Students Without Borders

"Students Without Borders"

by Mali Bickley and Jim Carleton

In this article, the authors display the idea to not only have a resource for students to communicate with other students around the world, but to have a global collaborative learning experience. The International Education organization created various activities to help students learn different perspectives among the students and to resolve problems that both groups encountered. One new perspective that was processed was the "Machinto Project". This literature, based on the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima, Japan, teaches children how war affects others their own age. The students then had to create a picture book on the Machinto website for children who are war-affected as a sign for friendship. Hence the name "classroom without borders", this project allowed virtual chat with others.

I also found in this article that students used "wiki" to work in collaboration to create a mural. This way student ideas from different countries could be incorporated into the mural in a quick and effective way. I found this as a neat idea because one idea leads to another idea. Even connecting different cultures will create more points of views on things which will give the opportunity for the students to learn about each others' backgrounds.

Experience the Journey

"Traveling the Novel"

by Melissa Wert and Scottie Gurgus

When reading a novel, you have that limit of using your imagination. From reading the text straight to what you interpret what you are reading. In this article, it presents students who read a novel, "The Kite Runner", about a man's journey to Afghanistan to Pakistan and then to California. The students used a great deal of Google Earth to envision the political and personal conflicts in the story. Some links on this site had informational videos of certain sites, famous landmarks, and cities. It also provided students to look up actual places that the man visits bringing the journey to life. Google Earth does provide a navigation tool so that students can refer to if they have any questions.

I found this idea of using Google Earth because most novels do provide a location in a the story. Google Earth would be very beneficial in a science lesson or history lesson. I would definitely use this in my classroom instead of always using textbooks. It is a good practice to locate specific areas and also be that extra resource for student learning.

Connecting Cultures

"Spicing Up Spanish Class"

by Cawood Cornelius and Terri Vest

There is always that Spanish class that you will take, but by the end of the semester you just don't get it still. From personal experience I have learned that you will learn a language the most when you practice, practice, practice. In this article, students went digital in their Spanish class. Instead of just reading out of the book, listening to lecture, and doing a report with graphics, these students took a step up. The students had set up protected emails with other students from Spain, and were allowed to ask questions about their culture and country. Students had also accessed to data bases to get the information they needed. As soon as they had enough information, the students had time to go to the lab to put together a Powerpoint presentation which included photos, information in the language, and any other resource they wanted to use. Students then had to present what they collected and soon had their presentations put onto DVDs. Students recalled this project being a beneficial learning experience. They had practiced using Spanish greatly during the whole time and stated that they will use the skills they've learned for other classes.

I really liked the idea of putting the students' presentations onto DVDs. It's a good way to show other students presentations, so other students can create more ideas off of other students' work. I also like that the students were able to create protected emails to interact with other students in a different country. I'm sure if I had a chance to do a project like this, I believe I'd want to continue to learn Spanish and obtain a lot of practice from this idea.

Lets Talk Digital

In the article, "Telling Stories With Video" by Carl Young and Sara Kajder, there are many ways they explain on how you can incorporate digital video in the area of language arts. Most of the time when students walk into a classroom, they will open their books and be stuck in just reading text. In about an hour of just looking at text, the students will no longer be focused and engaged into the reading.

Digital video comes in and plays the part of bringing in motion, design, and interactivity for the students. The students may also want to compose digital books, music videos, or short skits of the books they read. Not only will they just read a book and do just a summary, but they can also express what they thought about the book in real life. The one thing I found interesting is that students would make their own book trailer with digital video. They would use this source to persuade other students in reading their own book.

The use of digital video will also allow students to open discussions and the opportunity to analyze each others' ideas. It is also a great way to give and receive feedback. I would use this strategy in my classroom because it makes the subject more exciting and fun for the students. The only problem I would see if having the materials and resources such as a digital camera or the computers for the students to do the editing tools.