Caffeinate then Educate

One of the best ways to adjust as a new educator is learning by example. What works for other individuals, may also work for you. This can be a copied lesson plan, a video that sparks a new idea or simply reading about topics you never ponded on before. The chapter we covered this week, “Take Learning Global Case Studies” covered the experience of ten separate educators as they explained their take on global learning – whether it be through organizations, conferences or global schools. Here are the contents behind two of these brief curriculum explanations:

Case Study 4.3 – THINK Global School

Learning to Be Global While Living Globally. This school consists of 12 teachers and 60 students at a high school level who move each semester, relocating and re-developing a curriculum based on their new environment. Not only do the students learn the typical information they would in a classroom setting but they also focus on digital branding and online profiles which is a major form of global learning. I found it fascinating that not only are these students being put out of their comfort zone by exploring areas unfamiliar to them and learning through experience, but they are also learning how to connect to others on a technological level as well. By having interactions with host countries students they get to understand how others live which will impact them more than the average classroom material. I’m not sure if the program is necessarily more advanced then every other school other than the fact that it is more learning through your surroundings and critical thinking rather than textbooks. I can’t help but wonder how it is funded and whether it is practical for a majority of young learners but it definitely sounds like an impactful program. This video covers how they aim to attend to their students for the 12 countries they will call “home” during the 12-trimester program.

Case Study 4.8 – VIF International Education

This program brings international teachers into schools in the USA and focuses on creating educational programs for students. By exposing students to different cultures and individuals the global learning is being brought right into the classroom setting. I love the idea of this because unlike the THINK Global School it allows the students to stay in their everyday life, without relocating, which is more realistic for allowing these lessons to occur. In my future classroom, I strive to be able to connect with other educators worldwide and expose my students to their beliefs and viewpoints. As educators, learning how other countries teach also expands our own viewpoints towards lessons. In order to better explain their mission, below is a video in which they expand on their education foundation of global learning.

Throughout the chapter, we learn there are many different opportunities to take advantage of global collaboration. These students are not only be exposed to new technology, however, but they are also emerging themselves in a new culture for a first-hand perspective of the world surrounding them. They are learning how to connect to individuals on a personal level, whether they are the guest in that country or the guest is their educator in their own country. For now, these lessons are rare and should be viewed as a privilege. I hope one day they are more common and a majority of our students are able to take on the role of global learners outside of the classroom. The more our youth are exposed to the world in which we live, the more likely they are to continue in making a difference in the global community.

Global learning means expanding your student’s perspectives to the world around them through exposure. Sometimes this entails online communication methods such as blog posts or connecting to other classrooms worldwide. Sometimes this means field trips to a local museum or gallery covering the topic of discussion. However, sometimes these are not always an easy task to accomplish, making the greatest “sometimes” of all the use of virtual reality. Virtual reality is defined as a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image that can be interacted with in a seemingly physical way by an individual using special electronic equipment.

The use of virtual reality is taking students to a setting outside of the classroom we could have never expected. Not only are the expanding their visuals of the world through videos, however, now they may feel like they are truly in these locations they learn about. One way to use virtual reality is Google Cardboard which essentially acts as virtual reality goggles by blocking your surroundings and allowing a phone to be inserted. The expansion of applications on phones for virtual reality is increasing, as is the popularity. Students may now watch videos about physics, the brain, worldwide destinations, imagery and many more subject matters that capture their attention. I imagine it is hard for them not to feel engaged when this new-found information appears so interactive and life-like. Not only can Google Cardboard be used for children but it also has options of practicing interviews for those applying to jobs and college. This allows high school and college aged students to also be able to connect to these applications on a very helpful level. Google Cardboard is leading us towards classrooms full of global learning.

Although virtual reality goggles and google cardboard are incredible tools to access interactive lessons, they are not necessarily needed. All that is needed some type of electrical device, whether it be a smartphone or tablet. These connect to applications that can be used in the classroom as interactive tools with the children. They can search around the classroom for the different interactions they will encounter, for example, tornados appearing or molecules laying on their desk. This allows the lesson to be more interactive allowing for the students to remember it more. One classroom that uses it is demonstrated in the video below:

Virtual reality usage has been increasing throughout the years and is predicted to only continue an upward trend. Educators need to continue to expose themselves to the advantages of bringing these resources into the classroom for the benefit of their students global learning.

When collaborating online, it is important to exemplify your point with graphics and storytelling. This will allow the outside reader to getting a better understanding of the point you are trying to convey. Since global collaborating means involving, and connecting, individuals worldwide it is important to remember different cultural and social norms that exist throughout the world. What may easily make sense to us here in The United States may not make much sense to those in Asia. By using digital storytelling it not only makes your point visually pleasing but also offers a greater insight into the meaning the individual is trying to project. This week I explored the presentation website of Powtoon.

