Last Friday, I had the distinct privilege to be asked by our French 5 teacher to participate in a brainstorming session about a project that the class was beginning. Since it was a Friday, I got to go off campus to a local coffee house where the class meets to participate and help create an environment that will support their project. Lucky for me, that on this particular Friday, that the class rule, “en francias, si vous plate” was suspended, or else I would have been at an extreme disadvantage.
For this project, the students are participating in a service learning project. They have determined to focus their project on issues relating to Haiti. They are still in the process of researching various issues so that they can determine what specifically their project should focus on. So, over a hot cup of chai tea, I introduced the group to the concept of a wiki and how this tool could be used to facilitate their threaded conversations and create documentation of the process of the project. I created a wikispace for the class (sorry, right now it is a private space for the class to use internally, until they are better organized) and had everyone sign up for the space. I also showed them how to create a PhotoStory project, which may be used to support some of the support materials that they may want to put together in support of their project.
I was nice to teach and share technology in a relaxed space, over a cup of chai. This does not happen nearly frequently enough, as my life seems very frenetic most days.
I may be sharing updates on this project, as it develops.