ESC Region 12 Facilitates Its
First International Videoconference Event
Through video conferencing technology,
Mrs. Kay Baker’s first grade classroom in Clifton
visited with a St. Lorraine English Kindergarten
class in Hong Kong. The two classes were able to
see, talk and even play a game with each other. Because
of the fourteen hour time difference, the video conference
was held at 7:00 P.M. Friday night in Clifton and
9:00 A.M. Saturday morning in Hong Kong. The call
was placed by the Clifton site dialing an IP (Internet
Protocol) address in Hong Kong over the Internet.
The call lasted over an hour at no cost to either
site.
This event was initiated by Chun Bong
in Hong Kong placing a request with CLIC (Center
for Interactive Learning and Collaboration). He was
looking for classrooms to collaborate on various
projects. Lola Williams, one of Clifton’s Technology Coordinators, received
the request through a CLIC email and forwarded it
on to her teachers. Mrs. Baker indicated her interest
in the project and after many emails back and forth
to Mr. Bong in Hong Kong; a Halloween project was
set up for Nov. 3.
The Chinese students attend an
English school in Hong Kong and learn English at
a very early age which allowed the video conference
to be conducted almost entirely in English. A short
introduction of both sites was followed by several
of the Chinese students, dressed in traditional costumes,
(bride and groom, Bruce Lee, Emperor, Beautiful Lady)
telling Clifton students about themselves and their
costumes. The Chinese children then did a traditional
line dance and sang a song for Clifton. Clifton students,
also dressed in their Halloween costumes (Dash, devil,
witch, princess, Chucky, KISS Rock Star and King),
told about themselves and their costumes. A brief
explanation of the celebration of Halloween was given
by Mrs. Baker.
A Tai Chi exercise was performed by
the Chinese children. The Clifton students and parents
were invited to join the exercise. Then the Clifton
students then taught the Chinese children The Hokey
Pokey. All the children enjoyed learning and doing
these activities together.
Stone, paper, scissors
was the game played by the students. Each site had
one student participate at a time. The winner chose
from a pre-determined list of “punishments” for
the losing class to perform. The Clifton class lost
and had to” show a shoe”, at which point
the Chinese “complained” about the “smelly
feet” which brought a big laugh to both sites.
The Chinese children had to count to ten in Chinese,
sing a song, and do a dance. This game was of great
enjoyment to the children. At the conclusion of the
conference, the Chinese students sang their national
anthem.
“I really appreciated the parents
making this special effort to bring their children
back to school on a Friday evening for this event.
I believe the parents enjoyed the conference as much
as the children,” Mrs. Baker said. Lola Williams
proclaimed the conference a great success and remarked, “A
great deal of credit goes to Mr. Bong. He was extremely
organized in setting up and coordinating the entire
conference flawlessly. I would also like to thank
the parents for supporting this event and Mrs. Baker
for her preparation work with the children.”
Certificates
were exchanged by the schools so the students would
have a momento of the event.
This is the first Clifton
students have had the opportunity to interact with
students from another country and it was an exciting
opportunity for both schools.
Roxanne Glaser, Distance
Learning Specialist for ESC Region 12 in Waco adds, “I
am so excited for the opportunities that the students
of Clifton ISD that are brought to them by interactive
videoconferencing. I work with over 50 districts
in the ESC 12 service area and this is the first
international connection and we are so excited about
it! It is my pleasure to work with Lola Williams
and the teachers in Clifton…they are exceptional
and continually strive for unique and quality experiences
for students.”
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