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The Role of Globalization and Diversity in the Classroom The world is becoming strikingly global and diverse, in fact:

Already, one in five !"! #obs is tied to international trade, a $ro$ortion that will contin%e to increase! &oreover, the ma#ority of f%t%re growth for most !"! com$anies, whether small, medi%m, or large, will be in overseas markets, which means that they will increasingly re'%ire a workforce with international com$etence( )*acobs, ++,! This trend in growth has ma#or im$lications for the f%t%re of ed%cation: -n order to $rod%ce citizens com$etent with international commerce and relations, schools m%st $re$are st%dents for this f%t%re by offering greater selections of world lang%ages, %s%r$ing videoconferencing, ta$$ing into global information so%rces, and creating international collaborations with schools in other co%ntries! -n $artic%lar, we will be looking at the role of technological tools %sed in the high school classroom to hel$ st%dents achieve the goals of international com$etence and $re$are for an increasingly global world of b%siness! The c%rrent trend in b%siness is towards e.$onential international growth! According to /odge, this globalization can be defined as: 0the $rocess of interconnecting the world1s $eo$le with res$ect to the c%lt%ral, economic, $olitical, technological, and environmental as$ects of their lives( )2++3,! 4vidence of the trend towards globalization is $revalent: The economies of China, -ndia, and *a$an, which re$resented 25 $ercent of the world1s gross domestic $rod%cts in 6778, are e.$ected to re$resent 37 $ercent of the world1s GD9 within :7 years( );ilson 6773,! The world economy is ra$idly changing, and we are no longer the center of this world! This is a mon%mental shift in $aradigm for b%siness in the nited "tates!

*%st as technology is the sol%tion to a need for globalization in the classroom, so too does it ca%se the global revol%tion itself: 0in the twenty<first cent%ry, the essential nat%re of #obs and organizations as we have known them has changed and contin%es to change all the time! Altho%gh many factors are res$onsible for this, e.$erts agree that a ma#or catalyst is ra$idly advancing com$%ter technology, es$ecially the %se of the -nternet and wireless technology( )Dr%cker, 2+=8,! "ome of the s$ecific technologies c%rrently hel$ing to globalize the American market incl%de virt%al organizations and telecomm%ting! "tated by >yrne, A virt%al organization is a highly fle.ible, tem$orary organization formed by a gro%$ of com$anies that #oin forces to e.$loit a s$ecific o$$ort%nity( )2++:,! -n the c%rrent age, this often indicates global organizations that bind together to accom$lish a goal! This is highly $revalent in ind%stries s%ch as constr%ction and movie $rod%ction! Those with s$ecialized knowledge of varying $arts of a $roced%re can come together via technological connections s%ch as e<mail, video, and teleconferencing to accom$lish their $ortion of the task and $rod%ce a combined $rod%ct with $eo$le from other $arts of the globe! Another technological advance that is globalizing the world market is telecomm%ting! Greenberg refers to telecomm%ting as the $ractice of %sing comm%nications technology to enable work to be $erformed from remote locations, s%ch as the home or any$lace with e<mail access( )62,! This will be a ma#or f%t%re trend as, Telecomm%ting also makes it $ossible for com$anies to save millions of dollars in e.$enses for office facilities( )Amigoni, 677+,! An o$$ort%nity for em$loyees and em$loyers to save money will rarely be overlooked? ens%ring that telecomm%ting is a form of cond%cting b%siness that is only gaining strength! -t is $ossible to telecomm%te

