For my last blog post this semester, I wanted to talk about two different case studies, which I read about in our text, that specifically stuck out to me!
The first case study that I found very interesting was the THINK Global School (TGS). I found this to be an incredibly interesting opportunity for kids to be exposed to different cultures. Essentially, this is a school which moves each semester to a new location, and develops curriculum objectives and learning outcomes based on that new environment!
I personally found this to be an incredible way to offer students authentic learning, as you immerse the students into the different cultures they’re learning about.
The second case study I found very interesting was on The Centre for Global Education. The Centre for Global Education is an organization with develops virtual projects to engage youth through connection to the people and places they are learning about.
This is another way for educators to encourage authentic learning for their students! Teachers can use this tool as a way to encourage students to learn beyond their immediate classroom. You can access The Centre for Global Education’s website, here!
For this week’s blog, I am looking at Google Cardboard, and it’s use within the classroom. However, if you’re like me, you might have no clue what Google Cardboard is prior to reading this blog. Well, in the simplest terms, Google Cardboard is just that…cardboard. However, Google cardboard is so much more than just simple cardboard. It allows for you to experience a virtual reality, through the use of your smartphone, when you create a cardboard viewer.
If you are curious what these viewers look like you can check out the site!
One of the nicest aspects of Google Cardboard, that I immediately noticed, was the accessibility all students can have to the tool. While it does inevitably require a student to have access to a smartphone, the cardboard viewer itself can be made without spending any money at all. In other words, students do not have to buy a Google Cardboard certified viewer if they do not wish to. All a student needs, in order to obtain a viewer, is access to some cardboard, tape, and scissors!
I have included a video, below, that delves further into the process of how exactly Google Cardboard works!
One of the best aspects of Google Cardboard is its use of smartphones, and compatibility with additional apps. For example, once you have your cardboard viewer you can utilize tools like Google Expeditions and Cardboard Camera!
Cardboard Camera is an app available in the app store for iPhone or iPad, and allows for users to capture and share moments with virtual reality photos.
Google Expedition is an app which can be used with the cardboard viewers, and allows for its’ users to experience almost anything as if they were actually there!
Tools like Google Cardboard, virtual reality in the classroom, contributes to successful global collaborations because it provides students with unique experiences they would not otherwise be exposed to. While live video conferencing, through global collaborations, allows for students to have the opportunity to be exposed to other students and cultures they still are not experiencing those cultures themselves. Google Cardboard allows for students to have unique experiences as if they were actually there experiencing these things in person.
Another benefit to using virtual reality in the classroom is the accessibility it provides for students. As I mentioned earlier, any student can make a viewer if they have some cardboard, some tape, and some scissors. As long as the class has access to tablets, and isn’t relying on students to have access to these devices on their own, there isn’t much much need to be concerned about the economic differences of students. Check out this article which delves further into what Google Expeditions can do in the classroom!
Finally, the benefit to using something like Google Cardboard in your classroom is the likelihood that other teachers are using it, too! This means that there is an entire community which is available to share ideas with, and learn from. After doing some research I was able to find countless lesson plans which utilize Google Cardboard, and Google Expeditions in the classroom. Teachers can use these lesson plans to gain inspiration for their own lessons, or modify them to meet the goals for their students!
I have included a link to an example lesson plan, but there are so many to potentially use! One of the best perks, a lot of them are free to teachers!
This week, we have been tasked with utilizing an online tool of our choosing to tell a story about ourselves. After doing my research, I chose to use the web tool Exposure to create my story.
However, I quickly found this to be the easier part of the assignment. I struggled a lot when deciding what to write my story about. Luckily, Professor Wendt included a helpful link to 100 Prompts for Writing About Yourself, and that helped me decide what I wanted to write about.
Once I decided on my topic, the actual process of writing the story was made quite easy through Exposure. ( Pro tip: Exposure lets you trial their premium access tools for 14 days without any commitment!)
The first thing I did was title my story, and create a title page. I found that it was very easy to do this as the tool prompts you immediately to this page when you create a new story!
The site was easy to navigate from start to finish, and once I created the cover page I was able to begin writing the story underneath. I was able to add images that correlated with the story, and I was also able to align them within the text as I saw best fit.
From there, the process was mostly repetitive as I finished writing the story. One tool, that I found particularly helpful, was the option to preview the story as it would look in published format. This was helpful because I was able to imagine what the story would look like to readers!
In the end, I found Exposure to be a really useful tool for digital storytelling! However, I might look for other free options moving forward. Exposure can be used as a free platform at the end of the 14 day trial, but only allows the creation of three stories per user in the free version. If this was something I were to implement into my classroom I would want to find a version that allows for more stories to be created through a free platform!
As we have learned throughout the semester, there are many different tools which, when used effectively, can enhance global learning. This week, our class was tasked with exploring National Geographic’s project: the Out of Eden Walk.
