Testimonial from: Patricia King

North Providence High School

Business Teacher

Reflection:

My class felt rather important about themselves and what they had accomplished.  Local and national press coverage certainly helped!  As one student said “I feel that I have learned so much in such a short time that I couldn’t learn from a book.”  From a teacher’s prospective, the most valuable aspect of the project has been increased global awareness.  The students went into the first videoconference with numerous preconceived ideas about their counterparts from Leeds and left feeling that they had more in common than they originally thought.  That cultural awareness could not have been learned in a traditional classroom.  It would have been difficult to eliminate those preconceived ideas without actually seeing the students from England.  Further, the exchanging of email addresses between team leaders from both schools has allowed students to discuss not only the project but music, culture, spare-time, family, friends and school.  They needed to see, hear and email their peers from England to fully appreciate their culture.

As teachers, we are looking to find projects that go beyond “traditional” methods of classroom learning.  This project held student interest because it was high tech, hands-on, interactive, and involved learning outside of the traditional classroom.

Lauren King

Cranston West High School

Not being able to videoconference with Spain had a huge impact on the students.  Why is videoconferencing a valued part of the exchange?

Students never experienced a live interactive email exchange with the Spanish subjects abroad.  Furthermore, we did not consult local bilingual business professionals (interviews) who may have been able to shed light on our product’s impact in the Spanish culture.

View the website from last year’s in-house presentation of CHILLZ lemonade

Videoconference with England

We were really pleased and excited about the experience (as you will detect from the students’ comments), and we were happy to find out that Roz and her group from the King Edward VII School in England felt the same way.  The ability to actually see whom they were conversing with enabled the students to feel at ease and the resultant interaction between the two groups of students from opposite sides of the ocean was as spontaneous as it would be if they were in the same room.   The ensuing lively discussion of the two books and the related cultural dialogue was amazing!

Cathy Dougherty

English Teacher

Charles E. Shea Senior High

Pawtucket

 Student Comments:

 I thought that the video conferencing was awesome! I really liked the interaction and communication with England, this is a very useful tool in discussing comparisons and contrasting evidence between novels written in different countries. I found that there were a lot of similarities between the two countries, whereas before there were  preconceived notions as to their demeanor and culture. They 're kids just like us, and I really enjoyed hearing their opinions on life, and how it related to their lives at the present moment!

 Rita

The videoconference was very educational and entertaining. It was one thing to read about a different culture, but a completely different thing to interact with the culture and compare the book to reality.

Lorraine

The videoconference was pretty unique. Getting a broader perspective of the same idea internationally was a really good experience even though our ideas and reaction were similar. Also, being able to connect with teenagers like ourselves made it a bit more relaxing because we could always talk back with one another without any real hesitation. I think if we were face to face, it would have made it more of a debate sort of thing.

Yemi

 I found this experience to be very rewarding. It was very interesting to communicate with students our own age from a completely different country and culture. Even though we live in completely different places, this conference gave us a chance to see all the similarities in our cultures and to express our opinions on various topics. We were able to integrate literature into our daily lives and see how they relate. If I could, I would do it again. It was great.

Gladys

 I enjoyed the videoconference today. The other students from England were kind and seemed easy to listen to. It was very interesting; it made me want to read the books as well as participate in the conference in the future. I would appreciate doing this again. Going to Bryant College was also a good addition because I've never been there before.

Isatou