Classroom Conversations Take on New Twist with Twitter, Skype

Classrooms are changing. Pencils and blackboards have been replaced by iPads and Smart Boards. Throughout Regional School District 13, teachers and students have embraced the change. This week, Patch asks teachers in Durham and Middlefield to share their stories about the impact technology has had in the classroom.

Teacher: Jenny Lussier (librarian)

School: Brewster and Korn elementary schools (Grades K-4)

Technology: Skype/Twitter

This year both schools have been having an amazing time celebrating reading! The school year began as we connected with educators from all over the country to celebrate International Dot Day in September. This day is a celebration of creativity, inspired by Peter Reynolds’ book The Dot. Through Twitter, I learned about this celebration and wanted to connect my students to others. A schedule was set up for librarians and teachers to Skype with each other and share The Dot book or any of the creations made with dots! Students learned about one another and different areas of the United States.

Soon after that, a librarian from Canada contacted me via Twitter and asked if I would like to Skype with her class at a French Immersion school that Friday. I jumped at the chance and we had a wonderful time sharing. They enjoyed talking together so much that a blog was set up so that the conversation could continue.

Picture book week took place in November and once again, connections were made with classes from around the U.S. Contacts were made through Twitter and some terrific books were shared. Reading is fun and these Skypes simply accentuated that fact.

March 6 was World Read Aloud Day, and there were so many connections made via Twitter that it rapidly turned into World Read Aloud Week. Favorite titles were shared and once again we just had a blast reading and finding some new books to love. A new aspect to the Skype was when author Kate Messner created a list of authors who would be willing to Skype, for free, throughout that week. How special! Students at Korn and Brewster Skyped with authors Laurel Snyder and Lynn Plourde, and the special bonus of Abby Klein who was a teacher at a school with whom we were Skyping. They shared aspects of their writing lives with students and just a day or two later, a package arrived in the mail from Lynn Plourde that contained a not-yet published book! The kids couldn't believe it!

What's next? Teachers and librarians had so much fun with these Skypes that we had to figure out what to do next. Immediately someone came up with Poem in Your Pocket Day in late April. All these ideas were shared via Twitter. Resources were posted, a schedule was set up and we were on our way.

In between some of these larger Skype projects, I took advantage of the generosity of several authors. Kate Messner writes chapter books from her home in Vermont. While she will travel to your school, she is more than willing to Skype from home for a very reasonable price. Since several of the 4th grade classes at Korn were reading her books in their classrooms, I set up a Skype for the whole 4th grade. She shared a wonderful presentation about how she became a writer and just what it takes to publish a book. Kate even did a 15 minute Q&A with one class via Skype - absolutely free.

Jarrett Kroscozka, the author/illustrator of the much loved Lunch Lady graphic novel series, shared on Twitter that he would be having a free webcast. Students from schools all over the country joined in during 3 possible webcasts to learn and share ideas about writing and illustrating.

A new author, Stephen McCranie, also shared on Twitter that he would Skype, for free, with interested schools. While McCranie was unknown to me, I jumped at the chance to have my students learn from a published author. Once I found his books at the public library, I knew we would have some fun. A third grade class at Korn was able to Skype with Stephen McCranie and he was amazing. He was able to share with them about what was needed to create a story and what students could do to practice.

One of the most looked forward to Skypes were two five minute free Skypes that author Tom Angleberger did with us. Many of my students loved his Origami Yoda series and when I introduced his Fake Mustache book it just got better. Several classes used Fake Mustache as their read aloud book and kids were clamoring for it. So I decided to celebrate with a Fake Mustache party! We had snacks, mustache finger tattoos, and of course a short read aloud. But the best was when Tom Skyped in! I didn't tell the students and they couldn't believe he was there! He shared about the inspirations for the setting and characters for his book. It was awesome! (Even better, he visited in person on April 8).

How have students benefited from the technology?

1. Connections to authors/illustrators - nearly impossible without Twitter and Skype - real world understanding of what they are learning in their classrooms

2. Connections to other students/classrooms - expands their knowledge of the world

3. Digital citizenship lessons throughout - respecting others, contributing to discussions, patience when technology did not work

4. Fun!

Memorable moment: One of my favorite moments was during World Read Aloud Week - 4th graders from Korn were skyping with Kindergarteners from Maine. The Kindergarteners shared a poem that they had learned by heart. The 4th graders clapped and cheered for their new Kindergarten friends. It is the essence of why we do this.

Using technology such as Twitter and Skype has made my job so much fun!

Check back Thursday for more from Patch's Technology in the Classroom Series or click below for previous stories

Online Bulletin Board Helps Latin Students

Skype, iMovie and Blabberize Keep Students Connected