VIRTUAL BUDDY EXCHANGE PROGRAMME – MAKING CONNECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD

After six weeks of video calls with students from around the globe, our three participants  in the Virtual Buddy Exchange Programme finally made their last call and were presented with their certificates of participation.

Lucia (1st ESO), Pelayo (2nd ESO) and María (3rd ESO) really made the most of this wonderful international learning opportunity for students that Fontenebro International Schools were delighted to offer this term. Each week, our students would connect online with another student from a school within the global community of ISP schools, including schools from Malaysia, México, Ecuador and Chile.  The calls were supervised by a coordinator and each week there was a different topic to focus on.  This way, the students were able to share  information, knowledge and experiences about themselves and their country and culture with their virtual buddy.

As their coordinator it was great to see our students improving in many areas of communication but more importantly our students could also see their progress during the six week period.  They learned that communication is so much  more than speaking and presenting information as it involves reacting to what the other has said, asking questions and showing interest  – all essential aspects to making a real connection with the person on the call.

Lucía, Pelayo and María can be very proud of themselves for their participation throughout the six weeks and I have no doubt that they will continue to develop the skills that they improved during the Virtual Buddy Exchange Programme.

Mike West

Virtual Buddy Exchange Programme Coordinator