Computers open Egyptian borders to sixth graders

In a recent television advertisement, actress Ellen Page travels with school children in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to a classroom in China—in less than 30 seconds. Television fantasy became reality for Laura Hayes-Bowles' sixth grade class on Wednesday, Feb. 3 as they took a trip to Egypt via Skype.

The project began when Mrs. Hayes-Bowles learned that a former Fonda-Fultonville classmate Alan Francisco '90 is currently working with the American Research Center in Egypt to train registrars at the Egyptian Museum at Cairo. She contacted Mr. Francisco asking if her class could interview him as a part of their social studies lesson on Egypt.

Her next step was to work out the technology. F-F network administrator Sally Ochampaugh and computer technician Bill Cooper set up a video conference in the school computer lab projecting the live video feed of Mr. Francisco onto the lab's whiteboard. Individual students sat in front of a web cam to ask questions.

The big day

In preparation for the conference, Mrs. Hayes-Bowles explained that Mr. Francisco is training the museum staff to carefully record and inventory the more than 100,000 artifacts in the museum's collection. The detailed work ensures that nothing is misplaced or overlooked. She then asked her class to create a list of questions they would ask him about his career, the museum, the nation of Egypt, and the Egyptian people and their customs. Each student was assigned a particular question to raise.

At 11:45 a.m., Mr. Francisco's face appeared on the whiteboard and one-by-one, students took their turns sitting before web cam to ask a predetermined question. Among the the more interesting questions and answers were:

• How do people dress? Women cover their heads with scarves so that only their faces show.

• What is your favorite exhibit at the museum? The King Tut treasures, especially his mask.

• What does the Nile River look like and can people swim in it? The Nile is dark and muddy. It contains a certain parasite that can make you sick.

• What do Egyptians eat? A common dish is Fuul Medames, a dish of Fava beans, spices, and lemon juice.

• What are the average temperatures? It is 65-70˚ now. In the summer it is 90s and 100s.

• What mummified pharaohs are in the Cairo Museum? Ramesses II is the most famous.

• What traditions, holidays and religious celebrations do Egyptians have? Egypt is a Muslim country. Their most important holiday is the month of Ramadan when they fast (refrain from eating, drinking, or smoking).

"I am one of the HFM BOCES Integration Technology Residents selected at the middle school here at FFCS. I got the idea to Skype from our meetings about new technology to use with students in the classroom," said Mrs. Hayes-Bowles.

"And then while I was planning our class union with a friend, I found an 'old' classmate on Facebook that was living in Egypt. We are currently studying ancient Egypt. so I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to use the Skyping technology."

The videoconference was a true 21st Century lesson. Years ago, teachers strictly taught the material in textbooks. Today's educators constantly look for ways to, both, teach the required material and to help kids develop skills they will need in the workplace. That means learning to work as a team to solve a problem. The kids collaborated to decide the kind of information they needed and the questions to ask. Every individual participated in the question and answer session. When they encountered a problem where they lacked the expertise, such as establishing the computer connection, they turned to the school's technology experts.

"This is the type of instruction that our teachers are adopting," said District Superintendent Dr. James Hoffman. "Students use their personal knowledge, share ideas, and cooperatively find a solution. Those are skills that most of today's jobs demand."