1Carteret: Students. Sports. Success.

Lifetime Memories

April 13, 2006 at 11:31 am | In Middle | Comments Off

There are some things you can’t learn in books or on the web! This was reaffirmed for me at last night’s pig-picking. I watched and listened as the students, teachers, principal and parents reflected on the value of the BMS / Rastrick HS cross-cultural exchange.

“The middle school pen pal project is a classic evolution of technology-inspired teaching and learning. What started as a paper and pen process soon evolved into electronic correspondence (keypals). Ultimately, NetMeeting facilitated the cross-cultural exchange between a diverse group of coastal NC middle-schoolers and their counterpart class in England.

It did not end there. The next year the British teacher visited our coastal community during her holiday. Then, our tech facilitator journeyed to England. As the project evolved, the British students accompanied their teacher on her return trip to the Crystal Coast. And last year, our tech facilitator traveled with the original class of keypal students (now high schoolers) to England to meet their digitally connected counterparts. Now, the Brits have returned.”

Every rendition of this trip is an experience of a lifetime facilitated by a true champion of technology, a true champion of her rich eastern North Carolina heritage, and a true champion of real-life learning for students. Janet McLendon has built a lot of relationships with this technology-inspired project. As I witnessed the laughter, hugs and tears–I can assure you that folks will not forget in a lifetime what happened at BMS last night!

Here is a cool clip of the Brits doing the morning announcements at BMS.