Skype lets pals put pens away
SPRING HILL — It used to be pen pals. Now it is e-mail buddies, students using a host of new electronic means to make friends around the world.
This year, Heidi Schlyer's fifth-grade students at Notre Dame Catholic School reached out to their e-mail buddies through Skype technology, which allows users to see the person to whom they are speaking.
And so it was one Sunday in March when the students went to school at 9 p.m. to talk to new friends halfway around the world in Vietnam.
"It was 8 a.m. in Vietnam," Schlyer noted.
The call lasted about an hour, and the children could see and speak with each other. "There was lots of screaming, laughing and giggling," Schlyer said. "Seeing each other's faces was really exciting for them."
The grand experiment, which concluded recently when the students gathered to sign a book containing photos and e-mails from their new pals, began in January when University of Central Florida professor Thomas Murray visited the class to tell them about the country.
Murray had visited the school last year when Schlyer was teaching first grade and he had a grandson in the class.
A former student of Murray's, Liz Henderson, now teaches at the Singapore International School in Da Nang in Vietnam. She and Schlyer, who were introduced last year, instantly connected.
The Notre Dame students went to their newly revamped technology lab when it was time to e-mail their buddies. Henderson used a list from Schlyer to match their students. The number of children didn't exactly match, so a few Notre Dame fourth-graders were invited to participate.
As the students corresponded, they got to know their counterparts and vise versa. The friendships were highlighted when they got to meet them on a big, white Smart Board during the Skype call.
"They learned they were so similar," Schlyer said. Both cultures include soccer, baseball, pets, computers and similar subjects in school.
Lots of photos were taken to remember the call and to help illustrate the next part of the project, a book of memories dubbed Good Morning From Viet Nam. Students wrote reflections and drew pictures of their relationships and what they had learned about their friends.
The book also contains photographs of Murray teaching them and of the Skype call. The students commemorated the events by signing the quarter-inch-thick book.
Lindsey Statler, 11, was pals with Mary (she didn't know her last name). "I learned that she has two dogs and a sister," Lindsey said. "Her house is very colorful. I think it's more colorful than most houses. We both like animals, and hopefully we'll be able to get together some day. She's 11, also.
International Kid Pal Pen - News
SPRING HILL — It used to be pen pals. Now it is e-mail buddies, students using a host of new electronic means to make friends around the world. This year, Heidi Schlyer's fifth-grade students at Notre Dame
The event, sponsored by the Naples Area Triathletes, is a triathlon for kids aged 7-13 and designed to promote physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Jason Easterly/Special to the Daily News And they were off — for the Fifth Annual Junior Fitness
“The Ashikaga International Association, which is the sister's city's partner there, made sure that we could get responses back before the children left for the school year,” she said. “They sent pictures … to show that they were still OK.
Phyllis Zimmerman, The Reid Elementary School fourth-grader Nicholas Holmes, 10, of Middletown, visits on Skype with his pen pal Andre at Mazapan School in Honduras. Reid guidance counselor Anna Smith, one of the pen-pal project’s
"The kids think it's pretty cool to have a pen pal in this country," said Gomez, who has gone back to Honduras twice in the past six months and will go again in July to check on the projects. Her goal is to expand Educate2Envision International to
Sidekicks International Pen Pal Project Phi Theta Kappa Blog
This project is an attempt to help kids get motivated about learning. At the beginning of this project, we researched the effects of pen pals on students. In all cases, we learned that students’ motivation, skills, and aptitude improved. We believe that increasing elementary school students’ awareness of other cultures will open up their world views. So, we decided to implement a project with Knox County Schools to bring our international pen pal program to public school children. We had to take a few steps to get involved with the school system, such as getting approval from the Knox County Research Committee. Our next step is to bring the project to students at Pellissippi. We are currently working to get foreign language teachers at PSTCC to offer extra credit for students that have an international pen pal of the language that they are studying.
What can you do to help?
We need volunteers and contacts! In order to work directly with students, you must pass a background check, for the safety of students. Once you pass it, you will be able to go into the schools and work directly with the students. Other ways you can help are to pass on our information to Knox County public school teachers or any international school teachers/students that you think may be interested in this project. For more information or to get started, please contact Emily Holcomb at emilyismcsquared@gmail.com or respond to the Doodle Poll “Pen Pal Interest Group”.
International Kid Pal Pen - Bookshelf
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