Islay Students Interviewed by American Students

Students from Islay High School are interviewed by American students from the Banks Stephens Middle School in Forsyth Georgia. They were able to do this using a webcam and projection screen to communicate with each other. Setting up a web conference is not rocket science but it's interesting to see that schools actually start to work together internationally, not being bothered by natural borders. The American students are now researching the history of Bowmore's Round Church while the Islay students research the history and measurements of Monroe County's courthouse.

A quote from macon.com: For 26 minutes, a Banks Stephens Middle School class interviewed teenagers in another country about what it's like living on an island three hours from the mainland. They asked the strangers about attending school 400 yards from a round church, built that way so the devil could not hide in the corners. "I like their accent. It reminds me of Shrek," said Banks Stephens eighth-grader Andrew Stevick who had just said hello to students named Stefen and Andrew in Scotland. "It was real cool. We could, like, talk, and it was across the ocean." The schools connected after instructors from each of the school systems met at a technology conference. In early November, the classes held their first video conference. Now they communicate using Wiki, software that allows users to link Web pages.

Updated: I just found two interesting links on Ian's blog. Ian is the principal teacher of technology and design at the Islay High School.