Making the Global Connection

The world is flat.  That is a statement that some would disagree with, until we look at it from a technological point of view.   Thanks to the advancement in technology, you may have a coworker who is in Germany, another in Mexico and another in Switzerland, yet you can collaborate on projects and attend meetings together as if you were all located in the same building.  We have many applications today that bring us together and connect us globally.  Skype, Facetime, Instant Messaging, Wikis, blogs, Google Apps…and the list goes on and on.

There was a commercial many years ago for shampoo where the actress says the shampoo is so good that you’ll tell two friends about it, and they’ll tell two friends…and so on and so on…   Our network of connections today is very much like that, and can expand exponentially within minutes.  As we connect with someone locally through a blog, for example, we may then be connected with someone across the world who comments on something we have written.  That connection can further expand if we find we have something in common and something to share.  A teacher may respond to a blog about a particular lesson, and through that comment, connect with another teacher in another country.   The two may decide to bring their classrooms together through a project such as the Flat Classroom project.  Now the connections have expanded to include others in the Flat Classroom project.  That project may lead to another connection …and so on…and so on.

As evidenced by the success of the Flat Classroom and Digiteen/Digitween projects, global connections can be made that relate to the standard curriculum.  Students today have the advantage of being able to learn about different cultures first hand by communicating with other students who live in that culture.  There is not a more authentic experience than learning directly from others what it is like to live in a particular country except living there yourself.  The Flat Classroom project is a perfect example of authentic learning experiences.  The students communicate and ask questions about everyday living in other countries as one of the projects.

Lessons about the global economy and understanding international business and trade can be made more authentic by collaborating with students as well as businesses around the world.  Some businesses may be willing to collaborate with students and be a mentor to answer their questions or guide them through projects such as “a day in the life of”….

Technology has provided us with instant access to the world.  The potential connections and opportunities are limitless.  We are no longer hampered by geographical location.  We can attend classes online.  We can telecommute to our jobs.  Businesses can advertise to millions by the click of a mouse.

As educators, we are always learning.  It’s important that we keep up on the technology advancements that are so beneficial to us and our students.  Students can engage in real time communication all over the globe.  With this ability comes a great deal of responsibility as well.  Digital citizenship and safety are more critical now than ever before.  We need to encourage our students to be curious and ask questions and reach out to others, but we also must teach them to be safe and respectful.

I’ll end with this quote, which sums up how important it is to continually learn and adapt to the ever changing world.

“What we learn today in school will be outdated by tomorrow, and therefore, the most successful people in the 'flat world' will be those who can adapt and learn quickly. The greater our curiosity and passion for learning, the greater chances we will have for success later in life" (O'Neal, 2006)

Lindsay, J, Davis, V. (n.d.). Flat Clasroom Project. Retrieved from http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/

O'Neal, C. (2006, October 17). What Does "The World Is Flat" Mean for Education?: A Closer Look at Our Educational Globe. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/what-does-world-flat-mean-education

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is a great way to be creative and tell a short story.  Animoto is user friendly, and a video can be put together in a short period of time.  I would use Animoto at the beginning of the school year and have students create a short video about themselves.  It's a great way for students to get to know each other and for teachers to  know their students.

Animoto could also be used at the beginning of a lesson to get students thinking about what they will be learning.  It's also a great way to start a discussion.  Teachers can make a short video with clues about what the topic is going to be, and let students guess.  Another use is to have students put together a synopsis of a lesson, or a report.  There are so many possibilities!

I put together a short video that would introduce students to Animoto.  I included a short story of my own.

Module 8 Animoto

Google Apps for Education = Endless Learning Potential

Google Apps are becoming more and more popular, and with good reason.  Schools and businesses are finding the value of transitioning to the use of Google Apps.  I am not currently a teacher, but have been substituting and completing field experience hours in different schools and districts.  What I have found is that there is a big mix of technology levels among schools.  Some of the schools I have been in have high levels of technology use while others barely use it.  Those who are actively using technology have found Google Apps to be very beneficial. Some of the teachers I have talked to in the schools that have less technology use are using Google Apps themselves and are advocating for the use of them in their school.

I was introduced to Google Apps last year, and from the minute I started using them I could not understand why a school would not use them!  The applications are similar to the Microsoft Office Suite, but are FREE!  That is a huge cost savings to the school when they can have a suite of products that has the same capabilities, with the addition of collaboration capabilities. 