with yo%r com$any in other co%ntries via e<mail and electronic conferencing, as well as instant messaging! -n fact, the federal government is a ma#or $ro$onent of telecomm%ting! The "ec%rities and 4.change Commission, the "tate De$artment, the De$artment of *%stice, and fo%r other large federal agencies now are re'%ired by law to offer all eligible workers the o$$ort%nity to telecomm%te( )Greenberg 66,! Telecomm%ting saves money, saves the worker the hassles of daily work o%tside of the home, and serves to globalize the co%ntry as workers connect with coworkers in other $arts of the world! The clear trend towards a global economy is certainly being $ro$elled by technological advances not $revio%sly available to com$anies and their em$loyees! -f the shift towards globalization is inevitable, how is America to $re$are for this $aradigm shift@ The sol%tion is the modernization of technology and global ed%cation in nited "tates high schools! *acobs states, !"! high school st%dents lag behind in knowledge of other co%ntries and c%lt%res! And while learning a second lang%age is standard in other ind%strial co%ntries, only 37 $ercent of !"! high school st%dents st%dy a foreign lang%age( )272,! According to *acobs, global com$etence incl%des knowledge of other world regions, c%lt%res, economies, and global iss%es? skills to comm%nicate in lang%ages other than 4nglish, to work in cross<c%lt%ral teams, to assess information from different so%rces aro%nd the world? and val%es of res$ect for other c%lt%res and the dis$osition to engage res$onsibly as an actor in the global conte.t! These skills are not c%rrently made a $riority in standardized c%rric%l%m and testing! *acobs states: *%st as o%r schools made the transition from teaching skills needed in an agrarian society to those needed in an ind%strial and scientific society, so too we need to transform o%r learning systems to

e'%i$ st%dents with the knowledge and skills the will need to s%cceed in this new global era( )*acobs 272,! "o how does the American system s%ccessf%lly $re$are f%t%re workers for the global era@ According to Greenberg, Americans tend to be highly $arochial by s$eaking only 4nglish )whereas most 4%ro$eans s$eak several lang%ages,, and ethnocentric by believing everyone else in the world sho%ld learn their lang%age0Aver time, e.$os%re to other c%lt%res teaches $eo$le that there may be many different ways of doing the same thing )making them less $arochial,, and that these ways may be e'%ally good, if not better )making them less ethnocentric,( )Greenberg 23,! "t%dents m%st be e.$osed to other c%lt%res to o$en their minds and e.$eriences, and to enable them to engage in new and foreign( ways of thinking! To make the nation more globally<minded, *acobs indicates that 0the ability to collaborate with $eo$le in different time zones, across lang%ages and across c%lt%res, at a $rofessional level, becomes ever more im$ortant( )++,! "chools m%st $rovide these alternative lang%ages, and e.$os%re to varying c%lt%res! Greenberg m%ses that, 0%nderstanding the behavior of $eo$le at work re'%ires caref%lly a$$reciating the c%lt%ral conte.t within which they o$erate( )Greenberg 2B,! Cow does one comm%nicate with someone from another c%lt%re@ They share e.$eriences and lang%ages with them! American high schools m%st take on this challenge towards global com$etency in order for the nited "tates to remain a global $artici$ant and a ma#or factor in the world economy! -f American high schools are res$onsible for instilling this global $oint of view, and $resenting a technologically<driven a$$roach: Cow are they to accom$lish this goal@ The greatest change a school )or any organization for that matter, can make is to revise

its mission statement to be incl%sive of technology and the global $ers$ective that it brings! This is a form%la starting from the gro%nd %$, and it hel$s shift schools1 and st%dents1 foc%s towards a global vision: Create a global vision and c%lt%re by revising their mission statements and grad%ate $rofiles and creating a school c%lt%re that s%$$orts internationally foc%sed teaching and learning! Altho%gh many schools start by creating a single international element or $erha$s an international strand, bringing together a school<comm%nity gro%$ to develo$ an internationally foc%sed vision and missions statement0can serve as the fo%ndation for creating an incl%sive, globally foc%sed school c%lt%re( )*acobs 278,! "im$ly committing oneself to the global mission is the $reci$itant that drives all the changes, one $iece at a time! Another way to begin to acc%lt%rate schools to this global and diverse way of thinking is by recognizing that learning e.$eriences are not limited to the classroom alone! Gone is the day when ed%cation was synonymo%s with a b%ilding ho%sing a teacher and a blackboard! Today, the o$$ort%nities for learning beyond the school walls and beyond the school day abo%nd, enabling st%dents to connect the local to the global and back again( )*acobs 27=,! "t%dents, when ado$ting the mission statement of the school and its comm%nity, are $rescribing to this way of life! "t%dents sho%ld be enco%raged to contin%e their global ed%cation o%tside of the classroom: Thanks to technology and the -nternet, all children now are children of the globe, not #%st children of the neighborhood where they live! Today1s tech<savvy kids already have the tools for global learning at their fingerti$s( )*acobs 27=,! The tools are available, st%dents need now to be trained and enco%raged by schools to harness these technologies to their benefit!

