Hey Everyone!

Today marks my last blog post for my GEN2108 class. The final topic for discussion is going to be about some of the case studies from the final chapter in our textbook.

Case Study 4.3 was very interesting! It was titled THINK Global Student: Learning to Be Global While Living Globally. TGS for short “moves around the world and implements place-based learning to its fullest extent” (Lindsay 231). The school itself consists of 12 teachers and 60 students in grades 9-12. Something I found really interesting was the school literally moves to a new location each semester. When it gets to the new location the curriculum and learning outcomes are then changed to have them based on things from the new location. The idea of having a school move each semester is something I hadn’t really heard of before reading about TGS. Though it is something I would be open to being a part of.

To connect with THINK Global school…
Their website is linked here: https://thinkglobalschool.org/
As well as their Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/TGSTHINKGlobal

Another Case Study that I enjoyed was Case Study 4.8. It was titled VIF International Education and VIF Learning Center. VIF International Education has been around for over 25 years. They are important because they advocate for global education. How they do this is so cool. They do it by “bringing international teachers into schools in the USA and by also creating global education programs” (Lindsay 235). VIF “supports global-ready teachers through many programs and provision of facilities for further connections and learning” (Lindsay 235).This idea is so cool to me because it brings more cultural awareness to the schools in America, all while creating and supporting global learning.

To connect with VIF International  Education…
Their Website is linked here: https://www.participatelearning.com/
As well as their Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/vifprogram

Thank you for reading!

Hey Everyone!

Something that is new to me would be the idea of using virtual reality in the classroom. Not only is virtual reality a fun new way of learning, but it also helps with the success of global learning. A neat aspect of virtual learning in the classroom is being able to see so many different places and experience so many different places all while staying in the comfort of your home or school. This benefits global learning because global learning is all about online collaboration from different places all over the world.

One platform that is very useful for using virtual reality in the classroom is Google Earth Virtual Tours. It allows the participant to see different places from their own home or school. As well as, allows students to create their own virtual tour for others to explore. This could be a lesson plan idea for many teachers so they can incorporate virtual learning in the classroom. Here is a very interesting link that shows you examples of Google Earth Virtual Tours: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/google-earth-virtual-tours/

Google Earth Tours reminds me somewhat of My Google Maps, though Tours involves virtual reality. Google Earth Tours allows you to experience different locations in the same way as My Google Maps does. You are able to see a street view, a description, and more pictures. You are also able to share the tours with other people which is a neat part of Google Earth Tours. While doing my research I came across a Google Earth Tour on the International Year of the Reef. It was very cool to be able to see something so far from me so up close. With this tour you are able to even learn about the global threats to the coral reefs which was kind of mind blowing to read. I was even able to explore Cancun and see the beautiful landscapes. This experience made me want to visit Cancun to see everything up close and personal and to be able to actually touch everything I saw in Google Earth Tours. Overall, I think that using Google Earth Tours in the classroom would be a very good resource because it is a fun way of learning about places that are far away from you.

Here is a video that teaches you how to create a Google Earth Tour

Thank you for reading!

Hey everybody!

Today I will be talking about my experience with a Digital Storytelling website. I used the free account on the website Animoto. The website itself was very easy to use but I couldn’t figure out how to save my video to my computer to save my life. Eventually I figured it out, it just took me like 15 minutes. In order to save the video, you have to preview your video and then click on the render button from there. I wasn’t aware of this and got kind of frustrated in the process.

For this assignment I chose to tell the short story of the birth of my little sister Morgan. You can watch the final project below. I actually really enjoyed using this website and feel like with more time and better features (if you paid for an account) you could make some really amazing videos. I made a pretty great video with the free account, yes it could be better, but it got the idea across for this assignment. I figured my video would be about my little sister because she is honestly my entire world and then some. Everything I do in life is for her. She is legally only my half-sister but I treat her as if she is my child. Morgan is 13 years younger than me and most days I forget this. She is so smart, and wise beyond her years. I have so many amazing memories with her and I cannot wait for the future to create even more memories. When more memories are made, I can create yet another digital storybook on the same site and share it with her in the future. I think that the Animoto website is a perfect place for this, beings it was very easy to use and I can even teach her how to use it.

Thank you for reading!

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Hey Everyone!

Today I am going to be talking about three points I visited on the National Geographic website for the Out Of Eden Walk. If you want to visit any of the mentioned places they will be linked if you click on the milestone number.  If you want to explore different places of your own… the main website is linked here https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/

The first place I visited was Milestone 60:The Teacher. Milestone 60 marked day 2050 and mile 5900 of the journey. When I first read the introduction for this milestone I was taken back by the statement telling the viewer that the rooms they stayed in were like prison cells; though I continued to explore the milestone. Next I looked at the encounters, the encounter was from a retired teacher named Kaptan Singh Rawat. He says that teaching “was good because you are educating someone. Teaching is good for your soul.” These lines warmed my heart because I want to be a teacher and am so passionate about it.

