This project involved Washingborough Academy in the UK taking part in a video call with Farmer Tamara in Slovenia.
Video calling can open up the world of food culture to pupils, enabling them to connect to farmers and growers, cooks and consumers anywhere where there is a wifi or 4G connection. School children may very well have family and friends living in other countries that can provide an excellent opportunity to explore their food experiences. A video call can be preceded by an introduction to the country in focus, where it is in the world, and key points of interest.
Washingborough Academy invited Tanja from Slovenia to introduce her country to the class with photos and interesting information. This was then followed by a live video call to her friend Tamara in Slovenia, who showed the children the ducks, geese and chicken that she looked after, and some of the vegetables that were growing in the garden. Tanja was able to talk further and explain more about what they were seeing.
What are the benefits/outcomes of a digital approach to this activity?
Schools are often multicultural so pupils with family connections in other countries (with different farming methods, food, and recipes) can provide an excellent learning opportunity. Video calls can share and celebrate these different food cultures and enable pupils to understand more about the world and provide many benefits:
Pupils gain an insight into the background of other children in the school community, supporting inclusivity and understanding
A video call can transport pupils to another country, climate and culture - directly from the classroom where travel would be impossible.
Pupils will see the differences and similarities in the lives of other people on the planet, and compare their food cultures with ours
International video calls can provide a good platform for topic work, discussion and learning in the classroom
Top Teacher Tips:
Ask your pupils and parents whether they have friends and family in another country that would be willing to take part in a video call
Ensure that you can communicate – either in the same language or with a translator
Check and test that they have good wifi or 4G on location, and set the time and date
Plan a talk with the class before the call (perhaps with a family member) to introduce the country, and think about any questions they want to be answered
Keep the children engaged with opportunities to ask questions and make comments throughout the call
Follow up with some topic work or discussion in the classroom
This digital approach can be enhanced further by organising food tastings and cooking activities with the pupils.
Resources
Talk to pupils to see if they know someone living in another country
Set up a call on a familiar video calling platform
Arrange a suitable food topic to discuss on the call
Broadcast the call on your interactive whiteboard
Example of the presentation used in class about Slovenia:
Web links
The British Council provides information for schools wishing to create links with schools in other countries.
Our FarmerTime study shows how schools can video call farmers in the UK. The project also works well in Australia and Ireland.
