by Ann Michaelsen | Sep 20, 2011 | Creating Global Classrooms, Personal Learning Networks, The Compelling Need for Change, Voices
Last week I received this question in email: “Do we have any model schools in Norway that could inspire ministers of education and help them promote the use of ICT in their own countries? The examples given are expected to be ‘world class’.” My answer is, regretfully, no.Although Norway has world class equipment, both hardware and software, the way we use what we have is not world class. Traditional classrooms with traditional teachers and students are the norm. But I accept the challenge to create this model in my school.
by Ann Michaelsen | Aug 5, 2011 | Global Communities of Inquiry, Personal Learning Networks, Voices
There is in my opinion one great difference between Norwegian/Swedish educators and those in North America: the willingness to commit time to personal development outside the normal business/school hours. I had many collaborators who were willing to sponsor teachers to come over to Philadelphia this summer, but we ended up with a group of only nine. In Scandinavia, the last day of school for teachers is the 22nd of June and by the 23rd, they’ve vanished!
by Ann Michaelsen | Jun 22, 2011 | Creating Global Classrooms, Personal Learning Networks, Voices
The interactions my students had with award-winning Lesotho educator Moliehi Sekese would not have been possible without my ability to connect through Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Blogs. All these social media tools combined give teachers the power to create personal learning networks on a global scale. And the benefits are not yours alone. Your students will soon learn to appreciate how open the world has become!
by Ann Michaelsen | Apr 13, 2011 | Creating Global Classrooms, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
I’m a great fan of using all the web 2.0 tools I can find to facilitate and encourage my students in their learning. And they are learning to love blogging! All my students studying International English write blogs. It’s a great way for me to keep track of what they’re working on and how well they know the material. They started writing on their blogs in August, and it was a great surprise to all of them when last week in class we accidentally looked at our site statistics and discovered we had an international audience.
by Ann Michaelsen | Mar 18, 2011 | Making The Shift, Voices
I am writing this from a Norwegian perspective although I suspect is it is the same everywhere. If you truly want to take advantage of the web and connect with educators you have to invest some time in participating online. It is the first obstacle and strongest argument teachers in Norway have against participating. While I agree that connecting and participating online is time-consuming, I know you will get so much back in return. To make it easier to get started, I’ll narrow the arenas where you might participate down to three: Twitter, blogging and Skype.
