Mohawk students globe trot via Skype

Antarctica, California and Alaska are some of places Mohawk Elementary School students have visited this school year, all without leaving their Macomb Township classroom.

Second grade teacher Cheryl Carbary hopes to take her 28 students on approximately 30 or more virtual field trips/author visits via Skype this school year. Carbary’s teacher webpage at Mohawk indicates that she was part of the Chippewa Valley School District’s initial digital innovators group, which led to her becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator and a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert.

She is now a Skype Master Teacher and has been certified in 138 Microsoft classes, which led her to Skype and Skype virtual field trips, according to the teacher webpage. Carbary said that she is one of three Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts in the district and earned the Skype Master Teacher level last August.

Carbary said that virtual field trips she takes her class on via Skype tend to have a nature or animal theme as Mohawk participates in Michigan Green Schools.

One of the most recent virtual author visits was on March 10, when students Skyped with non-fiction children’s author Kevin Kurtz. Kurtz’s works include “A Day in a Forested Wetland.” Earlier in March, Carbary’s second graders Skyped with children’s fiction author Sarah Aronson, whose works include “The Wish List #1: The Worst Fairy Godmother Ever!”

“Usually we like authors that we have read, and also a lot of national parks, because we are a Green School,” Carbary said, adding that students have taken a virtual visit to Yellowstone National Park.

Most virtual visits involve a presentation and time for student questions, Carbary said. A recent Skype trip to California allowed students to view what a submersible sees in the ocean and follow rockfish, Carbary said.

One of the most remote locations that the 2019-20 second grade class has been in touch with is Antarctica. Jean Pennycook, a nationally recognized teacher-researcher and author, brings the science of Antarctica to classrooms worldwide through an interactive website at penguinscience.com/ classroom_home.php.

Having worked in Antarctica for over 14 seasons, Pennycook offers students the opportunity to see the Adelie penguin breeding colony during penguin breeding season of November to January. She has lived with the Adelie penguins over 10 seasons as part of a penguin research team at Cape Royds.

Carbary said three years ago when she first became a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and was introduced to Skype by the district Instructional Technology Department, she began reviewing potential opportunities to use it. By this method she discovered Pennycook and requested a virtual field trip.

“I first contacted Ms. Pennycook three years ago when I first started ‘going on’ virtual field trips with my students,” Carbary said. “We were scheduled to have a Skype with her, but unfortunately, she had no internet service when she first was dropped in Antarctica. We have maintained contact on and off since then.”

Pennycook offers opportunities for students to interact with researchers in a number of ways through her website. One way is through the citizen science project of helping researchers by counting penguins in photos taken at the penguin colony. Pennycook also offers a program that allows students to receive postcards from Antarctica or send researchers flags.

Carbary said that the majority of her contact with Pennycook has been through e-mail, but this school year Pennycook offered some of these opportunities to the Mohawk second graders. Carbary heard from Pennycook via e-mail shortly after she arrived in Antarctica for the research season in November 2019.

“This time she actually reached out to us and asked if we would be interested in naming a penguin, perhaps help ‘count’ penguins and if we wanted, send postcards and a flag,” Carbary said.

Carbary then read Pennycook’s children’s book “Waiting for Joey: An Antarctic Penguin Journal” to the class in November, shortly after hearing from Pennycook. The class came up with several potential penguin names, but the clear winning name was Carl.

“Ms. Pennycook sent us a picture of Carl, and it remains on the website,” Carbary said, adding that students stayed updated on Carl’s progress through Pennycook’s website.

Students decorated standard post office postcards with penguin drawings and sent them to Pennycook in December 2019, which Carbary sent as a group in an envelope through an inexpensive APO address. She included a self-addressed stamped envelope so the cards could be returned together and completed necessary customs forms.

“Ms. Pennycook hand cancelled them with McMurdo Station, Antarctica and we received them in late January, early February,” Carbary said.

Students also decorated a blank nylon flag with their artwork in December 2019, which was also mailed through the APO address with necessary customs forms.

“The flag was photographed in January and returned late January, early February,” Carbary said.