Kindergarten teachers have always amazed me. The recipe for these amazing teachers seems to be infinite patience, ability to multi-task like an octopus on rolling skates, and a warmth of spirit that makes everyone feel welcome, but now these scholastic super heroes have taken their skills to the next level. Introducing Skype and Tell.

Two kindergarten teachers in Charlotte, NC are now connecting with another kindergarten teacher from in Raleigh, NC to allow their students to share their show and tell. The students eagerly come to the computer and share the clues about their secret item tucked into their little brown paper bags. Their peers watching and listening on the smartboards in both classrooms ask questions like “what letter does it start with?” or “does it rhyme with wagon?”. Once they narrow it down, one student will approach the computer and triumphantly announce the answer. Both classrooms erupt with applause.

Watching these students easily interact with other each via computer, I am struck by the fact that even though today was their first time using Skype and for many even their first time video conferencing there was no instruction on how to use the tools. Students seemed comfortable speaking to the face on the computer screen. They held their objects up to the screen sometimes too low or too high but they understood the general idea. No one seemed uncomfortable with talking to the computer. In fact, their interactions seemed to be marked by the same interpersonal cues and behaviors that were apparent when they were talking to their fellow students in the classroom.
So what can we learn from these knee high digital natives? First, whether we are ready or not, they are. They are eager and excited to engage with these participatory tools like Skype or voicethreads. Second, students are learning by doing and often instructional time spent teaching technology skills is unnecessary especially when those skills are taught out of a natural context. Finally, I think the most important lesson we can take from this event is that it is not the technology that makes this event special. It is teachers taking the usual show and tell and making it an opportunity for students to use higher order thinking skills. The students are thinking about more than what the hidden is. They are considering possible rhyming words, how the word might be spelled, writing clues to tease the answer from the peers – this is the magic. And that this magic can be shared using the technology to provide an opportunity for teachers from other schools to watch each other in action and learn from each other is the greatest benefit.
Next up: rhyme time online