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Global Collaboration for Young Learners
Importance of Collaboration
Collaboration is a huge factor in young student’s social and academic growth. Learning from a young age how to collaborate gives students a chance to learn from others, and share their own ideas with others. Students gain a lot of confidence in their social skills from working with groups in school. I chose this tool to research because I believe it is a huge part in student growth!
Global Collaboration
Empatico offers a program for students to collaborate with other students from all around the world. Young students who are introduced to this program can learn so much about other countries and how they learn and what they’re going through. It can teach students about empathy through these digital exchanges. More than 23,000 educators in 131 countries have used this platform for over 2,000,000 students all over the world. It is a great program to get introduced to different schooling and different cultures.
It is a very easy way to communicate with students and educators from different countries which I find so interesting. It is not common to be able to do these things in school so it’s very exciting to learn more about this program. I would love to utilize this program in my own class, and teach students the importance of being able to empathize and to learn about other countries and cultures. I would allow my students to do it once or twice a week so they can keep in touch with their penpal, and hopefully build a friendship with them. I would listen to my students opinions on the program, whether or not they liked it. If it is something they really enjoy, I would pass the word on to more teachers so they can give their students a fun learning experience as well.
Empathy
This program was made to teach students how to show that they care for others, and learn about self-awareness. Being able to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, or understand someone else’s feelings can be a huge factor in socially and emotionally growing up. Behavior also plays a huge role in this program because what students do for others makes a huge impact. This program can help those students learn these skills.
What Does Empatico Offer?
Empatico offers many different tools. Here is a list of what they offer:
- Empathy centered activities
- Being able to explore the world and make connections
- Messaging and scheduling
- Live exchanges
All of these tools can help students not only gain emotional and social skills, but they also will learn about many different countries and cultures, as well as learning how to message others and schedule live meetings.
Thanks for reading!
Out of Eden Learning Tool
When looking for a learning tool, I first had to decide which grade band I would be most interested in. I chose to look in the “Resources for Global Education for 9-12” because I believe that age group allows for more discussions and more thought out ideas about topics. While scrolling through the list of tools, I ended up choosing “Out of Eden Learning.”
I chose this because of the description that I read. It really caught my attention. It first mentions that it is “an initiative of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.” Personally, and I would imagine many others, when I see anything related to Harvard I instantly assume that it must be a great resource. That is just down to the reputation that Harvard University has.
It also explained that it is completely free to use and it is an online program. As we have seen over the past decade, technology has been used more and more in classrooms all over the country and world. This trend will only continue, which is a great thing. We must work along with it. Younger students are also having more access to devices at home and in school. Many of them may even prefer it. Out of Eden is a “custom built, social media platform,” which only adds to why it is best for students around this age range. Social media is heavily targeted at this group of individuals, so they may feel more comfortable using this tool and website in the classroom.
The description also included a little bit about the tool’s credentials. Out of Eden has “so far served over 30,000 students in 60 countries.” That is just amazing. It must be something great for that many students to have used it, but not only that, it is used all over the world. That is what stood out most to me from that statement. The internet is a space that is meant to allow people all over the planet to work together and most importantly, learn from each other.
Actually getting to the website, it has a very friendly interface, and it is easy on the eyes. It does not feel clunky and the images on the homepage move smoothly. It does not jump from picture to picture, it fades into the next one. That is so important when using an online program. I do not want to use a program that is tough to navigate, feels slow loading, or ugly. Everything that I mentioned from the description and the look and feel of the website really made me choose Out of Eden Learning.
As stated before, Out of Eden is an initiative of Project Zero. In their about section of their website, Project Zero claims their mission is to understand and nurture human potentials like learning, thinking, and creativity. In the “About Us” of Out of Eden, they list three learning goals from their program.
I believe this would be useful for students to really understand different cultures around the world and to have them pay closer attention to the world around them.
Towards the top of the website, there are different tabs for different areas. The two most useful to me and a future classroom are the “Curriculum” and “Activities for All” tabs.
When looking through the curriculums, the “Introduction to Planetary Health” is the one that I would include in my classroom. The topic about planetary health always stands out to me. Their 4 steps for the project look like something students could really have fun doing.
This really gives students a chance to just simply go out and look at their surroundings. They may find something that can affect the health of themselves and others in their area. In doing the other steps, they will do their own research and investigation about an issue of their choosing and try to make a difference. It is all about making small changes that could lead to something bigger.
The “Activities for All” sections gives a list of activities for the curriculums you could choose from, which is a great thing for educators. From their list, I do not see one that would fit in with the curriculum that I chose, but that is not an issue. The steps, pictured above, would give the students more than enough to do.
The last things that is useful, and definitely a necessity, is the login/register for both educators and students. This will help organize the different activities of students in my classroom. Out of Eden also recommends getting in contact with other classrooms, so both classes can meet each other and feel more involved. Collaboration is always a great thing. Out of Eden really sets you up with all the tools you need.
How Microsoft Teams Can Make Working Together Easier
The Future of Collaboration
Working together in class has always been a huge component in learning how to collaborate. Collaborating is something everyone will need to do for the rest of their careers. By having an early and easy start to learning how to collaborate can get students on the right track. Microsoft Teams is a significant software to use to get students on that right track.
Hybrid Learning
Microsoft Teams is an easy to use software that has taken over classrooms everywhere. Personally, I used it in highschool and it was a great way for teachers and students to communicate and work together. During the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of my teacher depended on Microsoft Teams to teach their classes. Using online meetings for hybrid learning was a resourceful adaption when we most needed it.
Features
Microsoft Teams also provides many great features. One that sticks out to me the most is the Accessibility Features which makes it easy for everyone to use.
Microsoft Teams offers an abundance of features within their program. Notebooks, interactive demos, meetings, private messaging, and emailing can all be done from this one program.
