A guest post about KidsedchatNZ for #EdchatNZ

I am privileged to be writing a blog post for #EdchatNZ on a topic I find very close to my heart ... KidsedchatNZ!

I have always considered myself lucky to have the opportunity to be involved in KidsedchatNZ with my class, as I have experienced the positive benefits of being involved first hand with my students.  The following is just one example, where this 5 year old student of mine received positive feedback from a teacher on the writing he shared during a chat.

It is lovely to see how students have confidence and feel good about themselves, which in the end leads to them being actively engaged in their learning. That is what KidsedchatNZ offer to students!

In recent months, KidsedchatNZ got a lot of recognition by winning the Interface Magazine Award for 'The Best Teaching with ICT' and from mentions during the uLearn13 conference.


What is KidsedchatNZ?

• KidsedchatNZ is a twitter chat between New Zealand classes and students, every Thursday @ 2:00 - 3:00pm. 
• KidsedchatNZ has been created by Pascal Dresse during Term 3 2012 after participating in an #edchatNZ. It started of as a fortnightly chat, but as it gained momentum it became a regular weekly chat.
• KidsedchatNZ is run by the Super 7: @PalmyTeacher, @PascalDresse, ReidHns1, @Juliet_Revell, @MNatusch, @simone15, @1MvdS
• All organisation is done via Twitter and Google Apps. 
• Some of the topics covered so far have been:  Literacy, Maths, Technology, Digital Citizenship, Teachers, Education outside the classroom, Rules, Courage, ANZAC Day (Trans-Tasman Chat), Culture, Learning, Homework, Modern Learning Environments and Inquiry Learning.
• Anywhere between 10 and 30 classes participate in KidsedchatNZ each week, with up to a 1,000 tweets being recorded.
• After each KidsedchatNZ session a 'Tweet of the Week' is announced for the best tweet during the session.
• KidsedchatNZ also has a mascot called 'Follow' who visits classes that participate.  You can book 'Follow' here:  http://kidsedchatnz.blogspot.co.nz/p/mascot.html

Why participating?

• KidsedchatNZ gives students an authentic audience to share and reflect on their learning.
• Students connect with other classes and students throughout New Zealand, sharing ideas and thoughts.
• Reading, writing and thinking skills develop.
• KidsedchatNZ is an authentic place to learn about Digital Citizenship

How to get involved?

• Create a class twitter account.
• Send @PalmyTeacher a tweet and he will add you to the KidsedchatNZ Twitter List.
• Subscribe to the KidsedchatNZ Twitter list and follow it on the day.
• Join in the chat. You will find topics on the KidsedchatNZ Blog
• If you need any more help to get started with KidsedchatNZ, we have created a number of 'How To' videos.  They can be found here: http://kidsedchatnz.blogspot.co.nz/p/how-to-join-kidsedchatnz.html

Get involved. Your students will thank you for it. We hope to see your class there soon!

~ A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there. - Anonymous ~