Techlearning blog

I could say that I coined it, an O'Reillyism, or I could just say it made sense to call what I am thinking about, a new phrase, GlobalSpeak!

My definition of GlobalSpeak! has to do with the following:

Visual representations
Netizenship
Collaboration
Ethics
Global thinking
Language sensitivity

The first thing that we all need to do is think beyond our local time zone. When I say hello that is okay, but when I say good morning, afternoon or evening, my reader may be instantly put off and begin thinking, it is not morning, but rather evening, and focus on that rather than the 100 words that have happened since. You see it is still about me, and not my reader at this point and I need to write beyond this. Rather, when writing or talking about meeting people at a certain time I need to be more effective and state that something is happening at 8:00 PM GMT. This puts the time in a relational time period, rather than 8 PM. 8 PM where in the world, what time zone? Once I state my time relative to the reader and not focused on me, it also allows for a visual of the world and time zones and date lines.

A time converter should be a required bit of learning in our schools, with relational time being discussed as well as my own time. A world map with color coded current times zones is fascinating.
One of my favorites, the daylight map, this one powered by Google or another powered to show weather patterns, water vapor, day or night, and even customization.

While on sabbatical last winter I learned about a world climatology map. It is no longer valuable to just know there are seasonal differences based on the equator , or seasonal differences based on the tilt of the earth. It is much more specific than tundra, desert, coasts, mountains. Our 21st Century students need to be learning about this valuable information via the Koeppen climate map. This will be a common denominator in their global conversations. Another great site to learn about Koeppen is at the Globe site.This is another part of the visualization needed for GlobalSpeak!

When speaking to a global audience I need to be sensitive to global politics while making statements. Consider that something happens that may be good for me politically, it is probably harmful to a group of my virtual friends. I think the SEEDS of Peace, a teen summer camp in Maine and international program, has promoted this kind of thinking for many years. We need to expand this kind of relational thinking and instruction to all our schools.

Not only do I need to be a good local citizen, but a netizen who is part of a virtual group where politics, religion, economy, and class should not matter. When I am having online conversations I need to remain open minded and accepting, rather than single minded.I need to think about how my movements and interactions on this side of the planet will effect my friends on the other side of the world.

I've written about this in other blogs, but it is so important when speaking to a global audience that I make sure I am not isolating my audience by using vocabulary that doesn't make sense unless you know the local vocabulary. Each region of the USA has a cute book on How to Talk Yankee, or How to Talk Southern or .... you fill in the blank. Those cute sayings are great for face to face discussions but for a global conversation it may add to the confusion of what the writer is attempting to say.

Rules for GlobalSpeak!

Ethics- I blogged about this.
Visual representations- remember your audience and use appropriate global visual support materials
Netizenship- be a good netizen, accepting of all
Collaboration-participate in instructive conversations while talking and listening to others
Global thinker-think beyond yourself
Language sensitive-use inclusive language without many local phrases when trying to get a message across

What are your strategies for globalspeak? Share your ideas, continue the conversation.