Google+Tools

**Video Chat**
__Maryland Teacher Technology Standards Addressed__ A. Use technology effectively and appropriately to interact electronically. 1. Use telecommunications to collaborate with peers, parents, colleagues, administrators and/or experts in the field. B. Use Technology to communicate information in a variety of formats. 3. Use multiple digital sources to communicate information online. Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, social and ethical issues related to technology use. 4. Use classroom procedures to manage an equitable, safe and healthy environment for students. Design, implement and assess learning experiences that incorporate use of technology in a curriculum-related instructional activity to support understanding, inquiry, problem solving, communication and/or collaboration. 1. Assess students’ learning/ instructional needs to identify the appropriate technology for instruction. 2. Evaluate technology materials and media to determine their most appropriate instructional use. 4. Use appropriate instructional strategies for integrating technology into instruction. 7. Manage a technology-enhanced environment to maximize student learning. Understand human, equity and developmental issues surrounding the use of assistive technology to enhance student learning performance and apply that understanding to practice. 1. Identify and analyze assistive technology resources that accommodate individual student learning needs. 2. Apply assistive technology to the instructional process and evaluate its impact on learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics and abilities. Develop professional practices that support continual learning and professional growth in technology. 3. Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practices and emerging technologies to support student learning. 4. Identify local, state and national standards and use them to improve teaching and learning.
 * II. Communication **
 * III. Legal, Social and Ethical Issues **
 * V. Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction **
 * VI. Assistive Technology **
 * VII. Professional Growth **

__Description__ Students from my class worked with students from another 2nd grade class at our school. Over video chat, student partners interviewed one another. They used the information that they gathered during the video chats to create biographies of their partners. After the biographies were edited and rehearsed, the classes met again via video chat. Each student shared the biography he or she had written with both classes using the video chat. __Reflection__ There were some positive and negative aspects to using the video chat for this activity. On the positive side, the students found this activity to be very engaging. They were very excited to chat with their partners and overall were very motivated to collect the needed information for their biographies. They also found the video chat to be an exciting way to present their biographies to the group. There were some negatives to the use of video chat in this context, however. It was very time consuming based on the fact that only one Eyeball was available in each classroom. It also took a lot of teacher time as the students were new to using the equipment. It was also distracting at times, since the students had to be in the room while conducting the chat. Students who were working on other activities sometimes found it hard to concentrate. While most of the students were enthusiastic about using the video chat to share with both classrooms simultaneously, this situation made some of the more reserved students shy and hard to hear.