This week I will be reflecting on case studies from “The Global Educator” by Julie Lindsay. In her book, Julie writes about different teachers from across the globe and their success stories with global collaboration in the classroom. Today I will be focusing on two of those stories. Before reading these success stories, please enjoy this video of a teacher in Italy who was successfully able to create a global collaborative project in her classroom!
The first case study which I connected with was about Mali Bickley who is a Canadian classroom teacher of 34 years. Ms. Bickley used a program known as ICT to integrate global learning in her literacy and other content areas so that her student could connect to and learn from other students around the globe. I could tell her enthusiasm with global learning as she helped to create meaningful projects that her student could not only learn the content but also change other peoples lives by connecting with others around the globe. This is such a great thing to read as a future educator because it motivates me to use global learning in my classroom to help engage my students and enhance their knowledge as well as create meaningful connections with people around the globe. The author writes that the students in Ms. Bickley’s classroom became extremely passionate about these connections they were making. This is wonderful to hear as when students are excited about the content that they are learning; they are more likely to be internally motivated to learn more and do well on assessments.
The second study which spoke to me as a future educator was about Tracey Winey. Tracy is a STEM teacher and Media Specialist at a school in Colorado. In her class, she decided to make use of 3D printing technology to create a globally collaborative project. For this project, Ms. Winey had her student connect with people from around the globe to help design lights that can be used in different parts of the world. This is such a beautiful project because not only are students becoming engaged with learning how to use a 3D printer, but they are creating connections around the world and providing support to areas that may be in need. I plan to implement projects like this in my class where we are focusing on a core content area while also creating connections and providing support, making the content usable for the student and exemplifying how to use this knowledge for good!
Teachers all around the globe are finding it harder and harder to engage their students. With the current youth engaged continuously on their devices, having to come into a classroom, sit quietly, and listen to their teacher talk about concepts that seem foreign to them seems almost comical, but we continue to do it.
Lucky for us, the future of education looks much more engaging as technology continues to advance. Virtual reality is the new hot spot in schooling and seems to be spreading like wildfire and for a good reason!
What is Virtual Reality
Wired has a great article on virtual reality that ultimately encompasses all aspects of the software that you can read right here! However, in short, virtual reality (VR) is a false reality that is computer generated. The most common form of VR is a headset that projects images through the eyewear that makes the user feel that they are immersed in whatever ‘reality’ they are experiencing. Virtual reality is used for gaming, entertainment, and now, learning! The two leaders in VR are Oculus and Vive.
So What!?
Virtual reality is one of the most engaging pieces of technology out there today as the user is completely immersed in whatever it is that they have chosen. Because of the high level of engagement that VR provides, it is an excellent resource for education. Teachers who have the ability and resources to implement VR in the classroom have the luxury of engaging their students on another level. Imagine you are learning about the Battle of Gettysburg in your history class and instead of reading it out of a textbook and watching 30-year-old documentaries about it, you are actually standing in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania watching the Confederacy and the Union fight. Imagine shrinking down to the size of a red blood cell and traveling through the human body to learn about the circulation system. With virtual reality, these types of adventures that seem to come right out of The Magic School Bus can happen in your own classroom!
Watch some videos of classrooms that have VR in their classes and listen to how well the students react to it!
The reason why this technology is so engaging is that it places the students in the content and doesn’t require them to have background information to conceptualize sometimes abstract concepts. This technology supports a teaching technique known as embodied learning which is a style of teaching that involves the whole body with learning.
What do you think of VR? Would you implement it in your classroom? Let me know in the comments down below!
This week, I tried out a new storytelling program to see how it works and I will be reflecting on my thoughts in this blog!
Storytelling
For thousands of years, storytelling has been a way of communicating for humans and over time the way we tell our stories has changed. Here is a quick video on teaching storytelling in the classroom.
Storytelling is an extremely important skill for students to have as it enables them to get their message across to others in a structured fashion. In today’s world, storytelling has evolved away from just written or verbal stories and now with the help of technology, stories can be told in many different fashions.
StoryboardThat
The Good!
