Building and Maintaining a Global Perspective~ My Global Experience

The one post that forever changed my perspective on life and teaching, I can never go back, nor do I want to.

On May 5, 2011 Wanted! A Global Classroom~.was published along with a simple tweet. These humble beginnings led to global connections that are far beyond what I could have ever dreamed possible!

In Awe of Twitter~

Shortly after sharing this post on twitter I was on my way to making connections and building a global PLN. I watched in awe as the connections became a reality. I was new to Twitter at the time and had no idea what to expect. Twitter has amazing people who are there just to support and learn from one another. One such tweep is @mgraffin from Perth, Australia. Michael saw my tweet and kept it alive on the other side of the globe! Michael retweeted my tweet as I slept, making it possible for me to reach the global audience I was seeking.

The Global Classroom Begins~

Quickly, teachers like @surreallyno (Romania), @claudiaru (Guatemala), @mgraffin (Australia) and @ICT_Integrator (Cape Town) were joining my first global project! This was an amazing experience and has forever changed the way I teach and my perspective on education and society.

A Whole New World~

The students in my class became familiar with countries around the world and saw themselves as part of a global community. Often kids referred to their friends in Romania or Mrs. Stadler in Cape Town as easily and as frequently as they referred to teachers in our building. As our global classroom continued to grow the students shared more about their daily lives and asked more questions to learn about others. It quickly became obvious (even to my first graders) there were far more similarities than differences in this global community.

There’s No Looking Back~

I knew I could not go back to teaching within my four walls. We had experienced the possibilities of expanding our community, of sharing with others and  bringing others in. The students valued diversity and recognize similarities in other cultures. We learned to see people above all else, we experienced the value of collaborating in a global community. As 1st graders we came to expect to talk with people in Romania, Australia, Cape Town and other countries throughout the world.

Imagine yourself having global connections in first grade! Where would you be now?

Life Presses the Pause Button~

As lives events unfolded I found myself stepping out of this amazing project for a bit, not sure how I could manage my ever changing personal life, new curriculum and the Global Classroom. Fortunately, Michael and the entire Global Classroom community have continued to flourish. As I have begun to dip my toe back into the global waters I find my PLN still here, still willing to connect and learn as one!

You are amazing people!

A New Humble Beginning~

Last week my kids and I began a new global project, Lunches Around the World. We would love to have you join us! If you would like to join us you can tweet us @Frazier1st, tell us what you had for lunch yesterday and send a picture, we will upload your picture into the VoiceThread. We will then invite you to visit the VoiceThread and add your audio comment!

We hope you will dip your toes into our Global Waters! Click on the photo below to view our VoiceThread.

The Global Classroom has blossomed into a plethora of opportunities, taking on an even bigger reach thanks to the dedication and perseverance of Michael Graffin and the participants of this global community!

You are all amazing educators and are making a difference in our children, our communities and our world~  I can never express my THANKS adequately!

World Water Day 2013 – Get Involved (Friday, March 22)

On March 22, 2013, I’ll be celebrating the third anniversary of my first ever global project. Who would have thought that two years would change so much, and open up such a world of opportunity?

This year, the students of West Leederville Primary School (Perth, Western Australia) will be hosting the third “World Water Day International LinoIt Project”.

On March 22, we encourage teachers around the world to explore the issues of water conservation, access, cooperation, and sustainability with their students. It could be something simple – a discussion about why water is important to us, an art activity, a World Water Day logo design activity; or something a little more involved – such as researching the key issues of World Water Day 2013.

And we’d like to share your students’ work, thoughts, and learning with the world via our public LinoIt page. You can upload images, text, and videos, and contribute to a global discussion about our most precious resource: water.

This project is open to K-12, and we’d greatly appreciate international contributions!

Project URL: http://bit.ly/worldwaterday2013

Learning Resources

• World Water Day 2013 Brochure
• Water Cycle Brochure
• About Water Cooperation
• Logos, Banners, Publicity Materials

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Michael Graffin (@mgraffin / @gcporganisers), or email us at globalclassroomorganisers AT gmail.com.

 

 

 

Call for 2013 #globalclassroom Projects

Are you a creative, forward-thinking educator?

