Home » Geography »Global Learning » Currently Reading:

Around The World with 80 Schools

January 3, 2009 Geography, Global Learning 89 Comments

I am really thrilled about the use of Skype in the classroom. You can tell by reading the last posts about Skype:

I would like to connect my students (PreK- through 6th grade)  in the next 6 months to at least 80 different schools in order to circle the globe once.

around-world3

Here is the idea:

  • Keep it short. Skype calls can be from one minute to no longer than 5 minutes.
  • The goal is to connect with at least 80 schools in different parts of the world. Some of the schools will be in the same country or even city.
  • Don’t stop until you have circled the globe with at least 80 different schools?
  • Let’s connect via Skype, just to say Hello , Hola, Ni Hao, Hallo, Shalom, etc.
  • Prepare with your students ahead of time, what you would share with the other school about your own and what questions would you ask? Remember you will only have up to 5 minutes for Q &A
    Examples:

    • What languages do you speak in the country you live in?
    • What continent are you on?
    • How do you say “?” ?
    • What is the nearest big city?
    • What is the name of your president?
    • What did you always wanted to know about our country?
  • We will keep track of the schools we connected with on Google Maps.
  • The goal is to do this in the next 6 months (January- June of 2009)
  • Will you help us out? Please fill out the following Google form, so I can contact you for


View Larger Map

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Technorati Tags:

Currently there are "89 comments" on this Article:

  1. Roger J says:

    This is a fantastic idea! What a great way to get kids to see the big picture of a world of learners. We are just starting and look forward to meeting with you and other students around the world. Thanks, Sylvia!

  2. [...] meeting other classes across the globe, face to face, becomes a possibility. Sylvia Tolisano’s Around the World with 80 Schools Project is an amazing example of the ability to reach out and connect with all corners of the [...]

  3. [...] are enjoying the conversations through Sylvia Tolisano’s Around the World with 80 Schools Project and enjoyed talking to children in Chrissy Hellyer’s class at ISB, [...]

  4. [...] Around the World With 80 Schools: For this I plan to introduce the collaboration at a staff meeting and outline what is involved in participating in each video-conference “school visit.” I will seek out teachers each week by visiting personally and posting in the Monday staff newsletter. With the focus on the collaboration as a Lower School project planned and implemented by me, I hope to get more teachers on board to try out the waters. These visits will be celebrated through posting on a bulletin board display with a world map and shown on a slideshow containing audio and video of visits via the LCD monitor in the LS foyer. [...]

  5. [...] had our latest experience with the “Around the World with 80 Schools” project today, and it was a great “messy” experience. Well it wasn’t all [...]

  6. Jennifer Boatwright says:

    I teach Kindergarten in Hailey, ID and would love to Skype another classroom. Please email if you are interested. We love to Skype!

  7. [...] wanted to refer to conversations and research so I started with Silvia’s post where she shares the project and links to other related posts she’s [...]

  8. [...] up ideas that I will definitely be using. I’ve also signed up a couple of our learners for Around the World in 80 Schools project. We’re really looking forward to [...]

  9. Marina says:

    Hello!

    Have you already talked to 80 schools? I’m a brazilian journalist for Educar para Crescer website (www.educarparacrescer.com.br) and I’d like to write about your idea. Maybe some brazilian teacher get interested!
    What do you tihink about that?

    Many thanks,

  10. [...] joined me at 4:00pm to Skype a class in Jacksonville USA. The Jacksonville kids are doing a tour Around the World with 80 Schools. It was a real WOW experience for the boys as they saw and spoke to children so far away in real [...]

  11. [...] With Mr B link Langwitches link Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day link Hey Jude link Teacher Lab (Science) link Alison [...]

  12. [...] Around the World with 80 Schools. This teacher is hoping to connect schools around the world through short Skype sessions. [...]

  13. [...] Around the World with 80 Schools. This teacher is hoping to connect schools around the world through short Skype sessions. [...]

  14. [...] Around the World with 80 Schools. This teacher is hoping to connect schools around the world through short Skype sessions. [...]

  15. [...] Elementary de Morganton, Carolina del Norte en Estados Unidos. Seguimos participando en el proyecto “Con 80 escuelas alrededor del mundo” Ubicamos la escuela en el mapa, con Google Earth y luego a través de preguntas informarnos que [...]

  16. [...] a note to this gal in Australia, who wants to contact 80 countries over the next year.  She should have some [...]

  17. Rick Schoeny says:

    Looking forward to making contacts! I’ve been wanting to do this with my students for over a year!!!

  18. [...] was inspired by Silvia Tolisano’s Around the World in 80 Classrooms Project.  I want to connect via Video Conference (Skype, Polycomm, I can use a variety of platforms) to [...]

  19. Bonnie McMurtry says:

    I have a keen grade 4 class that has just started enjoying the benefits of skyping. I’d like to keep connecting our learning around the world!