The program I chose to use to tell my story was called StoryboardThat. Here is a link to the website so you can check it out for yourself! This program allows users to create a comic strip like storyboard by using premade scenes, characters, speech bubbles, infographics, and more! Users are able to click and drag these tools to different parts of their comic strip and insert text to give the context of the images. When using it myself, I found the program to be very self-explanatory and I did not need to do any further research on how to use it. The scenes, characters, and images the program provides have plenty of options and should fit any kind of story the user would want to tell.
The Not So Good!
The only downside to this program is that it only allows the user to create a comic strip that is 3×1 or 3×2 for free. Anything other than those two options requires the user to pay to upgrade their account. This could cause issues if teachers want their students to tell longer more detailed stories. The other small detail I found slightly frustrating when using this tool was that the characters were all standing and facing forward. There was no way to make the character positioned differently such as sitting, walking, or turned to the side. This limits the actions your characters are able to do within the storyboard.
Overall
I really did enjoy using this tool to tell a story and could see myself using this tool in my own classroom as a short warmup or cooldown activity to get the students thinking about their stories and visualize it in a comic strip.
My Storyboard
Below is an image of my own storyboard so you can see what a final product looks like. My story is about the journey I went through to get a new job as a server at a restaurant!
Let me know what you think of this tool and if you have any storytelling tools you like to use in your classroom in the comments below! Thanks for reading the blog!
Before I go into the highlights of this site and how it can be used in the classroom, I want to introduce you to the owner of the website and why it was made.
Paul Salopek is a writer and journalist from the United States of America. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and has reported for many organizations and now works for National Geographic. Paul decided to embark on a decade long experiment to retrace the migration path of our ancestors. This journey will take him an estimated seven years beginning in Ethiopia and ending at the bottom of South America.
This is an image of the migration of human beings out of Africa and into South America that Paul followed.
Watch this video below to see Paul Salopek himself explain why he is embarking on this adventure!
Paul began his journey in 2013 and estimates that he will be finished in 2020.
Highlights
In Paul Salopek’s trek, he records his experiences on the Out of Eden National Geographic website. Paul uploads consistent blog posts detailing his encounters with different towns, people, and cultures. Some of my favorite features of his site include milestones, walking tours, and the articles.
Milestones
Around every hundred miles, Paul Salopek stops to record different parts of his surroundings which he calls milestones. These milestone links contain seven tabs: introduction, panorama, map, earth and sky, encounters, glances, and comments. The introduction to the milestone titles the area that he will be revealing gives the number of days that it has been since he began his journey, the number of miles he was walked, and the elevation of his location in feet. Following the introduction is the panorama photo. This tool allows the reader to take a view of Paul’s surroundings as if they were there themselves, giving them the ability to look all around. The map tab provides a topographical map that pinpoints Paul’s location during this milestone. Earth and sky is also a new tab in which Paul takes a photo of the ground beneath his feet and the sky above him. In the encounters tab, Paul introduces one person at this milestone asking them “Who are you?”, “Where do you come from?”, And “Where are you going?”. This feature is probably one of my favorites within the Milestone section of this website as you are able to meet different people from across the globe. It gives life to the pictures and articles of the towns and cultures that Paul is experiencing on his trek. In the glances section, Paul provides a quick video of whatever is around him at that time. Finally, in the milestone section, there is a section for comments allowing readers to reflect and discuss things they found interesting from Paul’s journey.
Another great piece of this website is the walking tour that Paul provides. These tours begin with a brief introduction of the location of the trip as well as the distance and amount of time it took to take a walk. Then, as the reader scrolls down, they are able to see pictures, mini-articles, and videos of Pauls walk on the left side of the screen and on the right they can view the location of the walk on a satellite map. This is an excellent feature as it allows the reader to feel as though they are walking alongside Paul, seeing the things he is seeing and meeting the people he encounters.
Paul writes such detailed articles about his journeys across the globe. In them, he will describe his visual surroundings as well as the people he meets. Through his words, Paul is able to provide vivid images of what he is experiencing and allows the reader to immerse themselves into another culture and livelihood from across the globe. In his articles, Paul uses a lot of vocabulary from the area he is writing about such as the names of plants and animals from this region, of buildings, and of traditions from the area. These vocabulary words are sometimes difficult to understand for a high school level reader, so it provides an opportunity for readers to research definitions and expand their own vocabulary.
