All are great ways to bring learning experiences to life and make meaningful connections for your students. One thing I love about the connections made with our experts last year was that many students were so inspired by the experience. ~That one event sparked something within them that's going to stick with them from that day forward. I had one student say that he discovered what he wants to do when he grows up. Whether or not that turns out to be true, perhaps the experience just kickstarted a passion for learning about dinosaurs, penguins, journalism, or weather... Don't we want to students to be inspired, interested, and involved in their learning?! Here's a bit of what some of our kiddos experienced last year:
We started off the school year with 5th Grade learning about weather. The teachers and I discussed the idea of connecting with a meteorologist. Rather than getting a digital connection, Phil Schwarz from ABC7 News came in to PG one day. Can't beat that! Mr. Schwarz reinforced concepts that the students were learning in class and students gained new knowledge as they asked him many awesome questions. He was enthusiastic and entertaining too. 5th Grade has asked if we can have him back this year! Whether the connection is digital or in-person, it's going to be great bringing their weather journeys to life!
Second Graders connected with Penguin expert, Ron Naveen from Oceanites. He had recently returned from an Antarctic exploration and had much to share with students. The students had generated questions ahead of time on a Google Doc that was shared with him. Students took turns coming up to the computer and asking Mr. Naveen the questions. He was Skyping in from his office, so we didn't see any penguins live this time around. However, the students were so engaged and learned so much!
After such a successful connection with our penguin expert, a student requested that we Skype with a Paleontologist. How awesome! A quick search and the Big Horn Basin Foundation was discovered. Students connected with expert, Jessica Lippincott. She took students on a virtual tour of their museum. It was incredible! She also took us on a tour through the room wear the scientists were working to clean off fossils (above pic). Jessica answered all of the students' questions and much more! The buzz in the air afterwards as the students were leaving and chatting about their learning adventure was priceless!
Finally, Fourth Graders connected with Investigative Reporter, Chris Fusco of the Chicago SunTimes. Chris was incredible ~ he was enthusiastic and informative. Unfortunately, this was our first connection that was a little shaky ~we kept losing our Internet connection. We made it through though and the students learned a lot from him. This was an engaging and meaningful way to enhance their journalism learning. One student walked out saying he knows what he wants to be when he grows up ~ an Investigative Reporter!
One of the Fourth Grade Teachers has a brother who works in Washington D.C. She was able to FaceTime him and take her students on a Virtual Tour. They loved it. Very cool!!
These are just a few examples, but the possibilities are endless. You don't have to connect with an expert. Connect with another class, whether in our state, our country or across the globe! It doesn't matter what is used to make the connection. ~Just make them! Your students will never forget the experience and who knows, it may be the learning adventure that ignites that passion within them.
We would love to work with you and your students to make the connections if you'd like. However, feel free to break down the walls of your classroom on your own as well! Anytime. Anywhere. Here are a few resources to get you started:
1. SkypeClassroom : Sign up. Browse requests for connections or start one of your own. I'd be happy to tweet out your lesson if you create one ~ to help spread the word.
2. Twitter in the Classroom: Share the learning taking place in your classroom, or better yet, have your students share on your class account! Also, an incredible world with hundreds of experts at your fingertips. Your students can pose questions to experts as they come up in your classroom learning journeys or chat with other classrooms too. Here is an incredible list of over 360 classrooms that have twitter accounts and are looking to connect! 50 ways to use Twitter in the Classroom. Interested in signing up for Twitter yourself? Check out this guide here created by principal, George Couros.
3. Just "Google" it : Most of the connections that our PG students had last year started with an online search. After discovering a website, all it took was an email, tweet, or FB message requesting a connection from there.
4. Get hooked on Mystery Skype! Your students will LOVE it. What a fun way to bring geography (and more) to life ~ beats a lesson from a textbook any day! Here's an introduction with a great video, "Find Us Maybe". :) There are also Mystery Hangouts too!! Check out The Teacher's Guide to Creating a Connected Classroom.
Have fun!
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