I have been so frustrated and at the same time very rewarded.  This course has challenged and confused me at every turn.  I think the best example I have, however, of a time when everything seemed to come together to demonstrate "global collaboration" was on Challenge 13.  Several of the course members combined their efforts and created a wonderful collaborative project.  We communicated with one another and edited content in the true manner and spirit of a global collaborative project.  For me, that one Challenge, really demonstrated and concreted in the whole idea of how the tools we have been experimenting with and using can broaden our classroom's horizons and expose our students to the diversity of ideas others in the world offer!

Below is a sample science/history lesson plan that allows students the choice in how they present their learning to the class.  Anyone with any thoughts please chime in! As the individuals research Plate Tectonic Theory, they develop their presentations from the research they perform. 

Rachel E. Hammond

Sample Lesson Plan

Alignment	Introduction	Instruction	Assessment
6th Grade Social Studies Curricullum 4. Explain Plate Tectonic Theory	Vocabulary:      Continental           drift      Seafloor           spreading      Lava      Magma      Eruption      Epicenter      Focus      Seismic          Wave      Subduction           Zone Introduce course of study correlation and importance of the study.	Teacher begins lesson in the classroom.  Cutouts of each continent should be stuck to the board in their current orientations.  Teacher begins by reviewing basic concepts of continents and their names as well as the layers of the earth.  Once students have been reintroduced to continent names, take the continents and place them on top of construction paper cut out in the shape of the major plates of the earth’s crust.  Explain how each continent “floats” on its plate(s) on top of the earth’s mantle.       What if………....teacher should engage student curiosity by asking questions about the possibility of the plates and continents being located in different places. Use dialog about earthquakes caused from shifts in the earth’s crust to guide thinking about plate movement.       After questioning and gathering feedback from students, head to the computer lab or engage a mobile computer lab for some research.  Students begin at the site listed below.  After exploring this site, have students do more research through other sites such as Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic, etc.  Students spend at least one day, preferably more, researching Plate Tectonic Theory. http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/english.html      After allowing students time to research the Theory, bring them together and have them focus their research toward their presentations of the Theory.  Students are to construct a report/presentation that explains the Plate Tectonic Theory.  Students will be allowed to chose the form their explanations will take.      Students will then present their reports to the class, whether it is show a PowerPoint, read a report, conduct an experiment, etc.  After explaining the Theory, students must then tell the class their own opinion on Plate Tectonics.  Do they agree, disagree, partially agree, etc.?      After all students have made their presentations, students will reflect on their research and other students’ ideas.  Did their ideas and research turn up something yours did not?  Did their ideas and opinions sway your thinking at all?  Have you changed your mind? Etc.	Assessment:      Students construct a complete report/presentation outlining the theory of plate tectonics.  Students may choose how to present their report to the teacher/class.  A few possible choices are listed below but students are not limited to those listed here as long as chosen method is approved by teacher.       Report/Presentation must include the use of the key vocabulary as well as outline the theory of plate tectonics.  Student Choice: -       Presentation using PowerPoint or another presentation media such as Prezi.com -       Students may construct a traditional report on Plate Tectonic Theory -       Presentation using media of student’s choosing or any format approved by teacher, examples include performance, experiments, etc.

Reverse Mentoring:  What a novel idea for me!  Why not let our technologically savvy students "teach" us the ins and outs of the technology available to us at school!  They know so much more than I do, but I had never thought about having them teach me.

Using reverse mentoring with global citizenship would be tricky in my school.  First our school has extremely limited technological resources.  While we do have computer labs, we are a k-12 school and all students must share access to these labs.  Secondly, my school is a school that has an extremely strict firewall.  So much to the point that I have trouble accessing my online Yearbook program for creating the Yearbook each year for the school.  Many times, my students and I are kicked off and restricted.

The first thing that would have to be done would be to gain clearance from our Central Office to open portals to allow free access to the programs and websites we would need.  Then we would begin by selecting a pilot group of students to experiment with.  This pilot group would consist of students that were our "cream of the crop."  We would do this to allow us to work out any kinks in the program before applying it to all students.  One teacher would get involved with one class.  Students would be given projects to complete and guidelines to follow.  The students would be given the freedom to create within the guidelines and then use their presentations for their projects to "teach" the teacher how to use various tools and programs.  After completing the first step of the program, these students could then graduate to the next level of technology and move on to another class where programs are slightly more difficult and involve global collaboration.  The first class would allow teachers to ensure the students had the basic knowledge of computer hardware and software to be able to function in a more complex, global project.  By guaranteeing this familiarity with the resources needed, teachers would be setting the students at the second level up to succeed.  This would be extremely important at schools like mine where as much as 50% of our student body does not have access to the internet at home.  Many don't even have a computer.  As elementary teachers began to implement multiple uses of resources in their rooms and students began to grow up familiarizing themselves with hardwares and softwares, the first stage of the upper level classes could be phased out and more global collaborative classes could be implemented.  It would also allow the teachers involved to grow into the technology over the course of a few years and benefiting from the knowledge of their more experienced students.

Reverse Mentoring:  What a novel idea for me!  Why not let our technologically savvy students "teach" us the ins and outs of the technology available to us at school!  They know so much more than I do, but I had never thought about having them teach me.

Using reverse mentoring with global citizenship would be tricky in my school.  First our school has extremely limited technological resources.  While we do have computer labs, we are a k-12 school and all students must share access to these labs.  Secondly, my school is a school that has an extremely strict firewall.  So much to the point that I have trouble accessing my online Yearbook program for creating the Yearbook each year for the school.  Many times, my students and I are kicked off and restricted.

The first thing that would have to be done would be to gain clearance from our Central Office to open portals to allow free access to the programs and websites we would need.  Then we would begin by selecting a pilot group of students to experiment with.  This pilot group would consist of students that were our "cream of the crop."  We would do this to allow us to work out any kinks in the program before applying it to all students.  One teacher would get involved with one class.  Students would be given projects to complete and guidelines to follow.  The students would be given the freedom to create within the guidelines and then use their presentations for their projects to "teach" the teacher how to use various tools and programs.  After completing the first step of the program, these students could then graduate to the next level of technology and move on to another class where programs are slightly more difficult and involve global collaboration.  The first class would allow teachers to ensure the students had the basic knowledge of computer hardware and software to be able to function in a more complex, global project.  By guaranteeing this familiarity with the resources needed, teachers would be setting the students at the second level up to succeed.  This would be extremely important at schools like mine where as much as 50% of our student body does not have access to the internet at home.  Many don't even have a computer.  As elementary teachers began to implement multiple uses of resources in their rooms and students began to grow up familiarizing themselves with hardwares and softwares, the first stage of the upper level classes could be phased out and more global collaborative classes could be implemented.  It would also allow the teachers involved to grow into the technology over the course of a few years and benefiting from the knowledge of their more experienced students.

Flat Classrooms

Challenge 4 and 5

 

Asynchronous tools from this section I have used to communicate with classmates would be on my blog as well as through the chat folders available in Angel, especially the "I have a Question" folder.  These tools come in handy when communication is needed but not urgent.  For urgent communication, synchronous communication is needed.  Synchronous tools can be as simple as picking up the telephone which we all do everyday, to scheduling a Skype session with a colleague that is too far away to call. 

 

I have found ways to use my smart phone to aid me in this course.  I have set up my PLN and my blog to send alerts to my phone when I receive new posts and messages.  My PLN is also set up to send me reminders of looming deadlines and important things that need to be completed.