Through this website so beautifully crafted by Paul Salopek, teachers can educate their students on global awareness, different cultures, writing styles, practice reading different writing styles, and learn how to research using a reliable source. National Geographic’s website provides an excellent space for students to do research on cultures across the globe. One great way to utilize this website is for a unit on culture. First, the teacher could introduce the culture, and it’s meaning to the students. The teacher would want to build the students’ background knowledge on their own culture and how it affects the things they do, people they interact with, the food they eat, and so much more. Then, the teacher could introduce the students to Paul’s site and his mission. The teacher could then give the students the freedom to explore the site on their own. After a few days of introducing culture and this site, the teacher could then ask the students to find one culture they found most interesting on the site and research it. The site will provide the students with most of the information they need between the milestones, articles, walking tours, and other links Paul has provided. The teacher should encourage the students to dig deep in the website for information but allow them to do further research using other appropriate sources of information. The students should then take all the information they found and prepare a presentation about the culture they have chosen. This is just one example of a project that can be done to engage the student’s global awareness through Paul Salopek’s site.
What do you think of Paul’s journey? How could you implement this in your classroom? Comment down below your thoughts!
Within the text, “The Global Educator: Leveraging Technology for Collaborative Learning & Teaching” by Julie Lindsay, is a list of the “norms of online global collaboration” which are as follows:
Be Prepared
Have a Purpose
Be able to Paraphrase
Be able to Perceive
Make sure you Participate
Be Positive
Be Productive
Realize the Potential
For this blog post, I will focus on the first two, “Be Prepared” and “Have a Purpose”.
Before I go into the steps of preparing and having a purpose when it comes to a global collaboration lesson, I would like you to take a look at a few of these videos in which you can see the teacher and students effectively collaborating globally!
Be Prepared
As an educator, one of the most important parts of your job is preparation. Without adequate development of your units and lessons, you are bound to fail. This is quite the same when it comes to global collaboration. If you are planning to implement a global collaborator within your lessons, it is not as easy as just calling another teacher up across the globe. It is important that the educator has spoken far in advance with their partner to ensure that they are on the same page when it comes to the following: the tools they will be using, the content they are focusing on, the assignment they are working on, how many participants will join, what time zone they are working in, as well as any other details that are pertinent to the collaboration.
In order to be prepared, the two collaborators must use an effective form of communication. Some examples of this include email, text, Twitter direct messenger, facebook, Skype, and Google Hangouts. While communicating, both professionals must ensure they are using precise language that is clear, respectful, and easy to understand. One big issue when it comes to the preparation of collaboration that could make or break experience is whether the communication is effective or not. Here is a quick video on how miscommunication occurs.
Of course, when planning a global collaboration it is important that you set a clear purpose. This is helpful for finding the correct collaborator as well as finding the right tools to assist your collaboration. Some ideas of purposes for your global collaboration can include:
teaching geographical skills by having a “mystery Hangout” on Google Hangouts with another class
teaching cultural information through discussions on FlipGrid
teaching a language through discussion over Skype
If you want more ideas for global collaboration ideas, click this link!
Let me know if you thought this post was helpful in the comments below and thanks for reading my blog!
After reading this great article titled “15 Characteristics of a 21st-Century Teacher” by Tsisana Palmer from Edutopia that I will link below, I decided to summarize her thoughts and breakdown in this blog post!
In this article, Tsisana identifies fifteen characteristics of what she thinks a 21st-century teacher would be. I will list a few of my favorites and give my own descriptions as well as some media for your enjoyment! I would like to note again that this list was not created by me; however, the explanations are, I am merely appreciating and reflecting on Tsisana Palmer’s work!
Learner-Centered Classroom and Personalized Instructions
Also known as Student-Centered Learning, this is a type of teaching strategy in which the focus is placed on the students and not on the teacher. In this approach, the teacher is present to introduce the main ideas and current opportunities for the students to explore the topics further based on their interests. This approach has been shown to increase student intrinsic motivation as well as communication skills and transferable skills into the workforce.