*acobs indicates, A%r national goal sho%ld be that all st%dents m%st grad%ate from high school college<ready and globally com$etent, $re$ared to compete, connect, and cooperate with their $eers aro%nd the world( )*acobs 272,! "o what are the s$ecifics of this global revol%tion@ Cow does a school district $re$are an entirely different brand of st%dent for a changing world@ The answer is m%ch sim$ler and more %nderstated than one wo%ld imagine! 0schools ty$ically start in a small way, with one or two co%rses or a single international element s%ch as an e.change, and grad%ally broaden their a$$roaches( )*acobs 27:,! Ance the mission statement is develo$ed, the school m%st take one small ste$ towards revol%tionizing ed%cation! This first ste$ co%ld be as sim$le as modernizing the manner in which we teach foreign lang%age! "%ccessf%l schools are creating new models of effective lang%age learning0engagDingE st%dents by giving them meaningf%l, motivating tasks that allow them to %se world lang%age as a tool for comm%nicating with others( )*acobs 27=,! This is a traditional $edagogical a$$roach: identify the weak areas, design a $rogram or sol%tion to remedy this need, and im$lement the $rogram! ;hat is new to changes in ed%cation d%e to the global market is that technology may be the sol%tion to fill this ga$! ;hen learning lang%ages and c%lt%res begins in the elementary years and can contin%e anywhere, anytime, thro%gh online learning( )*acobs 22:,! 9rograms s%ch as Rosetta "tone and &%zzy make it $ossible to not only teach lang%age effectively, b%t for st%dents to e.tend this knowledge and $re$are themselves for the global market o%tside of the classroom! /earning lang%age thro%gh a%thentic videos and remote immersion in real c%lt%re is $roven the most effective way to ado$t a new lang%age! Ather technologies that connect o%r st%dents with the wider global world incl%de $odcasts, "ky$e, and even the internet itself: -nformation and

comm%nication technology is o%r greatest asset in internationalizing ed%cation! -t allows st%dents to access information from every corner of the world, to overcome geogra$hic barriers, to comm%nicate and collaborate with their $eers in other co%ntries, to $%blish findings, to share words, images, and videos with a worldwide a%dienceFeven to talk to one another in real time( )*acobs 27=,! "im$ly being connected to the o%tside world via internet is a small b%t $ositive first ste$ for a high school! These are $remises that st%dents may also $%rs%e inde$endently at home to f%lfill their comm%nity1s mission statement! Getting an e<mail $en $al, reading news and blogs from other co%ntries and continents, even watching shows and movies online from other co%ntries $rove that there is an endless array of ste$s st%dents themselves may take towards self<globalization! The ne.t big ste$ within schools after creating a mission statement, living by it, ens%ring access to global materials via internet, and enco%raging st%dents to investigate global information o%tside of school is to create alliances and sister schools o%tside of the nited "tates! *acobs $ost%lates that we sho%ld, Carness technology to ta$ global information so%rces, create international collaborations, and offer international co%rses and lang%ages online, es$ecially to %nderserved comm%nities( )*acobs 27=,! This is a big change for schools? $artic%larly considering that %nderserved and %nderf%nded schools wo%ld be the greatest target for this trend! -f $ro$erly f%nded, however, schools may create these m%ch larger $rograms that connect st%dents directly to other st%dents in other c%lt%res! *acobs1 s%$$osition is that every high school sho%ld have a sister school in another co%ntry with whom they comm%nicate and facilitate home stays! *acobs envisions that 0 every school in the nited "tates has ongoing $artnershi$s with schools in other $arts of the world, enabling st%dents to learn thro%gh real or virt%al

