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24
Connected to India!
April 24, 2008 | 2 Comments
It was VERY early on Wednesday morning, but students in Mr. Carrier’s homeroom at Nashwaaksis Middle School enjoyed a connection they won’t soon forget as they moved on to the next phase of their ongoing French language project with students at the American School of Bombay in Mumbai, India.
With the school day yet to start in Canada, and students staying into the late afternoon in India, the two classes connected virtually through the power of video-conferencing. Students were able to connect and share their work and then had a chance to spend a bit of time having fun together.
A couple of notes about this project. One of the real barriers to developing global collaborative projects is trust – mostly that the teachers and learners on the other end simply won’t disappear. While services like ePals, Global Teenager et al provide a valuable opportunity to connect, the best projects are built on personal relationships between the teachers involved. I have done many sessions on global project, and I always suggest that teachers look back at the people they studied with in university. Where are they teaching now? Can they be a partner?
I am fortunate that I get to attend one or two major conferencs a year. I go with two goals in mind; learning through conversations and to develop professional/personal relationships which might also be leveraged as contacts for student projects.
This project came out of relationships I have made over the last couple of years with a few ASB staff, namely Shabbi Luthra (IT Director), Dianna Pratt (Tech LS) and Oanh Vovan (French Teacher). This project could not have happened without their friendship and professional trust.
Secondly, this project was multi-faceted. In a province that is officially bilingual (English/French) it is important that our young people be given the opportunity to learn French – not always an easy task for anglophone students in a sea of English media. They also need to learn about the world in this new global environment. This project allowed us to do both.
This project was simple, students were to use a wikispace to share stories about their life as young people in India and Canada. They told narratives of food, music, etc…all the staples of life as a teenager. They soon found out that they have differences, but also many similarities. It is indeed a flat world!
This video hookup was developed to allow them to share their new understandings. Each student introduced themselves and (in French!) talked about their work on the project. Back and forth they went as they shared ideas and asked questions.
Then came the fun…for the last 15 minutes or so they were given the chance to be kids… sharing… tittering… talking… singing… they even did the Macarena together! I think there was even a bit of puppy love in the air. It was wonderful. Kids just being kids, coming together and learning to connect.
A 21st Century learning experience at it’s best! Check out the photos on the slideshow! Their smiles say it all…
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2 Comments so far
Great work, Jeff once again. Reflecting on your post, I agree that for global connections you do require trust, but also faith in the colleague who you are working with. They need to be dedicated to these ideas, have a great amount of enthausiasm and forward thought as to the huge potential that this may all bring.
I am so glad that I met you and it was through a global project called http://ms1001tales.wikispaces.com
I am rather intrigued as to which 2 conferences you attend. Are they in Candada or USA or ???? And the names of them….? I have sat in on some live conferences at the US which have been an eyeopener for me
Wow – Was that really in April! Thanks for helping to get this together. It is also great to not only have “connections” but great people to help organize situations like this to happen for our students. They are still buzzing about it! I hope there will be more to “buzz” about in the future.