Video conferencing has been around for many years but has recently gained in popularity in education. Kent have been involved in a number of video conferencing projects over the last couple of years and the KCN has the central facilities to make this technology successful and available to any school who wants it. What can you do with video conferencing?

The benefits of video conferencing include:

• Saving travelling time and money for meetings
• Bringing experts into your classroom
• Accessing an international community
• Collaborating with other schools.

Have you heard of Global Leap? This is a website which lists video conferencing lessons provided by the various national museums and libraries that have been equipped as part of the Global Leap project. Some of these lessons involve actors dressed up and taking on the roles of various characters though time. Museums will often show artefacts which aren't even on show to the general public. The quality of materials that the national museums send through in support of these sessions is of top quality. It's free to register with Global Leap and the vast majority of the sessions are also free. You do have to pay a fee for the diver if you want to participate in the live session diving on the Great Barrier Reef!

There are schools in Kent who are collaborating to provide an extended 6th Form course syllabus by providing specialist subject teaching remotely from another school who has the specialist teachers. Have you thought how much more enriched your French lessons could be if you could actually talk to and see that French school that you are twinned with. Some Universities are starting to provide video conference sessions for prospective students to speak to existing students and staff to hear what they have to offer. There really are so many opportunites with video conferencing once you are suitably equipped. With your KCN broadband connection you can call any other RBC connected school in the country over the National Education Network without any of the costs associated with video conferencing over ISDN.

Have you ever wanted to have a go at 'proper' full scale video conferencing but didn't know where to begin, or found the startup costs prohibitive? Well, now there is a solution! The KCC Digital Curriculum Team have brokered a deal with a group of industry partners to provide a loan service, a 'try before you buy' idea if you like. There are now ten sets of video conferencing kit available for loan on a half termly basis. The loan project is called 'Meet in School' and is being managed by the Digital Curriculum Team. The other partners involved with the Meet in School project are CDEC, Medium and Aethra. There is a minimal charge of £150 per set of equipment to cover transport and installation costs. For that you get a top of the range industry standard video conferencing camera, a 27" TV and full support for the duration of the loan.

All the information you need can be found on the Meet in School Blog. Click this link to go to Meet in School Blog If you want more information or an application form then contact Digital Curriculum at Digital.Curriculum@kent.gov.uk or go to the Meet in School page on Clusterweb: Meet in School.

Digital Curriculum also have a list of all of the Schools in Kent who are using Video conferencing. To view the list click here: Kent Video Conferencing Directory Alternatively, click on the users map which shows each school in Kent that has videoconferencing equipment. Kent Video Conferencing Users Map