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[[image:bannerfans_6165357.jpg width="1232" height="153" caption="Eyball Conquers All"]]
Video Conferencing Creates Commotion. This Is Poetry in Motion.

Topic:

Mr. Cohen and I agreed to host a poetry slam video conference with our Eyeball cameras. My fourth grade students and his fifth grade students shared cinquains and limericks. We had students compare style, content and structure.

Description of the purpose for the video chat:

The purpose of the video chat was to make our students poetry stars. The performance aspect of poetry is too often neglected. How can we sit around in the middle of this "Hip-Hop" generation and teach poetry like it was taught 50 years ago? We can't!! Our students loved it. They were instant stars. We need to shake the dust off of the perception of poetry for our students. One of my least favorite acronyms in our Reading CPFG is BTW (Bringing Words to Life). Well, if you want to bring words to life, than plug in your Eyeball and have a poetry slam. Bring your students to life



Reflection:

I did have to refresh the session at one point to establish connectivity. This happens sometimes. The students were patient. They were so excited to be participating in this virtual poetry slam, they weren't about to let a shaky connection stifle their enthusiasm. We need more class to class interaction. These kind of events need to be incorporated into the county curriculm.

Technology Standards:

II. Communication V. Integrating Technology into Instruction VII. Professional Growth