by Beth Sanders | Apr 19, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Less Teacher, More Student, Student Life, The Compelling Need for Change, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
My teaching mission is simple yet absolutely necessary to helping my students prepare for their futures. I began this school year with a list of questions that could help me envision, plan, reflect and maintain focus on where my students and I needed to be when the last bell rings in late May. Out of my personal questioning and reflection came what would be the essential question for my 11th grade social studies students during our time together: “What does it mean to be a citizen nationally, globally and digitally?”
by Sr Geralyn Schmidt | Apr 17, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Global Communities of Inquiry, Voices
A great many of our students today can count on communicating at a global level throughout their adult lives. It’s our responsibility as educators of 21st century learners to help them become very aware of and sensitive to the cultural and behavioral differences that are inevitable when communication can take place instantaneously from any two or more points across the planet Earth.
by Patti Grayson | Apr 10, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Making The Shift, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning
Edmodo is a social networking tool for schools. It is especially designed to be a safe, Facebook-style community where students can communicate and share. Unlike Facebook, Edmodo is highly secure. A teacher can set up a class and obtain a group code for students to use to join the private class group. I’ve been using Edmodo with my students for almost a year now and it has had a big impact on learning and collaboration.
by Ann Michaelsen | Mar 19, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Global Communities of Inquiry, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
Is it possible for primary and secondary students in two very different countries like Lesotho and Norway to collaborate using technology? What can we learn from each other and how would we even attempt to start such a project? Based on written applications, four high school students from Norway were chosen to accompany me to Lesotho and stay for 4 days. Our goal was to help a primary school with technology and teach the students how to use laptops to make presentations for a joint project with our school. It was an amazing experience!
by Kathy Cassidy | Feb 27, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, Uncategorized, Voices
I have been using my students’ blogs as digital portfolios for several years. By the end of the school year, they reflect each child’s learning in many subject areas from the first weeks of school until the last. In addition to showing the development of our writing skills, we make podcasts of our reading fluency at different points in the school year, and use webtools to show our learning in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and health.
by Margaret Haviland | Feb 17, 2012 | Connected Leadership, Creating Global Classrooms, Local Professional Collaboration, Voices
In her new position as Westtown School’s Director of Teaching & Learning, Margaret Haviland says she is “mindful of the many ’21st century learning’ advocates who hold up for us a world in which our students will work in jobs that have yet to be created and likely will hold numerous jobs over the course of their lives. I see this school year as one of living into that experience as I sort through what this new position I’ve accepted will look like.”