Students as Producers
Tsisana describes how in today’s classrooms, instead of having students completing paper worksheets and written assignments to portray their knowledge, teachers should encourage students to create digital content such as blogs, videos, movies, infographics, and so much more! Here is a link to a list of 100 things students can create to demonstrate what they know. By getting rid of paper worksheets and written assignments and replacing them with assessment tools that have transferrable skills through technology, students are not only benefiting by learning the content, but also by gaining digital or creative skills.
Learn New Technologies
Teachers should be continually increasing their bank of knowledge when it comes to different programs and sites to be used in the classroom. The more exposure educators have with various modes of technology, the more choice they can provide their students with. Tsisana gave a link to www.lynda.com where educators can learn about new forms of tech.
Go Global
I have been learning about Global Education now for the past few weeks, and I find this to be one of the most important things new educators should be learning about. In integrating a global approach to our teaching style, we allow our students to gain an understanding of the world around them by interacting with it. Instead of reading about culture in China, students can actually speak to other students across the Globe and ask them questions directly. This style of teaching has benefits that are unending including communication, empathy, technology, and cultural awareness.
Code
Coding is becoming the language of the 21st-century, and so it is crucial that we are preparing our students for the jobs that will come with that. In learning to code, students are also increasing their understanding of computational thinking, and that skill can be transferred across the spectrum of subjects and professions. Watch this video below on classrooms in England and how they are integrating coding standards into their teaching!
It is imperative to me as a future educator that I am helping my students develop the most useful skills following the times. These characteristics of a 21st-century teacher that Tsisana Palmer listed are great places to begin researching further to do just that.
Let me know what you think makes an educator “21st-century” in the comments below and thanks for checking out my blog!
Over the past eight or nine weeks, I have gained so much new information about a number of different things. From the sustainable development goals to instructional technology, the knowledge I have gained is incredible! In this post, I decided I would reflect on this knowledge and include some links so you can gain from this bank of learning as well! In this post I will focus mainly on…
Computational Thinking
Twitter as a Personal Learning Network (PLN)
Blogging and its versatility
Global Learning
Computational Thinking
Computational thinking is a way of breaking down problems and is broken into more simple parts and then working through them to find patterns, similarities, and algorithms. Computational thinking can be broken down into four main steps:
Decomposition: Breaking down a problem into smaller parts
Pattern Recognition: Identifying trends or patterns
Abstraction: Identify similarities and differences
Algorithmic Design: Designing step by step instructions to be used for similar problems
Computational thinking is becoming a very important part of instruction in modern classrooms. Computational thinking prepares children for the science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics heavy occupations that are on the rise.
Computational thinking is so versatile that it can be implemented in all subjects across all grade levels! As long as the main idea of the four-step process stays intact, the teacher can differentiate it for each of their lessons. Watch this video to see how a teacher uses computational thinking in math!
As a future educator, I hope to become educated on how to implement this form of thought process in my own classroom so that my students will be well prepared for a world in which this style of thinking is in high demand!
Twitter as a Personal Learning Network
I have a previous blog post in which I reflected on my thoughts about Twitter and its uses as a learning space and I will link that here! However, I just wanted to include this in my post because I truly believe Twitter is a great place for future educators to learn about their craft and discuss relevant topics with other professionals. Because Twitter is so accessible, it allows people to communicate and learn from one another who might have never spoken to one another. This allows for greater global understanding on the part of educators as well which they can then use to educate their students.
Throughout these past weeks, I have used this blog to learn and reflect on that learning. Being able to research and then write down your thoughts on a site is such a useful tool as it allows the content you are learning to become instantly relevant and accessible to others who might come in contact with your blog.
Blogging, however, is not only useful for a teacher or future teacher to learn about their profession and reflect on it but also for their students! Blogging as an instructional tool is one of the most interesting things I think I have learned in these past few months as I feel it teaches so many skills through one activity. By having students create their own blog, teachers can have students research and reflect on certain topics in their blog posts which then can be used as formative assessments. Teachers can also make their own blog posts with questions or assignments which students must comment their answers under. Teaching using blogs also allows students to become more conscientious commentators, readers, and writers as the words they are posting are visible to all.
Here are some videos of educators using blogging in their classrooms!
Here is a video on how to set up your own classroom blog!
