When I was student teaching in a third grade class during my first student teaching placement, the classroom teacher and I came up with this idea to have my class in Sweden video chat with her class in America. The students would be able to meet each other and ask questions about the cultures and what it’s like to be a student in that country. The American third grade teacher, Björn and I had to overcome many obstacles to make this happen. First of all, the time difference. In America, they don’t even begin school until 2 hours after school ends in Sweden. Björn and I resolved this by asking the parents to send in permission slips allowing their child to stay very late so they could participate.The next issue was technology. The computer in our classroom was very old, had no webcam, and the internet connection was terrible. So Björn and I met with the school technician who graciously offered to install his own brand new laptop and portable webcam in our class. He also brought a router to fix the internet problem. Finally, the day of the video chat, the teacher in the American classroom contacted me to tell me she would be out that day and was unable to connect the Skype call. For a while we really thought we’d have to cancel. But we were not about to quit when we were so close! The teacher contacted another teacher I’d worked with at the school. She agreed to connect the call and the substitute agreed to facilitate the video chat. I am so proud of everyone involved. We really pulled together and synergized to give our students this once in a lifetime opportunity!
In the end it was all worth it! The video chat was a huge success and both classes really learned a lot! I was so proud of my Swedish students for speaking English so well! They understood everything the Americans said. I didn’t have to translate at all! The American students were shocked when we told them they only started learning English a year and a half ago. I was worried that the age difference would be an issue but due to cultural differences, language barriers, and popculture lag, my American third graders were a perfect match for my Swedish fifth graders.
It was also very special for me because I miss my American students very much. That class will always hold a very special place in my heart! When we first connected the call I saw the Substitute sitting infront of the computer. At first she couldn’t see us, but once the video started working 24 ecstatic kiddos swarmed to the screen yelling “MS. ROGERS!!! MS. ROGERS! WE MISSS YOU! LOOK IT’S MS. ROGERS!! WHERE IS PEANUT?” My Swedish students were so tickled by this. One little girl said, “Nika, I think they love you just as much as we do!” I would’ve cried if I wasn’t so busy smiling from ear to ear. Both these classes always make me feel so special. Being a teacher can sometimes make you feel like some kind of superhero.
Both classes asked so many great questions! They included
“What is the weather like there?”
“What time is it right now?”
“Are your teachers nice?”
“What is your favorite class/food/singer/ animal/sport/movie/TV show?”
“How long is your school day?”
“Can you tell us your daily schedule?”
“Teach us how to say something in Swedish/English”
“If you could come to our country for a year and be a students, would you?”
I video recorded my Swedish students during the video chat. The parents of the students involved gave consent for me to share the video with other educational professionals. Now I can edit the video and include excerpts in my teaching portfolio!
This experience was so rewarding for both classes and for Björn and I as well. We agreed that it could not have gone better! Now all my Folkungaskolan kiddos want to got to school in America and all my American kiddos want to go to Folkungaskolan! Björn, Karin and I have made arrangements to facilitate international outreach between our classrooms. My future class will be penpals with Karin's class to help build their fluency and we hope to host many video chats in the future.
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