Skype Call with Bus2Antarctica

I  follow Andrew Evans on Twitter. Nothing extraordinary, since I follow more than 1400 people, but… Andrew was not tweeting about classroom projects or the newest tool to improve teaching and learning.  Andrew, sponsored by National Geographic, set out in January 2010 from Washington, DC/USA to travel by bus all the way to Antarctica (…well with a boat ride here and there). Using Twitter, Andrew allowed his 2500+ followers to experience alongside him his journey through the US, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina all the way to Antarctica… All by bus…

What an incredible experience. Andrew also blogged about his adventures on the National Geographic Intelligent Travel Blog. Since our 8th graders are studying South America, I felt it could not hurt to try to contact Andrew to see if he would be available and willing to skype with our students to tell about his adventures and answer questions. I contacted him…. and he said YES!!!!

We set up a day and time to skype. On my end , I involved Mrs. R, our Middle School Social Studies teacher, and Mrs. Z, our 5th grade teacher, to prepare their students by reading through the Andrew’s blog and explore the @bus2antarctica Twitter feed “backwards’.

It was a wonderful opportunity to have 8th graders and 5th graders working collaboratively. The older students were charged with preparing relevant interview questions, guiding and mentoring 5th graders on how to go beyond questions that require “yes/no” answers. 5th graders were in charge of documenting the skype connection via their blog, flip and digital camera, backchannel (we use TodaysMeet.com) and entering data into a form, which goes to a spreadsheet.

Prepping for Skype Call

Skype call with Andrew Evans

Here are a few questions students asked:

By Marni S.

Why has going to Antarctica always been your life-long dream?
What was going through your mind when you were crossing the Strait of Magellan?
How did you get National Geographic as a sponsor?
What was it like getting on a plane and flying home in a few hours after 6 weeks of driving in buses?
Did you learn any new languages on the trip? Or new words in language?

By Shaina P.

I read that you were on a bus with a few Israeli’s. Did you learn any Hebrew from them? If so, what?
How did National Geographic support you on your trip.
What was going through your head when you crossed the straight of Magellan?
What were the different weather experiences you encountered?
Was the Mate good? What did you like about it? What did it taste like?

Video Taping and taking Digital Images

Live Blogging during Skype Call

Data Entry of Facts we learned about

Backchanneling

Download our backchannel pdf from the Skype call here : Bus2_Antarctica_Backchannel

Backchannel during Skype Call with Andrew Evans from @bus2antarctica
by 5th graders (Martin J Gottlieb Day School, Jacksonville, FL)
Reverse Chronological Order (Read from bottom to top)

he eats fish eyes

sonya at 3:36 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He tries anything that the culture naturally eats

Jordan at 3:36 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he had tried new things during the trip

sonya at 3:36 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he tried new foods

Ryan at 3:36 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mrs. H is telling him about her trip of the world

Jordan at 3:36 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

it was exiting for him to see the penguin

Ryan at 3:34 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he likes birds

aaron at 3:34 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Matte is like a green and brown color

Jordan at 3:34 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

The Mate was good

Sam at 3:33 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he loves mate

Ryan at 3:33 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

people were praying on the bus

Ari at 3:33 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He thought he was going to die

Sam at 3:32 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He had some Jewish people on the bus with him and learned some Hebrew

Jordan at 3:32 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he talked in russian with a guy

Ryan at 3:32 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He speaks Russian

Ari at 3:32 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

(Thank You)

Benjamin at 3:31 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He remembers Todah Rabah

Benjamin at 3:31 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He learned hebrew

Ari at 3:31 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

It was strange to go on a plane after all of the bus travel

Jordan at 3:31 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

It felt kind of like a dream cause he traveled for so long.

Benjamin at 3:31 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Every weather condition but hurricanes

Benjamin at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He went through all sorts of weather

Julia at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

There were many changes in weather

Sam at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Very cold at night. Very hot in the day.

