WAP: Global Citizens

When I was in elementary school, I always wanted a pen pal. It never happened for me, but I’m determined to make those connections happen for my students. With technology, it is easier than ever to do that. We talked at length in class about how essential it is for students to be “global citizens.” Not only for their future careers but more importantly, to develop into well-rounded, empathetic individuals. While it is indeed easier than ever to connect with people from across the globe, it is also easier than ever to be self-involved, especially for students. Technology can be used to reach out, but it is also being used to focus inward through Instagram, Facebook (though I hear the “kids these days” don’t even use facebook anymore), Snapchat, etc. In addition, there is so much vile and hateful political discourse coming out of Washington right now that creates an “us vs. them” mentality and positions anyone who is not a white American citizen as an “other,” which is (as we know) incredibly damaging and dangerous. As someone who plans to teach kindergarten, I will be in the position of being able to teach kids about thinking globally and being open and empathetic to others at a very young age - hopefully setting them up for a lifetime of it.

I came across a very cool idea using Skype called “Mystery Skype.” This lets your class Skype with another class and try to guess where they are located (and they guess where your class is located)! There are options of classrooms from all across the globe. Mystery Skype is a fantastic idea - not only does it introduce kids to people outside of their bubble, but it is simply an excellent (and super-fun) way to teach basic concepts like cardinal direction, general distance (near or far), or how to look at a map.

This video above is a great example of a Mystery Skype session in a kindergarten classroom.

As you can see, the kids are having so much fun. At the end, when they guess the location of the other class correctly, the class erupts with joy. Aside from having fun, they are using critical thinking skills, practicing geography skills, and are working together.

Before participating in a Mystery Skype, it would be very important to come up with questions ahead of time. Maybe a day or two before, come up with your list of questions with the class. Make sure that the questions will actually lead to a guess being able to be made. It would be disappointing for kids to not ask a question that would actually lead to a guess! Additionally, I think it would be essential to do some practice first. This way the teacher could see if the kids understand the concepts they are going to have to use. In envisioning this being utilized in a kindergarten class, I think it would need to be done toward the end of the year, or at least after holiday breaks. In the beginning of the year kindergarteners are so young, and most do not understand cardinal direction or even concepts like "near the ocean" or what products might come from what states. You'll need time ahead of your lesson to make sure that any information the kids ask for and receive is information they can actually understand! Finally, you’d also have to be sure that you are explicit about what a “secret” is, and how essential it is to NOT yell out where your class is located.

As I was looking into doing Mystery Classrooms for younger students, I found other ideas if “Where are you?” is too challenging for your class. Some blogs suggested doing mystery numbers of mystery animals.

While a Mystery Skype is something I’m interested in utilizing, it is certainly not the only way to use Skype to encourage students to be global citizens. You could have a guest from anywhere in the world speak to your class about any topic you can imagine; you can have another class share a project they are working on; a native language speaker could teach your students some new worlds, or show them a special aspect of their culture; you could share a book with another class, etc. Skype is an incredible tool for connecting your students with the world.

I love the idea of Skype because it is a fun and interesting way for students to not only learn but also to physically see other students and maybe hear firsthand about how their different lives. Young children can be such visual learners. Actually seeing those that are different from them helps them make a deeper connection and really take in the information in a deeper way.

Finally, check out this blog featuring the many ways that a Kindergarten classroom in VT is using technology to make connections.

As you can see, there are so many possibilities. With one laptop in your classroom, you can connect your students with the world.


.