Projects in 2015

By the beginning of April, and coordinated by Ms Verónica Maser, the first two projects of the year were well underway:

1. Learners aged between 11 and 13 started communicating with peers in Michigan, US.
2. Students aged between 15 and 17 did so with peers in Canada.

In early June, one of our most cherished projects got to an end. For two years, our 5th Adol students had been exchanging emails with Ms Paloma Soria's students at "Pella Community High School," in Iowa, US, who were finishing high school and were therefore heading for different universities. Everybody was a bit sad but agreed that it had been an incredibly enriching experience and that they had made great friends in the process.  

In September, our 4th and 6th adol took part in a "Mystery Skype" session with students in Owensboro, Kentucky, US. Tools like Google Earth and Weather Channel came in handy to help them discover where their peers were from. This kind of experiences help students develop not only their language but also their digital skills.

Some pictures of the session 

Another lovely "Mystery Skype" session took place in October. In this case, Ms Jamie's students in Wisconsin, US, played with Ms Susana's 4th Adol. Everybody had lots of fun!

Also in October, there was another enjoyable Skype session, this time involving students of different levels. Ms Daniela's 4th Kids together with 6th Adol and FCE students chatted with students at "Pascack Valley Regional High School", New Jersey, US. During the first half of the meeting, the students at both ends played Mystery Skype. In the second half, they had a fruitful talk about their family and hobbies. It was a most delightful meeting, especially because the young kids managed to communicate quite effectively and fluently. Way to go!

The "grand finale" of the year was a two-month project involving students from "The Pascack Valley Regional High School" in New Jersey, US and our 6th Adol, 5th Adults and FCE. They worked collaborately using Canvas LMS to exchange mails, make videos and other artifacts, and take part is discussion forums.

A great year indeed!

1st Adol's skyping experience

How it all started

One of the teachers at our institute, Ms Verónica Maser, heard about Skype in the classroom and decided to join the community. She posted the project A Day in my Life so that her 1st Adol students could share experiences with peers from other countries. The response was amazing: in no time many teachers showed an interest in joining the project. As they teach Spanish as a foreign language, it was only natural that the project take the form of tandem learning, with each group of students taking turns to use their target language with their foreign counterparts.

Students taking part in the project

Our students are in their teens and are just starting their study of English as a foreign language. The native speakers of English are in the same age band and have mostly a beginner level of Spanish.

Preparation
The teachers involved in the project started email and skype communication to set the ball rolling. A wiki was used for students to start getting to know each other. They produced wonderful posters using tools like Glogster, Wallwisher and Voicethread. Here are some examples:

•  Laura Sexton-North Carolina, USA
• Sapulpa Middle School-Oklahoma,USA
• Laurie Clement - Canada  
• Instituto Oxford Rosario
• Our Voicethread

 Ready to Skype
Finally, it was time for the teachers to arrange the date and time of the Skype sessions. Being in different time zones meant that the students would have to stay on after the class or go to school earlier. However, the students were so excited about the possibility of talking to and seeing their new friends live, that they themselves volunteered to do so.
Here are the videos of the first Skype session:

 

 This was an incredibly fulfilling experience for everyone. The students were fascinated about actually being able to communicate with others in the foreign language. The whole process of preparing for and attending the session made their learning experience meaningful, enriching and enjoyable in many different senses and, at the end of the session, there was a shared feeling of wanting to repeat it.

Second Skype Meeting

This time with different groups of students at both ends. Here are some photos. Videos coming soon.