Monthly Archives: November 2019

Exploring the World Online – Out of Eden Walk

Is globetrotting on your bucket list? Have you started it yet? If not, what are your considerations? Have you ever thought of virtually travel to countries online to get a brief idea to kick-off? Now, I want to introduce a project to you that you may find impressive and inspiring – Out of Eden Walk.

Paul Salopek, a journalist, is walking across to the globe following the footsteps of the ancestors to explore and re-discover the world differently. His journey started in Africa in January 2013 and will end in South America. The website records all his journeys that he is posting photos, videos, journal writing, and embedded map to share his experiences. People are welcome to visit his website and comment. In this blog post, I am going to share some of my thoughts on different milestones of the journey.

This is a picture of world map with the Pacific Ocean centered. This map is similar to the one shown in Out of Eden Walk website. This is a little game that asking readers if they are roughly outline the pat of Paul's journey.
This is the world map with the Pacific Ocean centered. After visiting Out of Eden Walk website, can you roughly outline the path of Paul’s journey?

Glance Back: 180,000 Syrian Refugees Flee Into Turkey is the most powerful post. I participated in refugee simulations before, which were held by a non-governmental organization. When I was in the room, with special decorating pretending to be the real environment of the places refugee were living in, and listening to the story of young refugee siblings, I could strongly relate to the story that I felt scared, helpless, and hopeless. I cannot imagine how Paul would feel when he was that close to refugees and places around. No one wants to experience difficult situations caused by war. Therefore, Paul’s project allows readers to reflect and get in touch with some topics that are too panic. I like the question he asked in his post that it is connected and related to his walk. This also brings people’s awareness that they need to consider their backgrounds and perspectives when collaborating with them in the future or on topics related.

“What happens when you become a war refugee? You walk.”

Paul Salopek, 2015

Global Bazaar Celebrates the Out of Eden Walk is the second post that I like. They are hosting international fairs to introduce Out of Eden Walk to students. Both people who are going to present ideas they are representing and people who are joining the event receiving information learned at the same time. They were not focusing only on pictures and the journey but also the culture, religions, and food of the countries Paul traveled. I think to host an event is a great idea that people are not waiting for others to visit and look for information online. Instead, they are actively doing something to grab others’ attention and teach. This also matches with what I learned from the textbook The Global Educator that how and what we can do to engage global collaborative learning. 

Finally, Drinking Women’s Lives is another post that caught my attention. People always love to eat and drink something good and tasty. However, have you ever thought of where does all this food comes from? What are the processes before displaying them in the supermarket for sale? Are we fair enough to people planting and growing crops? In this post, we all learned that women are the only people working in the tea tree planting industry. However, they only earn about USD$2.5 per day. At the same time, they have to face different difficulties, such as tea plants being destroyed by animals. What can we do to help? When comparing them to ourselves, what does it tell? Even though India is the world’s second-largest tea producer, there are still social problems that difficult to be treated. 

There is no limitation on issues or topics for global education and learning. When you are just sitting in the office, classroom, or wherever, you are limiting yourself to work on some areas. This is the time to think out of the box. Even you are not able to travel or join Paul as a partner, visit his website, actively engage, and interact with all the resources posted. What global collaborating learning is not only sharing personal experiences or draw global attention but also following, partnering, being inspired, or even developing something new. Finally, I enjoy reading his journal and explore various aspects of how our world is constructed. If this is your first time trying to virtually travel around the world online, I highly recommend Out of Eden Walk.

For more information about Out of Eden Walk, please visit their website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Thank you for visiting my blog, and please do not forget to follow me on Twitter for more related information and discussions.
Twitter: @PoYeeWong4

The Norms of Online Global Collaborations

I am reading chapter 10 of The Global Educator this week. In this chapter, we are going through different norms of online global collaborations guiding educators on how to build collaborative relationships. There are eight norms in total, but I am focusing the first two in this blog post, and how it can be applied to the Psychology field. If you have no idea how to start online global collaborations, this blog post may be helpful, even you are not a Psychology major.

A picture with the globe as the background, and people with business attire standing at the front. The picture fits with the topic of this blog post that I am going to discuss online global collaboration.
A picture implies a global connection and community with different professions.
A logo of LinkedIn. This social media is one of my tools to build my PLN. This tool is useful that a lot of professionals upload their relevant experiences and resume there.
A logo of LinkedIn, which is one of the online tools for networking and job searching.

