Students in Mrs. Atkin’s Class skyped with a first grade class at Green Valley to compare the number of seeds in a class pumpkin, to tell jokes, and to read descriptive paragraphs. Students had a great time! Check out their favorite pumpkin joke below:
Pumpkin Skype from elemitrt on Vimeo.
A few weeks ago, students from Oak Grove, Glenvar, and Clearbrook Participated in a global project called Mission 00 Rain organized by Mrs. Henriquez-Santiago. After reading the book Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs by Jodi Barrett, students imagined that in addition to the town of Chewandsawallow the rest of the world has also been plagued by the unexplained appearance of giant food falling from the sky. They pretended that they were secret agents presented with the task of saving the world by writing clues and solving riddles about this curious type of “rain”. Students wrote and presented riddles about a food item that fell past “their ” classroom window using Skype (a free video conferencing tool). By solving the riddles, the classes saved the world!
Here’s some pictures from the event! (you can see even more on the Mission 00 Rain Wiki)
Mission 00 Rain (Glenvar) on PhotoPeach
The best way to learn about a different place is to visit it, but often field trips aren’t possible. The second best way to learn about a place is to talk to an expert–someone who lives there. Fourth graders in Mrs. Barger’s Class at Glenvar Elementary had the opportunity to do just that as they read the book, Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlin.
To learn more about the setting of the book (a prairie), they talked with other students in Kansas who live near the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the United States. They used a program called Skype, a free video conferencing tool, and were able to see and talk with students at Turning Point Learning Center in Emporia, Kansas. Students prepared questions to ask the students ahead of time, and were able to ask those questions virtually. They were able to see the class in Kansas, and showed pictures and artifacts from our mountainous area. Students from Kansas shared pictures of the prairie they took for the class on a recent field trip. Students had a blast, and learned all sorts of facts about Kansas.
If this kind of project sparks your interest, let me know. We can skype about all sorts of topics!
Want to connect for free (or cheaply) with people all over the world? Want to make video phone calls? Skpye is a free way to do that! All you need is your computer, a web cam (and East and GWC each have one you can borrow), and a free download!
Here are the steps:
1. Download and install Skype here.
2. Follow directions to create a Skype account!
3. Start calling.
For a step-by-step how-to guide, click here.
How do you use this in the classroom, you ask? Lots of ways!
Can you think of other ways?
A few of our classes have been using Skype to connect with classrooms in different areas. Mrs. Barnett’s Fourth Grade at East talked with students in Virginia Beach to learn more about the Tidewater Region of VA.
Mrs. Hall’s Fourth graders at GWC answered the questions of a couple of students in Wisconsin who were doing state reports.