21st Century Learning #105: Fred Bartels on N1H1 Flu School Closing

21st Century Learning #105 Fred Bartels on the Rye Country Day School N1H1 Flu School Closing May 21, 2009 Fred Bartels, Technology Director at Rye Country Day School joined us to share what he and his school learned when they had to close for a day because of a possible case of N1H1 Flu. Do you have a story?  How would you handle this?  Let us know in the comments below.    Photo from CDC.gov Click here for the chat transcript 2009-05-14 12:58:40  PeggyG ->  Hi Alex 2009-05-14 13:00:43  alex.ragone ->  Hi Peggy. 2009-05-14 13:01:23  PeggyG ->  are you having a guest today? Just curious :-) 2009-05-14 13:01:52  PeggyG ->  love your conversations whether you have a guest or not :-) 2009-05-14 13:02:47  PeggyG ->  Hi Arvind 2009-05-14 13:03:02  arvind ->  hi Peggy, welcome 2009-05-14 13:05:06  arvind ->  hi Durff! 2009-05-14 13:05:32  mrsdurff ->  Hi arvind 2009-05-14 13:06:34  mrsdurff ->  4 weeks? we get out 5-29 2009-05-14 13:07:29  alex.ragone ->  Wow. That's great, Durff. 2009-05-14 13:07:45  alex.ragone ->  Sorry Peggy -- Missed your question. 2009-05-14 13:07:54  alex.ragone ->  Fred Bartels, DOT at Rye Country Day. 2009-05-14 13:08:00  arvind ->  Graduation here is 6/5/09 2009-05-14 13:08:00  mrsdurff ->  Not the way these urchins...er...cherubs are acting 2009-05-14 13:08:47  mrsdurff ->  our graduation is 5-27 2009-05-14 13:08:58  alex.ragone ->  He's here to discuss N1H1 closing. 2009-05-14 13:09:15  mrsdurff ->  i 2nd that motion 2009-05-14 13:10:07  mrsdurff ->  free wifi on buses? 2009-05-14 13:10:45  arvind ->  http://boltbus.com 2009-05-14 13:10:51  PeggyG ->  Excellent! Finally hearing the audio :-) 2009-05-14 13:11:14  mrsdurff ->  hi peggy 2009-05-14 13:11:16  PeggyG ->  that's one fast typer!! 2009-05-14 13:11:22  PeggyG ->  Hi Durff! 2009-05-14 13:11:49  arvind ->  hi Lesley 2009-05-14 13:11:52  mrsdurff ->  hi Lesley 2009-05-14 13:11:54  PeggyG ->  I heard Howie DiBlasi tell about getting free wifi on Southwest last week! 2009-05-14 13:12:12  mrsdurff ->  Jose gets free wifi all over 2009-05-14 13:12:18  mrsdurff ->  he is so funny 2009-05-14 13:12:37  PeggyG ->  need to get those shows posted in the archives :-) Last show posted was #102 2009-05-14 13:12:53  alex.ragone ->  104 is in the cue. 2009-05-14 13:12:56  arvind ->  Peggy, thanks for the kick in the pants, I need to edit! :) 2009-05-14 13:13:01  PeggyG ->  yeah!! thanks! 2009-05-14 13:13:10  mrsdurff ->  editing audio is not so much fun peggy 2009-05-14 13:13:25  LesleyE ->  Hi all 2009-05-14 13:13:31  alex.ragone ->  Hi Lesley. 2009-05-14 13:13:38  mrsdurff ->  how are you lesley? 2009-05-14 13:13:40  PeggyG ->  that was just a gentle reminder from one of your newsletter reporters 2009-05-14 13:13:58  mrsdurff ->  i'm workingb on it peggy 2009-05-14 13:14:00  PeggyG ->  I love to highlight your shows! 2009-05-14 13:14:10  arvind ->  we appreciate it, Peggy 2009-05-14 13:14:41  arvind ->  our school's emergency plan is really good, for evacuations, emergency situations, but like Fred's, is not designed to handle weeks of school being closed 2009-05-14 13:14:43  mrsdurff ->  i want to know why their image didn't post that one week when i did it 2009-05-14 13:14:56  mrsdurff ->  we have no plan 2009-05-14 13:15:17  mrsdurff ->  no plan for nothing 2009-05-14 13:15:31  arvind ->  Durff, that's not good! 2009-05-14 13:15:35  PeggyG ->  that was a real wake up call for lots of schools about getting a plan in place! 2009-05-14 13:15:48  mrsdurff ->  and the admins don't care 2009-05-14 13:15:50  LesleyE ->  we just had a big practice run for a controlled dismissal in event of emergency event. 