Read Julie Lindsay’s 2020 vision for global collaboration

My friend Julie has written a must read post, 2020 Vision for Global Collaboration. As many of you may know, she and I have become quite amazed at the results we're seeing in our classrooms with Flat Classroom and Horizon Project being the mainstay in our advanced level classrooms.

I love how she opens:

I'm going to take some time to look at her thoughts and reflect, but I have been reflecting on global collaboration and what it means for teachers, students and the wider community. I have also been reflecting on sustainability of online spaces and how much of what we are ‘producing' in terms of creative output has not been preserved over the past 15 years. Let me be more specific.

We've talked about “legacy” projects quite a bit. Those that add meaning and serve as an archive and repository of information about that topic. This is why I like public spaces for the older students.. it gives them meaning and legacy in a positive way!

Let me outline her points that I agree with 100%. (Is that any surprise, however, we've touched on these and discussed it but not prior to her blog post!) Read her post for the entire description!

  • Global collaborative projects need to be embedded into the curriculum…
  • We need to continue (or start) to foster technology integration as part of what we do in schools. Gone are the days where students come to the computer lab. to do IT…. Facilitators must have a no-class load within a school and could be IT and/or library/media specialist or strong curriculum specialists comfortable with online tools and Web 2.0
  • We need to be unblocking viable connectivity tools so that digital access and participation is available for all classrooms around the world…
  • We need to be developing digital citizenship skills and courses within schools, starting once again at the Primary/Elementary school level…
  • We need to be investigating sustainability of online spaces and archiving successfully projects and collaborations. Currently we use wikispaces and ning (amongst others of course)….will these still be around in 5 years time? If not, what happens to the amazing content and productivity from classrooms all around the world? Will it be lost for ever?”

Julie has put this together perfectly!

In my wish of wishes… could there be a way for those of us DOING this to get our heads together and share some sort of vision/ document as it relates to global collaboration? One we can share with schools and others? Is that possible?

How can we push past the innovators and help ALL schools and ALL students benefit?

Transformation is almost a benign word when talking about what happens when students go through these projects. World view change… self esteem… self confidence… ability to tackle large projects… I could go on.

We have over 250 students in this year's Horizon project and that seems like a lot.

However, it seems like a tiny drop in a bucket of education too focused on the test too see past the paper in front of their noses and realize that the ability to collaborate effectively with the world is going to be one of the largest, truest tests of these students lives.

And to leave students totally uneducated for this real life “test” is akin to educational malpractice in my opinion!

Don't get rid of what we're doing correctly… but remember that there is a difference between URGENT and IMPORTANT and somehow we're looking at a short term view and missing the big picture here.

Please read Julie's post… it is truly brilliant from an award winner who knows what she's doing!

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Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis is a full-time classroom teacher and IT Director in Georgia, USA. She is Mom of three, wife of one, and loves talking about the wise, transformational use of technology for teaching and doing good in the world. She hosts the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast which interviews teachers around the world about remarkable classroom practices to inspire and help teachers. Vicki focuses on what unites us -- a quest for truly remarkable life-changing teaching and learning. The goal of her work is to provide actionable, encouraging, relevant ideas for teachers that are grounded in the truth and shared with love. Vicki has been teaching since 2002 and blogging since 2005. Vicki has spoken around the world to inspire and help teachers reach their students. She is passionate about helping every child find purpose, passion, and meaning in life with a lifelong commitment to the joy and responsibility of learning. If you talk to Vicki for very long, she will encourage you to "Relate to Educate" or "innovate like a turtle" or to be "a remarkable teacher." She loves to talk to teachers who love their students and are trying to do their best. Twitter is her favorite place to share and she loves to make homemade sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls and enjoys running half marathons with her sisters. You can usually find her laughing with her students or digging into a book.

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2 comments

loonyhiker March 15, 2008 - 3:09 pm

I like the thought of embedding global collaboration into the collaboration. I hear lots of talk about the importance of getting rid of bullying and teaching tolerance, but I don’t hear anyone talking about how to actually bring it into the classroom on a regular basis. What better way than global collaboration? I feel that bullying and prejudice are the results of ignorance. When we start teaching students about other people around the world and other cultures, are we not giving them knowledge to fight bullying and learning about tolerance?

James Christensen March 16, 2008 - 4:24 am

The concept of “global citizenship” and “digital citizenship” is interesting to me, and one that I feel needs to brought up. How do I try and integrate that into my school who scoffs at my request for an LCD projector?

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