Benjamin at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Every weather condition you could think of

Benjamin at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he learned how to explain an iphone in spanish

Ryan at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he had to teach people to take a picture

sonya at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He taught people how to use the i-phone in spanish

Benjamin at 3:30 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He told us the word drizzle in spanish

Benjamin at 3:29 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He learned drizzle in Spanish

Sam at 3:29 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he learned some spanish and other languages

sonya at 3:29 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Ryan at 3:29 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He learned a lot of new words in Spanish

Benjamin at 3:29 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

there were some times that he wanted to rest

sonya at 3:28 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

the skype is interesting

aaron at 3:28 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he had altitude sickness but never gave up his dream

Jordan at 3:28 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He wanted to go but there were times on the bus that he sat on the chair for 50 hours

Jordan at 3:27 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

mexico felt long

aaron at 3:27 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He saw a baby blue whale

Benjamin at 3:27 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Well its much better to see animals up close in nature than the Zoo

Jordan at 3:26 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Meeting real life animals is much better than going to the zoo in his opinion.

Benjamin at 3:26 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

There were Baby Seals

Sam at 3:26 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He thought ringing the bells was cool

Sam at 3:26 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

The Bolivian Salt Flats.

Benjamin at 3:25 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He loved visiting the Equator.

Benjamin at 3:25 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he loved the equator

Ryan at 3:25 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

seals are sneaky

aaron at 3:25 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

A leapord seal scared him because they have huge jaws

Jordan at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

They are a lot more dangerous than regular seals

Benjamin at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he was scared of lepoard seals

Ryan at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He was scared of the Leopard Seals

Benjamin at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he was very happy when he got to antartica

Ryan at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he says its good to set goals

aaron at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He was happy to reach his goal

Sam at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He was very happy when he met his goal

Benjamin at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Victoria and Hannah are now the next people to ask questions now

Jordan at 3:24 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He thought it was a beautiful country

Benjamin at 3:23 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he likes iraeli food

Ryan at 3:23 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mendel wanted to go to israel

aaron at 3:23 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He was in Israel last year

Benjamin at 3:23 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

mendel wants to go to Israel

Ryan at 3:23 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he was very scared that he would miss the bus

sonya at 3:23 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

alex want to go to australia

Ryan at 3:22 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

“Where is the place you always wanted to go to.”

Benjamin at 3:22 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

What would have happened if he lost his boat he said he found a boat that would go 3 days later but he made it there in time

Jordan at 3:22 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He is asking us a question

Benjamin at 3:22 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he had a backup plan

aaron at 3:22 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

It was a lot more urban here in America than down south.

Benjamin at 3:22 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Andrew said the country with the best besides America is Argentina.

Ari at 3:21 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

The united states was different than all the other places

Sam at 3:21 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

it was a shock for him to come back to america

Ryan at 3:21 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Argintina had good border patrol

Jordan at 3:21 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Argentina had very good security

Benjamin at 3:21 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

The best border security was in Argentina

Sam at 3:21 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mendel and Alex are now asking questions now

Jordan at 3:20 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Andrew’s bus hit a cow and the bus turned over

Ari at 3:20 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He had falling rocks on the road but they didn’t fall on him.

Benjamin at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

falling rocks on the road

Ryan at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He had falling rocks

Jordan at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

poor cow

aaron at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He also hit a cow and the bus rolled of the road

Sam at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he went to panama and saw sharks

Ryan at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He is going to talk mainly about terrifying experiences.

Benjamin at 3:19 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he was scared

aaron at 3:18 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He is going to tell a story about is adventure

Benjamin at 3:18 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He wanted to stay an extra month if he went again

Sam at 3:18 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he would take more time

Ryan at 3:17 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He hopes to go back to Antarctica

Julia at 3:17 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he wants to go back to antartica

Ryan at 3:17 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

it tasted like chicken

aaron at 3:17 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He tried Guinea Pig

Sam at 3:17 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he did not like ginea pig

Ryan at 3:16 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he had ocyopus

aaron at 3:16 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

the most interesting food was grilled octopus

sonya at 3:16 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

The best meal was in Peru it was a Grill Octopus

Sam at 3:16 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

They asked another question on how he got National Geographic to sponser him

Jordan at 3:16 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

The most interesting thing was that he discovered the world was small

Sam at 3:16 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He thinks that traveling on land is more fascinating instead of air travel because you experiences more experiences.