e.changes with their international $eers( )*acobs 22:,! This technology wo%ld re'%ire, however, massive dedication and f%nding from the states! The first ste$ in im$lementing one of these $rograms wo%ld be the ado$tion of videoconferencing and old<fashioned networking with organizations o%tside of the co%ntry! *acobs indicates: se of technology, incl%ding videoconferencing, connects classrooms to their sister schools and to s%b#ect matter e.$erts aro%nd the world( )*acobs 27:,! Gideoconferencing is clearly the ne.tFand biggestFlogical ste$ in the $rocess of globalizing the high schools of the nited "tates! To ens%re the viability of o%r co%ntry1s in$%t in the global market, it is im$ortant to recognize and acce$t the e.tent to which the markets have become global! Technology, a driving com$onent in this shift towards globalization, m%st be harnessed to effectively ens%re the nited "tates1 active $artici$ation in the f%t%re global economy! &%ch technology is in %se today, incl%ding teleconferencing, virt%al organizations, telecomm%ting, the internet, and lang%age<learning software! The $lace where o%r $artici$ation in the global economy falters, however, is in $re$aring o%r st%dents for the global world they will enco%nter %$on grad%ation! ;e m%st make a concerted effort to shift from o%r $revio%sly ethnocentric and self<foc%sed b%siness c%lt%re to a m%ch more acc%lt%rated and global one! "chool m%st serve as the link that is c%rrently missing between o%r science and ind%stry<foc%sed c%lt%re, and the newly s%ccessf%l global trend! The American high school can $re$are its st%dents for the globalized world by teaching and enco%raging knowledge of other c%lt%res, co%ntries, and c%stoms that e.$and the American st%dent1s %nderstanding of the $rocesses for accom$lishing tasks! -n so doing, fortified lang%age $rograms m%st emerge that ens%re the diversification of st%dent in

$re$aration for the brave new world! "chool m%st revise their own mission statements to incl%de the $remise of being a st%dent of the worldFnot #%st of the classroom! "t%dents m%st acce$t this new mission statement, and contin%e global investigation at home thro%gh %se of the internet, and comm%nication with others o%tside the st%dent1s everyday comm%nity! Ance st%dents have become acc%lt%rated with the new mission of high school learning, the ne.t ste$ is to begin to make connections with co%ntries o%tside o%r own! Come stay $rograms, e.change $rograms, and comm%nication $rograms via "ky$e, $odcasts, movies, videoconferencing amongst others m%st be e.$lored to allow the necessary connections between st%dents and the o%tside world! The small minority of ed%cation organizations that have beg%n im$lementing these $rograms have seen h%ge rewards in higher<order thinking, and a less $arochial view of the world %$on grad%ation! >y following the $ro$osed $lan of teaching st%dents to %s%r$ technology on their own, ad#%sting mission statements, ed%cating st%dents abo%t lang%ages and c%lt%res, and making connections with $eo$le o%tside of the st%dent1s narrow comm%nity, we will begin to see a yo%th that is $re$ared for the coming world that is so changed from what they and their $arents have historically known! The im$lementation of comm%nication technologies is sim$ly essential for the f%t%re s%ccess of America1s yo%th!

/iterat%re Review Hrom the reso%rces - gathered, the most im$ortant $iece of information - came into contact with was the e.tent to which o%r society, economy, and world will become global! -t is well know that Asia is the rising global $ower, b%t to hear that they will soon be the leader in domestic $rod%ct was s%r$rising! -t was also s%r$rising to hear in *acob1s

book C%rric%l%m 62 that there are high schools who have not only identified this trend towards globalization, b%t have already gone thro%gh with the ste$s of connecting with organizations and schools o%tside of the co%ntry! -n addition to this information, learned from C%rric%l%m 62 the $recise ste$s necessary to $re$are the American workforce for this trend in global and technological advancement!

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