The have an advanced selection of presentation tools and slides suitable for any message. This includes syllabus presentations, marketing video ads, explanation layouts and many more making it easy to find the tool in which you may need. It is broken down into categories allowing for easy accessibility. Once you pick the design that works for you, a majority have a template already included. This allows the user to merely fill in the content in which they are trying to exude with minimal effort. If this template does not suit your standards, you may switch from “Edit Mode” to “Create Mode” and change the material to what you find to be appropriate. For example, the template I had used did not include image content so after following the basic outline I switched to “Create” in order to insert the images I would like to use. You can easily switch back and forth without losing the work already completed.

Once you have entered the text in which you would like to present, the website provides a very simple exportation of your new creation. You chose the definition you would like it to be set in, the accessibility to the public and your preference about which form of social media you would like to present it to. Of course, if your presentation is more private, a link is also provided in order to share it with those select individuals it was created for. Overall, I found it to be an extremely easy tool to use, especially if you already know the subject matter to be included. I would definitely recommend it to any educators looking to provide new resources and visuals in their classroom lectures.

The presentation I created was a timeline regarding to the major events that occurred when moving to Florence, Italy to be a tour guide for a travel company. It may be found here.

This week, I explored National Geographic’s “Out of Eden Walk”. This website tracks Paul Salopek as he walked 21,000 miles across the globe in hopes of tracking the migration of our ancestors. The multiyear adventure began in Ethiopia, leading to the title Eden. As he traveled, his moments were published online via footstep count, pictures and descriptions of the journey made. In this blog I have outlined three of the posts from along his journey that I have examined.

• It’s Not Stone You’re Buying, It’s Men’s Lives
  • The red holes in the walls throughout India are manual labor for many men, as a popular profession is the mining industry. However, this work is proving to be more dangerous than expected as many become ill with silicosis, a sickness of the lungs. This occurs from the silica crystals being released in the sandstone drilling process. As Paul interviews those he meets, they explain that almost every household has somebody who has died, or is currently suffering, from this condition. The signs are silent, beginning with coughing, and slowly turn fatal. This particular village in which he was stationed did not have a hospital within a three-hour reach, therefore, making it difficult for individuals to receive the help they needed. The product is mined due to it’s pink to red coloring appearing in many of India’s architecture, including New Delhi’s most commonly known Red Fort. In an area known for being relatively poor, this is one of the best sources of income individuals can find so unfortunately the wealth outweighs the health consequences for many in the profession.This story may be found here.

• Passage to Another Time
  • As Paul walks through the mountains he stumbles upon something unbeknown to him. The passage reads: Her hair was dyed purple. She wore spandex. She was dancing alone, the young foreigner, swaying barefoot on the roof of a car parked at an utterly remote frontier in the rocky core of Asia, hard beside the Panj River that saws Tajikistan from Afghanistan—a notorious opium smugglers’ paradise at the southern edge of the Pamir mountains. The car had EU plates. But who was she? A belated pilgrim on the old hippie trail? A mystic? An addict? An adventurer? It was impossible to know. The way he is able to convey exactly his thoughts is so intricate. The majority of us have never hiked across the country, let alone the world. As he wrote this passage approximately 1940 days into his journey, it is interesting to expand on his critical thinking from a quick thought to an elaborate post. It feels as if the rest of us get a peak into Paul’s own head. Although he has engaged with an abundance of individuals throughout his journey, the reader can’t help but wonder how the many months of solitude have impacted his thoughts. Without even viewing it, the vivid words now allow us to also picture in our heads and be curious about the actions of this woman in passing. This story may be found here.
• Walking to Zero
  • Paul explains that for many months he has been walking towards zero – the ultimate point of origin. Some of the oldest zeros in the world are inscribed on a stone inside an ancient temple called Chaturbhuj, in the north Indian city of Gwalior. Since he has crossed into India, this has been the destination he has been aiming for in order to get a deeper understanding of its history. Once close, he traveled us a steep-hill where the temple lay tucked behind a fortress wall, many of which the locals did not even know. Even though it was pictured to be this breathtaking site, full of wonder, upon arrival he finds nothing larger than what would appear to be a closet. They, along with many other foreigners, search this slab for the first existing zero to find absolutely nothing. The writing on this temple does not exist. Paul states, “My pilgrimage that began with nothing ends with nothing”.
  • You can find this story here.

Paul is currently beginning his trek through Africa, which can be tracked through the National Geographic website. The blogs, along with picture and video, are updated often so we may stay up to date on the many lessons and adventures encountered as he walks across the world in memory of our ancestors. Follow along at https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk.