Come in, Mexico City: CAS uses video link for Four Nations Project
Last Thursday, years nine and ten students from Collingwood Area School participated in a video link-up with a similar-aged group of students from Thomas Jefferson School in Mexico City. The students were representing New Zealand in the International Four Nations Project, as part of their social studies and English programmes.
“Schools from New Zealand, Pakistan, Turkey and Mexico have spent several weeks learning about each other’s countries and cultures and are now holding video conferences in which the students can speak to one other directly,” said teacher Claire Allen.
The Collingwood participants had prepared for the occasion by sampling some Mexican cuisine the previous day when they had prepared and eaten a “Mexican Breakfast”.
Collingwood students started the video link by performing their own version of a Mexican wave and then each one introduced themselves. Exchange student Osvaldo Rojas, who is visiting Collingwood from Chile, proved very popular with the Mexicans as he was able to do his part of the presentation in Spanish.
The Mexican students then described their school, Mexico City and some of the traditional foods and drinks of their county. In return, the local students produced a PowerPoint slide show and each student gave a short speech about life in New Zealand. They described their school, favourite sports, and what the Collingwood district is like.
Despite the time differences between the two countries, and thanks to the good English language skills of the Mexican students, a great deal of information was exchanged by the two groups. The contrasts between rural New Zealand and Mexico City, with its high-rise apartments and huge soccer stadium, were obvious. It was also clear that shopping malls and McDonalds feature prominently in the lives of students on both sides of the world.
Sarah Milligan