Are you interested in creating and running your very own global collaborative project?

Do you have an idea, but are not sure where to start?

Are you struggling to find global collaboration partners?

Need a professional mentor? 

Then why not explore the possibilities with Global Classroom 2012-13? 

Over the past few years, we’ve “built the collaborative spaces, resources, and community to enable teachers and students to share, learn and collaborate globally” … and we’ve succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

Through our current 2012/13 projects , our students are contributing to global travelling scrapbooks, working to raise awareness about rhino conservation, learning about the world via Mystery Skype, supporting Malala’s fight for girls’ right to education, and building penpal relationships via Edmodo …

And there’s more to come …

We’re here to help teachers around the world share and build their ideas for global projects , big and small; and we’d like to share  YOURS.

Please get in touch. 

Email: globalclassroomorganisers AT gmail.com

Twitter: @gcporganisers

Register via the Wiki: http://globalclassroom2012-13.wikispaces.com

Connecting through blogging

This month the twitter chats have been about blogging with students and how to make global connections with other class bloggers. I had been asked a couple of times to write a post about the student blogging challenge which I run. So here goes!

History of the challenge

In January 2008 I somehow began reading a blog written by Sue Waters. Deciding blogging was something  I could use with students, I began my own personal blog. Within a couple of weeks, I had contacted Sue often by email and skype and she had tweeted out about this new blogger – me. So this was also my introduction to Twitter.

By March 2008, my class blog was going well – students were learning about being internet safe and how good digital citizens behaved on the net. While teaching the students, I was still learning from Sue Waters about widgets to use, tools for audio, how to add videos and what is creative commons. By the end of May, most students in the class had their own blogs and my personal blog was not being used very much at all. My time was now spent moderating posts and comments written by my students on their blogs.

But by the end of June 2008, I realised the students were only communicating with each other – one of my purposes for having a blog was to get the students thinking in a global perspective. So more discussion with Sue Waters and suddenly I saw the value of Twitter. I tweeted out if there were a few classes who would like to leave comments on my student blogs. Back came Jan Smith (Canada), Paul Bogush (USA) and Ines Pinto (Portugal). Thus began the first student blogging challenge. By the end of December 2008 we had about 500 students from 9 countries taking part.

Since that first challenge numbers have increased to over 1500 students and over 100 classes from 20+ countries. I can no longer visit each student blog a minimum of three times over the ten week period, so we also have mentors who are in charge of about 30 students. The challenge now has its own blog.

Challenge starting in March 2013

There are March 2013 registration forms for students and for classes and mentors leave a short bio on their post. We even have some students who have taken part in at least two challenges signing up to be mentors. The challenge runs from March to May and again September to December each year.

Each week, I set about ten activities – some relating to blogging such as creating avatars, adding a blogroll, tags and categories – but many relating to different subject areas in the curriculum. Hopefully students and classes write posts and include links which create a trackback for me to follow. I often visit their blogs to leave a comment. I also have some posts which are about visiting blogs I have found interesting, so students and classes also get trackbacks.

There is a page in the header which is a list of all the student blogs with their mentors and another list for class blogs grouped in grade areas. This allows both students and classes to visit similar bloggers either gradewise or in the case of students, those with similar interests. One activity each week is to visit other blogs and leave comments – this allows students to start creating their own connections. Classes are expected to visit and leave comments on the blogs on either side of their name in the participation list. This includes visiting the student blogs that might be on the sidebars of those class blogs they visit.

There are many links on the challenge sidebar which relate to help pages as we have students and classes using Edublogs, kidblog, blogger, wordpress and other blogging platforms.

In the last set of activities during September 2012, I made every second week a freedom to choose set of activities – this was a way for classes to catch up if there had been holidays or testing happening at their school, but it was also a chance for students to write about their passions.

The future of the challenge

As long as I am able I will be running the challenge, but with numbers increasing each year, it is great to see a lot of other educators prepared to help as mentors.

I also get a lot of help from Edublogs especially Sue Waters and Ronnie Burt. They create the themes for me to use and also the participation badges for students, classes and mentors. With this challenge being the 10th, a different theme is being organized and will be up and running soon.

