Enter the May 2017 Global Virtual Classroom Mini Web Design Contest for K-12 Classes using Google sites.- it's worth it

Do you like participating in global projects with your class, with schools in other countries?  Then the Global Virtual Classroom web design contest will really appeal to you. The organisers put you in teams of three schools, each one from a different continent and your learners design a project based on a world problem, together and contruct a website about it using Google sites. The teachers are the guides on the side, It is a wonderful experience for a class.

I have participated, with a class, in the full 12 month Global Virtual Classroom web design contest in the past http://www.virtualclassroom.org/contest.html and it was a really great collaborative experience using Google Sites. (Our team was the global winner in 2015!) The good news is that they have introduced a much shorter 10 week option, known as the Global Virtual Classroom Mini, that takes place during the year. The following information about this is taken from the Global Virtual Conference wiki http://minigvc.wikispaces.com/ There may still be time to enter.

Registration for the May contest is about to close
Applications for the May Contest are still open…if you hurry! The registration form is available at https://goo.gl/EIE17e

What is the MINI GVC?
MINI GVC is the outcome of some serious thinking regarding preparedness in the context of Collaboration, Commitment, Contribution and Copyright while participating in GVC contests. After functioning as a Teacher-coordinator for GVC Contest from 2009-16 one of the participants noticed that quite often teams do not shine in collaboration which is primarily the aim and purpose of GVC - to share and care. It could be due to various valid reasons but yet we would like not to compromise on the quality and productivity of our websites.

When does the MINI GVC Contest take place?
MINI GVC is a prelude to GVC Contest in which students from various countries supervised by their Teacher Facilitators would represent their schools to create a website on a pre-decided age appropriate theme. The Mini contest is open for approximately 10 weeks during September-November, February-April and June-August. The contest is open for students from K-12 schools around the world to create a collaborative website on a topic of world interest. Groups are assigned by GVC, and may consist of anywhere from 2-4 schools.

Contributions
Contributions can be text, illustrations, multimedia, recorded/textual discussions, interviews, etc all original created by the participants themselves.Copyright rules have to be strictly followed while utilizing content (text /illustrations/photos/videos etc) from another website. Attributions and Citations are a must for every post in the website.

Results
Results shall be announced after every trimester and winners will be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Star Certificates. Assessment will be based on Creativity/Originality, Social Responsibility, Team Spirit, Technical Skill and Copyright.

Features of MINI-GVC
Perfect for schools with time constraints. One can choose a convenient trimester.
Acquire new technical skills and improve existing talents.
Improve and acquire collaborative communication skills.
Understand and appreciate cultural differences.
One school can participate in one or more trimesters.
One school can register more than one group in a trimester.

Have Questions?
Contact:
Project Manager - lakshmi.srinivas@gsbi.org
Program Manager - jbarnstable@gsbi.org

This program is a project of Give Something Back International Foundation. www.gsbi.org

Three EdTechTeam South Africa Summits featuring Google in Education this year – which one will you attend?

Every year for the past few years the EdTechTeam based in the United States has held a very successful Summit featuring Google for Education in South Africa. These have always been incredibly inspiring events where teachers go home with a myriad of exciting classroom ideas. This year THREE of these summits are planned for South Africa in different areas.

EdTechTeam South Africa invites you to join them at their upcoming Summits featuring Google for Education. Enjoy two days of empowering hands-on workshops, inspiring keynote speakers, and fun activities including a high-energy demo slam where you can win prizes. Go beyond the tools and explore cutting edge best practices in educational technology and great teaching! Workshops are going to be led by Google Certified Innovators, Google for Education Trainers, Apple Distinguished Educators, school leadership or teachers with a passion to share their work to help others raise their game as well. Register now to send teachers, administrators, tech directors, library media specialists, tech support staff, and anyone who is interested in finding out more about leveraging G Suite from Google for Education and iOS to support student learning.

Cape Town Summit
If you live in Cape Town Richard Knaggs from Parklands College recently sent out an invitation:

EdTechTeam South Africa invites you
to join us for the Cape Town Summit
featuring Google for Education
In Partnership with Parklands College

1. Cape Town Summit (4-5 April 2017)

Richard says, "We have negotiated lower pricing so that you can enjoy two days of empowering hands-on breakout sessions, inspiring keynote speakers, and fun activities including a high-energy demo slam.

Register for the two day Summit event to take advantage of the early bird pricing here: http://za.gafesummit.com/capetown"

2. iPad EDU MasterClass (3 April 2017)

This one-day experience is designed to inform, inspire, and empower educators. Workshops include sessions for leaders, educators, and technical staff. Coffee and lunch are provided for all ticketed workshops.

Register here for the one day iPad Edu Master class here: http://za.gafesummit.com/capetown#workshops

Which Summit will you attend? Visit https://za.gafesummit.com/ for more details and to register

Student Blogging Challenge #7: Week 2 Learn to comment well

Several of my classes have joined the Edublogs Student Blogging Challenge.  In week 2 we looked at the post found at http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/2017/03/12/week-2-learning-to-comment-well/

Week 2's tasks were to discuss good commenting skills, create a ‘How to comment’ page on your blog and make a set of commenting guidelines. We used the poster created by Kathleen Morris some years ago. 

Interesting pointers from the Week 2 post in Edublogs
1. Here are some examples of commenting guidelines:
Huzzah commenting guidelines, a Glogster poster about commenting, WarriorKat used a variety of tools for her guidelines, notice how Sophie included a link back to Mrs Yollis’ blog where she got her information from, Emme created a PowToon, Darcey included some interesting points, Kyndal has her guidelines here.

2.  Each week the best posts are published in the Student Blogging Challenge are featured in the Blogging Challenge's Flipboard magazine.