EdIC706 The Global Classroom

Assignment OneA Global Classroom Activity

Nerissa Burtenshaw

Students from two different schools in the Kansai Area will work together to plan a day excursion to Tennoji Zoo. The students have not met each other and will not have the opportunity to meet prior to the zoo visit.

Students will be split into two mixed groups which will work to plan their trip. Group mates will communicate by fax, email and audio/video conference.

This learning activity incorporates to classrooms of students from two different schools, one in Yoshita-Hommachi, Higashi-Osaka and the other in Tenma, Osaka.

The activity is to plan a group day trip/excursion to Tennoji Zoo. The children will be organised into groups and each group will have to plan their trip. One teacher will be assigned to each group. The children will communicate by audio/video conferencing, fax, msn and emailing.

This global classroom activity will be a formal group activity which will be both synchronous and asynchronous.

Students

o Giraffe Class, Higashi-Osaka School – 16 students

o Panther Class Tenma, Osaka School – 18 students

 The students will be oragnised

into groups – mixed from each class. As groups they will have to complete a list of tasks aimed to help the plan their trip to the zoo. These tasks will be completed through video/audio conferencing and emailing.  

Teachers

o Nerissa and Kanakoo Rob and Mariko Each teacher will be a guide for

half a group. They will help the groups to email, fax, msn and audio/video conference to complete their tasks.

ComputersSkype – for video and audio discussionsAn email serverA fax machineMSNContact between schools and teachersAccess to the Tennoji Zoo mapsAccess to PowerPoint software to view introduction slideshowBuses and other equipment required for the Excursion Day

The children will be;• Provide with opportunities to use different forms of ICT• Provide with exposure to audio/video conferencing,

msn, fax and email. • Able to develop their planning and organising skills• Able to develop their group work skills

The teachers will;• Develop the confidence to incorporate more ICT into

my classroom and provide more opportunities for my students to use and benefit from different forms of ICT.

• Build a good relationship with the teachers from the other school so that we can hopefully work together in the future.

There will be two teachers assigned to each group (one from each school). The teachers will introduce/teach the new skills need for the students to communicate with the group mates (from the other school) and will guide and facilitate their learning as they complete the tasks required to plan their trip.

 I am hoping that the teachers involved will work mainly

as ‘M’ teachers rather than ‘C’ teachers

Since I have never been involved in a global classroom activity I have keep the ICT simple.

All the teachers involved will need to be able to use email, skype, fax and msn confidently so has to be able to guide and help the students.

The students will be involved in completing tasks which are the framework for their excursion plan. To complete these students will have to participate in audio/video conversations with other students in their group who are based at another school. They will also have to complete in-class work which will then be exchanged var fax and/or email and discussed.

The students were first organised into groups. The children named their groups, the Zebras and the Bears!

The Zebras and the Bears then had to complete three tasks aimed at organising their day trip.

The students will need to have communication and group work skills before beginning this task. Prior to this activity my class will have completed a Physical Education Unit focused on Group small games with a big idea of group work and team spirit. This will hopefully allow them to improve their group work skills as well as giving me an sight into individual students strengths which I will factor into when organising the groups

The students will hopefully gain knowledge and skills about using ICT to communicate ideas and discuss issues with others. They will also continue to develop their group work and communication skills. Students will also gain an understanding of using maps.

When planning this global classroom activity a lot of different theories and research information contributed to planning process. Here are a few;

• VAK and Multiple IntelligenceI felt that it was important for me to take into consideration all the different learners I have in my classroom. I felt that I needed to plan an activity to that would meant all of my learners and that everyone would have an opportunity to shine depending on their learning styles and strengths. I took these theories into consideration when I planned each of the tasks planned for example one has more of a visual focus where as another one caters to audio learners more effectively

• The New Zealand Curriculum Documents The Curriculum Documents help me to link this activity back to Achievement Objectives as well as Essential Skills such as Communication: communicate competently and confidently by using other forms of communication (record and present data using communication technologies).

• Kolb’s Learning CycleKolb’s Learning Cycles follows the pattern of Active Experimentation, then Reflective Observation, then Abstract Conceptualization and then Concrete Experience. I wanted the learning tasks to follow this learning process. I planned the tasks so that the children would begin with small group discussions, gain feedback and get more information, then consider the information and come to a conclusion which would then be applied on the Excursion day.

• Connectivism TheoryThe Connectivism Theory is about the effect that technology has on how we live, communicate and how we learn. The learning activity I created is aimed at using technology for the purpose of connecting and communicating with others to achieve a common goal. I felt that it was important to consider this theory while planning this activity. Connectivism is about promoting communication to promote learning. I felt that it was important that organise the learning tasks in a way that allowed for the most communication with the other half of the groups at the other school.

Outline of the Activity

Due to time restrains the children will not be able to see all the animals at the zoo. Students (as a group) had to decide upon 8-10 animals that they will see while at the zoo. Each half of the group emailed their ideas to the other half until they come to a consensus about what animals they would see.

Reflection: What was the role of the teacher?

