>Who should
  attend?

>What will
  I gain?

>What questions
  will be addressed?

>What will I
  learn/contribute?

>Why are the
  RTECs sponsoring
  this symposium?

Who Should attend the Symposium?

The symposium is planned specifically for individuals who are experienced in the application of two-way interactive videoconferencing in K-12 schools and districts either for instruction or to facilitate communication and administration. It is not a primer for new users. Districts are encouraged to send teams of two or three staff representing different aspects of their video project. Participants will be expected to contribute to discussions based on their experience, and to share project information.

Attendance is limited to 200 persons to insure interaction in small group sessions. The registration fee is $100 per person.

What will I gain from attending the Symposium?

The Symposium is organized around four questions, and sessions each address one of the questions. We are expecting participants to be involved in the following ways.

1. How does VC extend learning opportunities for K-12 students and teachers?
   Learn about a range of VC programs and how they create communities of practice for students, teachers, and administrators.
   Expand your knowledge of the state of the art.
   Help construct a typology of VC programs and their benefits.
   
   
2. What policies are essential to support effective VC use?
   Compare staffing and support for programs.
   Exchange experiences with colleagues in similar roles.
   Examine and critique sample policies (school, district, and state levels) supporting VC use.
   
   
3. What research has been done? What research and development is needed?
   Apply the current research.
   Help shape the agenda for the future.
   
   
4. What support do you want from colleagues in your work? How should a network for this community be structured?
   Establish a network for exchange and support among VC-using educators and policy-makers with VC oversight.

What questions will the Symposium address?

The Symposium is organized around four topics. For each topic, there is a guiding question.

1. How can IVC extend opportunities for K-12 student and teacher learning?
   
   
2. What policies are essential to support effective VC use?
   
   
3. What research has been done? What research is needed?
   
   
4. What support do you want from colleagues in your work? How should this network be structured?
   
   

What will I learn? What will I contribute?

For each of the four topics, participants will be actively involved in the following ways.

1. K-12 student and teacher learning
   Learn about a range of VC programs and how they create communities of practice for students, teachers, and administrators.
   Expand your knowledge of the state of the art.
   Help construct a typology of VC programs and their benefits.
   
   
2. Policies
   Compare staffing and support for programs.
   Exchange experiences with colleagues in similar roles.
   Examine and critique sample policies (school, district, and state levels) supporting VC use.
   
   
3. Research
   Apply the current research.
   Help shape the agenda for the future.
   
   
4. Support
   Assess the current support available.
   Establish a network for exchange and support among VC-using educators and policy-makers with VC oversight.

Why are the RTECs sponsoring this Symposium?

Through this Symposium, the Regional Technology in Education Consortia (RTECs) aim to document and disseminate how interactive video conferencing is being used as a medium for learning and as an administrative tool. Specifically, we will:

1. Bring together practitioners and experts.
   A key goal of the RTECs is to bring R&D into dialog with practitioners. This conference will serve as an ideal forum for doing just this.
   
   
2. Expand the knowledge of successful and innovative practices in VC for instructional and administrative purposes.
   We will have a database of 20-40 cases online and available before the Symposium. These cases will create the knowledge base for a preliminary typology of VC programs that will be created before the Symposium; during the Symposium, we will refine, revise, and elaborate the typology. The typology will be circulated afterwards for further comment.
   
   
3. Point to successful and innovative practices in the use of VC.
   We will have both the database of cases and the literature review as starting points. Using this information and the wealth of examples presented, Symposium participants will identify successful and innovative practices.
   
   
4. Develop policy implications of this understanding of successful and innovative practice, and write guidelines for local, state, and national agencies to support K-12 interactive VC.
   We will begin with an overview of existing policies and, through the Symposium discussions, will document policy shifts that are needed.
   
   
5. Help shape the R&D agenda for VC in response to the issues in K-12.
   We need to link the quickly emerging capabilities of the technology, including Internet2 and middleware, to the realities of schools through a carefully considered research agenda that looks carefully at student and teacher learning.