The Out of Eden Walk is a project, run through National Geographic, where a reporter traced the global migration of our ancestors on foot. The project took began in 2013, and is a 21,000 mile journey. The journalist who is conducting this, 10-year, experiment is Paul Salopek. Below, Salopek is pictured on his journey.
As Salopek is walking the migration paths of our ancestors, he is covering the major stories of our time. These stories have included topics like climate change, technological innovation, mass migration, and cultural survival. Salopek’s 10-year experiment is considered to be slow journalism. In an article, written by Matt Norman, slow journalism is explained as “taking the time to report the news with close attention and more depth.”
For Salopek, his experience with slow journalism has allowed him to rediscover the world as he reports the major stories of our time through the experiences of the villagers, traders, farmers, and more, that he encounters. The migration route begins in Africa, travels through Asia, North America, and finishes in South America.
As Salopek is traveling, those who view the project on National Geographic’s site, are able to explore with him. For example, the first Chapter of Salopek’s journey was Africa, and this chapter lasted from January of 2013 to May of 2013. Within chapter one, there are multiple stories to explore. The first story, titled “Setting Out“, details the start of Salopek’s journey, and him setting out on foot in Africa. There is another story, titled “Bones atop Bones: Walking through a Colossal Graveyard“, which details how Ethiopians live comfortably among their dead by waking to their markers, walking past them, camping next to them, and using them to navigate. Below, you can listen to Salopek detailing this part of his journey.
As one continues to explore the project, you have the option of learning, and exploring everywhere that Salopek has learned and explored. A second point I explored on Salopek’s journey was Chapter 3: Autumn Wars. This chapter details Salopek’s experiences in Cyprus, Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. One element of this chapter which I found particularly interesting was the unknown aspect. For me, I do not know much about many of the places he visited in this chapter, and it made for a more enriched experience. As Salopek was exploring and learning, I too, was exploring and learning for the first time.
One point in this chapter, which I found particularly chilling, was Salopek’s detailing of the war and Syrian refugee crisis. He recounts how he has encountered many homeless Syrians along the way, and that the are everywhere. He talks about how they live, and how they attempted to make a stand, and how it failed. He talks about how this crisis affects everyone, and he is right. The wars of other countries often feel distant from us, in America, and as a result we often cannot understand what they are experiencing. However, being able to follow Salopek as he encounters these people, and situations, puts these moments into perspective.
One final point, on Salopek’s journey, that I explored was the point that is currently in progress: Chapter 5. Chapter 5 is Salopek’s journey through the Riverlands, Pakistan and India, and he began this leg of the journey in February 2018. I chose to look at this point in Salopek’s journey to gain an understanding of where he is at currently, and how he currently feels in his journey. The most recent story post was on November 11, 2019, and is titled “Bridges of Memory.” Salopek details the gruesome experience that walking the hills of Meghalaya state can be due to jungle undergrowth, mud, and a climate that provides for 40 feet of rainwater every year. He continues by explaining how the natives to the area: the Khasi, and Jaintia people, solved the problem and made these hills walkable. The natives to the area use living tree-root bridges, of the Cherrapunji region, to walk the hills safely.
One of the many perks of being able to follow along on Salopek’s journey is that readers are able to experience, and encounter, situations and people that they otherwise would not. Salopek’s goal was to tell the story of migration through the experiences of the natives and people who are regularly acknowledged in the news. Through Salopek’s efforts, readers of the project are able to learn about situations differently, due to exposure that they may not have previously had access to.
I personally believe that a project, like Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden Walk, is an incredible tool for global learning in the classroom.
As we have discussed, students retain information better when the learning they do is authentic. By offering students the opportunity to explore the migration paths that they learn about in school, alongside Salopek, they are able to make connections to the material that they cannot make purely from a textbook.
Additionally, students are exposed to areas, and peoples, through Salopek’s journey, that aren’t always able to be covered in depth in the main coverage done in class. With a tool like Salopek’s project, students can learn as much or as little as they choose. Students particularly interested in the journey could easily access it outside of the class as well.
Finally, the project is not just purely text which is beneficial for learners who prefer mediums other than text. Salopek offers an additional Soundcloud option where he sometimes recounts his experiences, provides pictures that provide visuals for his experiences, and also provides virtual tours.
Salopek’s journey is also very versatile, and accessible, for the classroom as there are translators available to translate the project into various languages. There are also available materials on the site so that teachers can effectively integrate the project into their classrooms.
This week, we have learned about some of the norms that go into global collaboration. Specifically, norm 1: be prepared, and norm 2: have a purpose.
Check out the infographic I made on norm 1, below!