Conclusion
I really enjoy learning more about this software and how effective it can be. As a student who has used it for years, I can confirm that it truthfully benefits a lot of students and teachers. Communities can come together and build a stronger bond and improve collaborative skills. Microsoft Teams is truly the future of educational collaboration.
Thanks for reading!
Can I use AI?
Although ChatGPT is not the first of its kind, it brought a lot of attention to AI. Specifically the education world had all of their eyes locked on it. AI has caused a lot of debates for all kinds of people in many fields. This article dives deeper into the issues and some benefits AI can bring up. Research was done also for this topic and article.
The issue
ChatGPT is very new. It was only released towards the end of 2022 and has only helped spawn other similar applications. It almost immediately brought concern to educators. The very first concern was that cheating was easily accessible to students.
- The AI could write university-level essays
- Pass “some” exams
- The attempts from AI were “largely indistinguishable” from an actual student
Are students actually using AI?
This article conduced research on Australian academics and Australian university students.
- 110 people in the study
- 78 Students
- 32 Academics
- Almost half of the people have not even tried to use any generative AI
- From this half, 85% planned on not using this type of technology at their university for this coming school year.
- These students who are not using AI really do feel that it would be considered cheating if they were to use and rely on it for their classes.
Cheating is a major topic for students when discussing using AI technology. Academic honesty is a big discussion for professors on the first day of classes in university. If caught cheating it could lead to failing and potentially being kicked out of your school. Since ChatGPT and similar applications are still so fresh, the rules for using it really varies on the professor you have. Right now students feel it is better to not use it all together to avoid any issues with potential cheating.
The study done also had written responses submitted. Another worry that many students shared is the actual information provided from the AI. They are not sure how reliable the content is. Just because a computer application is telling you something, it is important to remember that it can be wrong also.
AI is a tool
New things are always scary. It is important to look at the cons, but recognizing the benefits is just as important. The other half of students and everyone a part of the study that do use AI, made great point in favor of ChatGPT.
- Used to help brainstorm ideas
- Almost like having a “partner”: the interactive nature of the programs are very useful
- leads to more efficient with your time and energy
- Manage stress levels for students
The future?
The divide about using AI for assessment is not clear cut. 46% agree in using it, 36% disagree, and 16% are unsure. This is expected as it is so new and still so much to be learned. Not even half of the top 500 universities in the world have a clear statement about the use of ChatGPT at their university.
This topic and debate will only get bigger as the years go on. Not only that, answers will get clearer about the use. It is all about working together and finding what works best for students and how to make sure they are learning. Just copying, pasting, and cheating will not do students any good. They will not learn what they need. Teachers and professors may also benefit from AI use.
Virtual Reality in Classrooms, What Fun!
As we may know, there is a significant rise in technology. Nowadays, technology can either be seen right in our own homes, right outside our windows, or in our own hands. With the rise of technology comes the inspiration for new ideas. We all love our phones. We all love playing games on our phones, reading, writing, and even watching movies on our phones. And now, thanks to new technology, there is a way to bring all that to us in a new fun experience.
Virtual Reality, better known as VR, is precisely how it sounds. A reality that is not real but is made to be with the hard work of professionals. With these new experiences, millions of people have begun to submerge themselves in the newfound experience. Being able to go for a run right in the comfort of your own home doesn’t sound too bad. But, with more work, there is a way now that not only adults but children are able to experience and learn new things, even in a classroom. VR is the future of our classrooms.
With the rise of Virtual Reality in classrooms, there are bound to be people who would prefer to avoid the idea of technology running the classroom. They may be scared that their children will become addicted to technology. Or they are afraid that technology does not teach as well as actual humans do. While these are valid concerns, VR can bring many offers to students.
The article states,
“Students expressed enthusiasm for learning with VR, with 87 percent of all responses indicating that the VR lesson was useful, enjoyable, and something students would like to learn with in the future “
Flynn, Catt, and Peter Frost. “Making VR a Reality in the Classroom.” EDUCAUSE Review, 16 Apr. 2021, er.educause.edu/articles/2021/4/making-vr-a-reality-in-the-classroom.
So, with that enthusiasm comes the progress.
The benefits that VR in classrooms may bring to the table may include the following:
Enhanced Participation: Students are captivated by virtual reality and encouraged to learn actively. Understudies can investigate and connect with subjects like history, science, and topography, making picking up drawing in and intelligent.
Experiential Learning: Virtual reality (VR) enables students to participate in experiential learning by simulating actual events. Students in engineering and medicine can practice procedures and designs, gaining confidence and practical knowledge.
Access to Unreachable Locations: VR transports understudies to distant areas and periods. They can travel, learn about ancient civilizations, observe historical events, and cultivate cultural empathy.
Individualized Instruction: VR permits fitted growth opportunities to address individual issues. Platforms can be adapted to the abilities of students, providing individualized instruction, revisiting concepts, and immediate feedback.
Social Learning and Collaboration: Students can collaborate, communicate, and solve problems in VR-facilitated collaborative learning experiences. They can interact with peers and experts from all over the world, fostering collaboration and cultural exchange.
Better retention and motivation: VR further develops understudy inspiration and maintenance. Students are captivated by its immersive nature, which results in memorable experiences and increased engagement and knowledge retention.
Virtual reality can possibly upset instruction by giving a vivid and intelligent growth opportunity. Using virtual reality in the classroom has numerous advantages. As this tech becomes more accessible, teachers should embrace its capability to establish a dynamic and viable learning climate that prepares understudies for future difficulties. Students can gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the digital age by incorporating virtual reality into their classrooms.
I look forward to seeing the future with Virtual Reality in classrooms. We have the technology; we might as well use it.
Thank you!