An important aspect of our classroom is how we connect our learning with the world. We want to make sure that our learning has meaning outside of our classroom walls.

One of the ways we do this is by connecting with other classrooms through our blog. Last week we made contact with a class in France who are interested in learning more about Australia. This was a great ‘in the moment’ learning experience. When we found that their blog was all written in French (as you would expect!) we decided that this shouldn’t be a barrier to our learning, but an opportunity. We explored ‘Google Translate’ and were able to read and respond to their blog using this tool. We also noticed that there were patterns and similar words to the English language, which opened up a great discussion about the origins of our English language.  We also communicated with a class in New Zealand who have given us some advice about one of our learning topics. We look forward to exploring these relationships further as the year progresses.

Another way is by using our class Twitter account to connect with experts around the world. In an earlier post we wrote about how we can ask follow up questions from the reporters at ‘Behind the News’ using our twitter account. This is something that we do each week and get access to information that helps to build on our learning.

This week, we also made contact with Alan Sunderland, who is the Author of our class novel ‘Refugee’. Mr Sunderland has offered to answer any questions about the book that we may have. This will be a fantastic addition to our learning as we work through the book. Click on the images below to see these interactions.