The chapter on norms, called “Why Online Global Collaboration?”, focused on a lot of ways that educators can achieve these norms. However, the two main elements of norm 1 were to be prepared, and to determine how you plan to communicate. I discussed these in the infographic, but I will say that I found the idea of using your PLN and PLC to be a great suggestion! I have found so many interesting, and intelligent, educators through the development of my PLN and think that this would be an easy way to find like-minded educators for the purposes of global collaboration.
Norm 2 focuses on having a purpose for your global collaboration. Again, the key to achieving this, is being as prepared as possible as an educator. The chapter does outline some of the different typical purposes an educator might have for global collaboration, but I believe the most important purpose for a global collaboration is the cultural exchange students gain from participating.
This purpose can be incorporated with many others, such as short or long term projects, but I feel that those projects should absolutely be working towards the end goal of cultural exchange. Global collaboration provides an incredible opportunity for students to be exposed to cultures they otherwise may not be.
Check out this YouTube video which highlights the value of cultural exchange!
Throughout the semester we have learned about many effective tools to use in our future classrooms! The latest tool we’ve been exposed to is Google Hyperdocs. So, what exactly is a Google Hyperdoc? A Google Hyperdoc is a lesson through Google documents which provides students with access to instructions, links, tasks, and other interactive segments, in one document. I have included a video, further explaining what a Google Hyperdoc is, below.
Google Hyperdocs were created as a way to enhance student learning. The generic model of writing lesson plans, teaching lessons one by one, and finishing with a final assessment, is a teacher-focused model which some believe limits learning. Check out this blog I found, “How Hyperdocs Can Transform Your Teaching“, for some examples of how this teacher-directed model can limit student learning!
The blog also lists some of the benefits of hyperdocs:
Fewer lectures: removes the need for direct instruction from the teacher
Greater face-to-face interactions: frees teachers up for more individual, one-on-one, time with students who need it
Flexibility: if a part of the lesson isn’t working, it can be immediately changed
Multimodal opportunities: allows for the inclusion of all sorts of multimedia
Privacy: a teacher can customize a Hyperdoc, for a student who needs it, without anyone else needing to know
Personally, I found the Google Hyperdoc, provided by Professor Wendt, to be very easy to navigate. I would absolutely use this feature in my future classrooms!
I’ve included a video, below, for anyone interested in learning how to create a Google Hyperdoc of their own.
However, if videos aren’t your thing, I have also included a link to an example of a template incorporating Hyperdocs into en English lesson!
This week I learned about the use of Skype in the classroom through the Microsoft Educator Community. When I clicked on the topic, I thought I had a pretty strong idea of what I was going to learning about. The do’s, and don’ts of Skype, and how to connect with other classrooms also using Skype. However, I was met with so much more. Skype provides a multitude of other opportunities for learning in the classroom. I’ve embedded a YouTube video which highlights some of the reasons other teachers love Skype!
Skype Classroom inspires literacy for students through the opportunity to Skype with authors as guest speakers. The platform also offers students the opportunity for authentic, and meaningful learning, as they are able to take virtual fields trips and experience other cultures without leaving the comfort of their classroom. Students are able to practice global learning daily, and can make as much as they want out of their Skype Classroom experience. They have the opportunity to access experts in different fields, relate it directly to what they are learning, and can even go into the fields with the experts.
A major aspect of Skype Classroom which I found to be incredible was the connections students were able to make with other classrooms. As I went through the lesson, on Microsoft’s Educator community, I learned about a class who learned of a school in Kenya that had issues with filtered water. The class was in contact with the class in Kenya, and applied that conflict to their learning. They went ahead, and learned how to make filters at home, met with experts in their field, secured a deal with a filtration company to send filtered products to the school in Kenya, and then got to see their efforts through Skype conversations with the Kenyan classroom. It just doesn’t get more authentic than that!
This week I watched a French television show, called The Chalet, on Netflix. Watch the show, here, if some French drama might interest you too!
A French television show, The Chalet, available on Netflix
In a lot of ways this show was very similar to American dramas in that there was a lot of suspense, and the viewer doesn’t quite have the whole story.
However, the one thing that was rather difficult was all of the flashbacks the show did. Flashbacks alone can be hard to follow for viewers, but, adding in the element of a foreign language, I felt I struggled a bit to understand what was going on.
The general storyline is that a group of friends go away to a chalet, in Valmouline, where a dark secret from the past comes to light. Throughout the first episode there are a few instances where murder plays a factor, and I am under the impression that a murderer might be part of the plot moving forward in the season.
The relationships of the characters on the show, and the characters themselves, were very similar to what is seen in American television. They had normal interactions with one another throughout the episode. The only time there were strange social interactions was with one character, referred to as the hermit of the village, and that interaction is based off of his characters cues.
The major difference, between the way Valmouline is depicted in comparison to the United States, is in the setting of The Chalet. The setting of the chalet is in Valmouline, and is very reflective of a normal french village. In America, the concept of villages is not prevalent, and I have never been exposed to this setting. Even the concept of a chalet is not as prevalent here.