  20. Leslie Montejano says:

    Hi! I do an Around the World theme every year and students research countries around the globe. I am looking to connect with other classrooms via the Internet/Skype. I would love to chat with you about what you are doing!

  21. Linda says:

    I am looking for a third or fourth grade class to Skype with.

  22. [...] ideas can be found on the following sites: Around the World with 80 Schools Skype Project 50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the [...]

  23. Mari Naval says:

    Hola,

    I would like to use this to allow my elementary students to see the wonderful different cultures and languages around the world!

    Take care,

    Mari

  24. [...] the World in 80 Classrooms Ning and Blog - Silvia Tolisano’s blog and Ning all about her Around the World with 80 schools project.  [...]

  25. Oh_the_Places says:

    Hi Silvia,
    I wondered if you might have any connections with schools in S. America, Egypt, Greece, Italy or the Middle East. I’ve posted requests in so many places, so one more shouldn’t hurt, right? I appreciate the help!

  26. Langwitches says:

    @oh_the_places
    The best place to make connections is by joining the Around the World with 80 Schools Ning. http://aroundtheworldwith80schools.ning.com/. You did not leave an e-mail to contact you otherwise.

  27. [...] of the Around the World with 80 Schools participants have let me know of a ritual that they are observing at the start of a Skype [...]

  28. [...] langwitches blog describes a project where student connect to other classrooms around the world using skype.   [...]

  29. Prudence Baldwin says:

    I have tried to join the Around the World with 80 Schools Ning but keep getting a message that the site is not found. I am interested in connecting my students in Jacksonville Florida with a school in Central or South America that we could not only Skype with but could also support in some way.

Comment on this Article:

Subscribe to Langwitches via Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Choose a Category

In Need of Professional Development?

Contact
Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano for customized workshops, coaching and presentations.
Video Conference sessions available.

For a list of sample sessions visit Globally Connected Learning .

Langwitches on Twitter

Upcoming Conferences

Like Langwitches on Facebook

Visitor Maps

Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators

Guest Posts

Quality Commenting- Student Guest Post by Zoe M.

zoe

I invite few guest bloggers to share posts on Langwitches. This makes it especially rewarding to be able to present to my readers an incredible young lady. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds as a blog writer and commenter. She is a fourth grader at the Martin J. Gottlieb …

(3 Comments)

Annotexting

annotexting

The following is a collaborative guest post by Michael Fisher and Jeanne Tribuzzi , of the Curriculum 21 Faculty. The companion LIVEBINDER OF INTERACTIVE TOOLS IS HERE. Expecting students to read deeply and draw meaningful conclusions is at the heart of the Common Core ELA standards. Students are asked to …

(No Comments)

Teaching English through Film and Screenwriting…

YouTube

I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …

(No Comments)

Professional Development

edJEWcon- A Visual Reflection of a New Kind of Conference

edJEWcon-toolkit

I am slowly coming down from an incredible high this past week.  I was part of a team (Andrea Hernandez, Jon Mitzmacher and myself), that envisioned, organized and ran an education LEARNING conference. This was a first  for me, since I have only been a participant an/or  a presenter at such …

(1 Comment)

Action Research- Quadblogging Trailer

If you are interested in following the blogs of the International Action Research teams on “Quality Writing through Blogging”, take a look at the following trailer and visit the classroom and student blogs to see for yourself the progress they are making, draw your own conclusions about blogging with students. …

(2 Comments)

Perspectives and Talking at Cross Purposes

perspective1

Perspective is defined as a mental view or outlook. Your perspective is influenced by so much and luckily is not set in stone. Your life experiences, your learning journey, the people you meet, culture, geographic location and the language you speak contribute to your current perspective. My own perspective  was …

(4 Comments)

What am I Reading?

Silvia's bookshelf: currently-reading

Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of GlobalizationLost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live SquidThe World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First CenturySECRETO BIEN GUARDADOThe Digital Diet: Todays Digital Tools in Small BytesFacebook Marketing: An Hour a Day

More of Silvia's books »
Silvia Tolisano's currently-reading book recommendations, reviews, quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists

Action Research: Quality Writing on Blogs


In the month of March 2012, an International team of 4 elementary school classrooms are conducting Action Research about quality writing through blogging. You can support them by giving them an authentic global audience and modeling quality commenting on their posts.

