Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Connections


I had the best of many worlds today. One of Clay Burell's KIS students, Stephanie Cho, set up a Skype call so that the two of us could discuss her school project.

Once we were done speaking, I drove over to my community's high school to hear David Warlick speak.


Stephanie was charming and a bit nervous. Our conversation centered on food and memories but took an interesting detour when she asked my opinion on cyber safety and online mentoring.

David Warlick had spent the day conducting professional development workshops in my local district, then invited parents and community members to an additional presentation in the evening. He was relaxed and articulate, and his insights regarding the "flat classroom" were well-received.

So in the course of one day, I was able to interact with a student in South Korea and a cutting edge educator in my own home town.

Life is, indeed, full of the most amazing opportunities.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's truly amazing how skype can be such a huge way of communicating with people around the world by just owning a computer.

diane said...

Yura,

We have so many connective tools now: email, blogs (with comments), twitter.

Skype adds those extra human components of voice and moving image. It humanizes an increasingly far-flung circle of acquaintances.

And it's fun!

diane