Benjamin at 3:15 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Andrew wanted to take a bus on the trip because he wanted to see more on the trip. ©

Ari at 3:15 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He is a travel writer

Julia at 3:15 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he writes for nat geo

Ryan at 3:15 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

sam is back channeling

aaron at 3:15 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

world atlas is his favorite book

sonya at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Shira asked what made want to go on the trip he answered that he always loved to travel

Jordan at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He was inspired by the world atlas

Sam at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he likes land travel instead of flying

Ryan at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

this is cool

aaron at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

HE has always wanted to do this

Sam at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he wanted to go to Antartica when he was little

Ryan at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Houston Texas

Benjamin at 3:14 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he is in houston

Ryan at 3:13 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via we

Mrs. T is talking to Andrew about backchannel and the talkers

Jordan at 3:13 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mrs. T is telling him about our jobs.

Benjamin at 3:13 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

introducing each other

Ryan at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

We finally have connection

Jordan at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He is turning on his video and we now can see him.

Benjamin at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

saying hi

Ryan at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

here we go

Ryan at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Andrew Evans is online©

Ari at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

He’s Finally HERE

Jordan at 3:12 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mrs. T. is trying to contact Andrew via i-phone

Benjamin at 3:07 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

everybody is waiting

Ryan at 3:06 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

We are still hoping for a response

Jordan at 3:06 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

sonya at 3:05 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mrs. T is telling us how to say good luck in Argentinain

Jordan at 3:05 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mrs. hernandez came him

aaron at 3:03 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Mrs. T is talking about Andrew and Mrs. T is calling him now

Jordan at 3:03 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

this willl be a privelige

aaron at 3:02 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

we are lucky to skype with him

aaron at 3:02 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

he went to Antartica on a bus from Washington D.C.

Benjamin at 2:57 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

We are going to Skype with Andrew Evans

Ari at 2:57 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Sam at 2:56 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Hello

Ryan at 2:56 PM, 27 Apr 2010 via web

Hi

Introducing New Ning: Around the World with 80 Schools

After 14 months of manually managing the rapidly growing  participants/educators to the Around the World with 80 Schools project (and adding their locations to a Google Map), I have decided to migrate and build a community for participants on the Around the World with 80 Schools Ning.

Around The World With 80 Schools Ning

Here is some info about the project and steps to join and participate.

Around the World with 80 Schools started in January 2009 and is an ongoing project.

The challenge is to connect your students with 80 schools from around the world via Skype (a free video conferencing tool). Once completed, you will be inducted into the Hall of Fame of “Skyping Certified Educator”
So make sure you keep documentation of your connections.

It is up to you how regularly and for how long you connect with your Skype partners. The only requirement to count as a “connection” is that you are connecting your students with another school anywhere in the world. While it will take some participants a few months to complete the challenge, it might take others several years and different student groups to connect with 80 schools. There is no time limit nor pressure to make a certain amount of Skype connections in a given time period.

You are welcome to join with your students at any time. There is no grade nor subject area limitations.

Interested?

1. Sign up for the project to add your contact info to a growing list of educators from around the world who are interested and ready to connect with you and your students. Once added and approved, you will receive access to the spreadsheet with the contact info.
2. Become a member of the Around the World with 80 Schools Ning.
3. Add your location to the Member Map on the Ning
4. Make contact via the spreadsheet or via the Ning.
5. Document your connections.
6. Share your experience on the Ning by writing a blog post, adding images, videos or links.
7. When you have completed 80 connections, submit application (more info to come soon) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Already a member from Around the World with 80 Schools?
You already have access to the contact info spreadsheet. Please join the Ning and add your location to the Member Map on the Ning, The placemark will link back to your Member Profile. Please blog about your Skype experiences with your students and share images and videos of the Skype connection with the network.

Help me spread the word of the skyping educator Ning, by tweeting and blogging about it.

Use Experience to Reach Others

The title of this post “Use Experience to Reach Others” is from a blog post one of our 7th grade (Jewish) students wrote after skyping with (Muslim) students from Minnesota. (Thanks Micah!)