 A friend of mine works in the office of a school that is currently transitioning to Google Apps.  She was 

frustrated with the transition to Gmail accounts.  I assured her that although the transition may be frustrating, the end result would be much more beneficial.  The advantages are worth the struggles in the beginning.  For example, she writes a school newsletter every month, and gets input from the teachers and other staff members.  Rather than having to gather the information and cut and paste from emails or retype from a hand written document, there can be a live document that everyone adds to.  This is a much more efficient way to create the newsletter, and it saves time!  In addition, the newsletter can be shared with the staff, parents and community by sharing the link.  By not having to print and mail hundreds of newsletters, that saves money.   Schools that are struggling financially can benefit greatly from these cost savings.

From a professional development perspective, teachers can collaborate and provide presentations on different technologies, for example.  Google forms can be used by the administration to survey the teachers about what types of professional development they want.  Google offers free online webinars and tutorials for professional development. Go to this link for more information:  Google Education   

Teachers can connect with other teachers all over the world by joining Google Communities.  This is a great way to exchange ideas and learn from one another. Google Docs can also be used for discussions.  What you type in a document is seen instantly by whoever else has that document up. This allows for teachers and students to communicate with each other without having to be in the same room (Solomon & Schrum, 2010).  Here is a link for more information about Google Communities.

Students can access Google Apps from almost any Internet enabled device. They no longer have to be sitting together to work on a group project.  Students can access their portfolios anytime, anywhere.  That means they have many more opportunities for learning than just their classroom time.  Students can receive instant feedback, which is great for peer editing projects. 

A quote from a teacher in Warminster, Pennsylvania summarizes the benefits she has seen using Google Docs:

“While it has taken me a little bit of time to get this project moving, it has been VERY EASY and I am beginning to see myself as more of a facilitator to my students’ learning while they are collaborators to each other and myself!  It is exciting to see them engaged in their own learning – heads aren’t down anymore and they are doing work outside of the school walls” (Solomon & Schrum, 2010, p. 75).

There are so many opportunities through Google for Education, including virtual field trips:

When I have my own classroom, I hope that the school I am in will have implemented Google Apps and that I will be able to create portfolios for each of my students.  I will use Google Apps for collaboration projects, peer editing reviews, and presentations, just to begin with.  I can see the advantages to Google Forms for teaching students how to create surveys and gather information and compile into a spreadsheet to present to the class.  For assessments, I’ll use Google Forms to create quizzes that can be graded automatically, giving students immediate feedback.  I will participate in the online training opportunities as well as join Google Communities to enhance my understanding and broaden my knowledge of what Google Apps has to offer, and share with my colleagues.

The advantages to using Google Apps for Education are almost endless.  One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the school’s network infrastructure must be secure, and be able to handle the additional bandwidth.  Security policies must be in place and antivirus software is a must have, and also must be kept up to date. “Pupils need protection from inappropriate material just as much as the school network needs protection against data leakage” (Winder, 2010).  Different age groups have different security risks, and security policies can be set to cover all of them.  The IT department has to take into account the age groups in the school and what the best way is to protect them.  Wireless networks should be secured and restrictions placed on what applications can be installed.  Students and guests have to understand the acceptable use policy (AUP), sign it, and abide by it.  By explaining to students what the AUP is, what it means and why it is important helps prepare them for seeing these policies at work or college. “Children will rise to the expectation set before them if it is explained to them in language they understand, if it is reasonable and if it is enforced” (Winder, 2010).

I didn’t intend for this blog post to go on as long as it has.  There is a lot more to be said about Google Apps, but I will close now and encourage everyone to explore Google Apps in depth and utilize it in your classrooms. 

References:

Solomon, G., Schrum, L. (2010). web 2.0 how-to for educators. Washington, D.C.: ISTE.

Winder, D. (2010, December 20). How to Secure a School Network. Retrieved from PC Pro: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/363853/how-to-secure-a-school-network/3

The Pros & Cons of Social Networking in Schools

Should social networking be used as an educational tool in schools? What are the pros and cons?

There are many debates about the use of social media in schools.  Many schools ban the use of them entirely, while others allow some limited access. Social networking has been woven into our lives and is an integral part of society today.

There are many good reasons to use social media in schools today.  One of the biggest reasons is that today’s 21^st century students are immersed in social media; it is their “language”.  The good news is that many of them are already using it for learning.   “Almost 60% of students who use social networking talk about education topics online; and, surprisingly, more than 50% talk specifically about schoolwork” (Solomon & Schrum, 2010, p.85).  If students are already using it, and they are using it to learn, we should embrace it and help them enhance their learning opportunities.  In years past the internet was used to look up information.  Now it is a participatory resource, full of different communities that students can walk through, interact in and learn from (Solomon & Schrum, 2010).

