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I am a teacher and am looking for help.

Beta Ray

By Beta Ray
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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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Hello everyone.

I am an ESL teacher here in Taiwan and I run a hi-tech STEM classroom for homeschoolers and low income families here. My students range from 6-14 years old and all of them are ESL learners with ranging English abilities.

I integrate Minecraft and Universal Sandbox into my English lesson plans and am just now getting ready to use KSP as well.

I love playing KSB! I just bought KSP and got instantly addicted. KSP has given me the inspiration to have a space program my students can run.

I then thought of an idea!

I am interested in introducing my students to more foreigners and I was wondering if anyone here would be interested in collaborating with me to help me present lesson plans for kids via SKYPE.

What I specifically need is a volunteer that will 'chat' with my students. The first class will probably be them asking where you are from and if you ever had Taiwanese food. ;)

The classes will be very basic. For example, we will teach them how to build a basic rocket while teaching them words like 'rocket', 'fuel', 'flight', 'countdown', 'crash' and so on.

Like I said, it is pretty much a chatting session using KSP to 'sneak in' physics lesson. Do not worry, I will be right there the whole time if you get stuck.

Unfortunately, I cannot pay you. I do not run a charity or non-profit business. I do this simply because I do not like our current educational system. My classroom runs from money out of my own pocket, donations and fund raising events like our famous movie night and cupcake sales.

Keep in mind, we are GMT+8 and your class might be early in the morning or later in the evening for you depending where you live.

Requirements needed:

A copy of KSP :P

SKYPE Google Hangout

English as your first language

Good pronunciation

Patient

Friendly

You can make a difference in some of these kids lives.

Have a great day and I hope to hear from one of you. :)

Teacher Edward

Edited by Beta Ray
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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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There is no age limit.

My 6 year old teaches people of all ages how to use redstone circuitry in Minecraft. ;)

As long as you fit the requirements above, I have no problem with age. If you are under 18, I would like to have a parent let me know they have no problem with their child being a part of this.

If you are inexperienced in teaching, I can teach you how to talk to and teach ESL learners. You can actually say this is an internship opportunity if you never have taught before.

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rpayne88

rpayne88

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I'd love to help, but...

...I have dyslexia and have been told that my speech is slightly slurred. Probably not the best way to teach a class English.

Also, for anyone who may actually be able to help, do you need any type of paperwork to be filled out? Where I live (Baltimore County, MD), we had to have our parents fill out a release form if we wanted out names and faces to be broadcast through any type of media.

Edit: If its something that involves non-verbal communication, I can help.

Edited by rpayne88
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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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rpayne88- A release form is a great idea. Thank you!

Themohawkninja - It is around 10pm for you right now? GMT-5 is not that bad. We could do a weekend workshop in the morning (for us) around this time. If you were able to teach around 6:00am your time, then you can do it during the weekday. I know it is early, but it would be from your home. :)

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Arran

Arran

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I dont mind to help out, allthough i'm not native english speaking but it is my second language as i work in an area of expertise where all communication is done in english, so by now i can speak it pretty much as well as i can write it, allthough i have an accent ;)

But i can cover all the other requirements :P

If you want to know more, give me an pm.

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alacrity

alacrity

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I have been an instructor in my local school district and might be able to help. It is a 16 hours difference (ie 7 pm Tuesday for me is 11 am Wednesday for Taipei). Not sure what kind of time table you are looking at or how many times per week/month. If I can't find the time scale to actually be the one to help, I could help with a lesson plan.

I have dealt with ESL students (spanish speakers learning english) in a non traditional setting. I was the Tech Theatre instructor. Teaching 12-14 year olds while using power tools... Nerves of steel thats me. I do not speak any Chinese what so ever, but I do have conversant Spanish and German, and embarrassing French, so learning languages is not a problem.

Let me know what you think

Alacrity Fitzhugh

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Themohawkninja

Themohawkninja

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Themohawkninja - It is around 10pm for you right now? GMT-5 is not that bad. We could do a weekend workshop in the morning (for us) around this time. If you were able to teach around 6:00am your time, then you can do it during the weekday. I know it is early, but it would be from your home. :)

Sorry, but I'll pass on that. I've been quite happy to not have to wake up at 6 AM ever since I graduated high school last year.

At least you seem to have one teacher though.

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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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Oh wow! I am overwhelmed with the responses!

I would love help with the lesson plans! Maybe we can all get together soon in a SKYPE group chat and throw some ideas around soon?

I will give you all more details here:

I plan on starting the 'space program' in January.

Classes will start at 7:00pm GMT+8

Classes will be 90 minutes once a week, your time will be 30-60 minutes depending.

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rpayne88

rpayne88

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rpayne88- A release form is a great idea. Thank you!

Themohawkninja - It is around 10pm for you right now? GMT-5 is not that bad. We could do a weekend workshop in the morning (for us) around this time. If you were able to teach around 6:00am your time, then you can do it during the weekday. I know it is early, but it would be from your home. :)

Alright, tell me what you would like me to do.

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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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I think the best plan of action now is to set a time for a SKYPE video conference for the people who are interested.

Is everyone good for this Sunday at 10:00 GMT+8? Right now it is Monday 11:45am for me.

rpayne88 – As an ESL teacher, we need good pronunciation due to Taiwanese ESL learners mimic their teachers accent. However, I would love it if you were a part of this and I want you to be part of the online collaboration to help with ideas and direction of the students space program.

Arran – Definitely PM me more details. I would love to have different expertise and viewpoints for this program.

Alacrity – Talk about experience! I think you have more than me. Lol. It would be great if you could be a part of this. And don’t worry about translation, I speak Mandarin and can help when we get stuck.

Forgot to add:

If you have a Youtube channel or a Twitch account, you can record our classes for personal use. Also, I will be streaming this on our classes Twitch channel (because some of the parents like to watch).

Edited by Beta Ray
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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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6~14 years old...interesting...

Please bear in mind that...5~14 years old... matureness differences are very-much compare with western and eastern country.

Hello Sirine,

I am not exactly sure what you are saying or asking, but as for mixing ages, I take a light Montessori approach on that. I also have been teaching Taiwanese since 2002 and am very familiar with the student mindset here. Working in groups is very effective here and is loads of fun. :)

Edited by Beta Ray
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Beta Ray

Beta Ray

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federicoaa - Taichung, my classroom is in the west district.

@everyone - Do not worry if English is not your first language. We can have multiple teachers/helpers. Do not let that deter you.

I am still overwhelmed by all of your support. I never received any help (besides my wife and son) and it is amazing to have so many wonderful people be interested in helping me.

Thank you all!

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Highlad

Highlad

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I think this is a really good idea! I'm not to sure if I would be best suited to this as I am Scottish and would probably be harder to understand. I wish you all the best though! I can imagine that this will be really good for the kids, I have always thought that KSP could be a great platform for learning :D

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