In this clip, Jane and Claire talk about setting up a sequence of video conferences covering practical arrangements; preparing the students for using the technology and identifying criteria for a successful conference; for talking about books.

Jane and Claire drew up an agenda for each video conference including the necessary resources which they emailed to each other. This is the agenda for the conference which was filmed.

1. Getting ready - fixing the pre-sets: this clip shows the schools setting up the camera in pre-set positions. This makes conferencing run smoothly: you just select which camera position you want in advance e.g. the whole group, individuals, pairs or groups of pupils, the teacher. During the conference, you then press the appropriate number on the remote control to move the camera to its pre-set position.

2. Choosing books through looking at titles, covers and blurbs: the Peacehaven students present a range of books. The microphones are then muted each end and the King Edward VI students talk about which of the books they would like to read. With the microphones live again, they give their responses.

3. Speculating about other Roald Dahl stories: the students in each school speculate separately about other Roald Dahl stories (they read and discussed The Hitchhiker in an earlier video conference) and predict what they might be about based on their titles (Conference 3 - Titles.ppt). The microphones are then unmuted and students share their predictions.

4. Agreeing a book for the next conference: the conference ends with a brief discussion about what the boys might read next and talk about and a future conference. On this occasion, they chose a graphic novel, Rave Master by Hiro Mashima.

Boys from both schools talk about the impact of video conferencing including the impact on their own reading: how it spurred them on to read as other people were doing the reading as well; how you have to explain your ideas more fully to people you don’t know; the impact of the technology which gave opportunities for talk rather than writing; learning to take your turn.

In this clip the boys talk about working with boys they don’t know and the effects of peer pressure: the fear of being ‘blocked out’ or considered a ‘geek’ by fellow students from one's own school; this doesn’t happen when you video conference with boys from another school.

The teachers talk about the impact of video conferencing on the boys’ attitudes to reading: all the boys want to carry on conferencing and carry on reading. Giving boys access to the technology appears to make a difference to their levels of engagement.

In this second clip, Jane talks about the impact of video conferencing on students’ communication skills. They have moved on from conditioned responses (‘boring’) and there has been an improvement in listening skills, taking turns to talk and staying on task.

Here the teachers talk about the next steps. Ideas include working with the librarian on shadowing the Carnegie and using video conferences with whole classes.