This year we will be showing off the challenge as part of the Sunday evening sessions at ISTE2013 in San Antonio Texas. Please come and visit us as part of the global collaboration poster session.

If any of you would like to take part in the challenge as either a mentor or with a class or set of student blogs, then rush over and register as the first set of activities will be posted on Sunday March 3rd Australian time.

New Project: Travelling Rhinos Project – Save Our Rhinos!

Photo taken by K. Stadler – July 2012

In November last year I launched a new Global Classroom Project at school and it went national and global on 7 December.

Inspired by this photo that I took of five rhinos drinking in unison at a waterhole in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, in July, I had five small rhino soft toys made out of genuine African fabric (one side shweshwe and the other an African print). Each rhino was given a truly African name (through a competition amongst our students). These rhinos are on their way to classrooms far and wide – one to South African Schools and then into Africa, one to Australia and New Zealand, one to Canada and America, one to America and South America and one to Europe and Asia. Through global connections I have made in the Global Classroom Project and via Twitter, I have sourced schools to send the rhinos to and currently have 35 classes signed up for the project which will run until December this year, or longer. (It is similar to a Flat Stanley project, but this time with Travelling Rhinos).

Each class will host the rhinos for a week or two and in that time the teacher is asked to educate the students about the rhino situation (in the world, but especially SA), they are asked to dispel the myth that rhino horn is medicine and then they are asked to get their children to contribute to a class page in a wiki that I have created (I have put together information they can use and provided websites for more information). They can write letters of appeal/make videos/do art work – anything which gives the children a voice in the fight against rhino poaching. They are then asked to send the rhino on to another class in their country. Of course they must also document the visit with photos and we will track each rhino’s journey on a Google map. The rhinos will travel for the whole year (or more).

The motivation behind my project is to educate and to use the children’s voices to highlight the gravity of the problem to other countries. After all, it is their children and grandchildren etc. that we want to save the rhinos for, and we rely heavily on tourism in South Africa, so I believe we can make a difference in this way.

Ultimately, once we have many classes participating and contributing, I would like to bring the project to the attention of the powers that be in government. I’m not sure how or who yet, but I have time to work that out!

Currently we have three rhinos in classrooms around the world: Siyanda is in Surrey, Canada; Zindzi is in Ballycurrin, Ireland and Lilitha is in Fish Hoek, Cape Town. Makulu is on his way to New York, but he is running very late and we are concerned about his safe arrival and lastly, Lesedi is on her way to Australia and should arrive within the next week.

Take a look at this lovely video put together by Mrs Thiessen from Green Timbers Elementary in Surrey, BC, Canada (Click on the image):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To find out more about this project visit the wiki: http://saveourrhinos.wikispaces.com

Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheTravellingRhinosProject

Follow us on Twitter: @travellingrhino

This is a cross-post from

http://karenstadler.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/travelling-rhinos-project-save-our-rhinos/

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.

New Project: On The Same Day in March

Marilyn Singer wrote a children’s book “On The Same Day In March” that describes the weather and climate for countries around the world. I would like to give elementary classrooms an opportunity to compare the climate and weather in your area with others around the world. You can also add pictures and tell a little about your area.

Join us for a project based upon the book: On the Same Day in March by Marilyn Singer. Classrooms will compare weather with each other. This can be as simple as adding data to the page and writing about YOUR school or you can go a step further and pick out other activities to do.   Are you interested in joining the project?

The project is located at: http://samedayinmarch2013.wikispaces.com, and you can contact me on Twitter – @chrisgrnbc.

Edmodo Pen Pal Project – Round 2

Edmodo is an excellent platform for creating connections between classrooms in different parts of the world.  In the past, I’ve always had “snail mail” pen pals for my 3rd grade students, but once I found Edmodo, I realized it was the perfect place for online pen pals.  So last year I created the Edmodo Pen Pal Project for the Global Classroom Project.

How Does It Work?  Classrooms are grouped into age appropriate clusters of 4/5.  The teachers of those students will create an Edmodo group for that cluster and take turns providing discussion topics for the children.  Sample topics might include favorite foods, holidays, school subjects, free time activities, sports, etc.  Upper grades might discuss current events or topics for a certain historical event.  Teachers in a cluster may decide to put students into small groups for a book discussion or to collaborate on a writing project.