Here are the participating classrooms with links to student blogs.
International School of Prague (3rd Grade)- Team Czech Republic
International School of Zug and Luzern- Team Switzerland ( 4th Grade)
Martin J. Gottlieb Day School- Team USA (4th Grade)
International School of Bangkok- Team Thailand (5th Grade)

21st Century Learning

The Evolution of the Classroom Schedule

schedule-pencils-1-1

Thank you to Andrea Hernandez for the image of the classroom schedule that inspired me to put the following  visual of the Evolution of the Classroom Schedule together. No Pencil Class> Computer Class> 21st Century Learning > Learning It will take classroom teachers, who understand that “21st Century Learning” cannot …

(No Comments)

Annotexting

annotexting

The following is a collaborative guest post by Michael Fisher and Jeanne Tribuzzi , of the Curriculum 21 Faculty. The companion LIVEBINDER OF INTERACTIVE TOOLS IS HERE. Expecting students to read deeply and draw meaningful conclusions is at the heart of the Common Core ELA standards. Students are asked to …

(No Comments)

The Digital Learning Farm and iPad Apps

iPadApps-DigitalLearningFarm

I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …

(23 Comments)

The Digital Learning Farm in Action

The Digital Learning Farm and iPad Apps

iPadApps-DigitalLearningFarm

I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …

(23 Comments)

Screencasting Apps for the iPad

Explain Everything

Teaching ourselves, our students and other educators how to use screenshooting (images) and screencasting (video) tools is a relevant skill to have that integrates in so many areas. Think Tutorial Designers (A role from the Digital Learning Farm) or the Flipped Classroom model. Being able to create, share and take …

(7 Comments)

The Teacher as a Conductor of an Orchestra

Slide14

Should Teachers Be More Like Conductors? This bog post from 2009 took me to the following TED talk by Itay Talgam. Although I am not a musician, nor listen to much classical music, I was mesmerized. This TED talk was geared towards organization leaders, but I so agree with Tania …

(4 Comments)

Global Education

Perspectives and Talking at Cross Purposes

perspective1

Perspective is defined as a mental view or outlook. Your perspective is influenced by so much and luckily is not set in stone. Your life experiences, your learning journey, the people you meet, culture, geographic location and the language you speak contribute to your current perspective. My own perspective  was …

(4 Comments)

Walking the Walk: Action Research

back-up-tak-with-action

I have been blogging for 6 years now… I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches) I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part …

(4 Comments)

Curriculum21 Podcast Episode with Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay

c21-podcast

I had the opportunity to speak to Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. Two educators who are making a difference in their students’ lives as well as thousands of other students and teachers from around the world. Vicki is a teacher from Camila Georgia. She blogs on the Coolcatteacher blog and …

(1 Comment)

Blogging With your Classroom

Hyperlinked Writing in the Classroom- From Theory to Practice

what2link2

This is the follow up post to the theoretical Wondering About Hyperlinked Writing. The post ended with Now…on from the wondering, theory and resources…to the practice in the classroom. I am ready to bring hyperlinked writing (and reading) as an important genre into the classroom! Can one just start “throwing” …

(6 Comments)

Wondering About Hyperlinked Writing

typwriter-hyperinked-writing

Almost 4 years ago, I wrote a post on Langwitches titled Teaching Hyperlinked Writing and Reading. 4 years later, many (most?) teachers have not heard, let alone are teaching and coaching their students in the use of hyperlinked writing. The word “hyperlinked” is still being underlined in red as I …

(6 Comments)

Quality Commenting- Student Guest Post by Zoe M.

zoe

I invite few guest bloggers to share posts on Langwitches. This makes it especially rewarding to be able to present to my readers an incredible young lady. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds as a blog writer and commenter. She is a fourth grader at the Martin J. Gottlieb …

(3 Comments)

iPads

EdTalk- Educators Talk About Learning: Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano: iPads in education

EDtalks

I was honored to be interviewed by EdTalks- Educators talk about Learning, while speaking at Learning@School 12 in Hamilton, NZ this past January, about iPads in Education. Speaking at Learning@School 12, 21st Century learning specialist Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano asks the question: is the iPad a tool to transform learning, or a …

(1 Comment)

iPad Apps and Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom iPads Apps

I felt it was worthwhile to update the Top Post (over 25,000 views) on Langwitches: Bloom’s Taxonomy for iPads I have added links to each app represented on the visual.   Remember: Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers. describe name find name list …

(6 Comments)

My Ten Most Used Apps to Become Fluent on the iPad

ipad

It is no secret, that I enjoy my iPad tremendously. I even proclaimed, now and then, that I love it! From the beginning, I approached the iPad with one goal in mind: I wanted to become fluent in using it. There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, between being …

(4 Comments)

Digital Storytelling

Transliteracy- QR Codes and Art

qr-code-jamie

Transliteracy is defined on Wikipedia as The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means …

(11 Comments)

Why and How to Participate in Teddy Bears Around The World Project?

TBAW-project

I posted a few weeks ago about the ongoing Teddy Bears Around the World (now in its fourth year) project. The project blog and hub can be be found at http://www.langwitches.org/blog/travel/teddybearsaroundtheworld/ I have created a How-to-Guide in order to articulate how and why to join such a project, to make …

(3 Comments)

Teaching English through Film and Screenwriting…

YouTube

I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …

(No Comments)