Shaun the Global Astronaut Rana Ammar Kindergarten English Teacher

* Why do you consider yourself to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert? Most people consider that 21 century students are the luckiest students of all time since they have the opportunity to deal with school subjects in an unconventional way. Being able to bring the whole world into a size box classroom not only provoke student’s minds, but also stimulate their brains to think outside the room. Never the less, trigging student’s curiosity by changing their learning attitudes from being extrinsic learners that count on reinforcements to accomplish school tasks into intrinsic learners, is considered one of the most priceless gifts that technology can give to every single educator on earth. Above all of this, using technology inside the classroom can teach students new skills, it gives them the opportunity to collaborate, be self dependent, and decision makers, since they are searching for information and building their own knowledge. For example, using Bing searching engine along with Microsoft Power Point gave my students the opportunity to present their work in an untraditional way and made them more confident about the product they came up with, they were able to grab their friend’s attention and made the whole students more involved and attracted. Another example about a tool that sparked my student’s enthusiasm is the Song Smith, this program gave my students the opportunity to learn new terminologies and have fun singing and choosing their favorite style of music. They were extremely captivated by this experience. Being able to experience all of the things I mentioned previously, will definitely encourage me to admit that technology changed my student’s life and mine as well, that’s why I consider myself a Microsoft Expert Educator!

* How do you think being an MIE Expert will impact your teaching? In my opinion holding the title of an MIE expert will boost my potentials to provide my classroom and my students with more technological tools and programs that will enhance their learning and satisfy their curiosity. Working with technology shouldn’t stop the moment someone wins a title. Dealing with technology should be an ongoing cycle that should have its impact not only on the students, but also on the school community as a whole. Being able to Transfer knowledge and experience to other teachers will definitely make a huge difference in every single classroom inside the school, it will provide them with unorthodox innovative teaching methods that will create a dynamic atmosphere where students will not be at the receiving end, but will always be at the heart of it.

Learning Activity Objectives:

1.List terminologies related to the solar system. 2.List the characteristics of each planet. 3.Distinguish between stars and planets. 4.Locate countries using Bing Map. 5.Recognize famous sites, cultures, customs and traditions of foreign countries. 6.Construct knowledge about global citizenship using technology. 7.Plan a big day that holds the title “Shaun the Global Astronaut”. 8.Design projects related to the specified countries, stars and planets. 9.Take part in discussions after collecting the data about the countries, stars, and planets. 10.Review information, presentations and edit them to enhance self-regulation skills. 11.Cooperate with each other to enhance student’s collaboration skills. 12.Compose and sing a song related to outer space.

Describe a lesson you have taught in which you have incorporated Microsoft technologies in innovative ways? Teaching is not about memorizing and drilling information anymore; it’s about equipping students with new skills and searching abilities that will boost their curiosities to look for answers outside classroom walls using technology. In a world full of contrasts, diversities and complexity, it’s critical that educators prepare students for global citizenship, and because global citizenship and technology go along with each other, a learning activity that holds the title “Shaun the Global Astronaut” was launched in my classroom. The objective behind this project was to implement cross-cultural understanding in a simple way that would fit my six-year-old pupil’s minds and thinking abilities. The idea of the project was presented to students through a role play that was done at school. In the role play, 6 astronauts were introduced to the students holding the name of Shaun, each one of these astronauts is coming from a different country, these countries are: Algeria-England-America-Brazil-Japan-Russia”. During the play, students were told that these astronauts will soar into space in a spaceship, on their way to space, the astronauts will share information about their countries and together they will discover some of the planets and stars found in the solar system. The planets and stars that were chosen are: Sun-Moon-Jupiter- Venus-Saturn-Mars”.

* Lesson Description ( Part2 ): After introducing the idea of the activity, the students were divided into six groups. Each group’s mission was to search for information regarding the country and the star /planet that they decided to discover. The groups were divided as follows: Shaun 1AlgeriaMoon Shaun 2BrazilSun Shaun 3JupiterUnited states of America Shaun 4JapanVenus Shaun 5SaturnRussia Shaun 6MarsUnited Kingdom

* Lesson Description ( Part 3 ): Each group was asked to search for information regarding the country, planet and the star they chose. Students used Bing and Bing map to locate countries on the map and look for pictures, information and videos that will give them ideas about people’s ways of living, traditions, costumes, believes. After gathering the data, the students organized the information in a Power Point, these Power Points were reviewed by the teacher and feedbacks were given to the students to edit their slides. Subsequently, students were ready to present their Power Point presentations along with Office Mix that was used by the students to enhance their work. In addition, students had the chance to record a song related to the solar system using Song Smith program. As a home-school connection, students were asked to design projects in collaboration with their parents related to the topics they learned about. These projects were presented in a Big Day that holds the title “Shaun the Global Astronaut”. Parents, public figures, and students from other schools were invited to this event. In the Big Day, the students represented each country by wearing its traditional costumes, preparing famous food, and sharing their acquired knowledge with the visitors. Moreover, corners related to the solar system were set, students were extremely excited to introduce and discuss the facts that they have learned with the invitee. During the day, the incoming visitors were asked to vote for their favorite project and by the end of the event; the names of the winning projects were announced.

Self Regulation:

Knowledge Construction:

Real-World Problem Solving:

Skilled Communication:

Collaboration:

Use of ICT for Learning: