|
Global connectivity gives our students the opportunity to be in contact with students from around the globe, ask questions from professionals 3,000 miles away, work on collaborative projects with classes a continent away, and share thoughts and ideas with student peers over oceans.
Technology has the power to reinvigorate learning and make the world the local classroom. With web tools, the internet, voice/video technologies, and social media, there is no limit to the potential for global engagement. In this section you will find some useful resources on how to utilize technology to connect your students to the world and the world to your students. Top 10 Tips
for Online International Collaboration |
#What about Social Medi@?Social Media in the Global Education classroom...some ideas to think about...
Op-Ed: Prepare Students for a Global World with Social Media Twitter-ers!Here are some Twitter Feeds for Global Education from Edweek that you may find helpful for more information:
|
Initiatives and Organizations that Support Collaboration between Global Classrooms:
GOOGLE DRIVEGoogle Drive (and Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Forms, etc.). It is a useful storage tool for students, as it is accessible via any device, and it is also an incredible platform for collaborative work.
|
Online bulletin board has countless possibilities in the classroom. First and foremost, it is a space for teachers to compile and share articles, strategies, and curriculum. There are infinite ways that students, too, can benefit from the platform.
|
SCHOOLOGYA learning management system that allows educators to post materials, collect/comment on work, and enter scores. It is easily organized for students, and because it is formatted much like popular social media sites, it is especially user-friendly for them.
|
FLIPGRID
A video discussion platform that has been heralded as a combination between Instagram and Snapchat. Students respond to a prompt and reply to others' posts, too. It is accessible from anywhere in the world on any Internet-connected device.
|
KAHOOT!
A game-based learning tool and is easily one of students' favorites. Kahoot! is both easy (and free) for teachers to create and simple for students to use, given they each have an Internet-connected device. Review games have never been better.
|
PADLET
An excellent collaboration tool -- available in 29 (and counting) languages -- that allows individuals to post text, photos, videos, audio, links, and more. Participants do not need to sign up in order to post, comment on, or "like" others' responses.
|
Popular social media tool has a vast array of options that involve following and communicating with experts, creating hashtags and having Twitter meet-ups, making announcements, collaborating with global peers, and much more.
|
Social media platform has extreme potential in the classroom, including to showcase student work and classroom activities, to convey announcements, to relay content-related material, to pass on book recommendations, and more.
|
MENTIMETEREngaging and exciting interactive presentation tool that will capture participants' attention with real-time results. It is easy-to-use (both as a creator and a voter), and questions and responses can be displayed in 8+ formats.
|
POLL EVERYWHERE
A live, interactive, audience participation tool that shows responses in real-time. It is user friendly and allows prompts to be in multiple formats, including multiple choice, word cloud, open-ended response, rank order, Q&A, etc.
|
iMOVIE
Available on Apple devices, this movie-making tool has endless possibilities for students and teachers alike. The trailer option can be less intimidating than a blank slate, as users simply fill images and text into a template that has built-in transitions and music.
|
VOICETHREAD
A tool that functions much like a slideshow by incorporating media such as images and text, but it also students to verbalize their knowledge through voice recording, respond to peers' and educators' comments, and more.
|
QUIZLETNo more staring at illustrations and covering labels with your thumbs. With Quizlet's diagram-specific study activities, you can review and master material in fun and interactive ways. Quizlet Live provides a fun and real time interactive way for kids to learn and review material.
|
GAPMINDER
GapMinder develops data visualization tools to let people explore the vast treasure of global statistics. Since many people hate statistics, we use photos as data to give the numbers meaning. We have sent photographers to 240 homes across the world to show how people really live. That’s what we call a fact-based worldview.
|
BELOUGATear down the walls of your classroom and invite the world in. Completely online, Belouga allows students to learn about and discuss each others lives from anywhere. Teachers and students are able to create profiles to showcase their classroom, culture and community with the world.
|
Edmodo bridges the gap between how students live their lives and how they learn in school, and was created to bring education into a 21st century environment. It is the number one K-12 social learning network in the world, dedicated to connecting all learners with the people and resources they need to reach their full potential.
|
Teachers can use the free ePals Global Classroom to create real world, culturally- enriching learning experiences for their students. With ePals classroom matching, classes across the world can work together!
|
Thousands of world newspapers at your fingertips: online newspapers.com has newspapers in multiple languages from hundreds of countries around the world. Students can read English versions of all newspapers to explore current events and multiple perspectives.
|
Prezi provides students and educators with “access to a powerful and engaging communication tool.” This resource allows teachers to present students with information in a manner that allows videos, images, and essential information to catch the attention of the audience. Press notes that “People are more likely to understand and remember your message when it’s accompanied by strong visuals. A picture’s worth a thousand bullet points, especially when it zooms and pans to show context.”
|
Plickers is a simple, yet “powerful tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices. It gives all students the chance to participate and engage in learning without feeling self-conscious.” Students and teachers can download the Plickers app and use their phones in the classroom to submit answers to teacher questions. Students are engaged, excited to use their devices, and their attention is focused on the activity and thinking at hand.
|
Global Citizen is a “digital resource for educators and students that focuses on the fight against extreme poverty and inequality around the world, and supports approaches that will make life more sustainable for people and the planet.” I have used this website to access varying resources in order to engage students in issues of social justice around the world. Students can participate in discussions and action steps on issues of interest through Twitter, Apple apps, and blog posts.
|