After learning more about ePals last week in class I wanted to see if my parents would be interested in communicating over the summer with my students this way. Many of my students are shockingly good at typing and they love getting mail. This seemed like a great way for them to express themselves and be able to stay in touch with me and other classmates over the summer.
We had our end of the year party today. While parents were in class I showed them how ePals worked and set up an account for their child if they wanted. Using the LCD projector so the class could watch i sent everyone an email telling them what I wanted them to tell me about over the summer. We also talk about how they could have mom or dad help them if they came up with the ideas, it could be typed for them.
This is a great way for the kids to communicate over the summer. Especially for the two students I have that will be moving, one to Canada and one to Florida. Both girls were very sad to be leaving their friends. This is a quick and easy way for them to stay connected with everyone.
I know that the caliber of emails will not be top notch, but it keeps the kids writing over the summer, and helps them practice their typing as well. I am sure our technology teachers will appreciate that in the fall when they come back to school.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Skyping with 5 year olds!
My class and I have been using Skype for the last 2 weeks to talk to my sister, Ali, while she is interning in Israel. My sister spends part of each day in a school in Tel Aviv and I thought it would be a fun idea to have my class learn about what school is like in another country.
It has been a real eye opening experiecne for my class. Firstof all, they did not understandf the time difference until my sister took her laptop outside to show them that it wasw noght time even though we had just come back from lunch.
One of the biggest challenges I found while doing this with my class has been them not understanding that they cvan not all talk to my sister at once. When we are working in whole group I can normally dicifer if several of them are talking at the same time. This is not the case when Ali is trying to pick up the sounds on a microphone on the computer. My kids have to repeat their questions often. The kids also do not understand why sometimes the picture freezes, but we are all working on being patient.
As my sister works more in her school program she has been able to bring work samples and activities to show us when we chat. My students get a real life visual of what other students the same age are doing at school. They also get to see some of the books, games, and clothing that might be different and something that they are not used to seeing in their everyday lives.
Overall this has been a great experience for my class. It pulled them out of that me, me, me attitude, even if it was only for a short time. As we continue our social studies curriculum on cultures and community I am sure their understanding will continue to grow.
It has been a real eye opening experiecne for my class. Firstof all, they did not understandf the time difference until my sister took her laptop outside to show them that it wasw noght time even though we had just come back from lunch.
One of the biggest challenges I found while doing this with my class has been them not understanding that they cvan not all talk to my sister at once. When we are working in whole group I can normally dicifer if several of them are talking at the same time. This is not the case when Ali is trying to pick up the sounds on a microphone on the computer. My kids have to repeat their questions often. The kids also do not understand why sometimes the picture freezes, but we are all working on being patient.
As my sister works more in her school program she has been able to bring work samples and activities to show us when we chat. My students get a real life visual of what other students the same age are doing at school. They also get to see some of the books, games, and clothing that might be different and something that they are not used to seeing in their everyday lives.
Overall this has been a great experience for my class. It pulled them out of that me, me, me attitude, even if it was only for a short time. As we continue our social studies curriculum on cultures and community I am sure their understanding will continue to grow.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! I will be posting ideas about how web 2.0 tools can be utilized in the classroom. Hopefully, along the way I can find some things that my Kindergartners can use. Thanks for visiting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)