Students visit Alberta, virtually speaking
By Ashland District School Press Staff
Special to The Star-Herald
Technology is connecting people all across the world and students at Ashland District School are no exception. For the past two years, interested teachers have participated in a program called Read Across the Planet. This video conferencing program matches one school with another around the globe.
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THIRD-GRADERS at Ashland District School recently interacted with students in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada through a video conferencing program called Read Across the Planet, which matches one school with another around the globe. Pictured are the Canadian students as they talk about animals, as well as what their hometown is like.
On March 10, 2011, Mrs. Diana O’Clair’s third-graders visited the students in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. “It is so exciting to see students who live in a town of 1,200 people interact with students who live in a city of 1 million,” O’Clair said. “That’s the population of Maine in one city.”
This is the third year O’Clair has used the Tanberg equipment, a video conferencing telecommunication tool, to participate in the Read Across the Planet (RAP) program. “It is so easy to do,” O’Clair said, “and such a cool opportunity for the students.”
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READ ACROSS THE PLANET — Discussing their knowledge of various animal groups with students in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada are Ashland District School third-graders, from left: Catherine Harmon, Sierra Ginn and Amber Orr.
Michelle Beaulier is Ashland’s coordinator for the program. She submitted O’Clair’s name, along with a possible time and date for a conference, to the online organization T.W.I.C.E. (Two Way Interactive Connections In Education) at www.twice.cc. O’Clair received the names of teachers who had chosen the same grade, time, and date. She chose a third-grade class from Edmonton, Alberta.
“We emailed each other a few times,” O’Clair said, “and then we prepared for the visit.”
The participants determined the specific content. Mrs. O’Clair wanted the experience to be as student centered as possible.
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TRICIA BRAGAN’S environmental science class at Ashland District School recently read to students in first grade. As a part of their service-learning project sponsored by Kids Consortium, they purchased reading books about recycling, reducing waste and energy consumption in hopes of making the school and community a greener and better place.
Pictured in the left photo are, from left: Kolson Condon, Hailee Cunningham, Allie Kenny, Morgan Stevens and seventh-grader Lauryn Deabay.
In the right photo,
eighth-grader Evan Morton reads to, from left: Creed Chase, Gabriel Page, Dustin Bragdon and Garrett Tilley.
“I let the students decide what they wanted to share,” O’Clair said. This year the students chose to share their knowledge of various animal groups.
The students devoted one class period a day for a week to research the animals and to make visual aids. “It was a lot of fun to make our posters,” said Sean Montpetit.
Once the research was done, the third-graders used one final hour to plan what they would say during the conference.
The students took turns presenting their projects during the conference. “We liked sharing our information,” said Kassandra Nelson. “It was fun seeing what they did,” said Tristen Pelletier.
Then they asked each other questions. After being asked about kangaroos, third-grader Lucien Hammond explained that kangaroos are “great kick boxers because they fight with their feet while they sit on their tails.”
Haleigh Holmes, from Ashland, answered a question about the number of animal groups they studied. The teacher from Edmonton shared that “new species of animals are being discovered even today.”
At the end of the session, the students shared what life was like in their particular area of the world. “They have a water park and an indoor amusement park,” said Haleigh Holmes. Edmonton students discussed museums and malls with three stories, and Ashland students described how close they were to nature and specific wildlife.
“My favorite part was learning what their school was like,” Holmes said, “and what they were learning.” Kassandra Nelson, from the Ashland class, summed up the experience for the students. “It was awesome!”
Members of the Ashland District School Press Staff include Robert Morrow, Zachary Porter, Robbie Lavertue, Emma Walker and Mark Norris.
