Global Education is HERE!!
We have the tools to communicate with our neighbors who live down the street, across the state, across the nation and around the world. We live in the digital world where the world is "flattening."
Until the end of the semester, you will be involved in the Flat Classroom Project as advisors and judges. This is a program that is based on the work of Thomas Friedman. It is described in his "The World is Flat" book.
REMEMBER: READ Web 2.0: pgs. 45 - 97 for this module.
Watch Friedman's Lecture: To get the necessary background, you could read his 400-page book (and you really should do that over Winter Vacation), but you can get the idea by watching Thomas Friedman's 75-minute lecture at MIT on "The World is Flat." Pay attention to what he says about the Flatteners and how they have changed the world. These flatteners are the basis of the Flat Classroom Project.
The Flat Classroom Project was originated by Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. They are high school business teacher. Vicki teaches in Camilla, Georgia, USA and Julie Lindsay teaches at an international school in Bejing, China. The story is an interesting one. Please read their article call the Flat Classroom in Learning and Leading Through Technology. Yes, this is a 2007 article and things have changed a good deal since then, but it shows the premise for the program.
Our involvement with the Flat Classroom Project will be to work as Expert/Advisors and ultimately, Judges. This means that we will be reviewing the written work that students are doing and provide feedback through the discussion groups on their wiki pages.
- First, you will have to go to the website and join the Ning. Here is a video that will tell you how to do that: Flat Classroom Intro and Joining the Ning
- Once you have joined the Ning, I would like you to familiarize yourself with it and add information to your profile. You will also want to add a comment to the posting on my blog there. Here is a video that explains that as well: Familiarizing Yourself with the FCP Ning
- Then you need to come back to the FCP wiki and sign up there so that you can sign up for an Expert/Advisor job. *****You will be asked to join the Main FCP wiki first and then the Experts/Advisors wiki. It appears that you become an immediate member when you sign up for the Main FCP wiki.
- When you ask to become a member of the Experts/Advisors wiki, you will have to wait for permission because you are asking to make changes on the wiki. This may take a while because you have to sign up to be a member of the wiki and then wait to be admitted (probably 24 - 48 hours). Then you return to the wiki when you get notification that you have been added and enter your name in the group where you want to work. Here is a video that describes that: Signing Up for Expert Advisor
- KEEP A JOURNAL - As you go through the Flat Classroom experience, please keep a journal of what is happening. You can do this as part of your blog or a private journal. You will be expected to review your work in this journal as part of the final writeup for the Flat Classroom Project.
Flat Classroom Conferences
Every 2 years, the FCP group like to get together to talk and share their FCP experiences. This is an opportunity for teachers and students from around the world to meet and learn from each other.
The first conference was based upon the question of "What happens if we empower students with the ability to design an educational project that will address a global social issue and allow them access to any and all community online networking tools?"
The first conference was based upon the question of "What happens if we empower students with the ability to design an educational project that will address a global social issue and allow them access to any and all community online networking tools?"
Here is a video that covers the first Flat Classroom Conference:
Flat Classroom Conference in Qatar, 2009
Flat Classroom Conference in Bejing, Feb 25-27, 2011
There will be a world-wide Flat Classroom Project conference in Bejing in Feb, 2011.
We have been invited to attend as Instructional Design consultants and presenters. We will work with the other attendees to create global instructional project. Dr. Z will take 12 students (8 Masters and 4 Minor students) to Bejing.
All Instructional Technology Masters and Educational Technology Minor students are eligible to attend the conference. There are a few requirements. Masters students must have successfully completed the Instructional Development course by the end of the Fall 2010 semester. Ed Tech Minor students must have successfully complete the Media Planning and Production course by the end of Fall 2010.
For more information, please review our Bejing Introduction and Requirements Sheet.
Building Collaboration Through VoiceThread
VoiceThread - Ever look for a way that you can have learners virtually gather around a video or document and then discuss it? VoiceThread will allow you to be able to do this.
Your assignment (should you decide to accept it) is to:
1) Go to VoiceThread and sign up for an account.
2) Go to the VoiceThread discussion site that is linked right here.
3) Click on my photo on the left so that you can hear the instructions.
4) Watch the video, Learning to Change-Changing to Learn.
Yes, you will see the responses of students from last semester. That is one of the beauties of this form of collaborative technology. You can build upon others' work.
5) Comment on the video using the prompts below. You can comment through audio, video, text. Whatever you want.
a) Your comment should include your ideas about what is said in the video about education.
b) Integrate what you have read so far in our class.
c) React to what at least one of your classmates has commented so far. If you are the first commentor, you can make a general statement that addresses the World's perspective on this topic.
Learn more about VoiceThread through watching this video and this blog posting on MPB Reflections
Photo: Flat Classroom Project
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