While at the ISTE 2015 conference, I learned about and participated in a Mysteryskype. I was hooked and was determined to bring this back to my small rural school. This month I am kicking off a bunch of Mysteryskypes with numerous classrooms and grade levels. You may be asking yourself, "Why is the librarian doing this? Shouldn't she be encouraging our kids to read?" Of course, after all we are a "bunchareaders," but as the librarian I take my job as resource person, cultivator of information, trouble-shooter, tech geek, book recommender, and education innovator seriously. My goal is to introduce the concept to the students and staff in hopes that they will continue with the process.
What is Mysteryskyping? You skype with another class somewhere in the world but only the teachers know where each class is located- the kids need to figure that out. It is similar to the game 20 questions where yes-no questions are asked to determine the location. Students can have jobs such as greeter, information finder, questioner, videographer, map checker and so on. The process cultivates organization, quick-thinking skills, map reading, collaboration, public speaking, and furthers our understanding of the world. Almost any curriculum topic can be incorporated into Mysteryskyping: math-time difference, science-biomes, LA-writing, Social Studies-geography and may even further empathy through the exposure to different cultures.
I know, you are still asking, "Where's the reading?" One of my personal goals is to showcase books, both fiction and non, that are about the place we have skyped with and create a list of books about our state for those interested. In reading some of these books, students may gain an understanding of setting, cultural values, and history among other things. So as we set out to "flatten the world," so to speak, think about how you can be innovative and introduce your kids to a whole new world!
Keep reading,
The Noisy Librarian
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