What I have learned through Wiki's
1.4 Case Study
According to Janice Newlin, a global educator is one who’s willing to open
the classroom for students to be able to connect with the rest of the world where they can learn about different cultures. Newlin states that being globally connected allows learning to reach out to others regardless of location using available technology that connects students to the world. Preservice teachers should think outside of the box while going above and beyond the normal classroom responsibilities. The first step to create global mindedness is to hear what is going on, followed by having a direct connection with not only the students in other countries but the teaches. Not many schools have the technology level to allow global connections due to state funding while students may have technology at home they be without internet. New teachers who are prepared for global communication will enhance their future while being prepared for cultural differences and use of technology. One of Newlin’s global pedagogical approach encourages her students to share work in public networks such as Flat Connections to publish work. Educators and peers both look at the work and by seeing others work allows them to learn from each other, leading to want to reach higher standards.
According to Janice Newlin, a global educator is one who’s willing to open
the classroom for students to be able to connect with the rest of the world where they can learn about different cultures. Newlin states that being globally connected allows learning to reach out to others regardless of location using available technology that connects students to the world. Preservice teachers should think outside of the box while going above and beyond the normal classroom responsibilities. The first step to create global mindedness is to hear what is going on, followed by having a direct connection with not only the students in other countries but the teaches. Not many schools have the technology level to allow global connections due to state funding while students may have technology at home they be without internet. New teachers who are prepared for global communication will enhance their future while being prepared for cultural differences and use of technology. One of Newlin’s global pedagogical approach encourages her students to share work in public networks such as Flat Connections to publish work. Educators and peers both look at the work and by seeing others work allows them to learn from each other, leading to want to reach higher standards.
2.6 Case Study
Eva Brown who is a college professor in Canada who earned a doctorate in education, specializes in Learning Sciences, whom teaches Flat Connections Global Educator and Microsoft Innovation. She continuously seeks opportunities for preservice teachers to acquire skills to infuse technology and global education into the curriculum to prepare students to be competitive in the global economy. Brown’s view of education is similar to mine, that it should be real world lessons with a value of life rather than an activity without purpose. When Brown wanted to take her students beyond the walls of the classroom she discovered Flat Classroom Projects for High School students that connected internet and social media to develop a PLN. Brown believed that PLN was important in being a global educator. She feels that being globally connected is more than just making acquaintances because it requires daily connection, communication, and dedication. The biggest challenge that Eva Brown shared with being globally connected was the commitment from other educators. For it to be successful it must be infused into every curriculum so that it becomes a requirement, not a choice, for educators. Teachers are enthused about global education in the beginning and when they feel that they don’t know how to approach it or do not have the proper support, they quickly drop it and quit participating. Eva Brown finds it necessary to be prepared, while preparing the students, to become a proper global educator and the best way to achieve that is by helping students by modeling, teaching, and leading it with the support of superior administrators. Eva Brown believes technology is the gatekeeper to some extent and if it does not work, or we cannot access our tools, or maintain collaborating online, people become frustrated. For the future of being globally connected we need people in power who understand and who have first-hand experience of teaching and learning. Education does not have a large budget, so policy makers need to come to conferences and work with teachers to take an active role to know policy makers, becoming a two-way street.
Eva Brown who is a college professor in Canada who earned a doctorate in education, specializes in Learning Sciences, whom teaches Flat Connections Global Educator and Microsoft Innovation. She continuously seeks opportunities for preservice teachers to acquire skills to infuse technology and global education into the curriculum to prepare students to be competitive in the global economy. Brown’s view of education is similar to mine, that it should be real world lessons with a value of life rather than an activity without purpose. When Brown wanted to take her students beyond the walls of the classroom she discovered Flat Classroom Projects for High School students that connected internet and social media to develop a PLN. Brown believed that PLN was important in being a global educator. She feels that being globally connected is more than just making acquaintances because it requires daily connection, communication, and dedication. The biggest challenge that Eva Brown shared with being globally connected was the commitment from other educators. For it to be successful it must be infused into every curriculum so that it becomes a requirement, not a choice, for educators. Teachers are enthused about global education in the beginning and when they feel that they don’t know how to approach it or do not have the proper support, they quickly drop it and quit participating. Eva Brown finds it necessary to be prepared, while preparing the students, to become a proper global educator and the best way to achieve that is by helping students by modeling, teaching, and leading it with the support of superior administrators. Eva Brown believes technology is the gatekeeper to some extent and if it does not work, or we cannot access our tools, or maintain collaborating online, people become frustrated. For the future of being globally connected we need people in power who understand and who have first-hand experience of teaching and learning. Education does not have a large budget, so policy makers need to come to conferences and work with teachers to take an active role to know policy makers, becoming a two-way street.
3.4 Case Study
Toni Olivieri-Barton has been teaching 21st Century Skills to adults and children for over 20 years. In her previous job as a librarian/media specialist and IB Coordinator at Woodmen-Roberts Elementary School in Colorado Springs she facilitated all 2nd-5th graders to have an opportunity to flatten their learning by connecting with students from around the world. Amazingly, in 2011, she won an ISTE Award in Online Learning for creating opportunities for Online Independent Studies at the middle and high school level. She current teaches Library Technology Educator at Fountain Valley School.
