After a couple of months of trying, I finally found a school willing to try out videoconferencing with me. Using Online Meeting Rooms, a brilliant online package from http://www.onlinemeetingrooms.com, my school, Carlow Educate Together hooked up with the Athy Model School, 20km down the road for a Christmas Carol sing-off.
Each school sang two Christmas carols to each other. Our school were treated to two popular Church of Ireland carols and we sang “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” and “Ceallóga Sneachta ag Titim”. The kids were really enthusiastic and clapped and cheered each rendition.
Each school used a projector to make the image of their partner school large enough for all the pupils to see. In effect, 180 children experienced a lesson at the same time and there was no need for any behavour managment strategies as all of them were highly motivated and listened really well to each other.
After the holidays, I’d love to find another school to partner up for a project. If anyone is interested, please contact the school and we’d love to give it a go. A big thanks also to Joe Garde from Online Meeting Rooms for the video conferencing service.
0 thoughts on “Christmas Carol Video Conference”
Open your eyes and see how the technology companies dont care about our children only about what fool will buy their products. i am an adult with hearing problems.i can hear some sounds loudly others i am unable to hear. in my youth my schools were aware of this. on entering secondary it was a nightmare. unable to hear messages on the intercom, unable to watch/hear school educational videos etc.Dont be fooled into thinking the child will ask for things to be repeated , they wont. there is only so many times a child will ask without feeling like a fool or/and being laughed at by other students. the only reason i managed to finish my education was because i didnt want to give up. some students are not so lucky. Dont make education any harder than it has to be. think of the children not the pockets of some big technology company. stand up for our students.
I work for one of these technology companies you talk about, and I must say, your opinion of me and my company is very wrong. Perhaps some companies are like that, but some companies actually do want to make a difference and have a positive impact on the lives of those around, our communities & our world.
Yes, I must admit, we are a fairly small company in the whole scheme of things, but please don’t tarnish us all with one brush. We spend hours of our time trying to solve problems with our technology and provide solutions that solve these problems of others, and most of the time our customers are much better off and thank us for providing the service that we do.
I am sorry that you feel that way about schooling & technology, however when people truly understand the benefits & ease of Video Conferencing specifically, I am sure they will never suggest that it is making education harder than it has to be. Actually, after working with a deaf school, all we saw and heard was the great benefits this brought to those hard of hearing, who could see sign language & lip read, who could interact with other similar schools, who had visual communication rather that just audible.
Please open your eyes and realise that not everyone is out there to get you and to destroy the world. Yes, there are some, in fact many, but there are also far more who’s aim in this world is to make it a better place.