GLOBAL LEARNING
TOOLS:
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Online Global Collaboration broadly refers to geographically
dispersed educators, classrooms, and schools that use online learning environments and digital technologies to learn with others beyond their immediate environment in order to support curricular objectives, intercultural understandings, critical thinking, personal and social capabilities and ICT capabilities (TheGlobalEducator).
So, why is collaboration so imparitive? Take a look at the below video!
Collaboration - On the Edge of a New Paradigm?
Source: The Global Educator; Leveraging Technology for Collaborative Learning & Teaching by Julie Lindsay
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TOOLS
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Mystery Skype
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A global game that gets kids learning about the world via Skype. The Mystery Skype website helps link classrooms and provides ideas for curriculum use.
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Goal: Connect two classrooms from different schools (usually diffrent geographic areas) in order to "inquire" and "guess" where the other class is located.
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Process: Find another classroom, organize a time to Sykpe, prepare objectives and activities for the live session.
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Timeline: Skype can be up to one hour. Preparation may be a week or more, less for teachers experienced with Mystery Skype.
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Global Online Interaction: The Mystery Skype website provides ideas including "20 Questions" and "Mystery Skype Jobs."
100 Word Challenge
Weekly creative writing challenge for children under 16 years of age. Writing is posted to a blog and linked to the 100-word challenge blog.
Goal: Students are encouraged to visit other blogs and leave comments. There is also a showcase feature where individual students are recognized each week.
Process: Weekly prompts are given (picture form or word form) and then children respond to prompt within 100-word maximum.
Timeline: Weekly; runs Sunday-Saturday. Can range from a class period to an entire year depending on coordination.
Global Online Interaction: 100 Word Challenge affords students and educators the opportunity to communicate and reflect on others' blogs/post.
PenPal Schools
Provides curriculum-guided online 6 week exchanges. Multi-lingual objectives, world news and US-based discussions; age 9 and up.
Goal: World knowledge, reading, writing, digital literacy and social & emotional skills. Quality of work assoicated with writing to peers rather than to teacher(s)
Process: Educators chose a course for students, share "blog" code with students to set them up. Students are matched with PenPal.
Timeline: Weekly; At least once a week for six weeks. Lessons are as little as 30 minutes.
Global Online Interaction: PenPal encourages collaboration in courses with and through PenPals. Built in assessments.