Background
During her time of being a Flat Connections educator Toni has taken the role of Project Manager and supports other educators through regular global collaborative projects. Toni was the only library technology educator at school, so, she didn’t have any mentors which meant she had to stay connected beyond her school. To stay connected, she participated in diverse group of activities while exposing herself to as many different ideas, projects, and teachers, to help benefit her school. The activities she mentioned that kept her up to date are: Flat Connections, Our Global Friendships, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype groups, ISTE, and the Global Education Conference. The fact that Toni participated and taught Flat Connections is ironic because when she was teaching a high school computer course she was hooked because the projects brought amazing opportunities for the students to collaborate with others from around the world. She became inspired from developing, planning, and teaching with teachers from all over the world while sharing best practices for the students. Toni made it a goal for her students to learn as many Web 2.0 tools effectively and efficiently and since 2009, she has been involved in all the Flat Connections K-12 projects eithers as a manager, participant, judge or expert.
Toni states that her role as a Project Manager for Flat Connections has taught her so many things such as being responsible for organizing the teachers and classes, holding meetings, creating spaces online where they can communicate, and manage work-flow to keep everyone on the same timeline.
Over the last three years Toni has encouraged fourth grade teachers to participate in the Grades 3-5 project, A Week in the Life Project. Recently the theme of this project has become environmental issues, students brainstorm, and develop eight different topics. Between eight schools, they divided them into a different topic so that the students had to collaborate with students from other schools using Edmodo. For the A Week in the Life Project, students had to create a VoiceThread with photos of the environmental issues and comment on what they learned and what they can do about the issues. Authentic learning comes from this because students are encouraged to watch the VoiceThreads of other topics and comment on the issues. Throughout the duration of this project, student’s presentation skills develop, and their depth of knowledge is broadened.
For teachers to connect, they formed a group that wanted to continue to work together. They organized a group who all read the same read-aloud book in the classroom at the same time and pace, and the students log onto Edmodo to discuss the book.
The Hello Little World Skypers Group is an international group that is active 24 hour a day that Toni says she finds videos to learn for teaching, projects that are coming up, and educators that are constantly looking to connect in many ways.
Toni Olivieri-Barton has been teaching 21st Century Skills to adults and children for over 20 years. In her previous job as a librarian/media specialist and IB Coordinator at Woodmen-Roberts Elementary School in Colorado Springs she facilitated all 2nd-5th graders to have an opportunity to flatten their learning by connecting with students from around the world. Amazingly, in 2011, she won an ISTE Award in Online Learning for creating opportunities for Online Independent Studies at the middle and high school level. She current teaches Library Technology Educator at Fountain Valley School.
Background
During her time of being a Flat Connections educator Toni has taken the role of Project Manager and supports other educators through regular global collaborative projects. Toni was the only library technology educator at school, so, she didn’t have any mentors which meant she had to stay connected beyond her school. To stay connected, she participated in diverse group of activities while exposing herself to as many different ideas, projects, and teachers, to help benefit her school. The activities she mentioned that kept her up to date are: Flat Connections, Our Global Friendships, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype groups, ISTE, and the Global Education Conference. The fact that Toni participated and taught Flat Connections is ironic because when she was teaching a high school computer course she was hooked because the projects brought amazing opportunities for the students to collaborate with others from around the world. She became inspired from developing, planning, and teaching with teachers from all over the world while sharing best practices for the students. Toni made it a goal for her students to learn as many Web 2.0 tools effectively and efficiently and since 2009, she has been involved in all the Flat Connections K-12 projects eithers as a manager, participant, judge or expert.
Toni states that her role as a Project Manager for Flat Connections has taught her so many things such as being responsible for organizing the teachers and classes, holding meetings, creating spaces online where they can communicate, and manage work-flow to keep everyone on the same timeline.
Over the last three years Toni has encouraged fourth grade teachers to participate in the Grades 3-5 project, A Week in the Life Project. Recently the theme of this project has become environmental issues, students brainstorm, and develop eight different topics. Between eight schools, they divided them into a different topic so that the students had to collaborate with students from other schools using Edmodo. For the A Week in the Life Project, students had to create a VoiceThread with photos of the environmental issues and comment on what they learned and what they can do about the issues. Authentic learning comes from this because students are encouraged to watch the VoiceThreads of other topics and comment on the issues. Throughout the duration of this project, student’s presentation skills develop, and their depth of knowledge is broadened.
For teachers to connect, they formed a group that wanted to continue to work together. They organized a group who all read the same read-aloud book in the classroom at the same time and pace, and the students log onto Edmodo to discuss the book.
The Hello Little World Skypers Group is an international group that is active 24 hour a day that Toni says she finds videos to learn for teaching, projects that are coming up, and educators that are constantly looking to connect in many ways.
