International project goes live as pupils video conference to a school in Little Cayman |
An exciting new project and partnership between Stepping Stones School and a school in Little Cayman has begun with a video conference between the two locations. This is the first of many schools that Stepping Stones will connect with over the coming year. This particular project will be featured in the Be Very Afraid, BAFTA event which will take place later this month.
| In the photograph above, four children in Little Cayman Learning Community can be seen engaging with the pupils at Stepping Stones School - a real first for schools on both sides of the Atlantic. |
The outcomes for this project are already becoming obvious as the desire for children to communicate with each other (around the world) is very natural. Building small learning communities, such as those at Stepping Stones School and Little Cayman are wonderful places for children to learn. However, by creating more opportunities to socialise and learn with children in other places using video technology, overcomes some of the limitations of smaller schools, surrounding social diversity.
Jonathan Furness, a lead teacher at Stepping Stones School said:
"Video conferencing is a very accessible technology for everyone now, including younger age children. This technology empowers learners to be in control of the relationships they want to build and the connections they need to build for their own learning. Learning in the 21st Century isn't going to be confined to four walls of a classroom driven by a curriculum for a very age specific group. This is just the beginning as we look to work with communities in Africa, Singapore, Russia and Australia"
Arrowe in Little Cayman chats to Amy at Stepping Stones School.
When Professor Stephen Heppell, Chair of Trustees at Stepping Stones School, saw some of the images he commented:
"....it just hints at what an extraordinary world of wonder we can build for these young folk."
The work of the pupils can be found online by visiting the following blog sites which the pupils have created:
Little Cayman Community and Stepping Stones Community
Read more about this project on the Building Cayman's Future blog:
Technology enhances Teaching and Learning