Features
Global Connections
9/6/2012 By:
Philadelphia/Trenton & Dubai
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| Springside Academy students prepare for their collaborative projects with their global peers. |
The Global Ed program at the Springside/
Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia is
composed of 5th- and 6th-grade girls who
meet at lunch and recess to work on various
iEARN projects. iEARN (International Education
and Resource Network) is a non-profit global
network that enables teachers and youth to use
technology to collaborate on projects designed to
make a difference in the world. Sample projects at
SCH include:
• Finding Solutions to Hunger. By working
with partner schools from Pakistan, Taiwan,
Australia, and Belarus via Skype, students have
learned about how food is grown and distributed
and how poverty affects the foods we eat. As a
result, SCH students developed close relationships
with two schools. One is the Al Ameen School in
Dubai, led by teacher/principal, Fatima Martin,
and the other is the Village Charter School in
Trenton, NJ, led by Deanne McBeath. In Skyping
with our partner schools, our students have had the
opportunity to share their work, ask questions, and
share thoughts with students their own age who are
working toward the same goals.
• YouthCan. Students constructed a walled
garden made out of “bricks” from recycled plastic
bags and water bottles. Our students partnered
with students around the world who are building
similar structures.
• Kindred Oral History. The students
shared an oral history project about American
culture with students conducting similar research
in Pakistan and Australia.
These projects have given the girls the
opportunity to reach across distance and time.
Mary Legato Brownell is a teacher at the SCH
Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Bakersfield, CA & Iceland
 |
| Students in Mr. Tenhet’s classroom at Bill L. Williams School collaborate with Aslandsskoli School in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland. |
The idea of going global is now nothing
short of a necessity. My class uses ePals
and Skype (both free) to connect with
classrooms around the world.
We invite parents and students for a breakfast
to encourage the community to be involved with
these global projects. One of our collaborative
projects is with the Áslandsskóli School in
Iceland. To begin the project, Jenny, the teacher
from Iceland, and I Skyped and emailed as we
planned the partnership activities. We started with
email introductions. Then we traded postcards
and pictures from our respective schools. Next,
we sent letters via snail mail and pictures of our
student families.
After that, we launched a community culture
project with a video-photo presentations via Skype.
We collaborated on Haikus about landmarks in our
communities. Toward the end of our collaboration,
in May of 2011, the Eyjafjöll volcano erupted,
causing worldwide disruptions and devastation in
Iceland. We got personal stories of how the glacier
was melting because of the volcano and how the
fisheries were being adversely affected. Many of the
Icelandic students were worried about the safety of
their loved ones. It was a meaningful day that none
of us will forget.
Troy Tenhet is a 6th grade teacher in
Bakersfield, California and an instructor for Fresno
Pacific University.
Louisiana
& Japan
 |
| Students from the Louisiana State University Laboratory School High School prepare for their Peace Project. |
The Peace Project focuses on global
collaboration between the multimedia
class at Louisiana State University
Laboratory School High School and
Odori High School in Japan. Interactions using
Microsoft SkyDrive, Skype, PowerPoint, Word,
Bing translator, Bing Maps, and video/audio
editing software are used to engage students
regarding cross-cultural understanding, while
developing technology skills.
Students work collaboratively to create
digital media projects to communicate with
Odori High School about specific historical
events, literature written from different
perspectives, traditional art, sustainable
living, and everyday culture that is of
interest to students. After learning about
the other culture, students collaborate to
identify common issues among the cultures
and decide how to best communicate their
message regarding the issue. The Louisiana
school utilizes Skype, Outlook email, and
SkyDrive to share ideas and files with
students at Odori High School.
Through the exchange of ideas, students
analyze the similarities, recognize the differences,
and begin to develop a global point of view.
Students exhibited their desire to
practice their communication, culture, and
technology skills by organizing a trip to
Japan for an immersion in the real world. To
inspire students to travel abroad is a sign of a
successful educational experience.
The Peace Project is from Jennifer Bevill,
LSU Laboratory School (Baton Rouge, LA),
winner of the 2012 Microsoft Partners in
Learning US Forum.