Launching The Global Classroom Mentors Project

After several months in the making, it’s time to formally launch the new Global Classroom Mentors project, fulfilling a key goal of Global Classroom 2012-13. 

We know what it’s like to get started with ICT and global projects … It can be a very difficult, challenging road; yet almost all of us have been informally mentored along the way.

Connecting and working with an experienced mentor makes a HUGE difference, and this is something we are hoping to share more widely through our new Mentor Teacher Contact Directory; helping teachers new to ICT and global projects find a source of support and guidance as they embark on their global journeys.

The directory, which can be accessed via our project wiki, is designed to help teachers find a mentor who works in a similar grade level and time-zone. You can connect with a mentor through email, Skype, Twitter; and request advice or assistance in areas where you need support. It could be a one-off contact, or the start of a long-term relationship – it depends on your learning needs and preferences.

We are also delighted to announce the addition of an online mentoring community group, run by Keith Tompkins from @Groups4Schools, which you can join here.

Do you have skills, or need support in these areas? 

Global Connections & Collaboration 

• Designing Global Projects
• Digital Handshakes
• Project Management Tools
• Personal Learning Networks
• Digital Citizenship
• Project Celebration

ICT Skills

• Use of ICT in Early Childhood
• Multimedia (Video, Audio projects)
• Skype / Video-Conferencing
• Blogging
• Wikis
• Edmodo

Can you help? 

If you’d like to become a Mentor, please register your interest here. All you need is a little experience, and a willingness to share.

We’d really appreciate it if you’d help spread the word through your social networks, and you are most welcome to add our Mentor’s Badge (above) to your blog / website. Please include a link to this post, or the permanent Global Classroom Mentors page. Thank you!

Do you need some advice or support to get started with global collaboration?

We’re here to help1 You can join the @Groups4Schools community, and access our Mentors Directory via our Global Classroom 2012-13 wiki – following the instructions here. (You will need to join the wiki to access!).  You can contact a potential mentor via email, Skype, or Twitter, and go from there.

If you have any questions, please send us an email at globalclassroomorganisers AT gmail.com.

In the News: Willowbrook Students Visit Antarctica Via Skype

We’re really excited to share this great article from Northbrook Patch, which features the work of @DKarnoscak, one of our Global Classroom teachers in the USA. This article was originally published here, and is reproduced with permission of the author.

Willowbrook School third grade teacher David Karnoscak and his students have visited 14 countries and six continents so far this year, and they haven’t even left the classroom. By using Skype and The Global Classroom Project, Karnoscak connects his class with educators across the globe.

On Thursday, Jan. 17, all the third grade classrooms met in Willowbrook’s Collaboration Cafe and used Skype to meet with penguin research scientist Jean Pennycook, who is currently stationed in Antarctica. It’s summer on the continent, but temperatures remain below freezing.

Pennycook answered the children’s questions and talked about how a scientist lives a “very rustic” life, while conducting research in Antarctica.

Pennycook said her favorite penguin is the Adelie, because it is an active and engaging animal, as opposed to the Emperor penguin, which just “stands around.”

She says there are more Adelie penguins than any other penguin species, they live in the south and have to cross many kilometers of ice to reach where they can build their nests in the spring.

Students heard about the living conditions in Antarctica — a solar panel is the scientists’ only source of electricity, which they use to charge their computers, cameras and radios.

All waste products are stored in big drums and must be hauled out by helicopter after the scientist’s eight week stay. Pennycook showed the students the tent where she lives, as well as the outdoor scenery, which consisted of rocks and ice, and a view of the ocean. She said Antarctica is “stark, like the moon.”

Melted snow is used for washing, not drinking, because of its high salt content. She stated that there are no plants, trees or bushes in Antartica, nor is there a permanent population of human beings. Animals that live there only survive by eating creatures and fauna from the ocean. Students also heard about the different types of seals, whales, seagulls and skua that live in the region.

