Tag: global awareness

Global learning and creating a daVinci culture

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What it is:  This week I am presenting at the Highway 21 conference that Adams 12 puts on each year.  This year the focus is on global learning.  I created websites for both of the sessions I’m doing.  While you won’t get the full effect of what I’m talking about, there are useful links and information on both sites.

Technology Globe Trotting- this session is all about making your classroom more global.  I’ve included technology that can help to make a classroom global, as well as some technology-free things that we have done at Anastasis that have made our students more global.

Searching For daVinci- in this session, we discuss what it means to be a daVinci thinker.  I pose the question: in the current school system (traditional learning), is it even possible to have another daVinci?  I set this session up as a What? So What? Now What? format where we use some design thinking to redesign our classrooms to foster more daVinci.  From my presenter page:

This session will be broken down into a What, So What, Now What format. Come ready to participate!

  • What? What is a daVinci thinker?  What characteristics did daVinci have that we want to foster in students?
  • So What? Why is this important? Does it matter if we have daVinci thinkers?
  • Now What? How do we change our classrooms to foster this type of approach to learning?

At Anastasis we know that it is hard to have a daVinci thinker without first being:

  • Inquirers- developing natural curiosity, independent learners, active (not passive) learning.
  • Connectors- transdisciplinary connectors, understanding relationships between seemingly unrelated events.
  • Communicators- comfortable in expressing ideas and information confidently and creatively.
  • Open-minded- realizing that everyone has something to contribute and we can learn something from every person and situation we come in contact with.
  • Risk Takers- willing to try something new that has unexpected outcomes.  Willing to fail fabulously.

It is essential that we foster a classroom and school environment that allows room for and actively practices all of the above.  

How can we search for daVinci within ourselves?  Is it possible to search for daVinci in our classrooms if we aren’t willing to search for daVinci within ourselves?

Tips: You can follow the conference on Twitter using the #highway21 hash tag.  You will notice that all of the sites that I created were made with Weebly.  This is a super easy website creator!  We often use it with students, too.


tecnoTIC

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on tecnoTIC2374 views


The following was posted on tecnoTIC, an education blog in Spain that does similar things to iLearn Technology.  (This was originally in Spanish and was translated with Google Translate.)  Raul (the creator of tecnoTIC) found my blog and made the suggestion to link them because of their similar nature.  After spending some time on his blog, I was hooked.  The cyberfriendship grew and we began exchanging ideas, linking two cultures through technology.  It has been a great experience!

A year ago I proposed to Kelly Tenkely, the creator of iLearn Technology can unite our blogs in order to symbolically link the two publications driven by common objectives if, as the twinning of cities, but in this case blogs. To seal the twinning did in his time a banner exchange so that we are bound, you may see a banner on its Web tecnoTIC Colorado USA and one in tecnoTIC iLearn Technology (who is from Spain but also stay in USA server) so that readers can access and mine tecnoTIC to iLearn Technology. With the passage of time can say that besides this “banner exchange” has created a good thread of communication between tecnoTIC iLearn Technology and exchanging views, experiences, news, etc., which have contributed somewhat to our growing blogs.

I asked him this morning to Kelly the possibility of writing this brief post on our blogs twinning and the answer was “definitely do that, I think it is a great idea!”.

Original: “Hace ya un año que le propuse a Kelly Tenkely , la creadora de iLearn Technology la posibilidad de hermanar nuestros blogs con el fin de unir simbólicamente ambas publicaciones movidas por objetivos comunes, si, como los hermanamientos de ciudades, pero en este caso de blogs. Para sellar el hermanamiento realizamos en su momento un intercambio de banners de tal manera que estamos enlazados, es posible ver un banner de tecnoTIC en su página de Colorado USA y otro de iLearn Technology en tecnoTIC (que aunque se hace desde España también está alojado en un servidor de USA), de manera que sus lectores pueden acceder a tecnoTIC y los míos a iLearn Technology. Con el paso del tiempo se puede decir que además de ese “intercambio de banners” se ha creado un buen hilo de comunicación entre iLearn Technology y tecnoTIC, intercambiando impresiones, experiencias, noticias, etc, que han contribuido en cierto modo al crecimiento de nuestros blogs.

