JAZZ 123 VC

This is my third or fourth year to participate in JAZZ.  With only 4 participants at our local site, I am more exhausted this time than ever before. (What's that all about?)  But what a great group of people. 

I was reminded of the hurdles that folks who are new to VC face:

• technical phobia
• buy-in from colleagues
• funding
• quality use to meet student needs

JAZZ does such a great job of empowering participants to overcome these issues.

• Technical phobia is resolved through trial by fire.  Participants are handed the VC remote on day 1 and we learn together in a safe environment with techno-comfortable people standing by for reassurance.
• Buy-in from colleagues and administrators is a tough hurdle.  JAZZ builds excitement for video conferencing in general and empowers the group with knowledge of a varity of formats for quality video conferencing.  The session also offers lots of support and encouragement.  Facilitators contact participants a month or so after school starts to follow up and prompt follow through.
• Funding is an issue throughout public ed., especially with the financial crisis within the state of Texas.  JAZZ highlights quality content from a variety of content providers but the focus is on building quality video conference projects that can be developed at no additional cost to the campus.
• Quality instruction is something we desire for all students.  JAZZ immerses participants in a variety of tech tools authentically and facilitates many discussions through out the week about interactivity for students and the kinds of activities that engage kids.  The focus truly starts with curriclum.

How do you provide training for video conference implementation?
What other hurdles do you think educators face in using video conferencing?