Successful Videoconference with France!

On the 31/03/10 we held a successful videoconference at school between the French and English sides of our French work experience exchange. We set up 15 web cams on our side, with the students sharing in pairs, whilst the French side used one web cam interchanging the students as they took their place to speak. Time was tight given the only mutually convenient time was 8.30 am to 9.00am that morning. However, 10 of the students from the Weald of Kent Grammar School held conversations in French with their corresponding partners in France. Eventually no photos were uploaded from the French side but the time was used with the English students posing questions in French to the French students about their on coming stay in France in June. At first the students were nervous to take part and speak on camera, however, they were eventually encouraging us to use as much of the time as possible to allow as many students to take part. All in all a successfull videoconference which we hope to follow up with another before June so the French side can practise their English.

This has been a successful use of our recent purchase of 15 web cams for the MFL department and we hope to integrate their use in other exchanges across the department. Videoconferencing provides students with authentic language experiences which help improve their confidence in the use of the target language.

Successful Flashmeeting with France #2!

Excellent! We have just completed another staff test of the Flashmeeting videoconference software with our partner school in France. Both sides were able to load pictures (excuse the bucket - it was a practice!) and URLS which will be useful when asking the French side of students to familiarise the English side with where they will be staying prior to our trip out there in June. This time the test was based on our respective school sites. Next stage the videoconference itself!

Flashmeeting Practice with France

How very exciting! I set up a practice videoconference using Flashmeeeting with an exchange partner English teacher in France yesterday and it went excellently! I used the whiteboard function which I had not used before and by trial and error learned how to upload photos and draw squiggly lines. I'm not sure of a use for the latter but using shapes to disguise photos then perhaps slowly reveal them for a KS3/2 videoconference that I have planned for later might work a treat. I will play some more with that. However, for the up and coming French work experience exchange videoconference with our year 11s the photo option will be useful for the French students to show photos of the area / house they live in to help familiarise the English studenets before they go. The URL tool will also be useful to upload links to their home town etc... I saw these potential activities forming before my eyes as we played around with them. It's nice to see there is more potential to Flashmeeting than I had realised and that it can be used for a real purpose.