Selecting A Meeting Room Step 2

KidCom is a special area of collaboration where teachers can bring
their students to discuss a large number of dreams for a better world.
Teachers can see what their students say, but only
your students can "talk" in these rooms.

Art by  Ivona from Italy , 2004

Suggested approach using an example: A group of students wants the world to become more peaceful. You give them the following assignment:

1. Join the KidCom "No More War" room. Review what is there.
2. Write a plan for what they - together with other Kidlink students - should do now for peace in the world.
3. Post the plan as a file in the "No More War" room (click "Add document"). Either post by pasting the text in there, or link to a page in KidSpace.

   In KidSpace, students may make their plan look visually more attractive. Discuss why it is important for a plan to look good. In KidSpace, teachers must approve pages to make them public. This may give opportunities for interaction with students about their creative work. .

4. Ask the students to select one among themselves to host the KidCom discussion.
5. Invite other Kidlink students to come discuss the plan at a given date/time.
6. The meeting: The host starts by asking all present to review the plan, provide comments, questions, and ideas for things to include. If interest is high, should want-to-be writers, artists, musicians be invited to a next meeting? Summarize, ask if there should be another meeting..
7. Show your students to "Track changes" in the "No More War" room so that they can be warned about other kids making statements after the meeting. All discussion items will be there, so students unable to participate may make comments later, as may those participants with Internet at home.
8. Afterwards: Discuss the meeting and its conclusions with your students. What went well? What may be done better the next time? Should the plan be changed, expanded, and updated? What do they want to do next?
9. After some days, ask your students to check "New items?". Are there any new comments? If yes, what do they think about these? If there are no comments, what might be the reason?
10. Invite to a second meeting? How can we get more participants of the kind we'd want? And so on...

It takes planning to make interactive discussions thoughtful and productive. Teachers may use KidCom's Teachers' Lounge list for coordination. Students may coordinate in the KidCom room of their desired future dream, or the KidCafe room.

Next page: Making An Invitation