by Chloe Furtado (Year 2 BEd student)
During my practicum placement at St. Philips Catholic Elementary School, I had the opportunity to work collaboratively alongside Vickie Morgado as we began a global collaboration project with a class in the Ukraine. In November 2023, we began communicating back and forth with Vika Matkivska, an English teacher in the Ukraine. We began exchanging photos, as we received photos of students sharing Halloween themed art, holding pictures of different flags representing their diverse backgrounds with the class, and other forms of student learning. In response to the photos being sent to our classrooms, Vickie shared some photos with me of her class which I then created a slideshow video of the different ways we learn in the classroom to share with the class in the Ukraine. Vickie’s grade 4 class was excited about being able to share the slideshow of the different ways they learn with the class in Ukraine after receiving photos from their new friends.
Following this, we received a video from Vika Matkivska as she introduced herself and the students in her class to us. The video also sparked some questions that our students could respond to such as, “What are your names? Tell us something about yourselves.” After this video, Vickie and I began to discuss ways in which we could collaboratively work to respond to the video. For our grade 4 class, Vickie introduced the idea of using Flipgrid, a platform at the time I was unfamiliar with. Vickie took the time to explain and show me how to use the platform as well as brainstorm ways in which our students could interactively use the platform. From there, I began to create a brainstorming template where students could formulate what they would like to say before actually recording. Through the use of Flipgrid, students could begin by introducing themselves, sharing some of their Christmas traditions with their families, and asking the Ukrainian class any questions they had. As for my grade ½ class, I felt that creating and recording a Flipgrid video would be advanced for them so I decided that my students would instead create and write Christmas cards to each student in the Ukrainian class. The grade ½ students were so excited about having the opportunity to share their own Christmas traditions as well as write a card to students in another country.
My experiences and insights
When Anne Shlarp, my practicum facilitator, presented the chance for me to collaborate and learn from Vickie Morgado through this global initiative, I had no idea what to anticipate. As a teacher candidate (TC), I've never been involved in a project where my students communicated globally with students from another country, let alone another class in Ontario. This opportunity taught me how Ukrainian children experience school differently than students in Ontario. During one of our weekly online interactions, Vika Matkivska told us about her student's experience of having to accompany her class into a bomb shelter. This helped me comprehend that education is not experienced in the same manner globally as it is in Ontario.
I am grateful to have had this opportunity to learn from Vickie Margado, who guided me through this project and introduced me to tools like Flipgrid that can be used in the classroom. This experience has informed my teaching practice as it has taught me new ways I can engage my future classrooms globally with students around the world safely. It also has shown the importance of collaborating with colleagues as there is always so much that you can learn from others.