Under Eleven?

[Falconswiki]

At the Falcons School for Girls we are really excited about Web 2.0...if a little scared! Are any members on here involved in teaching under elevens (do you call it Junior Grades in the U.S.?)? It would be great to hear fromanyone who has run any 'flat' projects with younger pupils.

[Jane Koval]

I have not done anything with flat classroom and was glad to hear you say you were a little scared. I feel that way too. So may possibilities yet it's technology and things can go wrong. I am willing to connect you with someone who teaches 11 year olds or under. In the U.S. that would probably be 6th graders. What subjects do you teach? Let's talk....maybe we can brainstorm a plan. Perhaps we can have students partner up with an "Across the Globe" friend for a writing assignment and do a follow-up via computer. I have no idea how to do it but I am willing to try!

Jane Koval
[e-mail]
Paradise Valley School District
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.

[Jackie Gerstein]

Hi, I am a gifted teacher in Tucson, Arizona working with students from 8 to 10 years old, 3rd through 5th grade. We are going to do a project in class, Creative Web Tools For and By Kids. I am developing a website to do this project where students will explore different web tools for creative expression. They will review the tools and put their own examples of their their use on the site. We plan to invite other classes from around to globe to join. The students begin school again next week. Let me know if you are interested! My school email is [e-mail]

[Marvin Lee]

Hi, I teach gifted in Oklahoma City....working with grades 2-5. I really like your ideas and would be interested in some involvement in the things you described here.

[Jackie Gerstein]

Hi, Marvin. I added details and links to my post on July 31 - a few pages down the road. Thanks for your interest!

[Vicki Davis]

Wow! This is so exciting. Let me know what I can do to help. I'll be working w/ my grade 8's this year to "flatten" their classroom.

[Melanie Holtsman]

I have not been involved in any flat classroom projects yet, but am excited about the possibilities for the new year. I'll be working with K - 3rd (five through 9 year olds) and would love to get some projects rolling. With start of school looming in the horizon in the next month I've been thinking about what that would look like. One thought I had was having the kids do a collaborative blog with another class comparing culture, family, etc. They could use web 2.0 tools such as voicethread, flickr! or...anything new that comes down the pike. They could comment their thoughts back and forth and possibily skype. I'd love to hear other ideas for these young students. :)

[sharleen berg]

Melanie, I'd be interested in starting with a simple project using some "entry-level" 2.0 tools. There is not a huge cultural difference between MN and FL; however we could send pictures of our 1st blizzard! :) I have not participated in any flat classroom projects and have concerns if I don't do just a bit this year I might let it slip by. I am the library media specialist and have contact with students preK - grade 8. I'd be able to find a teacher willing to share her class for this kind of collaboration. This could be a springboard for our students into more elaborate projects.

[Kim Wren]

I'm an elementary librarian in a school in St. Louis, MO. I teach K - 5th grades. Our 1st graders do a unit on families sometime in the fall. I loved your idea about using voicethread to collaborate. I have just started using it and totally see using it with those little guys! We could do something with pictures from other countries/cultures and let the kids record their comments. I am kimwren1 on skype, and twitter as well. Let me know if you want to brainstorm something for this year. I also like sharleen's idea- although St. Louis doesn't usually get many blizzards! :)

[Durff]

That sounds cool! I'm a librarian too and the tech teacher. I have 3-5 once/week. I have found having them all log in to Voicethread freezes Voicethread, but having them do it on just one computer while the others work on something else, like keyboarding skills or a game, works well.
I would love to collaborate with you. I won't get my class schedule until the week or two before labor day, but i'm guessing it will be the same as last year.
The kids really work best if they have a videoconference first. Something about the p2p really cements it for them. I have found Skype the best for that with each teacher running the skype , so it is one call to one call and video is possible, and they prepare by each thinking of a question. They should know to use only first names during the conference, no street addresses, nor phone numbers. Kim Cofino has gathered some great guidelines. I'll hunt for them. Adding you now to twitter.

[Mrs. Cerminara]

I would love to do some comparing and contrasting of school days at your school and a typical day at our school in Japan. Also we could compare countries via a Voicethread. I am looking for a grade 4 teacher that might like to work with me.

[Durff]

Ok. I have 4th Grade once a week on Mondays at 17:45:00GMT (when you are sleeping) but a Voicethread will work nicely. What do you think?

[Robyn Hardy]

Hi

I am an IT facilitator at a school in Qatar and work with KG and grade 1 students. Myself and the classroom teachers would love to do some collaborative projects. The grade one teachers were particularly interested in collaborating on their unit on weather. This is only later in the year, probably January. Anyone intersted?