Karnoscak, the Willowbrook teacher, emphasized that his passion for Skyping around the world has rubbed off on his students. In December, the class Skyped with students in Greece and exchanged holiday greetings. He says he enjoys seeing the kids becoming global citizens, who are learning about different cultures and people. They recently visited a school in Nepal, and everyone was very surprised at how different it was from Willowbrook School.

“Our favorite game is Mystery Skype, where students take turns asking geographic questions about an opponent’s location. Students must use geographic knowledge, map skills and logical reasoning to find where another class is located,” said Karnoscak.

The other third grade teachers who collaborated with David Karnoscak on the Antarctica activity were Allison Safran and Jessica Gomberg.

#globalclassroom Teacher’s Stories: Rawya Shatila, Lebanon

One of the true joys of my work with this project is the opportunity to meet, and work with amazing educators all over the world. This is the first of what I hope will be a long-term series of posts, where I’ll introduce you to some of our Global Classroom teachers, and share their inspiring stories with the world.

Image via @rawyashatila

Rawya Shatila @rawyashatila 

Rawya works at the Makassed  Schools in Beirut, Lebanon, and was involved in global education long before we met through the Global Classroom Project. With an impressive list of national and international awards, Rawya is dedicated to helping her young charges learn, share, and connect with the wider world; and has personally taught me a great deal.

Rawya was recognised as one of our inaugural Global Classroom Lead Teachers in 2012, and blogs at Young Clovers. I am looking forward to the day when we finally manage to meet f2f.

Here are a few glimpses into her classrooms:

Flat Rosie at Makassed School

Art Project – Lebanon and India

Flat Rosie Celebrating Lebanon Independence Day 2012

Going Global – A Honduran Student’s Perspective

This was originally posted on Stephanie Cruz’s blog last year, and is reproduced with permission. Stephanie is one of @JosePopoff‘s students in Honduras.

Hey! So this week we had a Skype session with a Texas school. This teacher’s students wanted to practice their Spanish with us, they wanted to have an experience in which they would actually be talking with native Spanish speaking teenage students (wow, that’s long, sounded shorter in my head). Anyhow, they started talking to us and we did not feel offended, but it was a bit awkward.

We were excited about the session, but once they started asking, everything turned out to be disappointing  One of the questions asked, was “do you guys use cellphones ” And the other one was, “how does your house looks like?”. It felt like if our balloon was just pinched.

One of the things I learned was never to feel above others, or  beneath others.

We should think twice before we speak, we should consider whom are we talking to or talking with. There are many countries, not just the one we live on. This means that when we are talking with someone we must at least try to use a global vocabulary. Not our daily words, but words that are understandable to others that do not live in the same country as we do. For instance, “I live in Lima”. From this phrase one can understand that I live in Lima, Peru, and this is not the case. Specify from were are we natives from. “I was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras”.

I just wanted to share this because whether we are aware of or not, we are all going global somehow.

The world is advancing, technology is getting even better. There is a word we Hondurans say when someone is uncivilized “montunos”. So, as my teacher once said, we must take off that “montunation” we have.

Start getting global, speak the global language, and get it started!

#globalclassroom Chat Archives

Hi all. We’ve been a little slack in posting the archives for the #globalclassroom chats – partly due to the arrival of Summer holidays here in Australia. We’ll all be back on deck in early 2013; however, here are the links to the archives from our last few chats:

November 2012: How can we support students to inquire into global issues that help develop empathy and compassion?

Archives

December 2012: How can we help our peers “eat their frogs ” so they can connect their classrooms globally?

Archives

Blog Responses

There’s a Frog in My Classroom

Frogs in the Pond – Helping Each Other Eat Frogs

 

See you in 2013

“Taking the Long View” – An Inspiring #flatclass Keynote from Chris Betcher

Each year, the Flat Classroom Project invites a world leading global educator to create a video ‘keynote’ – and this year’s video is a truly inspiring retrospective on the power of global connections and collaboration. It is well worth watching.

