Knowledge Network "Getting to know you" International Skype Session



Release date	26 May 2010


Skype Session - 29 April 2010

Time Zones
EDT, CAT

Educators and Coordinators
Jean-Marie Donoghue - NY, NY, USA
Christopher I Townsin - PE, SA
Grant Gibson - PE, SA
Jil Hrdliczka - Knowledge Network

Knowledge Network " Getting to know you" Skype Session

Innovation in learning and using information technology as a tool for life and learning
Knowledge Network, Saint Ignatius Loyola School, New York, New York, USA, Grey High School, Grey Junior School, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Brief / Session Implementation Plan - Skype Getting to know you Session - 29 April 2010

Hello
Introduction to school and geography
Share information about our schools and lifestyles
Farewell

Grade 05	08:45 - 09:30 EDT	14:45 - 15:30 CAT
Grade 08	11:00 - 11:45 EDT	17:00 - 17:45 CAT

"The Skype session was a huge success. The learners had fun, learned a lot and were exposed to new technologies, ways to communicate and research different people, lifestyles and places." Jil Hrdliczka, Knowledge Network. Thank you to Jean, Chris, Grant, the Grade 05 and Grade 08 learners at Saint Ignatius Loyola School, Grey Junior School and Grey High School. Knowledge Network integrated, project-based and collaborative learning at its best! I think this is the first of its kind.

"Thank you for making this possible! I appreciate the comments and I will share them with the classes. It really was a wonderful experience for all of us. I look forward to doing more next year!" Jean, Saint Ignatius Loyola School, NY, NY, USA

"I found this activity very enriching, and I would recommend doing it again. I felt very grateful to be able to have this opportunity that not many students will ever have." Grade 08 learner at Saint Ignatius Loyola School, NY, NY, USA

Feedback from Grey High School, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Dylan, Grade 8	I honestly enjoyed the Skype session. I have no questions but would just like to say thank you to them for giving up their time to speak to us.
Willem, Grade 8	I think the Skype session with the school in America was a very good idea. I really liked finding out a bit more about their school, daily lives and what they do in their spare time. I also think that they liked talking to us and finding out more about us. I don�t think we were as prepared as them. I liked it and think we should do it more often.
Max, Grade 8	I personally thought it was a good experience to see how they can have a school with 6 floors. It was fascinating for me to see how different it is there, compared to what we have in South Africa, like they don�t have sport at school most of that stuff is outside of the school. Overseas they don�t learn Afrikaans, as a second language they learn Spanish which I think is amazing. It was really great to sit and chat to them to see how things work in that part of the world. I really think we should do it again but next time it should be longer.

Feedback from learners at St Ignatius Loyola School, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA

Grade 08 learners Write-ups on the Session See one, two or three line feedback on the Session (comments, thoughts, what did I learn) at the end of this page.	I've always wanted to know how different my life is from those in different countries.....	PDF 8 KB
	In just a 45-minute computer period, I learned so much about a specific school in South Africa......	PDF 8 KB
	The students gave us a glimpse of their everyday lives.....	PDF 7 KB
	This lesson taught me much about the South African culture and I wish to learn more.....	PDF 7 KB
	I had only the vision that all the African charities display about the poor parts of Africa.....	PDF 8 KB
	I found that class 8-1's Skype session with students from South Africa was one of the most interesting things I've done this year.....	PDF 9 KB
Grade 05 learners One, two or three line feedback on the Session (comments, thoughts, what did I learn)	The Skype experience was exciting. I never knew what Skype was. It was very interesting to talk to people from South Africa.
	It was cool how we got to actually see the kids. The students looked nice in their uniforms.
	I also like how we were many miles away from them and we could actually see them and they could see us.
	It was cool to ask them questions and they would answer back.
	I now know what its like to be a kid at Grey Junior School.
	I like it because we got to learn about people in a different country. I thought how weird it is that they live so far away but they still do the same things we do here.
	It is cool that you can skype people from thousands of miles away and learn what they do.
	It is cool when you learn something new about someone. This was a once in a lifetime thing to do.
	We learned that they want to learn about us like we want to learn bout them.
	Because the microphones weren't working properly, we type our messages. That's how I learned that you can also type messages on Skype. I used to think you could only talk on it.
	I learned that you can use video, audio and or type on Skype.
	I thought the kids would be a lot differently from us but they were actually a lot alike us.

Learner and educator preparation (research brief) for the session

Background research for learners in Manhattan, New York about the South African School