Join Now! The next round of the Edmodo Pen Pal Project will begin in February and run until about May.  It is appropriate for students ages 7 to 18 and will help students learn to respect and appreciate the opinions, cultures and customs of others.  To get more information and sign up visit the WIKI page.

New Project Announcement: The Travelling Rhinos Project

The students at Elkanah House in Cape Town, South Africa are very concerned about the scourge of rhino poaching that is taking place in South Africa at the moment. South Africa’s rhinos are under attack and they would like your help in raising world-wide awareness of the problem!

To do so, Karen Stadler (@ICT_Integrator) has launched the Travelling Rhinos Project – a project whereby five uniquely African stuffed rhinos will travel from classroom classroom in schools  in different parts of the world to bring awareness to the problem. It will run much like a Flat Stanley project, just with rhinos.

The project is suitable for all ages from K – 12 and will run from December 2012 to December 2013.

The project also has its own Facebook page (please go and ‘Like’ us) and a Twitter profile. Follow our project: @travellingrhino

To find our more about the project visit the Global Classroom 2012-13 wiki or go directly to the project wiki: saveourrhinos.wikispaces.com

Christmas Around the World VoiceThread Project

The goal of this project is to learn how Christmas is celebrated around the world. Students will be able to see the differences and similarities between themselves and others around the world. Teachers and students can add to the VoiceThread by uploading photos and videos.  They can also leave comments and ask questions.

For more information please visit the

 Christmas Around the World Wiki page.

Edmodo Pen Pal Project

Last year many Global Classroom members enjoyed having their students take part in the Edmodo Pen Pal Project.  Edmodo is a social network that allows teachers to create closed groups for their students.  It looks very much like Facebook, but students need a code from the teacher to access the group.  If you have never used Edmodo, go to their website (Edmodo.com) and click on the video link at the bottom of the page to see it in action.

Due to the suggestions of last years’ members, the project will run a bit differently this year.  Last year we had 3 large groups with 200 plus members in each.  Some of the teacher and students felt overwhelmed with that many members and said they couldn’t connect with any one class.  I also had a hard time keeping up with the moderation of comments on such large groups.  So this year, we will run the project a bit like the Quad Blogging sign ups.  Once teachers sign up, I will group them into clusters of 4 schools with similar age groups.  An Edmodo group will be created for each cluster and the 4 teachers in the group will be responsible for signing up their students, deciding on the chat topics, and moderating their own Edmodo group.  There are sample chat topics listed on the wiki page and I would really love it if teachers would add on more ideas.  The chat topic should be changed either biweekly or monthly and each class should try to get in and chat a few times a month at the very least.  If you don’t think your class can commit to that, then please don’t sign up.  It is not fair to the other students/teachers taking part when one class doesn’t follow through.

Feel free to get creative with your pen pal cluster.  Last year Kimberley Rivett and I used an Edmodo group in conjunction with a Flat Stanley Exchange.  We paired up students in my class with students in her class and had them exchange Flat Stanley’s and letters by mail.  We then created an Edmodo group and put the children into smaller sub-groups of 6 children where they chatted to learn more about each other, their schools, countries, hobbies, and more.  At the end of the year, my class came in at night to meet her students in a live Skype.  It was an exciting connection that the children (and teachers) won’t soon forget!

Teachers who are interested in having their students take part, can sign up on the Edmodo Pen Pal wiki page.  I will do my best to connect classes in different parts of the world.  We will have 2 rounds of sign-ups for this project.  Round 1 will start now and go into January and Round 2 will go from February to May to accommodate the schools in Australia and New Zealand who will be going on summer holiday in about 5-6 weeks.  As always, I will be on hand to answer questions and help anyone who is new to Edmodo or the Global Classroom.  You can contact me on Twitter at @MrsSchmidtB4 or by email in the K-3 Global Classroom Directory.

I hope you are as excited as I am to get this project into gear.  My students had a lot of fun and learned so much from the other project members last year.  It opened their eyes to other parts of the world and made them appreciate the opinions, cultures and customs of others.  Can’t wait to see where this year’s project takes us!

