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Why participate in a Virtual Field Trips and Special Events?

by Polycom Employee LynnetteW ‎09-04-2011 06:16 PM - edited ‎09-04-2011 06:16 PM

VSSEC Mars.jpgANUSofM_00230.jpgSPECIAL EVENTS, QUESTACON SCIENCE WEEK 17 AUG 015.JPGANUSofM_00230.jpg

 

 

It has said that children, teenagers (and some adults) learn from their experiences. If that is the case, this would explain why there is a flux of global content providers and virtual excursion encounters entering the education domain. 


Virtual field trips, content providers, special curriculum events and school-to-school collaborations enable students to enhance their knowledge by taking classroom learning further. Experiences trigger senses – students are able to visually see the colours on a canvas, understand what why an Author wrote the character the way they did, hear the sounds a whale is making, emotionally relate to a holocaust survivor’s story, and  empathize with a group of students in Afghanistan. 


A classroom, which connects using videoconference to any form of virtual experience, enables students to collect all facets of an experience and learn in new and innovative methods. Think about a student who struggles…this entertaining, informative and stimulating method may be exactly what they need to excel.

 

Within the North American region there are hundreds of content providers, however within the Asia Pacific region, (until 2010) there were only a couple.

 

Did you know that Polycom has a "Polycom Content Provider Program"? I tackled this project while I was Vertical Manager for Polycom Australia & NZ back in 2008, when I observed that local schools were frustrated with providers only offering sessions that suited the NA time zones. I met with organisations that would enrich the Australian curriculum and either provided loan equipment* or, they have purchased equipment outright as a customer. Once they had Polycom equipment, I was able to promote them throughout the region, incorporate them into the Polycom APAC Special Events and advertise them in our Polycom in Education Newsletters. As of today's date, we have eleven Polycom Content Providers,

 

These providers are encouraged to reach out to schools, education industries, DET management, and work with curriculum specialists to develop their programs.  They are able to connect to all H.323 videoconference endpoints,

 

So, back to the question, who are the Asia Pacific Polycom Content Providers?

 


 

  • ReefHQ - (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Aquarium located in Townsville, Qld)
  • Questacon - the National Science and Technology Centre - (located in Canberra, ACT)
  • Charles Sturt University - Remote Telescope Project - (located in Bathurst, NSW)
  • Australian National University - School of Music - (located in Canberra, ACT)
  • Green Cross Australia - (located in Brisbane, QLD)
  • Australian National Maritime Museum - (located in Sydney, NSW)
  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney - (located in Sydney, NSW)
  • National Museum of Australia - (located in Canberra, ACT)
  • Victoria Space Science Education Centre - located in Melbourne, VIC)
  • Literature Live (group of four Authors (located in Sydney, NSW) and one Illustrator (Auckland, NZ))
  • Te Papa Museum - (located in Wellington, New Zealand)

 

I am currently on the look out for customers who use our equipment in the Asia Pacific region who would like to join our program.  It is FREE, and would offer their organisation/institution and opportunity to expand their Education Outreach division within the Asia Pacific market.  If you know of someone, please contact me directly at Lynnette.Whitfield@polycom.com

 

* Polycom provides units for long term loan to organisations who meet certain criteria.  If you wish to know more, please contact me.



Attachment Polycom Edu Newsletter_Feb2011_WEB rv2.pdf ‏1509 KB
Attachment Polycom Ed Newsletter JULY 2010.pdf ‏1402 KB
Attachment Oct Polycom Ed Newsletter Iss2.pdf ‏1421 KB
Attachment Polycom Ed Newsletter Iss4 JUNE FINAL.pdf ‏3366 KB
About the Author
  • Lynnette Whitfield Director, Asia Pacific (APAC), Education Industry Solutions With over 13 years in the Unified Collaborations industry, Lynnette is responsible for driving strategic business and academic initiatives and solutions for educational institutions. Based in Melbourne-Australia, Ms. Whitfield assists educational institutions across Asia Pacific to transform the way they teach, communicate and collaborate by leveraging Polycom’s high-quality voice and visual communications. Lynnette also spearheads two divisions; Polycom’s APAC Content Provider Program (where she recruits, and develops Museums, Zoo’s and Science Technology Centres who offer programs to K-12 schools) and Polycom APAC Special Events program which in 2011 offers over curriculum based programs for schools across Asia Pacific.
  • Marci Powell is Global Director for Education at Polycom and Chair Emerita and Past President of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). Powell is a classroom teacher, administrator, and industry expert in the field of educational technology with extensive experience in applications related to lifelong learning and innovation. She serves as an advisor to public and private sectors in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific sharing global best practices and trends in education as a fellow educator and futurist. Her articles on distance learning have appeared in publications such as USA Today and has been quoted in numerous publications such as Financial Times, University Business Magazine, and Auckland Herald.
  • Elaine Shuck, with a background in technology, curriculum, and integration, is the Director of Education for Polycom. She is a leader in collaborative learning and interactive videoconferencing. For sixteen years she has brought stimulating and engaging learning opportunities to K-20 classrooms. Her work ranges from hands-on demonstrations to educators, to reaching out to Polycom’s corporate partners, to facilitating hybrid solutions that enhance education and training. Prior to Polycom, Ms. Shuck was Director of South Dakota’s Interactive Videoconferencing Smart Centers. She also served as distance learning coordinator for South Dakota Public Schools where she consulted on distance learning programs, medical education, and corporate training segments at hundreds of sites statewide. Elaine is an expert in her field and a frequent speaker. Audiences around the world – both face-to-face and through videoconferencing – respond enthusiastically to Ms. Shuck’s lively style, technical mastery, and commitment to learning. She has designed and implemented programs that inspire faculty and students as they interact with world-class luminaries in medicine, education, or noteworthy events. Her work has garnered major awards from the International Society for Technology in Education and the US Distance Learning Association (USDLA). An authority on social and connective media, collaborative learning, and best practices in distance learning, Elaine works with a host of educational groups and serves on the USDLA Board of Directors