Global Learning
Being a global learner and facilitating global learning in your classroom by being a global leader is becoming more important as the world is becoming more interconnected. Here is a quick video on global learning and its relevancy in the classroom
Learning about being a global educator is important as many issues and jobs that are on the rise require the ability to be connected and educated on a global level. In order to educate our students on what it means to be a global learner, we ourselves have to be one as well. Global learning involves understanding different perspectives, gaining information from sources outside our own community, and communicating with people from different communities and cultures. This can all be done within the classroom using effective technology and resources.
One large component of Global Education involves “flattening” the classroom walls. This can be done by using online technologies to create connections as well as generate a consistent workflow, communication, and collaboration between your students and students from around the globe.
Here is a video of a teacher discussion on how she implements global learning in all her lessons.
So what are your thoughts? Have you learned anything new this year? Comment down below!
Have you ever heard of the term “people watching”?
For me, people watching meant sitting in a highly populated area where a lot of people would pass by and observing. My mom, dad, brother, and I used to always love to people watch at malls, on the boardwalk, at amusement parks, etc. What we were really doing is observing other’s culture and diverse social and personal actions! I feel that we as humans have a natural interest towards other people and how they function.
Another simple way to observe other cultures is through watching television and movies from other countries and in other languages! For this blog post, I chose to use Netflix to watch a television show in another language. After searching through their ‘international’ section, I found a show titled “La Casa de las Flores”.
“La Casa de las Flores” is a romantic comedy about an upper-class family in Mexico consisting of a mother and father and their three children who are now adults. The family comes together for a birthday party for their father and at the party, they discover that the mistress of their father has hanged herself in their flower house. The episodes continue with the family coping with this discovery of both the father’s infidelity as well as why his mistress killed herself.
Before I begin breaking down the episode I watched and discussing cultural differences and similarities that I observed, I want to include some videos that will give you some background knowledge on Mexico and it’s demographics and culture.
Before I begin noticing some similarities and differences in the culture of the characters of this show I have to make two comments about why these observations are unable to be generalized as typical Mexican culture. First and most importantly, this show is a Netflix romantic comedy/drama and so the events and reactions that occur within these episodes were made to be outlandish and overreactive. In this way, watching a Netflix show to observe true culture is not the best idea. However, through these shows, you are able to observe small cultural differences that may apply to some people in some parts of Mexico. The next comment I have to make is that the show is about an upper-class family coming from great wealth so some of the things I noticed may apply only to people of similar socio-economic status.
In the television show, I noticed that the family was extremely tight-knit and secretive. They did not like sharing their business with anyone outside of the direct bloodline and where careful as to taint their image. This could have been because of their upper-class standings and the fact that they were well known in the community. Another thing I noticed is that the family, especially the mother, was hesitant towards any of her children’s love interests. For example, one of the daughter’s had a fiancee who was an African-American man of middle-class socioeconomic background. The mother did not feel comfortable with him at a family gathering and was very judgmental about his choice of clothing. This also seems to be a result of the socioeconomic status of the family and their popularity in the community.
The one cultural difference I did take notice of occurred when the American man was greeting his girlfriend’s family. The family members told him that they greet by kissing one on the cheek rather than a hug as we would in America or two kisses as one might in Europe. This was interesting to me as I did not know that was typical to do in Mexican culture. However, this is still a television show and that occurrence could have just been placed to increase the differences seen between the family and this man or could have been a specific courtesy of this family or the region in Mexico that they are from.
After watching this show I observed very few differences culturally in social interactions when compared to that of Americans. The people seem to have similar social norms as those on television shows from America. The differences in culture mostly came from foods, music, and traditions. However, these cultural differences were not highlighted in this episode as it’s main purpose was to introduce the family and the mysterious death of the father’s mistress.
What are your thoughts about using Netflix or television shows and movies to observe cultural differences? What do you think are the dangers of doing so? Comment down below with your thoughts and thanks for reading the blog!
Hello readers! As I am beginning my journey of becoming an educator, I am experiencing many ‘firsts’, one of which is my development of a Personal Learning Network on this wonderful social media outlet known as Twitter! Throughout the process of starting to build my network through following other educators, participating in Twitter chats, and commenting and responding to other pre-service and service educators I am really getting to know the good, bad, and even ugly of Twitter.
