Skype in the Gifted Classroom Presentation

I was given the amazing opportunity to present Skype in the Gifted Classroom at this year’s National Association for Gifted Children’s Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was thrilled to attend my first national conference and meet up with fellow tweechers. I also soaked up as much as I could at the sessions and panel discussions. It was no surprise that that majority of sessions I chose to attend focused on technology, literacy, and project-based learning.

Using Skype has been something I am truly passionate about. Skype is a tool that has transformed my classroom. It’s our window to the world, connections, and a real audience. Instead of looking something up about a country or culture, we can now directly ask our friends about it in person. To apply math skills, we play a game with our Math Skype Buddies. To learn what other gifted programs are doing around the globe, we listen to our partner class present projects they have completed. We learn. We connect. We share. That is what Skype has done for us.

I would like to take this opportunity to share my presentation and accompanying handout. I hope that you will find use in them and that they provide you direction in starting your own journey with Skype. Feel free to leave me a comment if you have questions or would like to further discuss ways to incorporate Skype into your gifted program or class.

Click here to view the Resource Handout.

Talking with Olivia Holt from Kickin' It

Last week my 2nd-4th grade students participated in a very special call with actress Olivia Holt from Disney XD's Kickin' It. Throughout her call, Olivia encouraged students to plan for the future and follow their dreams. She also told students to work hard and reach for their goals, even when they face challenges. This call was a very enriching experience for my students because they got to hear about the struggles and effort it takes to accomplish goals from someone who has a successful career at a young age. This call could not come at a better time, especially since my students are exploring future career paths this semester. I was proud to see my students ask some insightful questions about acting to find more about the entertainment industry. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to talk with Olivia and learn about her experiences!

Have a look at our call below.

We even tweeted about our call and were very excited that Olivia tweet us back!

Acknowledgements

This call was made possible by Jeff Rivera (@gatekeeperspost), Partner and Editor in Chief of The GateKeepers Post. Through his OpenEdu Talk Program, he arranges Skype calls with celebrities in entertainment and sports to talk to schools around the globe about issues that are relevant in today's society. This fall's program included an impressive line-up of celebrities and focused on achieving goals. To learn more about this program and how to participate, click here.

I think what Jeff is doing is absolutely wonderful! The topics discussed in The OpenEdu Talk Program are ones that today's youth can relate to. I also think it is important for students to discuss issues such as personal struggles, challenges, and future goals with individuals who have been down that same path.

Virtual Career Skype Tour: Talking with Kristan Cunningham

This week we kick started our Virtual Career Skype Tour with the very own HGTV star, Kristan Cunningham. Kristan is the former host of Design on a Dime and is now working on a new show that will air on the OWN Network.

Our call started with a brief introduction, where Kristan outlined her educational background and work experiences. The remainder of the call was dedicated to student-led interviews, which covered a variety of questions from what skills and preparation are necessary for a career in interior design to what are the challenges and perks of your job. Before the call, my students researched the different expectations for careers in the arts field and compiled questions that related specifically to the field of interior design.

Throughout the call, students also had assigned Skype jobs. Because this was our first call of the school year with this particular group, I chose to keep my jobs simple and to a minimum so that students can focus on our guest speaker. The three main jobs were super stars, question keepers, and blog writers. The super stars were in charge of answering the call and interviewing our guest speaker while the question keepers kept track of the questions being asked and noted any additional questions that came up during the call. The remaining students were blog writers and took notes on key points that could be mentioned on a blog post about this event.

Our call was a success thanks to Kristan's insight and honest perspective on working in the field of interior design and television. She offered some great advice for students who are interested in this career path. We were glad she took the time to talk to us and were thrilled about being featured in the local news!

Have a look at the interview below.



Here is a video of our media coverage.

Math Skype Buddies

Last week we had our first Skype call of the school year with our friends in Nebraska as part of our Teaching Enrichment Activities Time. During this part of the day, we focus on reviewing and applying different math skills in a fun way. And what a better way to review place value than by playing a guessing game!

