Bear We Go

The beginning of term is always busy trying to arrange new exchanges with schools around the world and this year seems busier than normal as I organise all my new collaborative projects. When I started using technology and a bear, five year ago whilst a primary class teacher, I knew this collaborative style of learning was an excellent way to learn about the differences and similarities in our cultures. My first exchange was to a school in America with my then Primary Five class where we sent Shougal McDougall, the highland cow, to America and they sent Elvis the husky dog to use. Although the collaborative aspect of technology was not as advanced as today's Web 2.0 and I hit on many problems through lack of communication, the seeds were sown in that I knew this was a method of extending the learning outside the classroom walls.

This year sees a host of collaborative projects with schools around the world about to kick off from class projects to whole school projects. Here is a flavour of the main projects I have co-ordinated for this year:

Bear Exchanges (class projects)- this year I have managed to set up ten bear exchanges with schools from around the world. Our nearest exchange is with Glamis Primary School in Scotland which is only a few miles away from our school. This fits in perfectly with the primary four's local study and also gives a good comparison between a city school and a rural school. Our furthest away school is in new Zealand with Rachel Boyd. All exchanges evolve around sending a furry friend to each school then keeping a diary of the bear's adventures. The children can then use the comment area to ask questions.

Voices Of The World (whole school) - A world wide project to unite children together using their voices. I came up with the idea for this project prior to attending an E-twinning workshop in Estonia. Due to using podcasting extensively to create our radio show RadioHigh, I wanted to connect children together through their voice and the thought of a monthly podcast with all the different voices on the same theme seemed the ideal solution. How would this work when we all speak different languages? Through simplicity and believe me it will work as at the present I have 20 eager members from around the world with a few more still to join. The first VOTW product will be released at the end of September and is already looking good from the network side. To make this a whole school advent at my school I am selecting a different class each month to complete the task.

Ted's Adventures Around The World - (whole school) - Mark Beaumont is currently cycling around the world trying to break a world record. Ted Bear is cycling with Mark and their adventures are told each week through a bear voki. Each week a class read Mark's diaries then create the bear voki to retell the adventures. Children will also create a voicethread related to the country that Mark is travelling through. Using the animated character and the annotated slideshow gives a balance between what is appealing to the younger and the older children.

An other project that is in the planning stages is a movie Disney style. Four schools from around the world will create an animated movie with one doing the script, the next the animation, the next the voice over and the last the music/sound effects. This is an excellent collaborative opportunity to work collaboratively with others using technology to break down location barriers.

The above projects are opportunities to connect our children with the world, provide meaningful learning and prepare our children for their globalised future.

Any thoughts or ideas then please feel free to comment.