This year I participated in the Global Read Aloud for the first time. The GRA was started and organized by Pernille Ripp as a way to connect classes around the world through the reading of a book. We read Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. The connections with so many great teachers made this experience as much fun for me as it was for my kids! I was able to get connected right away to a teacher in Iowa, Cheryl Runestald. Through Cheryl I was able to connect with Carly McAdams in Missouri, Valerie Cypert in California, and Scott Boylen in Iowa. We shared resources, worked out timezone differences, and got ready for fabulous learning. The students had a great time interacting on edmodo and we loved Skyping with them about the book. Valerie's students also left amazing comments on our blogs. They were thoughtful, encouraging, and at the same time challenged us - thank you!
Out of My Mind is about a young girl with CP and her experiences at school. Due to the difficult nature of the book many special ed teachers joined together to share experiences and resources through an edmodo group. Our students enjoyed connecting on edmodo, through padlet, Skype, and kidblog. The great thing about this group of the educators is that they all so readily shared their work, ideas, and resources. They made quizzes, padlet walls, posed questions, and interacted with the students on edmodo. Several teachers were extremely helpful through this whole adventure: Shelley Bauer in SC, Sharon You in ON, Mrs. Shavonne Jacobson in MI, Cathy Shifflett in NC, Kim Gill in ON, Kathleen McManus in TX, Jami Spaulding in NE, and Amber Aslakson in MN. They are truly amazing! I was honored to be able to connect with them. We found that our students related to the book in many unique ways.
We were also able to connect with a class in NYC. They are an amazing group of young professional students. Their teacher, Kerry Roeder, has been extremely patient as it has been difficult to connect through Skype due to scheduling. It is ironic to me that we were somehow able to more easily connect with different time zones. We are anxiously looking forward to Skyping with our new friends in NYC.
I am looking forward with great anticipation to the Global Read Aloud next year. (It's not to early to sign up!) It was a collaborative project in so many ways. We helped each other with setting up blogs, edmodo groups, skpye, and twitter class accounts. As teachers, we found that our individual strengths and experiences combined made an incredible impact on the learning opportunities for our students. Personally I was a little worried that our many connections would be overwhelming to my kids, but I couldn't have been more mistaken. I have the best group of kids! It is my goal to share this with opportunity with as many teachers as I can. It is truly a fabulous experience for both teachers and students.
We were also able to connect with a class in NYC. They are an amazing group of young professional students. Their teacher, Kerry Roeder, has been extremely patient as it has been difficult to connect through Skype due to scheduling. It is ironic to me that we were somehow able to more easily connect with different time zones. We are anxiously looking forward to Skyping with our new friends in NYC.
I am looking forward with great anticipation to the Global Read Aloud next year. (It's not to early to sign up!) It was a collaborative project in so many ways. We helped each other with setting up blogs, edmodo groups, skpye, and twitter class accounts. As teachers, we found that our individual strengths and experiences combined made an incredible impact on the learning opportunities for our students. Personally I was a little worried that our many connections would be overwhelming to my kids, but I couldn't have been more mistaken. I have the best group of kids! It is my goal to share this with opportunity with as many teachers as I can. It is truly a fabulous experience for both teachers and students.