The next place I visited was Milestone 48: Love Songs. Milestone 48 marked day 1653 and mile 4700 of the journey. First I read the introduction, and then went to look through the pictures which amazed me, they are literally out in the middle of nowhere. After that I decided to look at the encounter with Nurperi Orozbayava who is 17 years old and a university student who tracks the animals there. It was interesting to read that she wanted to go to America or Russia.

The last place I visited was Milestone 52: Police. Milestone 52 marked day 1675 and mile 5100 of the journey. At first I read the introduction, looked at the pictures and noticed the different clothing the police there wore compared to the clothing the police wear here in America. I then read the encounter with the police officer, which was short and sweet. The officer said he enjoyed his work because he got to help people.

All of these milestones made me very thankful for where I live and the things I have in life. Seeing many of the pictures not only of these milestones, but some of the other milestones re-ensured that I don’t have it half as bad as I think; even on my worst day someone has it worse than me.

As always, thank you for reading my thoughts. If you get free time be sure to check out some of these milestones and let me know your reactions in the comments.

Hey Everyone! Today I will be talking about Norms 1 and 2 from chapter 10 in my GEN2108 class.

The first norm was about being prepared. The textbook mentions that “so many potentially excellent global educators fail because educators are not prepared, largely because they do not know what to prepare for” (Lindsay 145). This is so important because the question then comes down to how do we prepare our educators to be global educators to ensure they succeed in doing so? Lindsay mentions two major objectives educators should keep in mind. One being to “have a plan for connecting and the other being to determine how you are going to communicate” (Lindsay 145-146). There are many actions you can take in order to achieve these objectives. One major one is creating a PLN and keeping up with it. Use your PLN to find people who have similar thoughts to you and partner up with them for global collaboration. While trying to achieve your objectives, it is important to ask yourself some guiding questions. Questions can vary from, “Is it clear who this global project is for” to “Is it clear how teachers will communicate during the project” (Lindsey 145-146). I think it is just as important for teachers to be prepared for being a global educator as it is for them to be a classroom teacher.

The second norm was about having a purpose which is also very important to ensure educators succeed at being a global educator. The textbook mentions five typical purposes that teachers have which are:

• cultural exchange
• inquiry and exploration into a topic or topics
• global project, short or long, curriculum-based
• shared outcomes, student summit
• artifact exchange and/or co-creation

Just like in the first norm there are guiding questions educators should be asking themselves along the way. It’s important to understand that the “purpose of the project or collaboration will determine the amount of planning and curriculum design that needs to take place by the individual teacher and the global teachers as a group” (Lindsay 147). I think that having a purpose is just as important as the planning aspect of learning in general. There should be a purpose to everything you do for the most part. For example, you take a class for the purpose of graduation and furthering your education. There are many more purposes for global education that the textbook does not mention. At the end of the day, having a purpose is important because it ensures you are creating a project that is going to be useful in the long run.

Thank you for reading!

Hey Everybody! Today I’m going to be talking about my experience with Google My Maps.

Prior to my GEN2018 class I had never used Google My Maps. I had only ever used Google Maps for directions to concerts or places I’d never been to before. I had used street view to look at my house to see what it looked like online but never to explore a foreign place. In class we had an assignment over spring break that had us look at places using Google Maps. At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the assignment but five seconds into it and I couldn’t get enough. Using Google Maps to explore a place that is far from you is such an amazing idea because you are able to see if you want to visit a place and are even able to do a project on a place that you have never been to before. Google Maps opens you up to a lot of different features to be able to use within projects, such as images, street view and more.

The second part of the assignment was to use My Maps from Google where you create your own map. This was honestly my favorite part of the whole assignment. I was able to create a map of all of my favorite vacation locations and am able to add to the map as time goes on. So in my 80s I can see all the places I’ve traveled too, see how far I’ve traveled, and so on. I didn’t know such a program existed but I am so glad I was exposed to it. With that being said, I am excited to add to MyMap in the future as I travel to more destinations. I love that I am able to see all the the locations on one map. If you have free time, I would recommend trying MyMaps to see all the things you can create with the platform.

Thank you for reading!

Here is a link to the Google Map I created about my vacation spots: www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1nWn92sTIbZ4PA2vd3ROF_lrxrNUzejR1&usp=sharing

Hey Everyone!

Today I am going to talk about what I’ve learned so far in my Web Tools: Global Learning class.

Web Tools has taught me a lot about global learning and the different ways of achieving it. A tool we  use a lot for our class is Twitter; prior to this class I wasn’t aware that Twitter could be used in an educational way, though now that I’ve been introduced to it I really enjoy it. Using Twitter educationally has allowed me to connect with different educators from all over the world and to be able to share ideas with them. It has been such an amazing experience because everyone takes everyone’s ideas into consideration and nobody tells anybody that their ideas are wrong, which is really nice. Twitter allows educators to share different ideas for things to be able to do in the classroom which is also something I really enjoy being able to see.

