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News & Photos
Tech-inspired Teacher Receives National Honor
First grade teacher Mary Catherine Irving discovered Skype video chat as a teaching tool and her students found a world of new friends—from New Orleans, Mexico, and Argentina. They have exchanged traditions, learned songs together, played games, shared a blog, and even devised strategies to solve world problems.
Mary Catherine’s Skyping efforts prompted a colleague to nominate her for the National Association of Independent Schools 2011-2012 Teacher of the Future designation. Sure enough, not only was Mary Catherine chosen, she was one of only two lower school teachers among the 25 selected for 2011-2012.
For the last five years, Mary Catherine has employed technology solutions to expand her students’ horizons. As her colleague wrote, “Mary Catherine’s projects incorporate critical, 21st century skills that her students will need to be successful in our global economy. However, if you ask them about any of this, they will just tell you that they are having fun!”
And so is Mary Catherine. When she talks about all the educational possibilities of Skyping, she precedes every other sentence with, “The really neat thing is …”
Mary Catherine was thrilled to discover Skype’s exchange for educators, which she joined immediately. “It’s like match.com for teachers! There are 15,000 teachers worldwide on Skype in the Classroom, all looking for one another” to arrange shared lessons.
Her current match is Eugenia Gaozza, a technology integrator in Buenos Aires public elementary schools. “I was looking for a school in another part of the world, ideally Spanish-speaking, to build a relationship using Skype,” said Mary Catherine. The two teachers chat several times a week.
The match energizes both, and their students’ benefit. McDonogh first graders began connecting with their Buenos Aires counterparts last spring. Together, they played games, learned and sang songs, created a Google map, and launched a bilingual blog.
This year, Mary Catherine and Eugenia plan to improve upon what they started. They developed a year’s curriculum of classes connecting every Tuesday. “Week by week we know exactly what we’re doing,” said Mary Catherine.
As part the Teachers of the Future team, Mary Catherine will be expected to lead an NAIS online educational discussion forum throughout the school year, and create and post a demonstration teaching unit video online, and contribute to the NAIS on iTunes U website.
First grade teacher Mary Catherine Irving discovered Skype video chat as a teaching tool and her students found a world of new friends—from New Orleans, Mexico, and Argentina. They have exchanged traditions, learned songs together, played games, shared a blog, and even devised strategies to solve world problems.
Mary Catherine’s Skyping efforts prompted a colleague to nominate her for the National Association of Independent Schools 2011-2012 Teacher of the Future designation. Sure enough, not only was Mary Catherine chosen, she was one of only two lower school teachers among the 25 selected for 2011-2012.
For the last five years, Mary Catherine has employed technology solutions to expand her students’ horizons. As her colleague wrote, “Mary Catherine’s projects incorporate critical, 21st century skills that her students will need to be successful in our global economy. However, if you ask them about any of this, they will just tell you that they are having fun!”
And so is Mary Catherine. When she talks about all the educational possibilities of Skyping, she precedes every other sentence with, “The really neat thing is …”
Mary Catherine was thrilled to discover Skype’s exchange for educators, which she joined immediately. “It’s like match.com for teachers! There are 15,000 teachers worldwide on Skype in the Classroom, all looking for one another” to arrange shared lessons.
Her current match is Eugenia Gaozza, a technology integrator in Buenos Aires public elementary schools. “I was looking for a school in another part of the world, ideally Spanish-speaking, to build a relationship using Skype,” said Mary Catherine. The two teachers chat several times a week.
The match energizes both, and their students’ benefit. McDonogh first graders began connecting with their Buenos Aires counterparts last spring. Together, they played games, learned and sang songs, created a Google map, and launched a bilingual blog.
This year, Mary Catherine and Eugenia plan to improve upon what they started. They developed a year’s curriculum of classes connecting every Tuesday. “Week by week we know exactly what we’re doing,” said Mary Catherine.
As part the Teachers of the Future team, Mary Catherine will be expected to lead an NAIS online educational discussion forum throughout the school year, and create and post a demonstration teaching unit video online, and contribute to the NAIS on iTunes U website.