4.4 Case Study
Wesley Fryer and Peggy George have created and co-created presentations in the form of self-contained videos for K12 Online Conference and it was the first event of remembrance that brought people together with a single purpose-sharing ideas and new modes of learning virtually. The online K12 Online Conference is completely controlled by volunteer educators including Wesley Fryer and Peggy George, who are both equally dynamic, dedicated and drive change in creative ways. The K12 Online Conference runs for about three weeks and is organized by educators for educators that is free to attend and is not vendor focused. One of the main goals is to help educators make sense of and meet the needs of a continually changing learning landscape with a focus on emerging technologies and technology infusion in the classroom. The form is video-based where presenters create a twenty-minute video, and organizers post the video online at a specific date and time where global viewers can download or play the video from the website who are invited to respond in blog comment style.
About Wesley Fryer
Wesley Fryer is a teacher, technology director, digital learning consultant, author, digital storyteller, and change agent who describes himself as a catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning. He completed his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University and is currently the Director of Technology for the Casady School in Oklahoma City. Wesley Fryer is an author of several books, a Google Innovator, Apple Distinguished Educator and much sought-after presenter and workshop leader.
Peggy George, in Her Own Words
Peggy George is a retired educator who lives in Phoenix, Arizona and loves to spend time supporting teachers with the use of technology in their classrooms. She has been a professional educator for over 50 years with many roles including principal, teacher, special education director and university preservice teacher education instructor with Arizona State University. Peggy George hosts weekly Classroom 2.0 LIVE webinars on Blackboard Collaborate which are dedicated to support teachers with tools, resources, and practical suggestions for incorporating Web 2.0 technologies into teaching and learning. She is a STAR Discovery Educator and actively involved in the EdTechTalk (ETT) community webcasts.
Main Benefits of the Conference Format
The K12 Conference is very open about sharing best practice and good resources for teaching and learning. The theme, and focus, of the four strands changes each year to support emerging technologies and new pedagogies. One of the benefits from an organizational perspective is the evolution of how they have been able to share the multimedia and how they have been able to simplify and standardize the technology to make it more user friendly for presenters. The conference is powerful and an important catalyst for learning about blending learning and Web 2.0 and pedagogies and transformational in how they connect to individuals and share learning across the world.
Ambitions for K12 Conference
There have been considerations for writing a grant proposal to possibly scale it into a larger event but do not want to risk losing the essential grassroots character. A structure like K12 Online Conference shows value of sharing economy through innovative educators and is a sandbox for early adopters. It is something that nobody wants lost because it’s a place where exemplary use of technology is showcased and used to connect people for shared understandings. The future goals of K12 Conference include increasing emphasis on student voice and more diversity in language and culture for presentations.
Wesley Fryer and Peggy George have created and co-created presentations in the form of self-contained videos for K12 Online Conference and it was the first event of remembrance that brought people together with a single purpose-sharing ideas and new modes of learning virtually. The online K12 Online Conference is completely controlled by volunteer educators including Wesley Fryer and Peggy George, who are both equally dynamic, dedicated and drive change in creative ways. The K12 Online Conference runs for about three weeks and is organized by educators for educators that is free to attend and is not vendor focused. One of the main goals is to help educators make sense of and meet the needs of a continually changing learning landscape with a focus on emerging technologies and technology infusion in the classroom. The form is video-based where presenters create a twenty-minute video, and organizers post the video online at a specific date and time where global viewers can download or play the video from the website who are invited to respond in blog comment style.
About Wesley Fryer
Wesley Fryer is a teacher, technology director, digital learning consultant, author, digital storyteller, and change agent who describes himself as a catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning. He completed his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University and is currently the Director of Technology for the Casady School in Oklahoma City. Wesley Fryer is an author of several books, a Google Innovator, Apple Distinguished Educator and much sought-after presenter and workshop leader.
Peggy George, in Her Own Words
Peggy George is a retired educator who lives in Phoenix, Arizona and loves to spend time supporting teachers with the use of technology in their classrooms. She has been a professional educator for over 50 years with many roles including principal, teacher, special education director and university preservice teacher education instructor with Arizona State University. Peggy George hosts weekly Classroom 2.0 LIVE webinars on Blackboard Collaborate which are dedicated to support teachers with tools, resources, and practical suggestions for incorporating Web 2.0 technologies into teaching and learning. She is a STAR Discovery Educator and actively involved in the EdTechTalk (ETT) community webcasts.
Main Benefits of the Conference Format
The K12 Conference is very open about sharing best practice and good resources for teaching and learning. The theme, and focus, of the four strands changes each year to support emerging technologies and new pedagogies. One of the benefits from an organizational perspective is the evolution of how they have been able to share the multimedia and how they have been able to simplify and standardize the technology to make it more user friendly for presenters. The conference is powerful and an important catalyst for learning about blending learning and Web 2.0 and pedagogies and transformational in how they connect to individuals and share learning across the world.
Ambitions for K12 Conference
There have been considerations for writing a grant proposal to possibly scale it into a larger event but do not want to risk losing the essential grassroots character. A structure like K12 Online Conference shows value of sharing economy through innovative educators and is a sandbox for early adopters. It is something that nobody wants lost because it’s a place where exemplary use of technology is showcased and used to connect people for shared understandings. The future goals of K12 Conference include increasing emphasis on student voice and more diversity in language and culture for presentations.