In the words of Chris Betcher (@betchaboy) from Sydney Australia:

I was lucky to have discovered how flat the world could be when my students and I did our first global collaborative project way back in 1996. Over the next few years we participated in lots of successful global projects, and the lessons I learned through those experiences permanently changed the way I viewed learning, teaching and education in general. I saw first-hand how powerful it could be to work across the boundaries of time and location, to connect with others and share our learning on a global scale.

In this keynote, I’d like to offer the long view of working in a flat world. I’d like to share some insights into how it changed the way I view education, and how it changed my teaching career. I’d also like to introduce you to some of my ex-students, who will share the effect that being part of these global collaborative projects has had on their lives almost 17 years later.

Source: Flat Classroom Projects

Global Classroom 2012-13 Launch – Slides and Recording

Well, it is hard to believe that after 6 weeks of solid preparation, we formally launched our 2012-13 project at the Global Education Conference 2012.

Our Global Classroom Stories and Project Launch presentation was attended by a (record) 27 participants, from 10 countries across 5 continents (6 if we put Trinidad in South America); and hosted speakers from all over the world.

The presentation was one of our best -

• Enabling emerging #globalclassroom leaders to share their stories with the world
• Formalising our emerging relationship with Govinda Panthy & the Open World Cause, as we look forward to helping raise funds to build the SAV School, Nepal
• Recognising our inaugural group of “Global Classroom Lead Teachers“
• Marking the formal launch of Global Classroom 2012-13

 

But perhaps the most emotional moment was when we handed over the microphone to some of our #globalclassroom students – from Elkanah House, in Cape Town, South Africa.

THANK YOU to Sarah, Abigail, Tyra, and Matthew – you did yourselves proud! And thank you to their wonderful teacher, Karen Stadler (@ICT_Integrator) who made it all possible.

Slides and Recording

The presentation was recorded in BlackBoard Collaborate – please watch (and feel free to share) the recording link:

http://bit.ly/GCPLaunch2012-13

Global Classroom Stories & Launch (#GlobalEd12) from Michael

Announcing: Global Classroom Lead Teachers 2012

As I often comment, this amazing online community could not have happened without the support, inspiration, and hard work of an extraordinary group of teachers around the world.

This year, we are inaugurating the annual “Global Classroom Lead Teacher” Award, recognising teachers who’ve made an extraordinary contribution to the development and success of the #globalclassroom community; based on their: 

• Significant contribution to the professional learning of teachers around the world (through our blog & Twitter chats)
• Inspiring efforts to enhance their students’ learning through their global connections
• Assistance with the development of the #globalclassroom online learning spaces
• Creation of innovative, pioneering projects which showcase new ways for teachers and students to connect, learn, share, and collaborate globally.

We’d like to formally acknowledge:

Anne Mirtschin	@murcha	Australia
Brenda Hallowes	@bhallowes	South Africa
Claudia Ozceta	@ClaudRu	Guatemala
Clive Elsmore	@clivesir	United Kingdom
Cristina Milos	@surreallyno	Romania
Deb Frazier	@Deb_Frazier	USA – Project Co-Founder
Debra Rosenquist	@DebraRosenquist	USA
Effie Kryikakis	@WinnersSchools	Greece
Govinda Panthy	@SAVSchool	Nepal
Jen Hollis Smith	@hthehippo	USA
Jennifer Fenton	@Jennysfen	Hong Kong
Julie Simmons	@BJacketsFan	USA
Karen Stadler	@ICT_Integrator	South Africa
Kimberley Rivett	@Krivett1	New Zealand
Kyle Dunbar	@edtechdunny	USA
Linlin Tan	@tienmimitw	Taiwan
Laurie Renton	@RentonL	Canada
Louise Morgan	@frugalteacher	USA
Lu Bodeman	@lu_bodeman	Brasil
Rawya Shatila	@rawyashatila	Lebanon
Rob Sbaglia	@sbaglia	Australia
Stefan Nielsen	@snskole	Denmark
Tasha Cowdy	@tashacowdy	Japan
Theresa Allen	@tdallen5	USA
Tina Schmidt	@MrsSchmidtB4	USA
Tom Sale	@TomSale	United Kingdom

Join us – Global Classroom 2012-13 Launch LIVE @ #GlobalEd12

The formal launch of the Global Classroom Project 2012-13 is set to take place at the Global Education Conference  on FRIDAY, November 16.