I choose the game 0-99 Guess from the book, Mega-Fun Math Games: 70 Quick and Easy Games to Build Math Skills by Dr. Michael Schiro and Anna Walker. This book contains many hands-on and engaging activities that are well suited for our TEA Time. First, each team had to select a number from 0-99 and the objective was to have each team ask a series of yes or no questions to guess the opposing team’s number.

I added an extra component by assigning Skype jobs during the game to engage all my students. Here is a list of the jobs we had for this game:

1. Super Stars- These two students greeted our partner class and sat in front of the webcam to ask the yes/no questions.

2. Number Keeper- This student was in charge of writing our class number and referring to it when we were asked questions by our partner class.

3. Runners- I divided my class into two groups so that each group could take turns asking questions to our partner class. I assigned a runner in each group and their job was to obtain the question that was to be asked and whisper it to one of the Super Stars. Runners had to also check with question keepers and problem solvers at their table before delivering their questions to the Super Stars.

4. Question Keepers- I also had one question keeper in each group. Their job was to write down all the questions that we asked in order to ensure that we did not have any duplicate questions.

5. Problem Solvers- I assigned this job to the remaining students in my class. Each problem solver had a laminated 0-99 chart that they could mark on. Their job was to eliminate numbers throughout the game.

Overall, my students had a blast playing the game with another class. They worked well as a team and used their problem solving skills to eliminate numbers. I was also impressed by how they carried out their Skype jobs. We look forward to future calls with our Math Skype Buddies!

Skype Jobs in the Gifted Classroom

I finally took the leap this semester and assigned Skype jobs. I came across the concept of Skype jobs through Silvia Tolisano’s Langwitches blog. With Skype jobs, all students have a role. Whether it’s being a greeter, summarizing the chat, or recording the session, every student has his/her own responsibility. This concept inspired me so much that I decided to try it with my fourth graders. And let me say, it was an awesome experience.

The mere mention of having a job was something that immediately sparked interest in my students. They were thrilled at the thought of being in charge of something and knowing that they contributed to the chat. Instead of sitting back and waiting for me to tell them when to talk or waiting to talk at all, they now had a roadmap of what was expected.

The topic of our chat was very unique for gifted learners as well. Both classes were responsible for sharing and solving Rebus Puzzles that we researched prior to our chat. Here is a snapshot of the jobs and sequence of events for this particular chat:
1.Greeter- Responsible for answering the call, greeting our partner class, and having our class introduce themselves.
2.Speaker A- This student introduced how to solve our Rebus puzzles, which were picture based. This student also had to give a few simple examples of these and had the partner class solve them. As the partner class gave guesses, all our students provide clues.
3.Speaker B- This student reminded our partner class of the rules for solving and introduced new elements to the more advanced puzzles. Next, he presented several more difficult puzzles to solve.
4.Closer- After our Q & A session, this student thanked our partner class, said goodbye, and ended the call.

Before the closing, our partner class presented Rebus puzzles for us to solve. These puzzles were very different to the ones we had because they reflected Think-o-Grams, where words are used to show different expressions. My students enjoyed solving these and even appreciated the challenging ones!

Reflecting on the experience, I noticed that we had two students who did not get an opportunity to share their puzzles or complete their job. I did not anticipate this and will plan to have a back-up job for instances like this. Some jobs I am considering adding are having a student take pictures with a digital camera while the other records the session on a flip camera or camcorder.

Skyping with Experts: Robin Roffer & Branding

Our Skyping with Experts Business Series ended with a chat with the one and only, Robin Roffer. Let me preface by saying that I have read and thoroughly benefited from Mrs. Roffer’s, Make a Name for Yourself: 8 Steps Every Woman Needs to Create a Personal Brand Strategy for Success. I initially used this book to research branding for my entrepreneurship unit and realized that it applied to my own career path . As I developed my lessons, I modified her exercises to give my students the opportunity to reflect on their interests and strengths as they developed a business.

My sixth grade class had the opportunity to chat with Mrs. Roffer about branding. During her presentation, Mrs. Roffer explained branding and stressed the importance of taking control of your brand. The message: If you don’t brand yourself, someone else will. This was a powerful message, especially for my preteens who have shown concern about what others think of them.

