GSCS Communication Strategy Linking it all together…

Students GSCS Communication Audience K- 12 Online Schools Parents K- 12 Face-to-Face Schools GSCS StaffCommunity EducatorsParishes Sporting Community AOK12S Members General Population

How do we do it???

Key Program Blogs (Movable Type License) Easily updated web sites Minimize training needs Users train each other Templates RSS Feeds Subscriptions Daily updates Current information for all audiences

Keep In Mind Blogs are open WWW sites All information needs to be appropriate as it reflects the school division Last names are not posted Photo and video permission letters needed Comments are disabled for most accounts Students are not given access to create personal blogs

Blog Uses (Movable Type) Classroom Homework School Web sites School Newsletters Resource Sharing Sports Stats & Schedules Classroom Journal Assignments School Events Image Archives

Classroom Web Site

Major Component - RSS Feeds The Internet… The Pros: Individual access to a world of information Quick communication A wealth of knowledge somewhere out there… The Cons: How do you sort and filter a “world of information” Endless searching for meager or low quality results Labour intensive… (you mean I have to find it??) Suitability and Authenticity With the RSS (Rich Site Summary) technology, the web became a place where information could be pushed to surfers… Users don’t have to go to it, it comes to them. And best of all…. We can control what we get!

School Web site With RSS Feeds

Using blogs to filter resources How do we find these resources?

News Aggregates

Learning Communities LC’s are virtual environments where educators can gather to share information, ideas, units, web sites, etc… The LC’s cater to different groups. (i.e. Principals, L.A.T’s, Grade 2 Educators, Secondary Sciencd Educators) LC’s are secure areas housed securely in WebCT. Users must register through the Cyber School to receive log in credentials GSCS LC’s are open to anyone who wishes to register. There are certain exceptions to this rule (i.e. Principal LC)

Learning Communities All Learning Communities have secure , chat rooms and discussion boards Helpful tutorials regarding the use of WebCT, computer basics, Internet basics, etc. Support from SCCS staff Over 50 members in each Learning Community The sky is the limit. SCCS will develop a LC for any group who wishes to have a secure area to communicate

Learning Communities

Cyber Planets are secure online elementary school classrooms. The classroom includes secure , chatrooms & bulletin boards. The classrooms allows teachers to monitor their students activities while logged into the classroom at school or even at home. The Cyber Planets also include "Subject Stuff". The websites found in this area have been evaluated and include sites and activities for students divided by subject area. Be confident that your students are not only on safe sites but also educational sites!

Using Blogs to filter resources

Association of Online K-12 Schooling

Free Membership Includes: Newsletters Showcase Course Units GSCS Learning Community Access Association Learning Community Access K-12 Educational Blogs Free blog hosting Networking with other Distance educators all over the world (currently there are members in 4 continents)

School Web site 4 blogs feeding into one page

School Web site

School Newsletter Blog

Student Notices Blog

Classroom Web Site

Sport Schedules

Student Journal Blog

Parish web site using a blog

Use your imagination There are so many possibilities

Linking it all together…