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21S In Action

Moss Point Teacher Inspires a New World View for Students

How a Moss Point History teacher takes her classroom to another country with her computer, an internet connection, and a webcam.

Moss Point High School AP World History teacher Rebecca Endt is taking her students to another country without them leaving their seats. They are doing real time global traveling to Germany using a web cam, a computer and high speed internet connectivity.

Their adventure began two months before the end of the 2006 school year, when through a 21s Cisco grant Ms. Endt received an electronic whiteboard and high speed internet connectivity for her classroom. The new technology was inspiring.

Ms. Endt had never traveled internationally until she was in her 30s. When she did, it opened up her eyes. "When you can touch, taste, and see the cultures, it brings world history alive." says Ms. Endt. "I wanted to do the same thing for my students through the use of technology."

Through research she found ePals on the U.S. Consulate website. ePals is a safe and secure educational email and blog website designed for classroom use. It includes discussion boards and file sharing for students and teachers from all over the world.

The students met twice weekly via webcam where they discussed clothes, politics, music, school, and hurricane Katrina. The Moss Point students were so excited about being seen live that they painted a backdrop of a landscape with a sun and flowers to project a positive identity.

Ms. Endt says, "This has had a profound effect on my students. They were aware of how technology has helped open the world of information, but had no real idea how it could open the world itself. They have made friends in other regions of the world and formed lasting relationships."

Being a pioneer is not new to Ms. Endt. She says she was the first American teacher to teach British History to children in Great Britain. Now in her second year at Moss Point High School she is already realizing the potential of educational technology. Says Ms. Endt, "It has changed my life. It has given me a new light on teaching."

She is now recruiting teachers to use similar technology and is working with Moss Point teacher Melynda Ross on a global studies program for K-12th using programs such as ePals.

Eventually she would like to connect a kindergarten group in Moss Point with a kindergarten group in Japan and have them grow up together. She says, "There are just so many possibilities. Look at all the wars and all the misunderstandings that could be avoided with better communication."

Ms. Endt surveyed her classes and found that less than one percent of her students have traveled outside the country. Currently Moss Point High School does not have an international student exchange program. For now she will continue to make her students more globally aware and inspire them to travel through the use of technology.

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