This week I have been trying to help teachers make connections with classes in other countries. I have been using the SkypeinSchools Wiki to find possible teachers and students. Several times I have gotten the response that people felt like they needed to remove their information from that list because of the time zone issues. Since there is such a difference in times and schedules, students in those locations (like Indonesia and South Korea)and students here in America could not communicate using Skype when both are at school.
Even though students may not be able talk face-to-face, there are other ways that students in places with time zone issues could communicate and collaborate. What if one class created a voicethread to which other students could respond? Could a wiki or a blog be created for students to use to write back and forth like penpals? The TeachConnect Network is all about getting educators connected across the borders. Maybe a teacher could find a project there for his or her class? The CILC Collaboration Center is the venue for educators to meet, create a collaborative project, and share their reflections. Teachers can look at current and past collaborations to get ideas or even post their own collaboration projects. Global School Net promotes worldwide collaboration to develop science, math, literacy and communication skills, foster teamwork, and civic responsibility for students. The Heinle Community is a place for English Learners to join, collaborate, and learn.
All of these resources and more are in my online 3-ring binder created with LiveBinders.
- Do you have any students or know of anyone who might benefit from making some of these connections?
- Do you have other ideas and resources for making connections? Please share (and I will add to the binder).
- So why don't you go make some connections?
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