The Perfect Place Schools unite to create the perfect place using Think.com Case Study Overview “We chose Think.com for this project because it offers a unique set of
Children from four schools in four different countries shared their quest to create their ‘Perfect Place’. The children were encouraged to research and exchange their experiences, perceptions and opinions to construct an articulation of their ‘Perfect Place’. They looked at their communities and schools, thought about what they liked and then let their imaginations roll.
content free tools, each offering a subtly different tone and texture to the communication process for the child. Think.com was used throughout the entire project, with the ability to switch to off-line
The schools were miles and languages apart, so their virtual interaction was enabled through Think.com, a password-protected, web based environment facilitating Project-Based Learning for primary and secondary students and teachers. The children involved in the project finally came together for three days of drama, cultural and historical activities in Derry. The relationships between the children, which had developed through their interaction on the Think.com site were transformed.
Setup Peter Heaney, a teacher from Steelstown Primary initiated the project. His aim was to use technology to enhance the delivery of the curriculum. The project theme was integrated in a range of core subjects: PSHE, Geography, History, Literacy, Science & Technology and Citizenship.
activities where appropriate” Peter Heaney Teacher Steelstown Primary
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Peter worked closely with a teacher from each participating school. Six groups of students, with a cross-section from all schools and classes in each group, were created. The children engaged in a series of activities on Think.com to jointly attempt a definition of several aspects of the ‘Perfect Place’. The first activity focused on appreciating their own immediate environment. The children were encouraged to observe, identify and share elements of what was positive in their own environments and then challenged to develop and shape that into a shared environment i.e. ‘The Perfect Place’.
Debating Tool “A strength of the project was in creating an audience who were remote geographically, but who they came to know well through the joint web pages. The pupils then came to take a particular care in their work due to this real audience. The finished products were statements of art in their own right expressing true ‘pride in one’s place’ and this was because of the special and intimate audience created through and enabled by the Think.com website” Niall MacKinnon Head Teacher Plocton Primary
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The debating tool allows students to work on their persuasive writing skills
Activities There were many activities ranging from sharing their thoughts on the “perfect day out” to creating their ‘perfect animal’. The “perfect animal” activity saw them involved in science and technology as they researched habitats, shared ideas and used materials to construct new creatures that would live in their perfect place. One of the most powerful activities involved tasking the children within their groups to look out their favourite window e.g. the view from a Scottish or Polish window and then describe what they saw in a brief paragraph. The group members from the other schools read the descriptions and then had to illustrate the view using only the descriptions provided. These drawings were then scanned and published on Think.com beside their descriptions. The illustrations were then reviewed by the original authors and the online discussion focused on the concept of ‘Have I drawn what you have described? This is what the children from John Paul II saw
Image Tool / Article Tool “The children’s comments both during and after the activities indicated a sense of raised esteem, awarness and interest in what had been until then an accepted environment for them. We observed a chemistry which enthused all the children and transformed the environment from something mundane and accepted to something that was now very interesting and unique” Sara Neild
Another activity suggested that the ‘Perfect Place’ should have some laws and its citizens would need to be protected by ‘Citizen’s Rights’. This on-line activity saw the children use Think.com to discuss and debate the concept of Rights, how they influence behaviour and supporting these Rights by law. Off line activities included the children working in groups to rank a series of statements (revised to be language appropriate) from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Teacher Birchley St Mary’s
This was followed by a series of stimulating voting and discussions online, on how laws can influence behaviour and how Rights can protect people. These discussions were all age appropriate. Think.com became the vehicle to facilitate the seamless weaving of the online and the off-line activities into one single activity with each phase of the activity both supporting and prompting further development.
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Voting Tool / Message Board “Our Children really enjoyed Think.com. It is one of the best ways to improve their English skills, broaden the borders making new friends in the world” Maria Pecican Teacher John Paul II Primary
Schools Involved Steelstown Primary School, Northern Ireland Birchley St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, England Plockton Primary School, Scotland John Paul II Primary School, Poland
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The four schools involved have now formed a close bond and have learned about each other’s communities through the eyes of the children that they had come to know. Although located so far apart geographically, staff and pupils have developed real and personal links. The schools have decided to continue this work and are collaborating towards a new joint project for the forthcoming session.