2009-05-14 13:16:15  mrsdurff ->  black plague reprisal 2009-05-14 13:16:24  PeggyG ->  easier to close schools than to try to continue the learning 2009-05-14 13:17:03  mrsdurff ->  i don't stop learning, why assume kids do? 2009-05-14 13:17:15  alex.ragone ->  Yep, don't assume anything. 2009-05-14 13:17:16  PeggyG ->  exactly durff! 2009-05-14 13:17:46  PeggyG ->  and they need more than homework packets :-) 2009-05-14 13:17:50  arvind ->  but the school needs to find ways to be involved in it 2009-05-14 13:18:15  mrsdurff ->  i would meet mine online 2009-05-14 13:18:25  mrsdurff ->  just like i do now 2009-05-14 13:19:11  alex.ragone ->  Durff -- You're 5 years ahead of everyone else out there.  2009-05-14 13:19:18  PeggyG ->  do all of your kids have online access durff? 2009-05-14 13:19:48  mrsdurff ->  they better catch up with this old disabled lady with a cane 2009-05-14 13:19:55  mrsdurff ->  yes peggy they do 2009-05-14 13:20:23  PeggyG ->  that's fantastic! 2009-05-14 13:20:45  mrsdurff ->  if i need someone after school, I know where to go online to find them all 2009-05-14 13:21:08  PeggyG ->  too funny-reminds me of "you can run but you can't hide" :-) 2009-05-14 13:21:10  mrsdurff ->  I just make sure they know i'm there 2009-05-14 13:21:33  PeggyG ->  Ning makes it really easy to send out group messages 2009-05-14 13:21:42  arvind ->  Fred's post on ISENet about emergency plans for school closings: http://isenet.ning.com/forum/topics/your-schools-plansexpectations 2009-05-14 13:21:46  mrsdurff ->  i love Ning 2009-05-14 13:22:05  PeggyG ->  that was a brilliant idea Fred! 2009-05-14 13:22:28  arvind ->  Hi post on ISENet Ning on their school being closed 2009-05-14 13:22:30  arvind ->  http://isenet.ning.com/forum/topics/closed-for-two-weeks-due-to 2009-05-14 13:22:42  mrsdurff ->  what a way to get the tech in the classrooms 2009-05-14 13:23:26  mrsdurff ->  not a virtual world? 2009-05-14 13:23:33  PeggyG ->  that was a really teachable moment! 2009-05-14 13:24:43  alex.ragone ->  We did a story in our newsletter about what to do if school is closed: https://www.collegiateschool.org/podium/default.aspx?t=33976 2009-05-14 13:25:10  mrsdurff ->  hi jrichardson 2009-05-14 13:25:16  PeggyG ->  I love the comment by the freshman student that says even though they have to go back to school let's keep the Ning :-) 2009-05-14 13:25:29  arvind ->  Fred tried using http://yugma.com with his Java class 2009-05-14 13:25:42  mrsdurff ->  yugma is heavy 2009-05-14 13:25:47  arvind ->  Peggy, isn't that awesome? The day Fred sent that I think we all had tingles! 2009-05-14 13:26:04  jrichardson ->  Hey mrsduff 2009-05-14 13:26:20  mrsdurff ->  can you hear? 2009-05-14 13:26:28  jrichardson ->  yeah 2009-05-14 13:27:05  PeggyG ->  how were you thinking of using Yugma during that time? 2009-05-14 13:27:25  mrsdurff ->  hi amckiel 2009-05-14 13:27:30  arvind ->  hi amckiel we've got audio broadcasting on ustream on the right 2009-05-14 13:27:37  amckiel ->  Hello - can't stay long :-( 2009-05-14 13:27:43  arvind ->  no problem! 2009-05-14 13:27:45  mrsdurff ->  aw 2009-05-14 13:27:47  arvind ->  we're getting close to the end 2009-05-14 13:27:51  alex.ragone ->  Thanks for jumping in. 2009-05-14 13:28:02  alex.ragone ->  We'll be done soon. 2009-05-14 13:28:27  mrsdurff ->  not good news 2009-05-14 13:29:12  PeggyG ->  the important thing is that you have the Ning in place ready to go when you DO need it :-) 2009-05-14 13:29:51  mrsdurff ->  setting up a Ning takes minutes 2009-05-14 13:30:10  PeggyG ->  interesting reaction to the time off 2009-05-14 13:30:29  arvind ->  when we did emergency planning for this (after Fred's school closed), we didn't want to introduce any new tools. We wanted to know if we could "teach" with what we already have (Moodle, blogs, e-mail) 2009-05-14 13:30:43  mrsdurff ->  lower school would meet in Webkinz and ClubPenguin 2009-05-14 13:30:59  arvind ->  we wanted teachers to already be trainined, not trying to learn when school is closed, and having students download stuff, etc 2009-05-14 13:31:05  PeggyG ->  would those days be counted as school days or would they still need to be made up? 2009-05-14 13:31:11  arvind ->  Durff, I love that! Meet in Club Penguin :) 2009-05-14 13:31:22  arvind ->  Peggy, that was a huge question, no one was sure how that would play out 2009-05-14 13:31:23  mrsdurff ->  PE, Dance in virtual worlds? 