Le consulté esta mañana a Kelly la posiblidad de escribir este breve post sobre el hermanamiento de nuestros blogs y la respuesta fue “definitely do that, I think it is a great idea!”.”

International Childrens Digital Library

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What it is:  The International Childrens Digital Library (also known as ICDL) is an online digital library for children of all ages.  The mission of ICDL is to “ excite and inspire the world’s children to become members of the global community – children who understand the value of tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas — by making the best in children’s literature available online.”  When students visit the ICDL website they are brought to a simple search area where they can choose different options for finding a book.  They can narrow down results by age (3-13), fiction or non-fiction, book length, award winners, language, picture or chapter books, subject matter, and even what colors that cover has in it.  When students choose a book they can read the book in its entirety online.  I learned about this site in the iTunes store, they have a free iPod Touch and iPhone application for downloading books from the ICDL in addition to their online content.  So neat!

 

How to integrate ICDL into the classroom:   The ICDL website reminds me a lot of LookyBook.  The search options are extremely user friendly and allow even the youngest readers to find a book they are sure to love.  Students can register for the library (free) and then leave an online review of the book.  I like the idea of digital libraries for students because it opens up a number of books to them that they may not otherwise have access to.  If a story is started during school, students can finish the story when they get home from any Internet connected computer.  The ICDL is nice for reading groups.  All students can be reading the same book from school and from home without setting aside a large budget for group sets.  The search is a wonderful way for students to discover what types of literature they enjoy.  Many of the books featured are from different cultures and languages, these would be perfect to bring into a foreign language classroom.  ICDL books provide a fun way for students to gain global awareness.  Books in other languages could also be used as a starting point for student created stories.  Students can do picture walks through the online books and then compose their own story to accompany the pictures.  ICDL is a great way to read with the whole class.  Connect your computer with a projector and students can read the story along with you, everyone will be able to see the pictures as you discuss the story!  

 

Tips:  One thing that I really appreciate about ICDL is the ability to view the books full screen and zoom in and out of the pages.  The site is easy to navigate and this feature makes it even more user friendly.  

 

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using ICDL  in your classroom.

Read to Feed

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What it is: Read to Feed is a worthy reading program to get your students involved in. Heifer International sponsors the reading project for kids. Students read book and in turn help other children around the world to be fed, proud, and learn to be self-reliant. The Read to Feed website provides students with the opportunity to take virtual journeys to other countries, play trivia games, learn about farm animals, select an animal gift that they want to earn through reading, read real stories about children around the world, do “cow-culations” with the cow calculator, and send e-postcards to family and friends. The teacher tools that Read to Feed provides are amazing. The goal of Read to Feed is global education, awareness, and action. The more books your students read, the more they help impoverished children around the world. Read to Feed provides teachers with the tools to teach about important issues like poverty and environmental degredation in a real life hands on way, challenge students to learn more about the world and its people, inspire students, promote team spirit and service learning, empower kids to be global citizens and make a real difference, and improve reading skills. The curriculum is extremely flexible and best of all, free! Resources for teachers include the Read to Feed website, leaders guide, DVD, poster, storybook, brochures, bookmarks, student rewards, and standards based curriculum based on the age group you teach.

How to integrate Read to Feed into your curriculum: Read to Feed is an absolutely amazing way to teach your students about being global citizens and helping them to become globally aware. It also makes an outstanding motivational reading program because students want to read to earn animals for other children around the world. Read to Feed curriculum is all you need to integrate Read to Feed into your reading, social studies, and even math curriculum. This is hands on learning that will make a difference in your students life as well as the lives of other children around the world.

Tips: Sign up to receive your free Read to Feed teacher resources today! You will be amazed with the quality of all of the Read to Feed materials…this makes a great tie into the Free Rice project!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Read to Feed in your classroom!