The prohibitive costs involved for schools or their sponsors to cover a link up means it is essential that a session is well planned in advance. I find it is useful to almost develop a script working with your partner using email. This serves a number of purposes. Firstly, if English is a second language of a partner school it helps colleagues understand the idea you are referring to. Secondly it allows you to research a topic, seek other teacher's ideas or participation prior to the day, and thirdly the students know exactly when and where during the hour they will be directly engaged in presentation.
Students establish informal contact with peers via e-mail prior to the event.
They may be required to send some materials or work overseas through the regular post in preparation for a session. Plan for variety of performance. Provide room for student voice and choice so that students can explore their own interests, abilities and values. Shodo art work created during a tutorial session by the Japanese students is scanned and entered into a digital gallery so that Australian students can more closely examine the techniques for example. Photos taken of the groups appear, as do subsequent teaching resource materials.