Time Zone	CAT - Central Africa Time SAST - South African Standard Time UTC + 2 hours UTC = Coordinated Universal Time GMT + 2 hours GMT = Greenwich Mean Time No daylight saving
Google Earth Map	College Drive, Mill Park, Port Elizabeth 6001, South Africa
GPS Coordinates	X: 25�35`45`` Y: -33�57`38``
School web sites	http://www.greyjunior.co.za - for the Grade 05 learners. http://www.greyhighschool.com - for the Grade 08 learners. Take the virtual tour of Grey High School - very cool. http://www.greyhighschool.com/components/virtual-tour/index.html http://www.greyhighschool.com/index.php/20080114313/Admissions/Admissions/Prospectus.html http://www.greyhighschool.com/index.php/Academic-Subject-Information/Information-and-Communication-Technology-ICT/ (Info for the educator) Info about the school network http://www.greyhighschool.com/index.php/Academic/Information-Services/ Fibre optic infrastructure, network backbone runs at 1Gbps, Cisco network equipment. 3 computer labs, remedial lab, music lab, engineering and graphics lab, boarding house lab and computers for educators to use in teaching and delivering learning. Sport and music are also important to the school.
Knowledge Network Photo trip	http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/dlpics/South%20Africa.htm Select Photo Trip Page 18 PE 01 to PE 05, A trip around Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth is a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer South Africa, June - July 2010.
Cool facts about Port Elizabeth	wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City Port Elizabeth is a popular scuba diving destination - sharks, Humpback and Bryde's whales and bottlenose dolphins. Bloukrans River Bridge is the highest bungee jump bridge in the world. Bloukrans Bungy - a Proud Guinness World Record Holder for the Highest Commercial Bungee Jump in the World at 216m! Situated along the Garden Route at the Tsitsikamma Forest Village Market, just 40km east of Plettenberg Bay along the N2 Highway you will find the highest single span arch bridge in the world. Canopy tours through the Tsitsikamma indigenous forest glide some 30 m in the air attached to a harness, along steel cables between platforms amongst yellowwood trees. Guided tours take you on an ecological journey learning about the forest and animal life that inhabits it. You can see Knysna Loeries, Narina Trogon (forest bird) and the Samango monkey. Port Elizabeth is known as the friendly city. Port Elizabeth is known as the windy city. Learners in some schools in South Africa and the USA involved in the Skype sessions are implementing the same Knowledge Network IT Learning System Progressive Learning Programme. Look at some of the work done by the learners on the following pages of the Knowledge Network web site: http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/UsingITLS/UsingITLS.htm http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/UsingITLSL04L05/UsingITLSL04L05.htm
2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer South Africa pages	The links to these pages were added after the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer South Africa. http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/dlpics/WorldCup2010/2010FifaWorldCupTTR.htm http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/dlpics/WorldCup2010/2010FIFAWorldCup.htm Knowledge Network prepares for the World Cup http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/KNStories/2010/KNWorldCupPrep_Mar%202010.htm Knowledge Network "Goodie Pack" sent to St Ignatius Loyola School for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer South Africa: USA Vuvuzela, USA car mirror socks, USA wrist bands, Zakumi puppet for class lessons, Zakumi pens and pencils, Zakumi pins, 2010 World Cup Soccer pins, minature soccer cap, minature USA Vuvuzela, USA car flag SA Vuvuzela, Bafana Bafana Vuvuzela, SA car mirror socks, SA wrist bands, SA car flag Prices used for SA Rand and USA Dollar comparison based on the exchange rate of the day.

Background research for learners at Grey in Port Elizabeth, SA about the New York School

Time Zones	EST - Eastern Standard Time EDT - Eastern Daylight Time Daylight saving - 1 hour (what is daylight saving, Spring Forward, Fall Back?) EDT: UTC - 4 hours UTC = Coordinated Universal Time EDT: GMT - 4 hours GMT = Greenwich Mean Time EST: UTC - 5 hours UTC = Coordinated Universal Time EST: GMT - 5 hours GMT = Greenwich Mean Time Daylight saving for 2010: Spring Forward: 2 a.m. March 14 (14/03/2010 02:00) Fall Back: Nov 2 a.m. Nov 07 (07/11/2010 02:00)
Google Earth Map	48 East 84th Street New York, NY 10028-0885, United States
GPS Coordinates	Coordinates: 40:40:11N 73:56:38W
School web sites	http://www.saintignatiusloyolaschool.com
Knowledge Network Photo trip	http://knowledgenetwork.co.za/dlpics/NewYork.htm
Cool facts about New York	wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City Virtual tours of New York City, New York, United States of America Continent: North America Country: United States of America State: New York (NY) County: New York County City: New York City Altitude: 1m / 6ft Currency: US Dollar (USD) Language: English Population: City: 8,363,710 (2008)

Feedback from learners at St Ignatius Loyola School, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA

Grade 8 One, two or three line feedback on the Session (comments, thoughts, what did I learn)	My favorite part, by far, was that we were able to ask them questions ourselves.
	I learned that we weren�t much different from them. They play sports and eat some of the same things we do too.
	I can�t believe they have 920 students and they take more classes than we did and some of the subjects I have not heard of.
	I am surprised they have a McDonald�s in South Africa.
	This lesson taught me much about the South African culture and I wish to learn more.
	For leisure, some of the students go hunting while others play sports.
	They take computer Class much more often than we do (unfortunately for us).
	I was excited to learn that our school and their school are almost the same yet different. This was an experience I will never forget.
	This was one of the most interesting things I have done this year. Not only was it a cool experience but it gave us all the opportunity to learn very much about our counterparts in South Africa.
	I was surprised the boys had blond hair and blue eyes like me. They were very educated and well-rounded.
	We had a connection because we all like playing sports. It�s totally awesome that you can be miles away but still do the same thing.
	I wish we could do it again.
	It was cool to ask them question and even better to hear their questions. It was funny that they thought we all have butlers.
	I hope to visit South Africa and see what they do on an everyday basis.
	I learned that they did not look as I pictured them and they spoke multiple languages.
	Overall we had a lot of laughs and it is something that I will not forget about my 8th grade year here at St. Ignatius.
	I have experience video chat before but not with someone from another country. It was cool how we all got to ask them our own questions.
	It was a real privilege to talk to them because they go to learn things about us and we go tot learn things about them.
	I learned from video chatting with the Grey School students they are not much different than we are. They do homework, hang out with friends and play sports. Even though they are far way, they are still regular kids, just like us.

Awesome.

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