ANDeducation

The second year of our Connecting Classrooms project with schools in Kandahar has involved students using mobile phones provided by Nokia to create simple English Language lessons. Multimedia features of these smartphones have been used extensively. This work is continuing but we will now be using the theme of ‘Kites’ to share learning experiences.

Language learning using mobile phones. We are going to develop a support programme using mobile technologies and a phone to web application. The students in Kandahar will improve their English language skills while the UK students will develop their language structure and literacy skills in a cross-phase and curricular context. This is a student driven, peer to peer initiative.

We had a fruitful visit to two schools in Kabul. A boys high school and a girls high school. The students were fully committed to the Connecting Classrooms project with schools in the UK. They were insightful and keen to learn from their partner students. The students in the boys school made suggestions how future project funding could be used to enhance educational opportunities within Afghanistan. The girl students wanted to exploit the opportunities to improve their career prospects; engineering and the medical professions were identified by many of the students. Their English language capabilities were of a high order.
Class sizes are 25 to 30 and the classrooms basic.

We have found out a great deal of information about the school system in Afghanistan and in Kandahar. The idea of expanding the use of mobile phone in all the schools to project was well received. Tomorrow we will see schools and speak with students about their educational experiences. This will help address Internet connection limitations and irregular electricity supplies.

Happening soon.
The first meeting of the UK (England and Scotland) cluster group with their partner teachers outside of the UK.

As part of our podcasting project students from Reunion Island are conducting interviews with a team of scientist who are conducting research in the arctic. This page links to the video podcasts created by students from Lycée Paul Moreau, Reunion Island. They have been constructed using the written responses to questions posed.

Flashmeeting is good when it works. Today we tried to meet with our partner students in Reunion Island but there seems to have been a problem.

Last academic year was a great success. We started with audio podcasts but soon started experimenting with video and ways to share our programmes. The wideboard, Loudblog and iTunes directory were all used to share our work with each other and other interested students from other schools.

Our project won first prize at the National eTwinning Conference awards. Read more here

A new academic year, share your ideas for our project

Five teachers from the UK and six from South Africa spent time together in Mbale. It has been an amazing experience. Please add your thoughts.

RSS feed for video podcast