Creative connections with Asia using videoconferencing

Abstract

The core activity in this project is direct contact between Australian school children both primary and secondary, with their peers in Asia, particularly in Korea. Direct contact is made through high-definition videoconferencing whereby students talk to each other and observe each other in real time. Teachers are directly involved in organising and helping students prepare their presentations to their Asian peers, but the students themselves talk directly to their peers. The program began in 2008 and now there are 30 pairs of schools between Australia and Korea, 5 pairs for Japan, and 2 for China. This study focuses on 12 videoconferencing sessions involving Australian and Korean students. The excitement of the students in both countries is palpable, and the motivation to make the very best presentation is extremely high. Excitement, seeing new faces in their peers who are thousands of miles away across the world and who are as excited as the presenters and show it, and working to ensure that they do the best job they can in their presentations, all together act as strong motivators. But the most important aspect is the contact made between children from different countries and different cultures, who speak a different language, and who want to know about each other. The identification of creative activities as they occurred in each session was completed by three expert judges who were asked to rate behaviours simply as creative or non-creative and to give some reasons if necessary. Several spontaneous behaviours were recognized as good examples of creative behaviour.