Leah writes:
I think that having a list of questions to ask was helpful for both us and them because it kept the conversation flowing without to many silences. I also thought that it was helpful having the two teachers kind of helping to move the conversation along and sort of sum up what we were saying.
One thing that would be more helpful in the future if we did this again would be to sort of have some ideas of a conversation topic to talk about (i.e. photography, culture etc.) Instead of just asking questions back and forth that don’t necessarily have anything to do with each other.
I wouldn’t need anymore motivation to do this again. I thought it was really cool, fun and interesting and I would definitely do it again. (With more food!)
Braden writes:
When we forgot about the sheet of questions and had an actual conversation was when it was the best. Most of us did get to speak which was good. I liked that we had a question sheet to prompt us when we were stuck on topics but we the highlights of are conversation was when we just kept going.
It was hard to have a flowing conversation because of the poor internet connections. We should swap seats more often to put the people who didn’t speak a chance to. I like how the teacher in Beijing didn’t talk the majority of the time. You did a really good job communicating but we should get other kids involved more instead of having you repeat us when they can’t hear. I sure some of the kids would of liked to have a go.
Smythe writes:
What worked well:
-Having questions prepared was helpful for the times when there were silences
-Being seated in an informal arrangement was helpful to get people relaxed and talking
What didn’t work well:
-Not everyone could be seen
-People couldn’t always be heard
What would motivate me to come again:
-I would come anyways because it’s a great opportunity to talk with students from around the world.
Peter writes:
A better view of their classroom and all the students would be interesting and allow us to get a better feel for their surroundings.
Have more copies of our own questions and better organized so there is less hesitation and stay on topic.
Even though we didn’t talk about photography I learned a lot (pollution, internet proxies, culture)
