Changed Lives: A Snapshot  February/March 2010

Can videoconferencing experiences change lives?
Read these snapshots and see for yourself.

Definition of a Changed Life: Based on a videoconferencing experience (s), a person makes a shift or move in perspective, attitude and/or actions.

Snapshot #1:  A change in perception

• The situation

Two fourth grade classes from Arkansas read the novel Holes by Louis Sachar.  Then they participated in a three session virtual literature circle with a class from Laredo, Texas and another class from Long Island, New York. 

The teachers planned their event through email, making decisions as to the questions they would discuss each week, the size of the student groups, and the format of the sessions.

During the videoconference sessions, the students enjoyed discussing the novel, but had their best experience asking and answering each others’ questions about the cities in which they lived.  The New York class had the perception that all Texas students were farmers who rode horses to school, while the Texas class had the idea that all New Yorkers were mean, as portrayed on television.

• The change

Students changed their perceptions about people from different areas of the United States.  Teachers took the opportunity to discuss “stereotyping” and how not every group of people is homogenous even though they live in the same place. 
Students discovered that there are many things that unite us—like reading the same novel.

Submitted by Lindsay Jones
Librarian, Cactus Ranch Elementary
Roundrock, Texas

Snapshot #2:  A change in awareness

• The situation

Students in Laredo, Texas, located on the Mexican border, made a presentation to students in New York on Mexican-American Tradition. They also included information about their city, the climate and their cultural background.

• The change

After the videoconference, students were excited to learn that they could meet other students from far away and learn about the differences and likenesses of their surroundings.

Submitted by Griselda Manrique
Leon Daiches Elementary School
Laredo, Texas