Goal:

Sharing digital storytelling on our JapanUSA-TeenTalk Moodle site will demonstrate strategies for helping students become acquainted with students in Japan prior to videoconferencing to encourage positive interaction when students meet face-to-face.

Our project has included many different types of Problem Based Learning international-collaboration activities:

We started by exchanging video introductions:

Video introductions selection screen

 View sample Hagoromo student video introductions

Students commented on hobbies and other things introduced in the video introductions on our project's web site (running on Moodle):

Video introductions discussion forums screens

Students split into groups focusing on different topics and communicated online to learn about their foreign counterpart's lifestyle and culture.

The information students learned was used to create final presentations where students introduced their counterpart's lifestyle/culture:

2009 final presentations selection screens

 View sample Hagoromo student final presentations

 View sample Memorial student final presentations

Next, students started uploading photographs of class activities at school and after school activities to use for creation of digital storytelling slideshows to share school life with each other to create connections prior to their videoconference:

Photo gallery screens

Slideshow stories screens

View sample Hagoromo student slideshows

View sample Memorial student slideshows

Students will complete this phase of the exchange project with a live videoconference between the two participating schools this spring.