Google+ Hangouts In Action

As the December 23rd post from Ken about Google + states, there is more and more collaboration happening between teachers using this Google tool.  (See the example embedded in that post made by Wallace of Wallace and Gromit.)

One such example of collaboration was when a “Civil War Soldier” was whisked through time from December 13th, 1862 to December 13th, 2012, where he met with a class of High School students after his time travel.  Information was shared  in character, response was then given  to student questions that had been previously posted on a Wallwisher Wall, and student understanding of the overall chronology of conflict was augmented.

Think of the benefit to students of:  Having  multiple “remote experts” interacting with multiple classes in a synchronous environment;  Inviting in other learners around the world; Sharing the video of the experience afterwards.

It IS necessary to practice and test connections before you roll this out in front of students, but that is a small thing if you are interested in making it work.