Next, Mrs. Roffer presented some celebrities and how their actions affected their brands. She also mentioned how companies develop brands and had students describe several companies’ brands. My students seemed interested in the marketing aspect of branding- particularly jingles. Mrs. Roffer further explained how jingles include short phrases or catchy tunes. This got my students thinking about a different approach to their marketing strategy for their business.

As I reflect on our Skyping with Experts Series, I am very pleased with the experiences that our guest speakers have created for my students. Their presentations have offered an authentic and rich perspective to our learning of entrepreneurship. The tips and concepts were also very practical, which made the whole experience so much more real. My classes and I would like to thank all of our speakers and hope that we can connect in the near future. I would also like to thank my husband, Will Deyamport, for arranging these events.

Skyping with Experts: Ingrid Stabb and Career Types

An important component that I wanted to include in my Entrepreneurship Unit was self exploration because part of being a successful entrepreneur is knowing your strengths and maximizing on these. When I decide to teach a concept like this, my first instinct is to find materials used and designed by professionals in a specific field. As a result, I chose to have my students take The Enneagram Quiz developed by Ingrid Stabb and Elizabeth Wagele in The Career Within You. This quiz centers on an individual’s strengths and outlines 9 EnneaTypes (career types) that best suit certain personality types. As my students took this quiz, I had them think of examples from their own lives. Next, I had them read about each career type and determine whether their “type” was accurate for them. All of my students agreed with the descriptions and even cited examples in their lives that reflected each type.


As a culminating activity, I was very pleased to have Ingrid Stabb as our guest speaker for my fourth grade class. Mrs. Stabb began her chat with a presentation on each type and gave examples of celebrities and historical figures who represented each type. She also asked students to share their type and any experiences that illustrated their type. Students enjoyed sharing their stories and I even noticed some students referring back to their quiz during the presentation. A final thought that Mrs. Stabb offered was telling students that it was important for them, their parents, and even their teachers to know their types because these help in identifying how they think and work best.

Even more exciting was the fact that this experience was featured on the examiner.com. To see the full article, click here.

Skyping with Experts: Pam Slim on Starting a Business

To jump start our Entrepreneurship Unit this semester, I have had the pleasure of connecting my classes with several experts in the business world. With the help of my husband @peoplegogy, I was fortunate enough to have Mrs. Pam Slim as a guest speaker for my fifth grade class.


Mrs. Slim led a very engaging discussion of how to start a business and offered some practical tips that kids can use to start their own business. She did a wonderful job of having my students brainstorm ways to advertise and bringing attention to the financial considerations. Mrs. Slim even surprised us with an offer to buy handmade Valentine cards! Of course, my students were up for the challenge and got to work immediately after our chat. The goal was to make and have the cards sent to Mrs. Slim by Valentine’s Day. But the biggest surprise was discovering that my students’ cards were featured on her daily blog. To see the blog post, click here.

I must say this chat was a very enriching lesson for my students. They loved connecting with an expert and creating the cards. But most of all, they loved seeing their final product on display.

Skyping with Experts: The Stock Market with Tisa Silver, MBA

In my previous post I discussed ways that I used Skype to connect my classes with other gifted/talented learners across the nation. I also use Skype to provide my students with the experience of speaking directly with experts across different fields. This gives them first hand insight into their professions as well as encourages students to start thinking about their own future careers. For the next few months, I will be documenting our chats with experts. This series will outline activities done during our chats to engage students in discussions related to our current unit. Our journey begins with the stock market. . .

As part of our money unit, my objective was to cover the Stock Market and investing options. I was surprised to discover that my students’ thought that the Stock Market was another form of bartering. Like most of the country, they didn’t know how Wall Street applied to their lives. That’s where our expert came in. Thanks to my husband, I was able to contact Tisa Silver, MBA, founder of the non-profit Good Works Coalition, author of The Time Value of Life: Why Time is More Valuable than Money, and professor at the University of Delaware’s Alfred E. Lerner College of Business & Economics, to speak to my class.

