It’s been an amazing year for Virtual Excursions Australia (VEA). Throughout 2013 we have been busy setting up and writing content for the website, Twitter feed and Facebook pages, planning events and consulting on virtual excursions and video conferencing.
It has been really exciting to see VEA grow into a collaborative network of content providers. During 2013 the network has expanded to include members from New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory. In 2014 we will continue to expand and have participants from across Australia.
Virtual Excursions Australia network met every 6 weeks to discuss new technology, share ideas and coordinate events. These meetings generated some amazing discussions and helped create content for teacher professional development sessions, conferences and the video conferencing festival and one day event throughout 2013.
The Virtual Excursions Australia network, website and social media presence were launched by Senator Lundy at the Interactive Technology in Education Conference at Sydney Opera House in July 2013. We have over 120 people that are part of the VEA network and 18 organisations listed on the VEA website.
There have been a great list of event coordinated through Virtual Excursions Australia ensuring that there is something that would suit every school including:
- Pi Day to celebrate International Pi Day
- Slime Day just for fun
- SciFest Video Conferencing Festival promoting science and technology.
- ClickFest Video Conferencing Festival highlighting the diversity and scope of video conferences available to schools across Australia
- Marine Day linked to Ocean Care day to promote healthy marine environments
Thousands of students from across Australia have participated in these event and we are planning to run even more events during 2014.
Keep an eye out for the new calendar feature on the website for upcoming 2014 events.