Skypeathon was November 29th and 30th this year. I signed our school up on Microsoft in Education's website and began sending out tweets to find schools to partner with for Mystery Skype sessions. I was contacted by a teacher at a school in Brazil. Unfortunately, our schedules didn't match for the times we had available. I received a tweet from the teacher in Brazil on November 29th asking what our 9th and 10th graders were doing for the next 15-45 minutes. I told him I would check with their teacher. We decided to go ahead and do a test Skype in case things worked out. I told the teacher we were not prepared to do a Mystery Skype at that time, but our students could chat with his and learn about their country and vice versa. I spoke with the teacher at our school and the students came down to the library. I explained to them that we were going to do a Mystery Skype, but schedules just didn't work out. They were going to get the opportunity to speak with students in Brazil though. They were excited!
I could tell there was a bit of a language barrier, but was not prepared for the miscommunication that had happened during the chat with the teacher. We called the class via Skype. The teacher began talking and asked if our kids knew Mystery Skype. They told him no. I had not yet had a chance to speak with them about it since our schedules hadn't been able to match up with other schools. The teacher then asked if they would like to play. The kids said yes! I had been standing closer to where the projector was projecting the other class. I immediately turned around and began frantically whispering and motioning for them to pretend they had no idea they were in Brazil. I knew they did not know where in Brazil, but I just kept whispering, "Pretend you don't know where they are! Pretend you don't know where they are!" Our students did an excellent job. They let the other school go first. They asked us if we were in North America. Our students then asked them if they were in South America. Not having technology in the library other than a Chromebook that inconveniently decided not to connect to the network, we began pulling out pocket technology to look at maps. The kids asked if they were from Venezuela, Uruguay, and a couple other places before asking Brazil. Even with having the upper hand to begin with, the other school still figured out our location first! Watching the students from both classrooms interact was interesting. They were both very engaged in this assignment, but the cultural differences were very evident. The manner of speaking, body language, and accents were very different. It was a very unique learning experience for us all. It took a few minutes afterward for it to sink in with some of our students that they had actually connected with students in another country without having to leave our school. And though this Skype turned into an accidental Mystery Skype, it was an unforgettable experienced that reinforced how much I love Skype in the classroom!
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Kimee ReedI am a Teacher Librarian that believes in out of the box experiences to make learning fun, inspire, encourage, excite, and empower students. Archives
June 2018
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