This morning we had a Skype call with an International School in Spain. We were not able to post video on this call because of privacy issues with the other school. We learned lots of interesting things about their school and their students. They have lots of different countries represented at their school including many American students. They told us that this is because of families from America that have moved their because of companies or because they serve in the military.
They explained that they have a King and a Monarchy. Their school speaks mostly Thai and English, but many other languages as well. We learned that they like many of the same video games and television shows that we do. They also play sports like rugby and football (which we call soccer). For fun, they like to go hiking and explore their city. One of the students told us her hobbies in Spanish. The kids said that this was their favorite call so far!

My fifth graders have had so much fun Skyping with other classes, I thought we might try it with other grade levels. Today, Mrs. Combs' second grade called Shepherd Elementary in North Carolina. They did a great job and had some great questions!

Today we Skyped with third-graders in the "windy city". We learned that they have a school similar in size to ours, except with a few more teachers. They have also used a lot of the same technology we have. We also found out that we have several differences. They don't have a cafeteria! Every student brings their lunch every day. They also travel to school and around using public transportation. They were very surprised that we had no public transportation except for our school buses. They also noticed our accent as most schools that we have communicated with have. Must be pretty obvious!

Yesterday evening, we had our second Skype call: this time to Bendigo, Australia. We met at school at 6pm Thursday evening, which was 9am Friday morning for the Aussies! We communicated with Ms. Leung's fifth grade students. We found out that they had a Prime Minister, what they liked to eat (hamburgers), TV shows they watched (The Simpsons), and we learned what an echidna was. The kids had a great conversation.

I apologize for the label across the video. I wanted to try the product out before I purchased it. Seems to work well! The kids are having a great time with this and learning that there are many other cultures out there that are ultimately just like us! We hope to visit several other countries before the end of the year.

Tomorrow we will have our second Skype conversation! We are communicating with a school in Australia. The time was originally set for 5pm, but since we 'sprung forward' we now have to meet at 6pm. Sorry about the change. It will actually be 9am Friday morning in Australia.
We have been working hard this week learning about WWII. We have been reading Number the Stars and doing a little research on the Holocaust. I think that the students are finding this to be an interesting topic. Please be sure to visit our portaportal if you would like to see some of the links to the research the kids have been doing. Remember, the guest login is lanning.

Well, today was the big day. Several students and myself met at school bright and early this morning for our Skype call with the students in Thailand. I think we were all a little nervous because we really weren't sure what to expect. All in all, I think it went really well. The other class was more experienced at it, but our kids hung in there and did a great job. It was fascinating to see the kids, hear their accents, and really discover that they are just like us! We learned that it is very hot in Thailand right now while we're freezing in Tennessee! My students were very surprised to see American children in Thailand. They told me that it wasn't at all what they expected to see. Ms. Hellyer has posted our experience on her blog. Check it out and you'll see our kids projected on her blog in her classroom! This project was introduced to me through my PLN on the web. The project is called Around the World in 80 Schools and I'm very excited to be a part of it. We learned a lot from our first experience. Now we have our feet wet...let's see where we can go next! Thanks to all the parents for your help and for bringing your kids so early. Special thanks to Mrs. Duggan for the biscuits!