Artifact 2: Using Padlet to Collaborate

The most favorite and most challenging collaborative activity was Classroom Connection assignment.  In this assignment, I chose to work with a teacher friend of mine from awhile ago.  We paired up our fourth and first grade classes to learn about Keystone Species.  My fourth graders worked on researching and writing about different animals that were keystone species and the first graders asked questions about them.  The last step was to have my fourth graders reply back to the first graders with a video response.  The kids really loved sharing their learning and becoming the experts on the animals and ecosystems.  Knowing that first graders would be looking at their art, asking questions, and then listening to their video responses provided an authentic audience for my students.  It encouraged them to do their best work and really take pride in it.  Here's the link to the Padlet we used: https://padlet.com/ringstrup/n2ca3vfxrj6n

In reflecting on this activity, I think I might use Flipgrid next time because of the ease of the video feature, but I like how the first graders were able to post their questions in response to the fourth graders' artwork of their animal.  This was my first try at connecting with another class outside of my own school.  It was a little intimidating at first, but now that I've tried it, I can see so many other ways to use this kind of connection to bring learning to life for my students.  This first grade class was similar to the students that I teach other than their age.  I would love to connect with a class in another country or socioeconomic status to help my students also gain empathy as well as knowledge about other cultures.