Tisa presented the Stock Market in very kid friendly terms. She started her presentation by showing my students products that they see every day and had them think about the companies that make those products. This activity showed my students that stocks were found in their daily lives and in the items that they purchase. I really liked how Tisa had students think about what items or services they use on a daily basis before considering buying stock from those companies.


Next, Tisa asked for a volunteer. She greeted our student and created a fictional business for him. She told the story of how he opened his own pizza parlor and how business was going great for him. Next, she asked for another volunteer. After greeting the next student, she explained how this student visited Student A’s Pizza Parlor and saw a rat. She asked Student B how this experience influenced her decision to return or buy pizza from Student A’s Parlor. Of course, Student B was disgusted by the experience and did not think it was a good idea to get more pizza from there. After explaining this scenario, Tisa discussed examples of how bad news can have a negative effect on stock prices. This activity was a wonderful way to illustrate how current events or the news and media can affect stock prices.

The remainder of the chat was spent on discussing why some stock prices were worth more than others and where to buy stock. Tisa offered some tips on buying stock and basic terms to know. Students also had the opportunity to ask questions about the Stock Market at the end of the presentation.

My students gained a lot from this experience. Tisa did a wonderful job of explaining the purpose behind the stock market and how stocks are present in students’ lives. After this activity, my students were eager to research companies and some even mentioned their interest in buying stock.


Skyping with experts will be a regular occurrence in my classroom. After every experience, I will share what we have done on this blog. In January, I will start my Business Leaders unit and have some exciting experts scheduled to talk about starting a business, personal branding, and assessing one's individual strengths. Please feel free to stop by and see what surprises I have for my students!

Using Skype to Connect Gifted & Talented Learners

Hello Everyone, it’s been a while. In fact, I haven't blogged since I officially switched from Spanish to Gifted. One of the major changes from my switch is the opportunities I have to incorporate technology. Yes, in Spanish, I used Skype to connect my students to schools in Argentina and Spain, but I was doing all of the talking because I had to translate, which resulted in my students not being able to be as engaged as I wanted them to be. My ideal experience is for my students to steer the conversation and be the ones in charge of the discussion. And, I am thrilled to say that that is exactly what has happened so far with my gifted learners.

Sharing our Work

Just last week I organized a series of Skype sessions with other elementary gifted/talented teachers across the nation. My goal was to have both classes showcase projects that they have worked on this semester. I had my students present one of their projects and in turn they served as a audience for our partner class. I enjoyed watching my students describe their product and was impressed when they started sharing the process of developing these products. I noticed a sense of pride and accomplishment in their voices. It was truly an amazing experience. The best part though was when we had our partner class ask questions and vote on their favorite project. My students really enjoyed receiving this feedback.

Informal Sessions

I also scheduled several informal sessions to introduce both classes. These kinds of sessions were arranged for partner classes that could not Skype for over an hour. For these sessions I also came up with the idea to use a Google map to show both classes where we were. On the Google map, I tagged both schools and used the satellite feature to “zoom” into our schools. Both classes really enjoyed this and thought the satellite view was cool. My plan is to add more partner schools to this map and eventually embed other features such as video greetings or pictures for our partner schools.

The remainder of these informal sessions was dedicated to a Q & A session. Both classes asked questions about their daily life (family, pets), interests, likes (favorite food, music, television shows, toys), and school (special events, recess, classes). I enjoyed watching this dialogue and I know my students were very interested in learning more about our partner classes. And of course, my students were thrilled at the sight of snow!


Overall, my students were excited about connecting with other classes in different parts of the nation. I can tell that these chats have made an impression on them when they ask, “Are we going to Skype today?” Unfortunately, we have to postpone any sessions until January due to end of the semester testing and the holiday break. My students and I are equally looking forward to sharing more projects and good news with our partner schools. This has been as much a learning experience for me as it has been for them. And as our break approaches, I have so many ideas floating in my head. My next step is to find more partner schools as well as develop collaboration projects. If you teach gifted/talented classes in the elementary setting, I welcome you to join us in this journey.