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CenterNET2 videoconferencing network to be highlighted at state technology conference

By March 1, 2011No Comments

In this CenterNET2 video conference, Holocaust survivor David Taub shows students a “Star of David” badge in a presentation from the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center in Nassau County, New York.

The innovative connections made by The Center for Rural Development’s CenterNET2 videoconferencing network will be highlighted at the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education’s (KySTE) spring technology conference this week in Louisville.

CenterNET2 Project Manager Robyn Phillips has been invited to speak at the event, to be held at The Galt House, and share the ways CenterNET2 is using videoconferencing to connect students with people, places, and events around the world.

Phillips will be one of five conference co-presenters on March 2 who will discuss how schools across the country are using Interactive Video Conference (IVC) to bring new and exciting educational opportunities for teachers and their students.

During the afternoon session, Phillips plans to share examples of unique connections made by CenterNET2 that have expanded learning experiences beyond the classroom.

Students raise a glass of tea in a toast to their new friends in Hong Kong in this CenterNET 2 video conference.

Videoconferencing technology provided by CenterNET2 has brought local high school students face-to-face with two Holocaust survivors, helped a homebound young Kentucky girl battling leukemia connect with students in her class, and enabled a group of American elementary students to forge new friendships with their counterparts half-way around the world in Hong Kong.

“It is my goal to let teachers know what opportunities are available to spice up subject matter and how videoconferencing allows educators and students to bring experts right into their classroom providing real-time face-to-face interactions with others creating a new and exciting learning environment,” Phillips said. “It is an honor to have been invited by Michael Lay, educational sales consultant at Public Computer Services, to team present with these content providers.”

Other co-presenters include Tony Duncan, 2008 USDLA Platinum Winner K-12 Teacher of the Year; Doug Meyer and Monica Cougan, representatives of The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC); Eric Sheets, Cisco Telepresence Grants Team; Jerry Csaki of the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio; and Anne Herndon of Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History.

CenterNET2, located at The Center’s main offices in Somerset, is recognized as an award-winning, statewide videoconferencing platform by incorporating more than 161 educational sites into the network, including all Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) campuses across the state. CenterNET2 technology is currently being used to connect educators throughout Kentucky, creating a statewide virtual education community.

The mission of KySTE is to empower the educational community in the commonwealth of Kentucky to infuse technology as an integral part of the educational process through advocacy and leadership, promoting educational excellence and supporting technology-based innovation.