Dear Faculty,

You are warmly invited to attend a unique event at MICDS. Under the leadership of
Upper School Coordinator of Instructional Technology (CIT) Elizabeth Helfant and with
the ready support of Middle School CIT Pat Woessner and Lower School CIT Greg
Stevens, we will be conducting a video conversation this Wednesday, April 30 from 4
p.m. to 5 p.m. (or so) in Olson Hall Presentation Room involving Elizabeth's Flat
Classroom compatriots from around the world. One of emerging technologies' most
significant contributions to learning and teaching early in the 21st century has been to
increase our access to a wider variety of voices--to the insights, the experiences, the
expressed hopes and fears, the wisdom, and the complexity of a rich tapestry of others.
Our conversation this coming Wednesday is an example of precisely that kind of access
and richness.

What is the premise of the conversation, and who is involved?

Using some readily and publicly accessible technologies, including Ustream, we will
bring together the following panel of students and faculty:

+ from MICDS: students Anthony Chivetta and Porsche Poole; CITs Elizabeth Helfant,
Pat Woessner, Greg Stevens and Learning Specialist Kathy Karigan
+ from Scotland: 2 Flat Classroom students
+ from Seoul, Korea: a Flat Classroom teacher
+ from Virginia: a K-12 CIT
+ from Canada: a Flat Classroom college teacher
+ from Hawaii: 2 Flat Classroom students

What will be the focus of the conversation and how will the conversation be
orchestrated?
Our conversation, which will be structured by a very simple protocol (that is, a set of
guidelines that give space to each participant's voice), will focus on the following
essential questions:

Round 1 question: "How can educators and students effectively bridge out of
school technology practices with in school 1:1 laptop learning?"

Round 2 question: "What is the change in education that makes laptops (and
other emerging technologies) such critical learning tools?"

+ Using a "fishbowl" protocol, all of the above-mentioned participants will have a

permanent seat in the fishbowl.
+ In Round 1, each student member of the fishbowl will have up to 2 minutes to offer
his/her thoughts in response to the question.
+ Following student reponses, each adult member of the fishbowl will have a chance to
ask a question or make a follow-up point based on the students' responses.
+ Following the adult commentary, members of the audience will have a chance to ask a
question or make a follow-up point based on what they have heard.
+ Round 2 will follow the same process as Round 1, only with a focus on the Round 2
question.
+ Time permitting, we will have a Round 3 in which will offer all participants the chance
to raise questions and make points that they have not had the opportunity to make.
This round will follow a "popcorn" model in fishbowl participants chime in as they see fit,
without moving systematically through each member of the fishbowl.

How will the room be set up?

+ The Presentation Room will be set up with a semi-circle of chairs in front of the west-
facing windows, with a backdrop of the video screen (on which the participants from
around the world will be projected).
+ In addition to the six seats set aside for the permanent participants, two "tap chairs"
will be included in the fishbowl. As the conversation moves along, members of the
audience in the Presentation Room may enter the conversation by walking up to one of
the two "tap chairs" and taking a seat. If the chairs are taken, the new participant "taps"
the person in the chair and asks to take his or place. This element of the fishbowl
process is designed to draw on the wider audience to inform the ongoing conversation.

How can one join this conversation?

+ Just come to the Presentation Room before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30--with an
open mind, good will and readiness to learn. The room will be set up so that the
audience is facing the fishbowl participants, including the virtual participants from
around the world who will be projected on the drop-down screeen.
+ Or, join this event virtually from your laptop or home computer by following Elizabeth
Helfant's link to this Ustreamed event (which Elizabeth will send out by email early this
coming week).

What might I read or consider prior to the session to stimulate my thinking?

If you are looking for thought-provoking ideas to help bridge your way into this
conversation, I would offer 3. Just click on one or more of the links below:

[1] Anthony Chivetta's blog entry on www.students2oh.org, entitled "21st Century

Education: Thinking Creatively." If you have the time, I encourage you to read all of the
responses, including Anthony's brilliant analysis and synthesis in entry #40.

[2] Marc Prensky's piece in the March Issue of Educational Leadership, entitled "Turning
on the Lights" -- coupled with Pat Woessner's related blog entry entitled "Turning on Our
Lights."

[3] Elizabeth Helfant's recent Digital Learning Environments blog entry entitled "From
Overwhelmed to Networked."

Thoughts or questions? Please just contact Elizabeth Helfant(ehelfant@micds.org) or

me. We look forward to an engaging and forward-thinking exchange of ideas.

Michael Ebeling
Head of Lower School
MICDS