Last month, out Middle School students became the Experts as they were talking bout Judaism to 7th grade classes from Michigan, who were studying World Religions. Our students asked the class from Michigan if they had any Jewish students (which they didn’t) and if they knew any Jews personally (which they didn’t). There was one Muslim student in their class and our students immediately asked her questions about Islam. After the Skype call was over, our students expressed interest in contacting and connecting with other Muslim students in order to learn more about their religion.

A quick tweet out put me in contact with the Banadiir Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the American School of Khartoum, Sudan. Thank you Trey Wodele and Damianne for making the connection !

The first Skype call was set up with Minnesota. During the call, which lasted almost an hour, I witnessed what I am defining as a transformative learning experience. Students had a list of questions prepared about Islam. In the beginning (first 20-30 minutes),  the conversations felt very scripted as students read and answered the questions off their list. That changed when students from Minnesota asked “Do you want to see how we pray?” There was an enthusiastic “Yes” on the Florida end of the screen. As they were watching  and listening to the explanation, one student ran to get his Tallit (prayer shawl) and Tefillin to show and demonstrate how Jews dress while they pray.

From that moment on, students truly interacted with each other on both sides of the screen. It was the moment that questions came off the list they had prepared and curiosity took over, connections and articulation of their own experiences reached a new level. Skype made it a transformative learning experience by:

• making it a conversation… a back and forth
• personalizing the questions and answers
• connecting it to their own experiences
• making learning go far beyond what a static text book page can provide

I could tell that the wheels in the students’ minds were still turning as the Skype call ended. After leaving the “Social Studies” class and heading over to their next period, the 7th grade “Language Arts”teacher jumped on the opportunity to build on this learning experience of her students. She asked them to take the notes they had taken during the Skype call and write a reflective blog post about their experience.

Find an excerpt of their posts below with links to their classroom blog and a short 90 second video of the Skype connection.

An Eye-Opening Experience

I believe that not only should we Skype with people of different religions, we should want to Skype with them. The experience is eye opening and very informative. I now understand many things about Muslims that I did not before, and they probably learned things about us that they did not know before. This was fun and a great learning experience. If you are someone who is ready to learn about new things and people, you should try Skyping, too!

Reflection on this Morning

Hopefully, technology can bring us together so we can see the good and the similarities in each other, instead of the differences.

Skyping with Muslims in Minneapolis

There are so many disagreements with our cultures. Those disagreements break the chains of our friendships. We need to take a stand and connect the chains back together. They are great people; some other religions like Catholic and Hindu, and not just us, need to Skype with them.

What I Learned

I want to write letters to the Somalian Muslim students that my class and I skyped with, like “Pen Pals”; and maybe, just maybe, we can become close friends – you never know.

Using our Experience to Reach others

I am Jewish and I just skyped with kids who are Muslims. From this experience, I realized that we have more similarities than differences. We, and people of all religions, need to put our differences aside and look at our similarities.[...] If we take the time to get to know religions other than our own we will understand, just like I did, that we can get along. So, my one wish for the world, is that one day we will have peace – it is up to every one of us, and can begin with a single conversation.

Skyping with Muslims in Minnesota

Rational hate would be us Americans hating the people who were behind 9/11. Irrational hate would be us hating every Muslim we see, just because they are Muslim. What is the reason behind it? It’s the same as saying you never want to speak to a German again because of the Holocaust. That person could be totally against Hitler. Never judge a book by its cover; those who do may miss the best read of their life.

7th Grade + Modern Technology = An Endless World of Learning

It was just a normal morning in March. I walked through the school doors ready for my daily classes: Hebrew, math, science, English, and history. Today, though, I learned so much more than those subjects. At 10:00 A.M., we dived into the beliefs and traditions of a different religion, Islam…via our modern technology, Skype. [...] Over all, this was a fantastic experience that many people would probably never get to have. We shared information about ourselves and learned about a different religion. Hopefully, one friendly interaction at a time, more and more people will begin to realize the similarities connecting people around the world.