8 • Online course with two-fold objective: 1. Reinforces/expands a core academic area 2. Fosters creativity in the arts • Courses are not all designed the same; information organized differently. • http://learn.partnersdl.org/login.php information taken from http://partnersdl.org

27. The Renaissance Series • What is Beauty? • Composing a Fanfare • Patriotism Expressed Through Song • Thinking Through Arts • Escher’s Waterfall Comes to Life

28. What is Beauty? Course Description: • Math – patterns, ratios, sequencing, formulations, inversions, and equations • Music – reading notes, identifying pitch, creating compositions • Organization – divided into 44 pages

29. What is Beauty? Example Activity: Click on the line box that represents the c note.

30. Composing a Fanfare Course Description: • Also titled How to Write a Fanfare • Young Composers project dated 2004-2005 • Philadelphia Classical Symphony collaborated with PDL • Organization: - Divided into the following units: 1. Fanfares 2. Scores 3. Generating Performance 4. Creating New and Original Fanfares 5. Exploring the Historical Backgrounds of Fanfares • Students must be able to download resources/links, and record their work

31. Composing a Fanfare:Example Activity • Activity Title: Understanding Fanfares • You are hearing an excerpt from Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. • A fanfare is a special kind of composition, usually written to announce something, or someone, very important. Kings and Queens use fanfares. Sometimes, fanfares are used to celebrate special occasions, like the Olympic Games. Copland wanted to write a composition to celebrate people all over the world. He called his composition Fanfare for the Common Man.

32. Patriotism As Expressed in SymbolsCourse Description: • Title: Patriotism: Expressed in Song (Title changed?) • Students research patriotism and create a song about it. • Reading, history, civics, mathematics, and music • 18 periods (45 minutes per period)

33. Patriotism As Expressed in Symbols:Example Activity Some music is creative and inspired while other music is corny and trite. . Using the descriptions on the rubric below as a basis for judgment select the example you think does the best job of creating a sense of originality.Advanced:Originality vs. cliché: The music offers aspects that are unique.The music is highly sophisticated and creativeProficient:Originality vs. cliché: The music offers aspects that are unusual.The music exhibits an adequate degree of sophisticationBasic:Originality vs. cliché: The music offers aspects that are common.The music is marginal in terms of naiveté` vs. sophisticationBelow Basic:Originality vs. cliché: The music offers aspects that are ordinary.The music is limited in terms of naiveté` vs. sophistication Play Example 4 Play Example 5 Play Example 6 Vote:Example 4Example 5Example 6

34. Thinking Through ArtsCourse Description : • Thinking Through Arts is a course that explores aesthetics and the aesthetic response- the ways we react and respond to works of art and the decisions we make about whether works of art are good, bad, worthy, unworthy, exciting or dull. • Focuses on the arts, writing, history • Organized into nine lessons with various activities and assessments

35. Thinking Through the ArtsExample Activity: • Have you ever heard the expression "beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" Each person has a different idea of what is beautiful- a person's heritage, community and experiences all help determine their beliefs about what is beautiful. Our ideas about what is beautiful and our reactions and responses to works in the arts are called aesthetic responses. When you chose a painting you were having an aesthetic response! • What does aesthetic response mean? • Take a look at the works of art below. You can click on any one of them to see a larger version. Pick the painting you like best, then click on the link below to enter your selection.

36. Course Description:Escher’s Waterfall • Explores M.C. Escher’s “Waterfall” print and the creation of a “living” sculpture of MC Escher’s “Waterfall”. • The students work together to make the drawing come to life, move water in a waterfall, and use science and art in this unit. • Organization - well-organized (objectives listed, daily activities include necessary materials) - lessons make a connection from one day to the next - some pictures unable to be seen

37. Escher’s Waterfall Example Activity: • Materials: Computers; Water, Various scrap hoses, buckets, funnels, pipes, paper towels, cardboard strips, mops; writing paper , pencils, and a partner. Refer to the posted copy of “Waterfall” and review the parts of the composition. Analyze the sections, its challenges and observations. Focus today on the water. Complete the KWL exercise listed below. What do we KNOW about water? What do we WANT to know about water? What can we LEARN about Water? Log the answers in your journal. What direction does the water flow? Discuss the paddlewheel. How important is the paddlewheel? What function does it serve? Then, listen to Music written about water. Watery Music, Dripsody Music, Rosaly in England Take the next 10 minutes to consider the music as part of the art work. Click on both examples. How does the music remind you of water? What instruments are used to create the sound and mood? • Do you feel it is difficult or easy to create music about water? • Which music matches the mood of the print? • Do words compliment the music? Next, gather materials for the next lesson or set up an area to experiment with water. Use of scrap hoses, pvc pipes, funnels, buckets/pots, old baby pools, etc. Gather objects from home to experiment with during the next class.

38. Gifted Goals Addressed: Communication Students must share responses and discuss the content with the teacher and other students. Mostly done through written communication. Leadership Must build confidence and leadership abilities as responses to challenge questions are developed.

39. Gifted Goals Addressed: ‘cont Critical Thinking The content involved requires real-world problems which are solved in multiple steps. Creative Thinking Students are allotted time to create unique responses to questions Independence Much of the course can be done independently. The course is designed with steps students need to successfully complete it.

40. Gifted Goals Addressed: ‘cont Technology Students will enhance their technology skills by utilizing an online course format. Inquiry The courses are designed to foster inquiry skills. Students collect and gather information in order to solve real world problems. Forecasting Students must make predictions on future events based on prior knowledge, and after reflecting on previous results.

41. Gifted Goals Addressed: ‘cont Research Students must expand their abilities to locate information and discern factual information. They must collect, classify, and interpret gathered data to organize responses. Respect for Self and Others Students must set personal and academic goals to ensure successful completion of the courses. They must also respect and appreciate others’ solutions to given circumstances.

42. Contact Information: • Mailing Address: • The Partners in Distance Learning938 Fountain StreetAshland, PA 17921 • To send a message or make an inquiry, e-mail DanPaul@PartnersDL.org.The PDL can be contacted during regular business hours via phone. • Dr. Dan Paul, Executive Director570-874-2365DanPaul@PartnersDL.org • Michelle Butz, Program & Service Manager570-379-1213MButz@PartnersDL.org