AV-Media (distributor of SMART products in Czech Republic) planned a guided tour for headmasters and it-coordinators from the Czech Republic to the Netherlands and Belgium to visit two SMART Showcase schools and the IPON 2014 (Education technology trade show in the Netherlands). This large group of nearly 40 people visited our school. Attendees were interested in the way we teach in the Netherlands in general and specifically at our school as a SMART Showcase School, they were also interested in the SMART Collaborative Classroom and how it's being used and some other topics such as the standardized curriculum and BYOD. Me, the headmaster and some students provided the large group a welcome and a inspiring day as we were told later on. This tour was mainly managed by my friend and colleague SMART Exemplary Educator Emil Waldhauser from the Czech Republic whom also had to translate from English to Czech back and forth. After the welcome and presentation by my headmaster the guests from the Czech Republic were guided by students through the school and attended some lessons, while Emil and I were did a twinning teach-session in my class about culture, identity and nationalism. Emil was very easily accepted by my students and they could easily follow his lesson about the life behind the iron curtain back in the days. During the next lesson all(!) the Czech guests were invited in my SMART Collaborative Classroom to witness the way I teach and use the SMART Boards to do some collaborative learning. Is was chaotic, but good to see that my students were able to do their job while watched by 40 adults who did communicate in a foreign language.
Me presenting about the SMART Showcase School
Emil teaching in the SMART Collaborative Classroom
During this tour I met some new interesting people and František Rada and me agreed on doing some more collaborative learning together. One of the attendees was a headmaster from a secondary school - Základní škola - from Prague and he asked me if I would like to help him in the near future with setting up a Bridgit session. The school was about to use SMART Bridgit in the very near future and they had invited the press (both newspaper and television) and he wanted to show what could be done with SMART Bridgit in the classroom and that my classroom in the Netherlands was just two clicks away.
Starting up the Bridgit session in Prague, Czech Republic.
I totally forgot the time on the day we were supposed to meet, so he called me on my cell phone and I immediately called in on SMART Bridgit and we were online for a few minutes. He prepared an activity for me and my class and it went great! Awesome. The press was present and by clicking the links you can see some of the video content while I did the Bridgit session and you can even see me and a glimpse of my classroom on the Czech (time 21:22) … How cool is that!
Czech TV the main news: http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ivysilani/1097181328-udalosti/214411000100411/obsah/319944-vyuka-na-dalku
TV Barandov: http://www.barrandov.tv/video/21174-nase-zpravy-28-3-2014 (20:20)
A particular success from the school Základní škola with using SMART Bridgit in “Distance teaching“ for longterm ill students:
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