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A group of students and teachers from Booth Memorial High
School are visiting schools in Ireland to continue a partnership
that began several years ago.
During the Cabot 500 Celebrations in Newfoundland two years
ago, our school made connections via the Internet with both Discovery
Collegiate in Bonavista Bay and St. Catherine's School in Pill,
England. The mayor of Bristol was on hand to take part in the
online ceremony. |
Since then, we have conducted many school technology projects,
including the Irish Connection (May 1998) and Continuing the
Connection (October 1998). It was in October that our school
hosted the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, during her state
visit to Canada. We were the only school in the province to receive
a visit from her Excellency, who came to experience the advanced
technology that Booth has to offer.
Booth Memorial has also been using technology for events such
as the Provincial Student Leadership Conference in October 1998
and webcasting guest speakers, including the High Commissioner
of Australia, Greg Wood. The school offers a range of technology
courses but also goes to great lengths to integrate technology
into other curriculum areas.
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The purpose of the Ireland trip at this time is for junior
students, who will be in grades eleven and twelve next year,
to plan projects with our partner school in Christian Brothers
School Tramore, with a special emphasis on planning projects
that will use technology throughout the curriculum.
On April 14, Booth Memorial and CBS Tramore used technology
again to make a transatlantic connection. Using video conferencing
software, the students at Booth were able to communicate with
the students visiting Ireland. |
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The first call came in at around noon, and after two or three
attempts we finally made a successful connection. At times, the
audio and visual were muffled and fuzzy, but for the most part
both groups were seen and heard loud and clear. The connection
was shared with students, teachers and parents on both sides.
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We discussed weather conditions, school and activities that they
had completed so far, such as meeting their host families, visiting
landmark sites and enjoying traditional Irish culture. We then
went on to create a joint project with the use of a whiteboard,
whereby images were created by both parties simultaneously. They
also sent us digital images of their trip and a written report
of what they've done. |
They will be forwarding more information and pictures in the
next few days. |
