Kansas on the Cutting Edge

Thanks to an "aggressive technology program" in the state of Kansas, students can almost regularly communicate with peers around the world. Marjorie Landwehr-Brown of Douglass Public Schools writes in T.H.E. Journal about the Global Learning Program she created with Jim Keller, the superintendent of Douglass Schools. The program started in the elementary school, expanded to the middle school, and will be used in Douglass High School this fall.

The Global Learning Program brings Kansas students together with international peers to work together on projects. At each level, the projects differ according to grade level; in middle school, the projects focus on music, science and art. Landwehr-Brown writes that teachers in the schools "introduce students to the technology fairly slowly, and...give students across the world a chance to get to know each other before starting the heavier conversations or more elaborate projects."

In a December 2007 exchange between middle school students in Kansas and Cairo, for example, students discussed their divergent definitions of the word "jihad." No matter the project, students on both sides of the ocean were changed by the dialogue between them. Another great example comes from a project with fourth and fifth graders in Hong Kong and Kansas on rain forests:

The kids were responsible not only for producing a report, but for explaining the guest mural, from the cultural context of whoever created it. My kids had to explain why Hong Kong kids draw faces on trees and that trees in Hong Kong have a whole different historical reference than they do in the United Sates. [sic] Because there are good and bad spirits in trees, according to Chinese culture, and our kids have to know that.

Part of the inspiration for the Global Learning Program came through Landwehr-Brown's and Keller’s conversations with businesses in the area. Representatives of companies like Coca-Cola, Cessna, Learjet, and Boeing said over and over that they wanted workers who could "not only...communicate with different cultures but...go a step further and be able to create a product with them." With help from Kay Gibson and Glyn Remington from Wichita State University, a curriculum was created to bring students and technology together for collaborative projects in art, music, math, science and language arts.

Landwehr-Brown's article gives more great detail on the programs and partners used. There's great advice and more examples. And there are the details of the high-definition conferencing equipment partly underwritten by Conference Technologies Inc. (CTI), "a LifeSize high-definition conferencing codec, two cameras, two 60-inch plasma displays, touch-panel controls, and an installed sound system." There's a picture on the article; it looks really cool.

SOURCE: "Global Learning Initiative Helps Kansas Students Collaborate with Peers Around the World" 06/09/08
photo courtesy of hive, used under this Creative Commons license

More Nings for Students and Educators

At the Social Networks in Education wiki, you can find dozens of Nings for particular subjects, professional development, French and Spanish, and classroom networks. Many of these Nings connect students globally and can be great tools for your middle schoolers. Or you can modify them to fit your plans and students, find some collaborators, or be inspired to change or add to some of your classroom practices.

You can find all kinds of Nings, and some non-Ning networks, on the page. Some of the Nings made expressly to connect students and teachers globally are listed below:

• FieldFindr aims to connect global volunteers with teachers and their students. Teachers can post looking for volunteers or people who have expert knowledge to enrich their classes' study of immigration, peace studies, playgrounds, and the Holocaust. Teachers can also search for other collaborators through posted comments.

• The International Classroom, a social network created specifically for students ages 12-14 to be able to safely connect and share their experiences and cultures, and The French Connection, a Ning linking sixth-grade classes in the U.S. and France for French language study, are both closed. You must be invited to participate or learn more.

• Rolling on the River is centered around the study of rivers and other bodies of water. It is a "a resource for global collaboration" where users can "[s]hare information, find global partners, and learn more about rivers, lakes, and oceans through participation and collaboration." An interdisciplinary exhibit can be seen at the Apple Learning Exchange. Teachers also share web resources and search for collaborators on specific water studies projects.

• Museums and Students offers a portal to connect students with museums, their staff, and artists. It exploits one of the great aspects of Nings--the multimedia nature of interaction. Museums and Students has videos of artists discussing their works and processes, links for a podcast from the Columbia Museum of Art and other art-related podcasts, notices of art-education events and professional development opportunities, additional groups that focus on particular museums or topics, and forums on museums' online presence and the value of virtual tours.

Most of what you'll find on the wiki are class Nings -- many private -- and social networks for teachers looking for more information or colleague interaction and support as they use or learn to integrate Web 2.0 tools into their teaching and disciplines. As we slide all too quickly into summer, this wiki can be a great resource for new ideas, new friends, and inspiration for next year and beyond.

SOURCE: "Social Networks in Education" 2008
photo courtesy of openDemocracy, used under this Creative Commons license