It will take place as part of our Global Classroom Stories and Launch Presentation with speakers from Australia, Nepal, Greece, Taiwan, India, and South Africa. The session will be recorded, and shared after the event.

When?

It takes place at 6AM EST (New York), 11AM GMT, 10PM AEDT – OR find out when this is in YOUR time-zone, by clicking here.

How do I participate? 

To join the session, please click on this link 10 minutes prior to the start time.

https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/launch/dropin.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart238

Launching “The Handshake Space”

This year, we’re doing something different. We’re working to build better connections & participation in the #globalclassroom community through the launch of “The Handshake Space” for K-3, 4-6, and 7-12.

What is it? 

For those unfamiliar with the concept, a “digital handshake” is an opportunity for teachers and students to join our online project spaces (find out more here) and introduce themselves to the community.

Traditionally, these handshakes feature individual students or whole classes; however, in Global Classroom 2012-13, we are experimenting with a mix of classroom AND individual teacher handshakes.

We regard this as an essential ‘first step’ for successful engagement in our global projects. (Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds)

How can I get involved? 

The #globalclassroom handshake has three distinct parts. Teachers and students are welcome to contribute to one, or all components.

1) The introductory voicethread.

Teachers, we hope you will take this opportunity to introduce themselves, tell us where you come from, and share a little about why you connect and collaborate globally.

https://voicethread.com/share/3513122/

2) “The Handshake Space”

The Global Classroom 2012-13 wiki now hosts K-3, 4-6, and 7-12 “handshake spaces” for teachers to post class introductions.

How you choose to create and share your handshake is up to you, but we’d love to see links to your class blog / websites, and a few pictures of your classroom learning spaces! You will find instructions, video tutorials, and classroom examples on our wiki.

“The Handshake Space” will run for the duration of the 2012-13 project, and new additions will be showcased on the project blog over time.

Check out this fantastic example:

3) Teacher Introductions on our Google Groups

If you are a member of our email list, you will receive the kick-off email this week.

If you are NOT receiving emails from The Global Classroom Project, and you would like to be involved in informal planning discussions, project brainstorming, and receive news updates like this, please apply to join here (with a note telling us who you are, and what you teach).

An opportunity to learn, share and connect and globally

The “handshake” is an important, and vital first step for teachers engaging in global collaboration. We hope you will take this opportunity to make yourself known, and introduce your class to the wider #globalclassroom community. Through this process, we will be able to learn more about you, and better enable teachers to explore new ways to connect, learn, share, and collaborate globally.

We hope you will join us on this journey.

Don’t miss these #globaled12 sessions!

As an official Global Education Conference Partner, we are excited to share some fantastic presentations from members of The Global Classroom Project, and our friends at Hello Little World Skypers and Flat Classroom Projects.

To attend these sessions, you will need to access the BlackBoard Collaborate Room links in the Conference Schedule - which is available HERE. Room links will be published shortly.

We hope to see you there!

The Global Classroom Project – Stories & Project Launch (2012-13)

Friday, Nov 16th at 7PM Perth, Australia time (GMT+8) (your time here)

Presented by Michael Graffin,

With Effie Kyrikakis (Greece), Sebastian Panakal (India), Linlin Tan (Taiwan), Karen Stadler (South Africa), and Govinda Panthy (Nepal)

Full Session Details

Room Link:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hello Little World”

Wednesday, Nov 14th at 10pm Melbourne, Australia time (GMT +11) (your time here)

Presented by: HLW Skypers – those who can be present!

Full Session Details

Room Link: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart109

Please click here for a FULL LIST of sessions presented by members of Hello Little World Skypers.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A New Learning Legacy – Important Stories from the Flat Classroom

Tuesday, November 13 at 10PM EST (GMT-5) (your time here)

Presented by Julie Lindsay & Vicki Davis

Full Session Details

Room Link: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=GECPart34

Please click here for a FULL LIST of sessions presented by Flat Classroom Teachers.