The #Malala Project

Last Monday night, I took part in a Twitter Chat for The Global Classroom Project. I wanted to find out how to collaborate and connect in a meaningful way with educators from around the world in order to be more effective in helping my students become better global citizens. I also wanted to find out how to get participants for a project idea I had called World Class 4 Kids.

What ended up happening, was more powerful than I could have expected. I learned more about a little girl in Pakistan, named Malala Yousufzai.

This is the beginning of our Twitter chat:

Anne Mirtschin @murcha

MT @iEARNUSA: Why#globalclassroom? Lets kids take action on current events. We’re linking US-Pakistani classes 2day re #Malala‘s story

Heidi Hutchison @HeidiHutchison

@ceciliemurray Ok, what is#Malala‘s story? I want to learn and am embarrassed I don’t know.#globalclassroom

What happened after that was a series of back and forths which are now emails between a teacher in a rural town in Australia and a teacher in a city in the United States trying to make a plan to teach our students that violence cannot be the final silencer in what is right. We share a common belief that Malala’s story, her truth, is not just her fight, but all of ours. We are creating a project that we hope the rest of the world’s children can find a way to support.

Launching The #Malala Project

We would like teachers to share Malala’s story and what she was fighting for: the right for girls to go to school and be educated and the right for freedom of speech in sharing her truth. We know this can be a sensitive topic for young children and know that teachers need to present the violence of it all in a developmentally appropriate way. However, we believe, her story needs to be told.

We would like classrooms to send us a picture or short video of 2 minutes or less of students supporting Malala’s cause – a song, artwork, posters, whatever creative way they can think of showing the world believes that ALL girls deserve the right to go to school.

In addition, this is a work in progress and we would love to hear your feedback and suggestions so feel free to leave comments and suggestions here.  Please join The Global Classroom wiki and then join The #Malala Project. You can send your videos by posting them to the wiki after you join. You may also email Heidi Hutchison at hhutchison@friendsbalt.org.

For more information on Malala and her story check out the following links:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/my-small-video-star-fights-for-her-life/?smid=tw-share

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/10/09/world/asia/100000001835296/class-dismissed.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7834402.stm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19893309

Looking Forwards, Looking Back Webinar & Recordings

The Global Classroom 2011-12 Closing Webinars were held over the weekend, and marked the official conclusion of our 2011-12 project.

Despite enormous technical problems with the first (Americas) webinar, the second (Australia/Europe) webinar was a great success, with speakers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Romania, Taiwan, India, and Germany.

The sessions were recorded, and can be downloaded via the links in this presentation.

Looking Forwards, Looking Back

View more PowerPoint from Michael

New Project Announcement: Crazy Crazes (Grades 4 – 7) June 2012 – June 2013

Karen Stadler from Cape Town, South Africa is keen to get her Grade 4s connected with the global community.  Each year the Grade 4s at her school do a Crazy Crazes project where they look at the current crazes in their school, and amongst their peers in South Africa. They also interview their parents and grandparents to find out what was fashionable and the craze of the day when they were children. This project only happens later in their school year (September), but they would like to open it up to the world right now!

They’d like to invite children from classes (Grades 4 – 7; ages 9 – 12) around the world to give them an idea of what is popular and fashionable in their part of the world. They are asking the following questions:

• What games are you playing with your friends at school/home?
• Are you collecting cards/stickers/toys?
• Is there a particular pastime that is popular at the moment?
• What about favourite TV programmes or characters?
• Are there any popular books that you are reading?
• Is there any particular style of clothing or brand that is very popular?
• Any other exciting crazes where you are?

They would love you to share your experiences with them!

Although the American and European schools are coming to the end of their school year, the project will run until June 2013, so there will be time for them to take part in the new school year.

In the meantime, if there are any Southern Hemisphere schools (Australia, New Zealand, South America etc.) out there who would like to participate, feel free to join in!

Please email Mrs Stadler or tweet her @ICT_Integrator if you might be interested in participating in this global learning project, or if you have anything you’d like to share. Alternatively, go to the Global Classroom Wiki for more details about the project.