I noticed that the house look very different to what we typically have here. They are built differently, more closely together, and lots of wood is used in the buildings. I also noticed that the roads are much narrower, and very winding. I think that the is due to the terrain of the area. Valmouline is a very isolated village. There are lots of trees, nature, and mountains.
This is obviously a large contrast to the United States. While there are places here which are very mountainous, we have many cities, and access to almost everything we need with just a short drive. The isolation of the village of Valmouline, and the chalet, is not something many Americans choose, or are familiar with.
Additionally, the roads are often made of cobblestone in the show, which is a characteristic of European roads, and so this didn’t surprise me as much. However, it is a major contrast to America as most of our roads are often paved, and even.
Finally, one aspect of socioeconomic topics in the show was when one character asked another if the people who owned the chalet were rich. The question was harmless, and stemmed from the fact that they were discussing the chalet’s renovations. However, it did imply that the characters might not be rich themselves, because they were taken aback by the niceties of the chalet.
Over the last few weeks I have gotten a glimpse into what it is like to use Twitter as an educational tool. So far, I have found many aspects of the tool that I really enjoy, and some that I could take, or leave.
An element of twitter that I really enjoy is how accessible it makes you to other people within your field. Being a global learner, and a global educator, requires being able to connect to other people around the world. Twitter allows for individuals to do this almost effortlessly. When you tweet, you add a relevant hashtag, such as #GEN2108, to your tweets and then anyone who accesses that hashtag is capable of locating your tweet. This is particularly beneficial for our class because we are able to filter down to only tweets from our classmates. However, this is also very beneficial when you want to connect with someone within a particular niche within your field.
Second, twitter allows for almost instant connection to others. While they might not answer right away, when you see a tweet that you like from another person on twitter, you have direct access to respond to their tweet or direct message them.
Personally, I experienced this with a professional I follow on twitter: Pam Hubler (@specialtechie). I wrote a previous blog on the appropriate way to incorporate social media, as a teacher, into the classroom. After I posted the blog, I was scrolling through my feed on my professional twitter, and I came across the best example of appropriate teacher social media behavior through Pam Hubler’s account. I reached out to thank her for her behavior, and the example she set, and within minutes I had a response from her. We were able to have a beneficial discourse because of the accessibility of Twitter. I have attached that conversation below!
I think that appropriate social media use, as a teacher, is one of the most significant things I have learned so far through the use of Twitter as an educational platform. I think this is such an important topic for us to address it is such a huge aspect of our culture. Even when something doesn’t seem like a bad thing to do on social media, it could still be considered inappropriate to someone, and that is why there is a need for a clear cut understanding of what is appropriate on social media.
Finally, one aspect that I think people need to be cognizant of, when posting on Twitter, is just how accessible they are to the rest of the world. While the entire point of social media platforms is to connect the world, users need to be aware that what their posting is viewable to everyone else. This means that your posts can be taken however the reader interprets them, regardless of if that is what you intended or not.
In order to avoid conflict, twitter users need to be respectful of everyone they interact with. Individuals also need to be aware of the differences that could exist between users. Twitter connects people from all over the world which means that there is a need to for cultural acceptance, and understanding, from all users.
While reading Julie Lindsay’s book, The Global Educator, one chapter focuses specifically on the impacts of global learning. The author, Lindsay, address many elements of the impact that global learning has on students. However, one of the elements that I found most important was the idea that global learning fosters personal awareness in students.
I believe that this aspect of global learning stood out to me the most because it is an element of education that cannot be taught inside the standard walls of a classroom.
For many young students, they do not typically have much understanding of what goes on in the world around them. This can be due to multiple things, but is largely grounded in the lack of exposure they have to other cultures. This concept of cultural differences is something that we learn as we grow. Thus, a young child is unlikely to recognize the learning differences, technology gaps, and limitations that exist between different countries.
However, when a teacher incorporates global learning into their classroom, they are exposing their children to these other cultures earlier than they might otherwise be exposed. This means that these children are also beginning to have conversations about learning differences at a younger age, and are also developing their sense of personal awareness sooner, too.
Bringing other cultures into the classroom, and humanizing them in a way that textbooks cannot, allows for students to be more open-minded when encountering other people and their opinions. Check out this article, by Jose Picardo, where this concept of personal awareness is further discussed!
After some research on the topic of personal awareness, and global education, I have also realized that bringing other cultures into the classroom through technology is not the only way to expose your students to other cultures. A Tedx Talk, given by Dr. Melissa Crum, highlights other ways that teachers may be able to navigate cultural diversity within the classroom. In the video, she explains an art-based professional development program she created to help teachers think differently about their diverse students.
Check out the video, here, for a different perspective on how teachers can navigate cultural differences with students in the classroom!