I’ve also enjoyed the textbook readings that are assigned weekly. From the readings I learned what a global educator is and what their duty is. As well as some digital technologies to support global learning , the impact of global learning, and how global educators act in action. Global educators have a very important job and have many duties that they are expected to do – it seems like it can be a lot at times.

From Web Tools: Global Learning, I have learned that the classroom can be in person, virtual/online and a mixture of the two. Global learning is done online for the most part and allows the classroom to be accessible at all times which is such a great things for both students and teachers. Having a classroom where everyone can learn at their own pace is so important and global learning allows for this.

Another tool that I was introduced to from this class was Flipgrid. In the beginning, I was super nervous to use the new platform because it was a video of you that you turned in. Though while getting used to using the app, I learned to like it because nobody was judgmental while using Flipgrid. Everyone allowed you to say your ideas in a judge free zone, like on Twitter. Overall, I’ve really enjoyed what we have learned in class and I’m looking forward to what is to come in the following weeks.

Hi Everybody!

This week I am going to be talking about my experience watching a TV show in another language with English subtitles.

I watched the first episode of Extr@ which is a Spanish speaking TV show that looks as if it is directed towards teens which grabbed my attention right away.

Lola and Ana are two girls who live together in a small apartment and are friends with a boy named Pablo who lives in the same building. Lola just got out of a relationship and Pablo has a crush on Ana but it doesn’t seem as though Ana is interested. In the episode, Lola gets a letter from her old pen-pal from America named Sam. Once Sam comes to visit Lola in Spain you learn the girls are actually kind of boy crazy like the stereotypical teenage girl is. Pablo tries to get the girls to not like Sam until he finds out Sam comes from one of the richest families in America. The show reminded me a lot of how a college apartment would be here in America, which was kind of cool to see the similarities between.

When I first realized that I was going to have to view a TV show in another language I thought I was going to be lost and annoyed. I was pleasantly surprised when that was not the case when I watched Extr@. I think it had a lot to do with the subtitles because they were able to keep me informed and interested in the show. All in all, I enjoyed watching the show enough to want to watch more episodes at a later time even though the show is not in English.

Link to the episode mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcwp8_dhgCU

Hey Everybody!!

Today I will be talking about my Twitter experience so far for my education account.

Twitter is a place that prior to this class I was not aware could be used for educational purposes. After using Twitter for class, my thoughts on Twitter changed and I think that it can be used educationally, even if a teacher prints out a template so their students are not actually online. I have actually learned quite a bit from being on Twitter. Many educators that I follow share different lesson ideas which is interesting to be able to see because it gives me ideas to be able to potentially use in my future classroom.

I used Twitter on a personal account but had never participated in a twitter chat or even knew what one was. The Twitter chats are very fun to be a part of because you are able to learn a lot from many different individuals from all over the world. The chats I’ve been a part of have been judge free zones where I didn’t feel like people were telling me my opinions were wrong. People liked and responded to my thoughts, which made me want to participate more because I was learning a lot from other chatters. The chats I have been a part of have on one hand changed the way I think on some of the topics we have discussed. On the other hand, the chats reinstated some of my thoughts that I had about the topics. Another thing that is cool about Twitter chats is being able to interact with classmates on chats because they chose to participate in the same chat. In the beginning of the semester that is how I started following some of the people from class.

All in all, I haven’t had any bad experiences on Twitter as of yet. I’m sure at one point I may run into something but I’m hoping that I do not. I’m really enjoying being able to create my own PLN and be a part of it.

Make sure to follow my twitter page: @alison_miller18

Leave a comment about some of your experiences, I’d love to hear some feedback! Thank you for reading!!

Hey Everybody!

Today we will be talking about technology use in the classroom and some of the pros and cons associated with it. Technology is something that is changing everyday and is being implemented in classrooms daily. With that being said, there are many pros and cons of using technology in the classroom.

Some of the pros associated with using technology in the classroom would be:

• Having the ability to co-create with people who are not in the same area as you are.
  • For example students being able to work on an assignment while both are at home instead of in the classroom.
• There are so many resources that enhance learning and are able to make it more fun (Himmelsbach 2019)
  • An example would be Kahoot which is a game-based learning tool
• Students have access to information at any time they need it
• Using technology allows for instant feedback
• Due to the fact that we live in a digital world, being able to use technology is a life skill (Himmelsbash 2019)
• Technology allows for customized learning

Though with pros come some cons:

• Technology malfunctions
• Technology is expensive, not everyone can afford it
• Can be a distraction when not used properly
• Can allow for cheating

Check out these articles for some more pros and cons of technology use in the classroom:

•  https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/
• https://www.teachhub.com/pros-cons-technology-classroom

In my opinion the pros outweigh the cons when speaking about use of technology in the classroom. Technology advancements are not something that are going to be stopping any time soon. Therefore it is important to be up to date on new and improved learning ideas that use technology in the classroom.

Thank you for reading!