I am an Instructional Technology Specialist in a large suburban school district right outside of Houston, TX. I have two elementary schools that I work with (the district currently has approx. 44 elementary schools total). I am always looking for teachers in grades K-5 who are interested in pairing up their class with one of my classes. It is such a rich way to expand the walls of the classroom and enrich content curriculum. I had had classes who used webcams to teach each other how to do a certain kind of math. I have had classes read the same book and then share views and writing about the book. I've had some 5th grade classes that corresponded with students in other countries. They sent symbols of their school, city, state and country via e-mail (students had to determine what they would share). This last year, I had two classes who "met" at the end of the year via video conferencing. It was a great experience! There is so much core content that can be enriched via the use of keypals. The possibilities are endless. I have a little brochure I created with tips and suggestions that I send out to the teachers involved.
This year, our school district is going to allow us to use gaggle.net to facilitate this. I would love to find some partners who have access to gaggle.net (there is a free version too). If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact me at: 127hp100@fortbend.k12.tx.us I will need to know your name, e-mail address, what grade you teach and where you teach. That will enable me to match you up with one of the teachers at my two schools.
I am an Instructional Technology Specialist in a large suburban school district right outside of Houston, TX. I have two elementary schools that I work with (the district currently has approx. 44 elementary schools total). I am always looking for teachers in grades K-5 who are interested in pairing up their class with one of my classes. It is such a rich way to expand the walls of the classroom and enrich content curriculum. I had had classes who used webcams to teach each other how to do a certain kind of math. I have had classes read the same book and then share views and writing about the book. I've had some 5th grade classes that corresponded with students in other countries. They sent symbols of their school, city, state and country via e-mail (students had to determine what they would share). This last year, I had two classes who "met" at the end of the year via video conferencing. It was a great experience! There is so much core content that can be enriched via the use of keypals. The possibilities are endless. I have a little brochure I created with tips and suggestions that I send out to the teachers involved.
This year, our school district is going to allow us to use gaggle.net to facilitate this. I would love to find some partners who have access to gaggle.net (there is a free version too). If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact me at: 127hp100@fortbend.k12.tx.us I will need to know your name, e-mail address, what grade you teach and where you teach. That will enable me to match you up with one of the teachers at my two schools.
Thanks!