Voices Of The World

Why Do This Again In 2008 - 2009?

Why do Voices Of The World Again in 2008-2009? Why be a member of the VOTW community? Is it to just be an observer and take or is it to be a participant? What do you want to get from this project? What do you want children to take from VOTW?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Karin Ulvelid on October 7, 2008 at 7:18pm: Hi Sharon and everyone else! I missed this discussion completely! How come I didn´t get replies sent to my e-mail. I feel left out. Buhu! Anyway, I am a Participant. I saw votw being born in Tallinn 2007 and I even know the jingle. Whatever happaned to that Sharon!?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sharon Tonner on October 7, 2008 at 7:52pm: lol - yes the Jingle was unique and only a few know it. Maybe it will be released as a CD one day - who knows!!!

Don't know why you are not getting the emails I send when I place things on ning as they are going to everyone else. Check your personal details and see if the email that is assigned to you is the correct one.

take care,

Sharon; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by margaret vass on October 7, 2008 at 8:32pm: I'd like to stay on as an observer, too. I'm on secondment at the moment and have left the class blog in very capable hands meanwhile!

It was nice to meet you (briefly) at the SLF.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens here this session .... and I'll go on spreading the word about what a great project this is :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sharon Tonner on October 7, 2008 at 8:39pm: Thanks Margaret and it was great seeing you too even if you took me by surprise! Enjoy the secondment.

Sahron; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jesse on October 8, 2008 at 5:06pm: Sharon,
My students love hearing from around the world and they love hearing themselves. Since we are a very small community it is great to be able to connect to other cultures in this very safe format. For me this project is a way for my students to connect to a world outside of their own.

I think its a great idea to open up the discussions for more ideas as two heads is better than one. It would be interesting to see how VOTW changes and grows this year.

We will continue to be as active as possible either way.
Jesse; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sharon Tonner on October 8, 2008 at 11:15pm: Great Asterio, if you want to get your class to make a voki for the first task that would be wonderful.

Sharon; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cathy Francis on October 8, 2008 at 10:05pm: Hello Sharon.. please ignore my request to join Wiki thing ref VOTW.... Here is the forum I was looking for!!!
Will compose an answer to your question but rest assured WE DO WANT TO JOIN IN AGAIN !!!!
LOL Cathy; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cathy Francis on October 9, 2008 at 5:32pm: In answer to your questions;
Your proposal of the collaborative approach this year is great. Very cunning too ! We/I are/am looking forward to fully contributing and there is a feeling of excited anticipation in each of our classes. Being part of VOTW opens the auditory window to the rest of the world ....especially important as our school is tucked away in the far north east of Scotland. Children less inclined to read and write can fully participate and IT geeks get a bit of stretching mastering the new technologies required.So to sum up..... I expect the children to gain a sense of belonging to a world community of voices. PS It's also really GOOD FUN :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Katarzyna Wizgacz on October 10, 2008 at 3:55pm: Well, my being part of this project is very new so I'm not here again. I want to take part in everything with my students that is connected with using Internet, computer and any new tools to communicate. We hope to be able to do all tasks. I think the project is going to help them notice what are the possibilities of Internet nowadays - that it's not just a tool to find information but also to put and watch a piece of someone's life by recording videos or just voices ;) in my school we want to show children what is the power of english language so by joing some english project make them aware of the fact that knowing the language they can communicate with the whole world :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Katarzyna Wizgacz on October 10, 2008 at 4:04pm: just one more thing about your question about being just an observer or a participant. I'm willing to put there some ideas however we don't have any special IT tools at school (in fact just computers without any microphones even at the moment) so I'm stressed enough if I'm going to be able to perform the task prepared for the month. Therefore I suspect that I'm going to be an observer and ,,taker" now - but very very willing to do it ;); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kirstin Anderson - McGhie, on October 11, 2008 at 3:14am: Hi Sharon
I definitely want to be part of this again. We heard about it quite late in the project as it was the beginning of our school year here in NZ but nearly the end of yours. We're on school holidays at the moment but go back to school tomorrow. I intend for my class to participate almost every month, however; due to the school terms in NZ we probably won't manage January.
Why do I do it, I think it's great for children to learn about other cultures and to appreciate how we are the same and how we are different. I do a lot of work with my class using web 2.0 tools and this gives them an authentic, educational purpose for using them. I think it's great for developing oral language skills as well - both listening & speaking.
Unfortunately we didn't get to do the introductory task for this time round as it was school holidays here and as I was away with family & then away at a conference I hadn't seen any of the emails until this morning - hope that's ok.
I think this is a fantastic idea - I love that it encourages collaboration and connectivity, as well as broadening the children's horizons.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Barbara Bashour on October 11, 2008 at 7:49am: Why do Voices of the World again?
I want VOTW to continue because it was a wonderful learning experience for the teachers and a global connector for both the teachers and the students.

Why be a member of the VOTW community?
I think it's an excellent way to learn from others about what they're doing in the classroom, particularly with technology.

Sometimes the pressures of reality take over and one might not be able to actively participate. I, of course, am referring to myself. Even when we couldn't get to school (little wars or bombs) to get the work done, I know the students enjoyed "participating" (checking the site) from their home.

What do I want to get?

1) I want to continue to learn from others about the awesome things out there to help teachers become a responsible 21st century teacher.

2) I also want to be able to give all the students an opportunity to really become a part of a larger community; for some students, the need to feel part of their own small community is also necessary.

3) I want to raise the standards of our own work by seeing the awesome work of others.

What do you want children to take from VOTW?

1) I want the students to understand what is involved in making a commitment. We have agreed to participate. What does that mean? It means we have to comply with the time deadlines, follow the directions, etc.

2) I want the children to be proud of their own country; seeing their flag and seeing our school on the map evoke a lot of emotion.

3) I want to encourage the children to be proud of their language. Only too often we hear the kids complain about Arabic and want everything done in English.

4) I want the children to be able to share with their extended families; all our students have family scattered around the world.

5) I want the students to learn about other countries, by piquing their interest after learning a little about a specific school and seeing what the kids produce.

I guess I expect a lot from VOTW! And the best part is that I know all of the above can be done!; ▶ Reply to This