The first norm is to be prepared. You need to have your target to connect with and tools to work together. I like to use Twitter and LinkedIn for building the network. Twitter is good at resource sharing and quick discussions, while LinkedIn allows me to keep an eye on the job and conference opportunities. Different from the educators, psychologists seldom share teaching plans or teaching methods. Instead, we share more research studies and statistics. Therefore, professional social media are important for us to exchange resources and keep each other updated. Twitter and LinkedIn only help to get started on global collaborations. Tools can be different and specific depending on your fields. For example, profile creating tools are useful for Organizational Psychology; statistic analysis software is helpful for research studies; brain activity detecting machines are beneficial for neuropsychology. No matter which online tools you are using, most of them allow you to share your file with anyone you want. All the online tools make it easier to work together with everyone around the world anytime and anywhere. 

The second norm is about purpose. You need to know what you are collaborating for. For example, you are doing this for the short-term or long-term, which specific topics you are focusing on, etc. When applied to the Psychology field, you have to think of which area you want to work for, such as organizational psychology, clinical psychology, school psychology, or research. As I am graduating soon, I want to build my PLN, focusing on the Organizational Psychology field. For my short-term goal, I want to find a job working in the Human Resources department. Being active in LinkedIn not only provides me with job opportunities but also chances to practice skimming and scanning one’s resume. In case I am working in the Human Resources department when I graduate, it would be helpful. I can also contact with potential candidates from world-wide through LinkedIn. My long-term goal is to spread the idea of organizational psychology and see how the theory can be applied in real-world settings to create a better working environment. Therefore, I usually share my relevant experiences and knowledge on Twitter. At the same time, I gained from the article and resources professionals posted online. I learned from ideas and comments from their perspectives that they are more professional and experienced than I am. 

Although I am not directly collaborating or working together with the people I follow on collaborating tools, we are active on the same platform to learn and give back. I am now on the first few steps in building my network, and we will be fully engaged in and collaborative with people in this professional community.

What are your purpose and collaborative tools for global collaboration?

Are they specific to your professional, or can they be generally applied in different fields?

Finally, thank you for visiting my blog, and please do not forget to follow me on Twitter for more related information and discussions.
Twitter: @PoYeeWong4

Explore Something Old – Google My Maps

Curiosity is one of the significant elements of learning. Learners should be curious about not only exploring something new but also re-exploring something you have known already. In this blog post, I am sharing my experiences of using Google Maps.

A picture of Google Maps icon, which is a Google feature I have known for a long time. In this blog post, I am going to re-explore different uses of this feature.
An icon of Google Maps.

Google Maps is one of the Google features that users can search for all locations around the world. Google Maps also support 3D satellite data and street views. Users can freely upload photos, leave comments, and search for point-to-point navigation. After logging in to your Google account, you can create your Map with different location tags. It is useful when you are planning to travel, and you want to mark down all “must-visit places.”

A tutorial video on Google My Maps. The video demonstrates how to create a specific map with all the features provided.

In my Web Tools class, I use Google My Maps to create my graduation travel plan to Japan. I visited Osaka during the past summer. I found it ineffective to write all the places and restaurants I wanted to visit on a piece of paper. It was inconvenient to write all YouTube links and websites on the paper. Therefore, I told myself to look for a useful tool next time planning my trip. Luckily, I got one now!

I only stayed in Osaka for a week last time, which I think is not enough to explore everything there. Therefore, I am planning to go again after graduation. I want to go to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. In my map, I pinned my “must-visit” list, and also included two transportation routes: from Tokyo to Kyoto, and from Kyoto to Osaka. I embedded pictures of some museums to my map and used different colored pins to indicate different locations from different regions. It is also useful to change to pin icons to differentiate eating places from visiting sites.

Below is the link to my map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1oo0jjgW493QUhtiejGlIMoNw-EQLiIQ2&ll=35.16283236931343%2C137.59890229999996&z=8

Why I love using Google My Maps?

It is convenient, useful, and user-friendly. I can search for all locations around the world, pin locations, and edit anytime. Different layers allow me to organize my trip by locations, dates, or categories. Choosing to show or to hide different layers, I can easily manage my plan when traveling. It is clear in displaying. I also admire the function of sharing my map with others. People with the link, or being invited, can either view or edit my map. By saving my map in Google Drive, I can access my map with any devices, such as mobile, laptop, or tablet. Can you imagine how beneficial is it to, at the same time, check your plan, search for navigation, and visit websites at your fingertips?

Do you have any experiences using Google My Maps, and would like to share with me?

Finally, thank you for visiting my blog and please do not forget to follow me on Twitter for more related information and discussions.
Twitter: @PoYeeWong4