Teaching With Technology: Zooming Way Out - for Global Views
Introducing children to people from other cultures is easy with today's tech!
- Grades: Early Childhood, Infant, PreK–K, 1–2
Whether it is airmail or e-mail, teachers have always been eager to use the latest technology to communicate with people from other cultures. Several strategies and sites to help introduce children to people from other cultures are presented.
Whether it's airmail or e-mail, teachers have always been eager to use the latest technology to communicate with people from other cultures. Today's Internet has made us just one mouse click away from those on the other side of the world. It lets you bring libraries of children's books or Web cam views of exotic places right into your classroom. Here are some strategies and sites that will help you explore places both familiar and foreign with children:
Bulletin Board: Exploring Family Roots With Old Documents
Materials Needed: bulletin board; photocopy machine
America is a land comprised mostly of immigrants, so it is likely you have many different cultures represented in your group of children. Send home a note requesting that parents send in photocopies or scans of old family documents, such as passports, postcards, old photos, or diplomas. Next, display the copies along with each child's picture on a classroom wall or large bulletin board, using a world map to pinpoint each country that is represented.
Take a Word Tour
Materials Needed: computer with an Internet connection; computer projector
Visit one of thousands of Web cams to show children what's going on right now in other parts of the world. Keep in mind that it might be nighttime there (which makes a pretty boring picture!).
International Children's Digital Library
Children's Digital Library
Want to show children what a storybook looks like in China? Recently improved to work with any browser, this is a collection of more than 260 children's books from around the world, each carefully scanned and free of advertising. The books are part of the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) and represent 27 cultures in 15 languages.
Web Cams for Kis
Want to see what's going on in Moscow or at the Eiffel Tower in France right now? There are thousands of Web cams hard at work delivering live images-either in still pictures or as streaming video-from all over the world. Earthcam.com is one of the largest directories, but there is also a special children's edition, called Earth Cam for Kids, with no worrisome content.
TIP: Bookmark sites beforehand to make sure they work.
The Ultimate Dictation Machine
Materials Needed: word processor set on large font; printer, paper; laptop computer; computer projector
Next time you want to do some collaborative writing, such as asking children to describe their family traditions, plug your laptop into a computer projector and start up any word processor. You can also use a regular computer monitor, but it's not nearly as fun. Set the font setting to large so that it is easy to see from any part of the room. As children talk, type so that they can see their language appearing on the large screen. Once they finish talking, reduce the type down to regular size, and print a copy for every child to take home. It's a great language experience.
TIP: Ask children to illustrate their portion of the story.
Make Yourself a Low-Budget Elmo
Materials Needed: camcorder or digital camera with video-out cable and tripod; video projector; low-cost clip-on desk lamp
Did you know that there's a system found in the boardroom of many wealthy companies called an Elmo? This is a specialized presentation camera used to easily show small items on a large screen.
Here's another way to do the same thing, without spending a lot of money. First, set up your digital camera or camcorder on a stable tripod and point it straight down toward a table. Next, clip a low-cost desk lamp firmly to the tripod stem so that the table is well illuminated-a lot of light is especially important. Aim the camera straight onto a picture book, then switch on the lamp, projector, and camera. After a bit of fiddling with the focus and angle, you'll be amazed at how clear the pictures look (from large elephants in Kenya to small insects of the rain forest) on a scale that every young child can see.