The teacher took on an M teacher role. The children enjoyed discussing what animals to see and will the small group sizes it was not difficult to choose the 10 animals. Since the fax was not a foreign ICT for the children the teacher only need to guide them a little bit. Both groups sent more than 2 emails back and forth which meant that most children got to e hands-on involved in sending the faxes. TThe children really enjoyed sending their faxes and waiting for and receiving their replies!

Outline of the ActivityEach half will be provided with maps of the zoo. Everyone will be having lunch at a designated area on the map from 12-1pm. The children will have to plan a route around the zoo. Each half of the group will plan a route which they will fax to the other half. Then they will participate in an audio/video conversation where they will make a conclusion about their route.

Reflection: What was the role of the technology here? The technology was the facilitated for communication. Without it the children would not have been able to complete the task. The children worked well as groups to draw arrows around the zoo . Since they had already had the opportunity to send one fax it was great that they got the opportunity to practice this again. One negative thing about faxing was that the faxes came through quite dark and the children found them hard to see. The children had a fantastic time talking to one another on Skype and with a little bit of teacher encouragement the children got over their initial excitement and were able to actually able to talk about the task and come to a conclusion about the route.

Outline of the ActivityChildren will be given lunch options for example a shared lunch. Children will use MSN to vote on an option and then decide on a way to organise their option. Depending on the option children will continue to communicate or not.

Reflection: What is the role of the children in this task?The children were the planners and the doers in this activity. They carried out the task. They were communicating with each other and providing ideas. The teachers were the facilitators – we enabled the communication to take place by setting up the MSN and by typing in the messages. On reflection all the teachers involved were really happy with how this task went. The children were completely involved and it was the task with the least teacher involvement (though the teachers had to help create the noticeboard list for the shared lunch group – the children took the lead and the teachers were just guides) One group decided on a shared lunch which meant that they had to plan who was bringing what – they communicated through faxes and emails. This group gained a lot of extra learning due to this extra communication. With the help of the teachers the children came up with a sheet that list the food types that needs to be brought. This was displayed on the classroom noticeboards for the parents to fill out. Unfortunately the other group decided on bringing their own packed lunches and because of this decision they did not have to communicate further which meant that they missed out on the extra learning. This is something I would change in the future.

Outline of the Activity

As a whole class we discussed our trip to the zoo. We looked at the slideshow which is linked on the following page and we talked about if our zoo trip was a success and why. We then discussed what we liked about using the computer, fax etc to talk to our new friends to organise our trip. We discussed if we liked working in groups, if we liked the ICT and why we liked it and then all the children completed the Evaluation Feedback Form.

Reflection: How did the children respond to the activity as a whole?

Most of the children were very excited about the activity and really loved being able to communicate with the other class through Skype messaging. I think if they could have had their way they would have completed all of the 3 tasks by Skype! The children engaged with the computer tasks but would have liked to have had more of an opportunity to do things by themselves. We need to work on their typing and over all general computer skills so that they can MSN more effectively by themselves in the future! I feel that the children engaged well with this activity especially since we based it on something fun and exciting – a trip to the zoo!

The children were involved in assessing their group and themselves. This table is an example of a group assessment. This was a teacher lead group discussion activity, which the children really enjoyed and took very seriously!

As teachers we also assessed the children individual on the same things listed here. Each skill/ability listed was measured – differently. For example if a child could independently complete all 3 components of sending a fax they would get a 3. Unfortunately due to this activity being a group activity and also the first time for most of the children to be exposed to these ICTs most children only manage to receive a 2 in most sections.

Positive Minus Interesting• The children were very enthusiastic, especially when they participated in their Skye video conferences! •The children had a fantastic time at the Zoo!•All the children were given a lot of opportunities to offer ideas due to it being a group activity.•We made new friends!•My confidence in incorporating ICT into my classroom is increasing•I have developed a good relationship with the other teachers from Tenma Osaka School and hopefully we will be able to work together in the future. •This learning activity didn’t just incorporate one form of ICT, it incorporated 4!•The topic was simple – and a good beginners tasks for first time Global Classroomers!

• I felt that I ended up doing a lot more of group management than I had expected to have to do – but their group skills are improving.• Due to the group size as well as the task description not all of the children got to have a turn at doing everything.•Because of the lunch choice one group had more learning opportunities than the other. •Due to the children having never used MSN, Skype or email before there was a lot of teacher direction in the actual skill based part of each activity – hopefully with more practice this will change.• One of the boys in the class, Ryo, was absent for the actual Zoo Excursion.

• Small groups were good – next time maybe pairs or 3s would lead to more learning• The children in my class who are often shy outside of the classroom were quite shy when we were using MSN and Skype. • Even though the children had never meet before, on the day of the excursion they got along really well and made new friends quickly!

Even though the activity was a success I felt that we expected too much from the children and did not start at a basic enough level. We needed to start at the very beginning and build our way up with the aim that in a few years time the children will be confidently able to email, msn and use audio conferencing tools such as Skype. Hopefully we will be able to set them on their way to mastering these skills so that they can enjoy everything that is available at their fingertips!