The Day the "World" Came to My School

"Everybody" assumes if you are the "computer" teacher all you do is teach "geeky" and "tekkie" things. Right?

Ummm...not quite. Let me explain. I'm a TEACHER that teaches with "technology" in order to "communicate".

Last Friday, students, parents, teachers, EA's, and young siblings from Walter Murray Collegiate's ESL (English as a Second Language) classes - about 70 of them - came on two school busses to Hafford to have a visit with my grade 6, 7, and 8 social studies students. We had a video scavenger hunt (9 groups, 1 video capable digital camera, videoing 3 places - one in the school, one on the playground, and one "downtown" ) and then went to Redberry Lake park for an incredible international potluck lunch and wienie roast, games in the rosebowl, walking around, playing, and visiting. (Soccer and eating really are international languages!) It was a WONDERFUL day.

How incredibly..."geekie?"

This adventure all started quite a few years ago and has its genesis in the Educational Communications master's program at the University of Saskatchewan. Koreen Geres and I are both graduates, but knew each other because of mutual friends in the program. One Showcase 2008 convention day, after meeting up in a Dean Shareski session, Koreen, an ESL teacher at Walter Murray, and I had lunch. She was working on a doctorate concerning problems encountered by refugee youth, and I was a grade five and six ELA teacher, teaching a novel study on social issues. Wouldn't it be cool, we thought, if somehow our students could communicate with each other. I should also mention, that my school, Hafford Central, is a UNESCO ASPnet school. I'm always looking for ways to integrate learning about international cooperating and understanding into my classes.

Two years passed, and we met again. I was teaching the same novel study and we discussed again how our students could communicate. Koreen decided she could arrange for her students to visit Hafford, and sent email addresses so my grade six, seven and eight social studies students could begin emailing each other. My students emailed to 6-10 of her students who felt comfortable enough writing in English. This was great as my students were looking for their epal buddies when the visit began.

Technology is a tool that allows us to communicate. I'd say that we did a lot of communicating and had a heck of a lot of fun that was possible in part because of the technology available. The day worked because of all the INCREDIBLE people involved especially the Hafford and Walther Murray students!

A different type of social studies test.

As I have previously Yammered, I've signed my class up for the 80 Schools Around the World project. Not being certain how to start, I just started anyway, as Sylvia has us all on a Google Docs database. I contacted Nadine Norris a tech consultant from Oak Forest Illinois (near Chicago). Actually I Skyped her; my class was working on an assignment and she was eating lunch in her tech room.

Nadine had a fourth grade class who was studying government and wanted to ask my class some questions about Canadian government. Nadine was shocked to learn (as are many Canadians) that the prime minister is not the head of our governemnt; Queen Elizabeth is.

Friday morning came and the appointed Skype hour. My grade six group protested that they didn't really know anything about Canadian government ("Too bad," I said.) I had trouble connected to the wireless with my Mac and had to use the Dell (I don't really like the web cam as well as the one on my Mac). In my haste, I had forgotten to re hook up the data projector, so my group of 12 or so was clustered around the laptop.

What I found interesting was the kinds of questions the American kids asked; for example, how long has the Queen held her position. (Since 1953 I supplied the answer). My class asked the fourth graders if they were happy to have Obama and the kids clapped (I guess that's a yes.)

On reflection, I think it was a great experience for the kids. Most of the time, we Canadians don't get this kind of experience until we leave the country to visit an other one. I still wish I had better technology for a big group; Skype is after all best suited for an individual to individual conference. However, what better way to do a crash course with a test on Canadian government? (Well, maybe go to Ottawa and have to work for an MP?)

The Most Basic and Effective Technology There Is...

My husband, my mom, and I participated in a "community walk" today along with 2000 or so other humans and doggies.

I had found out about the walk from FaceBook. I had joined a group called, "Friends of Station 20 West" after I'd seen a newsfeed announcing one of my FaceBook "friends" had just joined. I emailed the premier with my concerns. I signed an online petition. I also had emails from PAVED ARTS/New Media, and my yoga teacher urging people to get out and support the march. All of this happened BEFORE I read about it in the Star-Phoenix.

We gathered on a vacant lot at the intersection of Avenue M and 20th Street. There were the usual rousing speeches and outrageous songs of the "Raging Grannies". Motorists honked their support as they drove by. Police on bicycles escorted the walkers as they streamed down the sidewalks. Volunteers helped organize the parade.

We found out just how well organized everything was when my 81 year-old mother tripped and fell on a curb. An organizer with a cell phone appeared and contacted a volunteer "medic". A police officer on a bicycle came by and radioed the EMS people. Mom is OK, but had she not been, she would have had almost instant assistance to the medical help she might have needed.

There were also hundreds of cameras not only belonging to professional media services, but also ordinary people. One fellow had a "You Tube" label on his ultra small video camera. I'm sure hundreds of digital pictures and videos will be sent and uploaded during today, as well as many blogs (such as this one) written.

So what was the best of the technologies there? Human presence: people who cared about an issue and spent part of their Saturday morning showing it. They chose to get out of bed, get to one location and just BE THERE. Nothing replaces the presence of other humans en masse to broadcast the most effective message of all.

I'm glad I was there.