Friday, May 07, 2010

Video Chat with Author Pat Hughes


Today my 8th grade American history classes in Liberty, Missouri participated in a live video chat with Pat Hughes, author of Guerrilla Season. Guerrilla Season is a book with a focus on Clay County (the county in which we live) in the years just before the Civil War. We used G-mail video chat - free - to visit with Pat from her home in Philadelphia.

I also used a Flip cam to record the conversation for students who missed it and wanted to watch it. Pat spoke with us from her sun room and then took us upstairs to show us her office and shared some of the resources she uses to write books about Civil War era Missouri.

Pretty amazing that this all took place today with no technical glitches at all and we were able to have a great conversation with an author 1,200 miles away! Why aren't classrooms doing more of this?

9 comments:

  1. Eric,

    Thanks for sharing this. It reminded me of how simple it is to bring experts into our classrooms, provided we have no technical glitches and a willing author or historian. Your last question spurred some thinking for me too. Thanks again!

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  2. I'm so glad to see another teacher doing a video call with an author! My eighth grade E/LA class did a call with author Jordan Sonnenblick earlier in the school year. It's such a fabulous way to engage students!

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  3. Hello my name is Sam Gates and I have been assigned to your blog. Over the next few weeks I will be following your most recent post and commenting on the main post that attract my attention. This post really caught my attention because I am planning on being an American History teacher, and being that I am from Alabama, the Civil War is one of my favorite topics to talk about.

    EDM 310 Class Blog

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  4. Thanks for sharing. This is a big regret of mine that I did not find the time and follow up on doing a video chat this year. I had a few opportunities, but let them slip away. It will be a goal of mine next year for sure.

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  5. Excellent blog...Good job with integrating technology into your teaching style. Also, nice to see Missouri teachers teaching about local history. The state is rich in it! Kudos!

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  6. This is so great. It is nice to see more and more teachers incorporating working technology into their lessons as tools. When you use actual video chats it really engages the class. You are right it is "pretty amazing" to talk with authors thousands of miles away. I imagine your class was notably more interested in what they were learning since you used visual effects. Keep up the good work! My name is Alana Carpenter and I have been assigned to follow your blog for the next few weeks. If you are curious about any other things I am learning or commenting on you can check out my blog. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

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  7. Anonymous12:46 PM

    Garth Holman at Beachwood Middle School in Ohio has a blog post about speaking with an artist in another state through Skype to help students understand the Renaissance. http://www.teachersfortomorrow.net/1/category/skype/1.html

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  8. This is such a great idea! That is so wonderful that technology has allowed us to communicate with people from thousands of miles away! I'm sure that your students were thrilled to speak to an author who cares about their hometown. I'm so glad Dr. Strange assigned your blog to me for my EDM310 class. I'll be keeping up with your blog to enrich my educational experience! You can check out my review of your blog at http://deklecareyedm310.blogspot.com!

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  9. Hey I am a student in Dr. Strange EDM 310 class at the University of South Al. I love how you incorporated technology into your classroom. I did not know that having a conversation with someone miles away can be so easy. Thanks for sharing.

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