Zimmerman Blog

This week for my blog post I will focus on the case studies found after chapter 13 in The Global Educator by Julie Lindsay. This section of the book explored different moments in people’s lives that center around global education and collaboration. They all share their ideas about how they want to change global education and collaboration in the future.

In the fifth case study, I read about how “global friendships” are so important. She reminisces about how global collaboration has changed over the years. It is funny how she talks about how her old process about finding more on global collaboration would be her reading magazines and books. Today, are literally a few taps and seconds away from all the information in the world at their fingertips. Global Friendships are important to the global community because they expand our minds and thinking about how the world can be one day with technology. We are able to bounce ideas and create new ones with everyone’s collective involvement. This is similar to our Personal Learning Network assignment in class. We developed a network of global collaborators on our Twitter accounts to expand our global community. It is certainly beneficial to us since we started from basically nothing and we got our foot through the door.

“It is imperative that educators become global!” These case studies bring together the main ideas of the entire book and celebrate what it means to be a global collaborator. After reading through the case studies I am thankful that so many people put so much hard work into global collaboration so that I can feel the benefits of it today.

Thank You!

Virtual reality usage in the classroom is certainly a new tool for me. While I was in High School we did not have any lesson where virtual reality was used. As I researched the topic further, I found that virtual reality can be used in several ways. One of the first ways I noticed was how virtual reality can be used for building global awareness with virtual reality “field trips.” These field trips can be used by students to dive deeper into the lesson they are learning. If they are learning about Mesopotamia, it may be very beneficial for them to actually see 3D virtual reality images of what it would be like to be there. Google Expeditions is a great example of this type of learning. Over a million students in the UK use Google Expeditions to explore over 600 different sites. Students truly get a taste of what it is like across the globe. Virtual reality is a great addition to the classroom as it really enhances the way students learn. They get a real genuine experience of what another part of the world is like and I would certainly use virtual reality in my classroom one day.

 

https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/4-ways-to-use-augmented-and-virtual-reality-apps-in-the-classroom

https://www.teachingideas.co.uk/computing/getting-started-with-vr-in-the-classroom

As I was searching for a digital storytelling application to tell my story I was trying to reflect on what other websites I have used or seen in the past. I have always used slideshows like PowerPoint but I wanted to use something different. The website that stuck out to me was Powtoon. I have seen Powtoon used multiple times in my previous Education class for our assignment on Differentiated Instruction. I thought it was very unique and I loved how the animations bring the story to life. Below is the Powtoon I have created about my time surfing!

https://www.powtoon.com/c/e2i0W889gKv/1/m

When I used Powtoon to create my story, there were so many different options to choose from, as far as the variety in themes go. There were storyboards about training, job posting, sale items, or advertisements. There are many different routes that Powtoon could go down and the variety in themes is probably one of its strongest suit. One downside to Powtoon might be the way they edit the videos. As far as adding slides go, it was a little more difficult to find a different type of slide that fit its theme. Maybe it was just because I was new to Powtoon and was unsure of how to edit properly but that was the only real issue I had. All in all, Powtoon is a great resource to use in the classroom. It is fun and crative and could certainly engage young auditory and visual leaners.

This week I am reflecting on a journey taken by Paul Salopek as he traced back the footsteps of our ancestors for over 21,000 miles. His journey had him begin in Ethiopia what Evolutionaribelieveive as our “Eden” and took him to the tip of South America. His journey is piecing together a walk that was once traveled hundreds of thousands of years ago.

On the fourth day of the walk, Paul came across Afar nomads and they asked him where he was traveling. They were astounded and thought his journey was even a joke. To think that he can travel over 21 thousand miles and 3 continents. They simply did not believe he would make it through the desert alone. The image Paul gave us one morning when he woke up and though he saw snow. It had to of been crazy to think because how can there be snow in a desert but instead it was simply dust whirling around. It’s so dry in the desert these natural phenomenons can happen like nowhere else.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2013-01-baby-steps

On September 22nd, 2014 Paul witnessed more than 100,000 refugees looking for food and a place to stay. Over 100,000 people left Syria for Turkey to find a new beginning. Seeing the pictures and his story of families that ran into fields to hide and seek refuge or people throwing bread and begging for food is very devastating to see. I can only imagine how Paul must feel after walking for so long and still seeing so much despair.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2014-09-no-reply

On February 28th, 2019 Paul has made it to VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA. Here he met a middle-aged woman named Phoolwanti Samayamu. She is a shepherd in the valley here. Her new concern to make a living is that in the valley there has been a rain drought. She depends on the rain to survive but cannot if it does not rain. She must also follow her cows because without them she will not have food or drink to survive.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/milestones/2019-02-milestone-63#introduction

 

When it comes down to being a global collaborator, it is important to communicate effectively. Poor communicating leads to a failed learning experience. Not only does communicating need to be done in a timely matter but it is important to understand what platform is being communicated on. Participants should be put on a schedule that tells them exactly when to meet. The next thing that must be discussed is what will be talked about during meetups. Some typical purposes are a cultural exchange, inquiry, and exploration into a topic or topics, and shared outcomes. Creating these two guidelines will help facilitators successfully organize events in their community.

