Califone Blog

Califone announced ten educators will each receive ten webcams to further their student’s virtual learning activities.

The goals and objectives of the participating teachers are as diverse as their students, but each will be soon exploring new worlds from within their classroom walls (with their webcams).

Flat Stanley project

• Michelle Kleier; The students at my Title 1 school just don’t get a whole lot of real world experiences. I will partner with classrooms around the world & create a video penpal type program for my kids where they would not only be getting to write to students across the world, but they would be getting to “meet” them as well.
• Josette Soard Nase; Having access to a webcam would allow me to conduct more productive webinars to demonstrate to teachers just how easy it is to incorporate technology into their classrooms. A webcam could also allow me to connect teachers with other teachers across the country and the world to share ideas about incorporating technology in the classroom. I would love to help teachers feel comfortable teaching the way kids love and want to learn…with the latest technology!
• Christina Morgan; I teach at an International Baccalaurate Primary Years School so the obvious way that a webcam could enhance my teaching practices, would be to connect us digitally with classrooms across cultures. However, how I would put the webcam to the most use, is to allow my children to communicate with the soldiers/sailors that my children “adopt” each year. My Kindergarten classroom “adopts” a deployed unit or squadron or soldier/sailor each year and we send letters, cards, emails, and care packages to them. We are a military rich environment and I have found that this is a great action project for my students to take on each year. How great would it be if my class could utilize a webcam and teleconferencing technology to see where and to whom their letters and items are going?!?! Very cool! The IBPYP program has been implemented in our school for about 7 years…I have done the adopt a soldier program every year since I started teaching in 2002, since I am part of a military family. We will also use them in our building for a virtual career fair came to life! Each year we bring speakers in to talk to our little people about careers and jobs BUT how cool would it be if we could let the little ones see the speakers in their career environment?!?!
• Delores Soliz Ross; I would use a webcam with Skype to facilitate teleconferences with various guest speakers to include authors, community leaders, business leaders and political leaders from local, state and national governments.
• Eliza Battles; Parents who have Skype would be able to connect with their child without having to miss work or leave their house. What a great way to encourage parent participation.
• Tamara Weenig Baggett; Having a webcam would be an amazing addition to our hatching butterflies and chicks. Many times our butterflies and chicks hatch during the night and the students miss the opportunity to watch the process. If we had a webcam, we could make it a virtual activity and the students would be able to watch it at home and not miss anything.
• Debra West; As an art teacher, the idea of skyping is very exciting. My students could experience multicultural art in a fresh, interactive way. Students could present projects and demonstrations to other students and the culmination of the lessons would be a world culture art show. Each group could present their final art projects, then share thoughts about the different aesthetics and processes.
• Ellie Henry; As a music teacher in a K-8 building, my students could do so many things with a webcam and Skype! My show choirs would love to give performances for other schools! This way we could go on “field trips” without actually leaving the music room! Our folk dance team could do the same thing! We could exchange programs with other schools, we could learn about the music from other cultures, and we could have a program where we all sing the same songs with another school! How awesome would that be!!
• Debbie Coats; We do a Flat Stanley project* as part of our Social Studies curriculum. My second grade students each send a paper doll named Flat Stanley to relatives and friends all over the world. The relative/friend sends us emails, letters and packages telling us more about the place that Flat Stanley is visiting. If the second grade classrooms had web cams, the students could “visit” with their Flat Stanleys via Skype.
• Marianne Griffith; Skype and a webcam would enable my ELL students to be in contact with other art classes in our district, state and country. We would also be able to visit with artists in their studios and learn about their artwork. We are 85% Hispanic and l00% on free lunch, so we don’t get a lot of extra-curriculars in our daily lives. Skype would broaden our horizons and world. It would be a learning tool for English as well as for art. It would also be a teaching tool-as we could teach other students in our district about our art projects. We would really enjoy having Skype!

The grants came after a month-long period during which teachers were asked how they’d best use a webcam in their classrooms.

Congratulations all!

*Image courtesy of the creator of the Flat Stanley Project, Dale Hubert dale@flatterworld.com

Tags: audio immersion, Blended Learning, Distance Learning, flat Stanley, skype, teleconference, virtual learning, webcam

Posted on June 2nd, 2011 and is filed under Announcements, Computer Peripherals, Contests, Surveys.