What’s the Method?
Digital class collaborative learning or interfacing – bringing together online two groups of students who will engage in activities and conversations that will help them to get to know the ‘other’, and to learn from one another, and to share knowledge and conversation based on the distance learning method that I researched. This method of distance learning is particularly useful in introducing groups of people to one another, so that people who would not have naturally met can get to know each other ‘face to face, sharing conversation and culture. This method also works to enrich language development, giving a group that is studying the language the unique learning opportunity to visually and verbally interact with native speakers of ages similar to their own.
Who’s the Audience?
This method is useful in extending the virtual space and reach of any classroom for teachers and students of any age. It is a global tool to connect families from different places, and allow them to explore each other’s lives and countries, by interacting with other families.
Case Study and Review
http://theglobalclassroomproject.wordpress.com/
“The Global Classroom Project is committed to helping teachers and schools connect to create dynamic educational experiences. We help teachers build and promote their global collaboration project ideas, and assist them in finding collaboration partners and facilitating enriching international exchanges.”
Competence in an increasingly ‘flat’ world is our primary goal. This is not about technology skills, it is about new modes of teaching and learning with the Intercultural understanding through the use of technology to connect learners, that leads to global world.
What is ‘Flat’ Learning?
‘Flat’ learning is a multi-modal approach to learning with and from others in a global capacity. There is no hierarchy of learning as such – all voices are equal, there is no one dominant group delivering the information to another group. All learners, through the use of emerging technologies including Web 2.0 and mobile computing, develop a personal learning network, bring the world into their everyday teaching and learning, and learn about the world, with the world. More importantly, ‘flat’ learning is about being able to work with others at a distance as well as in person. This much-needed 21st Century skill hones in on effective connection, communication and collaboration so that ideas can grow and bridges to new pathways built for us all to walk over. Flat Connections is about the world coming together to learn from and with each other. It is about connection, collaboration and co-construction. It includes technology infused challenge-based and project-based experiences across the globe through personalized approaches to learning for all. Flat Connections provides solutions to schools, educators, and many others anywhere to provide global learning opportunities through collaborative projects, live events and professional development. On-going support is provided for both global collaborations and specific projects customized to school needs. Flat Connections is about opportunity to become a better learner using technology, and about opportunity to ‘go global’ through experiential learning and innovative approaches to pedagogy.
The Global Classroom Project presents the entire world as the ‘museum’ which is shared equally, and for which everyone has responsibility and the excitement and motivation to learn from each other. Technology, and significant distance learning, is woven throughout the collaborative experience. Classes pursue information by addressing their questions in actual time to students who live in the country that they’re interested in. With global connection, and global problem solving as their theme, this educational organization advocates the creation of technological space where a student can collaborate globally to develop and launch new ideas., having access to all community online network tools. Social networking is transformed from something that distracts from learning, to the learning tool itself.
Technology is available to connect people to direct and live sources of knowledge and global interest. Teachers and museum educators will be incorporating digital resources for distance learning into classrooms and museums more and more in the near future. What better way to learn about objects and culture, than to follow them into the places from which they came!
Links to other sources for the use of collaborative online learning:
http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/02/12/becoming-the-experts/
https://prezi.com/dqvhyf85pthi/evaluation-of-living-bridge-program/
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