2009-05-14 13:31:36  mrsdurff ->  shop i don't know 2009-05-14 13:31:50  amckiel ->  @durff Great use of virtual spaces :-) 2009-05-14 13:32:34  PeggyG ->  are there school groups on Club Penguin and Webkinz or just individuals? 2009-05-14 13:32:36  mrsdurff ->  Woogi World teaches online safety , it's a virtual world 2009-05-14 13:33:07  mrsdurff ->  peggy they are individuals right now but all are friends 2009-05-14 13:33:09  amckiel ->  PeggyG - I think it's just individuals 2009-05-14 13:33:33  PeggyG ->  Wonder if that's an option to create a class or school group there--great possibilities 2009-05-14 13:33:40  mrsdurff ->  i think we could find a place to create a room just for us 2009-05-14 13:34:15  mrsdurff ->  clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap 2009-05-14 13:34:36  PeggyG ->  teachers might need to have a prepared set of online lessons for 2 weeks (similar to what they have for emergency plans for substitute teachers 2009-05-14 13:34:40  mrsdurff ->  or a twibe 2009-05-14 13:34:59  PeggyG ->  great to hear from Fred! Thanks everyone! 2009-05-14 13:35:11  mrsdurff ->  we have all teachers online in school wiki 2009-05-14 13:35:11  amckiel ->  Thanks... 2009-05-14 13:35:14  jrichardson ->  Thanks for the show...once again, missed the tweet and joined in just a little too late to enter the conversation 2009-05-14 13:35:21  mrsdurff ->  each has their own page 2009-05-14 13:35:23  jrichardson ->  I would join it! 2009-05-14 13:35:46  PeggyG ->  a Facebook fan page :-) what fun! 2009-05-14 13:35:50  mrsdurff ->  not following any of us? 2009-05-14 13:35:59  jrichardson ->  It takes 6 months and 400 letters to get rid of a facebook page!:) 2009-05-14 13:36:08  jrichardson ->  or so I've heard 2009-05-14 13:36:24  jrichardson ->  alright...later! 2009-05-14 13:36:38  PeggyG ->  there are lots of new groups forming on Facebook these days 2009-05-14 13:36:48  mrsdurff ->  later all 2009-05-14 13:37:04  PeggyG ->  bye everyone 2009-05-14 13:37:36  arvind ->  bye all! 2009-05-14 13:37:44  PeggyG ->  I thought there was an ETT group on FB 2009-05-14 13:38:26  PeggyG ->  we authorize you to create the page :-) 2009-05-14 13:39:06  PeggyG ->  Should we announce this new page/group in the ETT newsletter? 2009-05-14 13:39:33  PeggyG ->  that's really funny--step 4-make it rich and engaging! 2009-05-14 13:39:53  PeggyG ->  you know how to do that!! 2009-05-14 13:40:02  alex.ragone ->  Folks -- 2009-05-14 13:40:50  PeggyG ->  tell us how to join as soon as you're ready 2009-05-14 13:44:25  PeggyG ->  it's easy to add apps but harder to get rid of them :-) 2009-05-14 13:45:09  PeggyG ->  yes I'm fascinated. Don't stop the stream 2009-05-14 13:46:05  PeggyG ->  I'm now a fan! :-) 2009-05-14 13:46:26  PeggyG ->  love it! a search for edtechtalk brought your page right up!! 2009-05-14 13:47:34  PeggyG ->  added a comment on the page :-) 2009-05-14 13:48:39  PeggyG ->  yes the posts will come up on your home page. I see the two you just created there. 2009-05-14 13:48:54  PeggyG ->  thanks! Fun!! 2009-05-14 13:49:00  arvind ->  thanks Peggy, see you soon! 2009-05-14 13:49:06  alex.ragone ->  Have to log out of chat room.  Thanks Peggy.  We'll see you next week!