This week in my Web Tools: Global Learning class, I was introduced to Google MyMaps. This new tool opened me up to see even more opportunities for people to share and expand information. As a kid I always enjoyed exploring on Google Earth. I though it was so neat how I could see a bird’s eye view of my town and then Disney World or Philadelphia. It amazes me how technology even reaches the different planets so we can see an image of when the planets look like in outer space. MyMaps gives people the ability to share trip plans or places across the world in the blink of an eye. It was very quick for me to identify the different points of interest and places I stayed during my roadtrip with my family. MyMaps can be incorporated in a classroom by creating an assignment where the student will have to research or investigate a certain city or point of interst and right up a report about the place. If the teacher is technologically savvy enough, he or she could create a scavanger hunt for the kids to find out more about their country or city. This is definetly an awesome application that I will use in the future as a teacher.

A topic I found of interest in the last couple of weeks was Collaborative Learning. I first learned about this learning in my Practices and Techniques class where we were taught how to construct a lesson plan based on collaborative learning. In this setting, the teacher acts as a facilitator while the students work together and teach each other the lesson. This builds on the communication skills they need to develop to become effective leaders in the classroom. When I revisited the topic in my Web Tools class I got to see another side of Collaborative Learning that dives deeper into what can be taught. We were given a checklist from Katie Grubb, a Mandarin language educator, in Australia. In her checklist, she describes how the leader of a Collaborative Learning lesson must:

1. Make sure everyone in the group have a clear understanding of what to do.
2. Ensure everyone has access to the digital tools.
3. Comment and give constructive feedback to every post in the group.
4. Create smaller questions and tasks that group members can complete to contribute to the larger project.
5. Create checklists for students as well.
6. Have an alternative assignment or means of communication ready if all else fails to work.

Collaborative learning is an excellent example of how teachers can engage their students inside and out of the classroom. Including interaction while outside the classroom can improve their technical and communication skills. This lesson also gives students the ability to become responsible for their own work and grow leadership skills. Below is a quick video on how collaborative learning works!

Thank you for reading my blog this week!

One show I binge watched my freshman and sophomore year of college was on Netflix. Roughly 90 percent of the show is told in spanish with english subtitles. Only some charachters like the two American DEA agents spoke english but were able to speak spanish when need be. Narcos was a series documentary called Narcos about the rise and fall of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar. The first season was all about the Columbian  drug cartel. Then the second season was about the Mexican drug cartel. It was both very entertaining and informative. Most of the series is based off fact and the filming is done beautifully. Basically the show revolved around two American DEA agents who surveyed and investigated Pablo Escobar and his drug cartel. The two agents were very head strong and determined to catch Escobar but were delayed and obstructed by the government. Some government officials and police officers were corupt by having a hand in the Cartel’s wallet. Aside from the plot and storyline a lot can be said about the culture of Columbia and lifestyles certain individuals lived. People who lived in Columbia during Escobar’s reign did not live in wealth and were more or less in poverty. The drug trade did benefit the economy in a way that illegal money was circulated throughout various forms of government. The climate in Columbia is primarily hot and humid since its surrounded by forest and mountains. I think this show gives a good understanding of how people of all backgrounds lived in Columbia. It also gives a realistic taste of how people talked and coexisted during the time. Speaking in spanish also gives an opportunity for people to learn the language in a realistic way.

 

 

 

Seeing this other side of Twitter
that I had not yet discovered maybe me put into perspective, first how big the world really is and second how many opportunities there really are for people to connect. It is very neat to see how there are always at least 30-50 people on each hashtag discussing their topics. These conversations affected the way I thought about learning by opening up a new door to global learning. I now have a new tool to expand my teaching capabilities. As far as valuable information that I had gained from this experience I learned different techniques and other questions I had about my future and the experiences shared with others. In a Twitter chat from two weeks ago, I participated in an Education chat from Washington State. I thought it was very cool when I noticed how popular and how much this certain group really cared about what I thought despite living on the other side of the country. I think this experience is something all teachers should see for themselves at some point. It has been very rewarding so far and I highly recommend.

An important issue that people need to identify when it comes to being a global educatory is the technological disadvantages some people have. In some countries, people are too poor to afford the technology necessary to communicate with the outside world. How will we be able to communicate with them when it comes down to them not having internet access, a phone, or computer. Word of mouth and mail are still prominent tools in these countries that are less fortunate.

Aside from being at an economic disadvantage, some cultures are not so accepting of new technology. Most cultures have lived so long without this technology, they believe it is not necessary for their survival. In an example from the book, The Global Educator, on page 60 Julio Rojas is an advocate for closing the technology gap. His issue is that his society is a skeptic for the use of technology. This leads to fostering positive community engagement. Encouraging families and the government to advocate for the use of technology is a huge step in bridging the gap. Their involvement in their children’s lives will impact generations to come. The sooner we start this trend the better it is for the world to come. It is up to us being fortunate enough to have this technology to spread our knowledge across the globe.