Global Education Conference 2012: Get Involved!

Running from November 12-16, 2012, (November 17 in some time-zones) this year’s Global Education Conference will feature hundreds of presentations exploring all aspects of global collaboration.

Held entirely online in BlackBoard Collaborate (Elluminate), and running 24/7, this FREE conference promises to be an amazing opportunity for teachers to learn new ways to connect, learn, share, and collaborate globally.

The Global Classroom Project is proud to be an official Conference Partner for #GlobalEd12, and many of our community members will be presenting over the course of the conference. We’ll be announcing further details of these presentations over the coming week.

To learn more about the Conference

Visit: http://www.globaleducationconference.com/

Follow: @GlobalEdCon and the #GlobalEd12 hashtag.

..

How to attend a Conference Presentation

Conference Preview – Interview with Lucy Gray

Celebrating & Building a Community of Collaboration

As part of our continuing efforts to celebrate and build “a community of global collaboration”, we are launching several new initiatives in the lead up to Global Classroom 2012-13.

In particular, we are launching a range of project badges (thank you @MrsSchmidtB4), and fulfilling a long-term goal of establishing a “Mentor Teacher / Expert Advisor” directory to assist teachers new to global collaborative projects.

Participant Teachers

ALL registered #globalclassroom teachers are invited to display our new “Participant” Badge on their school / class blogs / websites. This amazing global community is made possible by our people, and we hope our participant teachers around the world will display their badges with pride!

(Click here to access our Google Doc – containing embed instructions and HTML code)

Mentor Teachers (Expert Advisors)

Are you interested in supporting and scaffolding teachers’ use of technology to flatten their classroom walls?

We are starting to build a global directory of mentors / expert advisors who are happy to answer questions, and support the learning of teachers new to ICT and global collaborative projects.

If you’re interested, we’d appreciate it if you’d fill out our registration form here. We’ll add your details to our (private) wiki page, and send you a “Global Classroom Mentor” Badge.

Mentor teachers don’t have to be directly involved in the #globalclassroom community – all we are looking for is a little experience & a willingness to share!

Lead Teachers

Global Classroom Lead Teacher badges will be awarded annually to teachers who have made an extraordinary contribution to the development of the #globalclassroom community, based on their:

• Significant contribution to the professional learning of teachers around the world – through their active engagement in our online learning spaces
• Efforts to implement the Global Classroom Manifesto in their classrooms & school communities
• Creation of innovative, pioneering projects which showcase new ways for teachers and students to connect, learn, share, and collaborate globally.

 

We will be formally recognising the first group of “Global Classroom Lead Teachers” at our official project launch at the Global Education Conference 2012 - on November 16, 2012.

We hope to see you there!

Slides & Recording from @mgraffin’s FLAT Talk

In response to an invitation from Flat Classroom Projects, I recently presented my Future Learning Action Talk on The Global Classroom Project. 

I highly recommend watching the recording, where I foreshadowed some important developments in the #globalclassroom community, and attempted to define our goals and direction for 2012-13.

BlackBoard Collaborate Recording

https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2012-10-30.0404.M.74A74F81D9B32AB68AF6C94A8B5427.vcr&sid=2007066

The Global Classroom Project – a F.L.A.T Action Talk from Michael

FLAT Action Talk – Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Come and join @mgraffin for a Future Learning Action Talk (FLAT) on

The Global Classroom Project.

Aims of the Session

• To provide an overview of the origins, history, and the community spaces which define The Global Classroom Project
• To explore some of the key lessons I’ve learnt about building & coordinating a global projects community.
• To extend an invitation to #flatclassroom teachers interested in mentoring / sharing their expertise with teachers new to global collaboration.

Tuesday, October 30 2012 – 7PM AWST (11AM GMT)

Click here to find the time in your time-zone

BlackBoard Collaborate Room Link

http://tinyurl.com/FutureLearningActionTalks