When they come to school and have to log off, it’s not just their cell phone or laptop that powers down, their minds power down too.   Many will argue that there is too much screen time and students are not gaining face-to-face communication skills (Pandolfo, 2012).  Is that true? Maybe.  But, is that relevant to their world or the world that the previous generations grew up in?  In today’s world, we are all connected digitally and use our digital devices to communicate.  Students communicate face-to-face via applications like Facetime and Skype.  In some ways they may be communicating more because they have the opportunity to connect with people all over the world. I’m not suggesting that face-to-face communication is not important.  I do believe that students need to learn proper public speaking skills as well as how to interact with each other one on one. By introducing social networking into the school does not mean we abandon other lessons. Students can use social media tools such as videos and podcasts to improve their communication skills, and at the same time learn 21st century skills while being creative.

Students today have the advantage of being able to easily keep in touch with family and friends who don’t live close by.  By connecting with others they are enlarging their social network as well as their learning network.  As students grow their networks, they will have a larger pool of resources as they start to pursue higher education and start careers.  Just think if you started your social network ten years ago?  I am pretty sure our PLNs would be much larger, or it would have taken less time to accumulate connections.  Students can form their own learning networks, connecting with students in the same grade at different schools, and in different countries.   The opportunities to learn about different cultures and experiences are endless.

"Many contemporary schools do not encourage two-way communications, student 

collaboration, or global networking. Alan November, a senior partner and the 

founder of November Learning, notes that “we currently block schools from 

connecting globally, yet it is amazingly important. Teaching children to have global 

empathy is to allow them to work with people all over the world.” (West, 2012).

Social media should enhance the lessons we are teaching by allowing students to collaborate and share information with each other on a real-time basis.  It is argued by some that the use of social media in schools is distracting.  Is it any more distracting than students having a side conversation in the back of a classroom when they are supposed to be listening?  "Research on school’s social media collaborations reveals that they do a good job of connecting students for instructional purposes. One study of Twitter used for classroom discussion found "broader student participation through Twitter”" (West, 2012).

By using social media, information can be provided to large groups of people at one time.  Teachers don't have to wait for a parent-teacher conference to update parents on class activities, they can create a class blog which allows parents to be involved any time they want.  "The interactive quality of posts contributes to the dynamic nature of the web and enables multidirectional communications among educators, students, and parents. New types of communicators are empowered by digital technology, and this has altered the way in which people access and share information"(West, 2012).

Social networking is here to stay, and will continue to grow. Colleges and universities use social networking to interact with students; online discussion boards are used for class discussions. This is another reason why it is important that we integrate it into our schools.  Most businesses use some form of social media for advertising and keeping in touch with customers.  They use social media internally to communicate with one another and post important information.  Teaching students the proper way to use social media is a skill that they need to take with them as they enter out into the real world. 

By adding social media into the curriculum, students gain valuable lessons about the proper use and netiquette.   Students can learn from others that have the same interests as they do. For example, Librarything is a social network that connects people based on the types of books they read (Solomon & Schrum, 2010). Blogs and wikis allow students to share ideas and they can connect and communicate 24x7. This is valuable because they are not just learning during school hours. They can be learning all the time. It also enhances their reflection and writing skills. 

As you can see,  there are many advantages, to adding social networking to the school curriculum. One of the cons, which is of great concern to educators and parents is “stranger danger”, and rightfully so.  It is real, and it is scary.  It’s important to ensure that students are taught to use social networking safely.  Understanding their digital footprint and how it can affect their safety and their future is critical.  For elementary and middle school students, teachers can use sites such Edmodo, which mimics Facebook, but is teacher controlled and not public.  Parents can access their student’s site and monitor what is being shared. The same goes for blogs. To protect students, the teacher can moderate any posts to the blog and approve them before letting them go public (Module 5: Social Networking Tools and Social Media, 2014).

There are many social networking tools available to engage students and provide creative and thoughtful learning experiences.   You may find the following websites of interest!

How Social Media is being used in Education

18 Popular Networking Sites for Teachers

Resources:

Module 5: Social Networking Tools and Social Media. (2014). Retrieved from SNHU: https://bb.snhu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2490162-dt-content-rid-4665318_1/courses/EDU-642-14TW3-MASTER/EDU-642-14TW2-MASTER_ImportedContent_20131105031557/EDU-642-13TW1-MASTER_ImportedContent_20130725042753/EDU-642-13TW4-MASTER_ImportedContent_20130514031222/Le

Pandolfo, N. (2012, April 30). Social Media And Video Games In Classrooms Can Yield Valuable Data For Teachers. Retrieved from Huff Post Education: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/30/social-media-and-video-ga_n_1465082.html

Solomon, G., Schrum, L. (2010). web 2.0 how-to for educators. Washington, D.C.: ISTE.

West, D. (2012, April 24). How Blogs, Social Media, and Video Games Improve Education. Retrieved from Brookings: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2012/4/24%20education%20technology%20west/0424_edu_media_west.pdf