Before I go into my personal thoughts about using Twitter as an educator, I will share a few videos below that you can check out about this topic so that you can familiarize yourself with it if you are not!
What are my thoughts?
In my opinion, Twitter is an AMAZING platform for educators and future educators to learn on. This is because you can make so many connections with educators with different backgrounds and experiences that may have taught them to look at things differently than you. This is helpful when you feel lost or unsure of what to do in certain situations. Twitter allows educators to help one another in times of need and give ideas.
Having Twitter allows an alternate form of instant communication in which the sharing of information and ideas is nearly seamless. It allows teachers to ask a question and instantly receive a response. Twitter also has such a great bank of resources posted by education leaders and information gurus such as videos, articles, blogs, and programs that you can make use of.
Being that it is a social media outlet, Twitter also is versatile in that it can be accessed on a computer, tablet, or phone. This allows for even greater access to the wealth of information.
How have social media space conversations affected the way I think about learning?
Through Twitter conversations, I have spoken with educators across the world. We have talked about different subjects such as motivating students, being authentic in the classroom, the importance of social-emotional learning, the list goes on and on.
Here are some snapshots of conversations I’ve had with other educators.
In this post, I speak with Marvia Davidson @MarviaDavidson about how important it is to foster resilience in our students through authentic motivation!
In this tweet, I am responding to an article a classmate shared and how important it is to connect with our students
In this photo, I am responding to the #edumatch Twitter chat about how we bestow a love of learning in our future educators but also students in general
Not only have I greatened my teaching philosophy by participating in educational chats and responses, but I have also gained knowledge of specific practices and strategies to be used within the classroom. For example, after reading an article shared by a fellow classmate, I learned about the TAG response strategy that requires students to ask questions of their peers work and give constructive and kind responses. I also have learned about the importance of a morning meeting routine in the classroom and how it can increase student’s moral and feeling of belongingness in the classroom which are two very important things!
There has to be something you don’t like?
I can honestly say, after only a few weeks of using Twitter as a PLN, I have no complaints. I am not an expert in social media outlets and cannot say for sure that Twitter is flawless, however, I can say that Twitter has so many benefits for current and future educators so I highly recommend!
So after reading this what are your thoughts on Twitter as an outlet for educators? Comment down below
Thank you for reading my blog and join me on my journey in becoming an educator by following me on my twitter @alexhend_educ98!
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, are a list of 17 goals created by the United Nations with the main overarching goals centered around “social progress”, “economic development”, and “climate/environment”. Simply, the SDGs were put in place to ensure whatever choices we are making in the present are being made for the greater good of all and are not affecting the lives of those in the future. These goals are set to be achieved by 2030.
Below is a Video Highlighting the 17 Goals!
Why are these goals important?
The overarching purpose of these goals is to create a better world for ourselves, others, and for the citizens of the incoming generations. In order to do that, we must participate in actions that promote well being, economic growth, and a prosperous environment. These things are easier said than done. The SDGs are broken down into targets which are basically smaller objectives within each goal. These targets are then broken down further into indicators which are measurable signs that signify if and when targets, and therefore goals, are being met.
Who measures and checks in on these goals?
A forum known as the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) is in charge of meeting each year for eight days. At this forum, the individuals review the SDGs for 2030 as well as their progress by reviewing these indicators and the data being recorded. These reviews are set in place to ensure progress is being made by countries. However, this body has no power to punish any countries that are not meeting the expectations for each year.
Luck for you, the World’s Largest Lesson brings these Goals straight to your classroom with exciting and engaging pre-made lesson plans, videos, comic strips, and more! This program was designed so that educators and lay people could have access to these goals and educate themselves and others about their purpose and how we can contribute to them.
I find the comics to be the most interesting and engaging tool! The comics are created with a plot based on either a specific goal or an action that the student can take to help meet these goals. They are filled with colorful illustrations and enticing plots. Having the books set up in comic form appeals to children who may have a hard time reading and even English Language Learners as the reading is reinforced with drawings! These comics are a great way to teach your students about the goals because they will be learning without even realizing it!
