I want my students to collaborate with other students who speak Spanish. I would like to give them the opportunity to learn first hand about the countries that are mentioned in sidebar of their textbooks. The more examples I see from other disciplines about project based learning, the more convinced I am that at the core of whatever project we work on, we must make meaningful connections with others in the target language.
I have been working toward this goal since October 2008. For one reason or another, some of the collaborations have fallen through. I set up an account on epals, and was thrilled to have a response with in the first two days. “Please respond as quickly as possible. We are very interested in starting a correspondence.” Unfortunately, I did not hear back from this gentleman for another two weeks. I’m still waiting to hear back from him about timelines, and goals for the email exchange. Another teacher from Central America wrote with very clear expectations in mind. She wanted to communicate twice a month. She explained how she evaluated her students’ email. I was thrilled with her commitment, but let her know that our school year ends in early June, and wondered if that would work out for her classroom (her school year is just starting). I haven’t heard back from her.
I still haven’t given up hope for a possible exchange with a school in Colombia that my cousin attends. The principal loves the idea. The technology coordinator thinks they have the computers to make it happen. She sent me the roster for the students who may be involved. There are 450 names. No teacher in Colombia to help coordinate.
Just when I was ready to give up, Gerardo Lazaro a science teacher and technology coordinator in Lima, Peru, that I met through Twitter, graciously accepted my invitation to collaborate on a couple of short projects.
So if anyone out there has any leads, sites or ideas that may help me find a set of students and teacher willing to collaborate and connect with my wonderful Spanish learners, I would really appreciate a reply :)
