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Running head: THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM COMMUNITY DEVELOPS GLOBAL

CITIZENS

The global classroom community develops global citizens

Andrew Rahm
Azusa Pacific University

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THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM COMMUNITY DEVELOPS GLOBAL CITIZENS
Abstract
Our students today have the ability to be connected across cultures and the globe. They
experience global connections daily through social media, internet connection and web
based inquires, so why not turn our classrooms into a global community that develops
must needed and in demand global citizens?

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"Once students become connected with stimulating projects that reach around the
globe, they become more engaged with the learning process and gain a valuable
understanding about the world as a whole and their role in a global society." (Carter)
This very last line in Adam Carters Edutopia article, Tear down that wall: Joining the
global classroom community to instill global citizenship sums up the value and
importance of having a global learning prospective in the classroom. Our students today
have more information available to them on the Smartphone in their pocket then our
president did 25 years ago in the entire White House. This access has opened up a world
of opportunity and potential for our students to connect with others globally and
collaborate on real world global issues. Students will become engaged when, instead of
just reading about what life is like in Cape Town, South Africa, they can communicate
and develop a friendship with a student from Cape Town. Besides just learning about
other cultures, they can also learn about what issues are happening in other cultures and
how they can help.
The article mentions 3 resources to assist in global learning, Flat Connections was
one of them and they offer a global project, which creates heterogeneous teams of
students from different schools that are able to collaborate instead of competing against
each other. Each of these six month projects focuses on current events or real-world
topics. (Carter) This project idea is great, what a great preview of what their careers
will look like! Working with various people from other parts of the world to solve a real
time current problem. As a student, they are gaining valuable real life experience that a
textbook or traditional lecture would never teach them.
One other resource supplied in the article, www.iearn.org has a very clear and

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singular goal: Throughout the range of projects, one central question always remains
part of the dialogue: "How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?"
(Carter) As a teacher and educator, this is key because time is very valuable and sifting
through various projects and ideas for global learning can be difficult and time
consuming. Knowing that every project on iearn.org has a clear goal of improving life on
the planet makes any lesson planning around an iearn project easy and concise.
Global learning and projects are no longer an option, but a necessity for our 21st
century students. When students enter their careers after college, they will be fully
inundated into a global culture that demands their ability to collaborate and work along
side various cultures, why wait till then? Today in our classrooms they learn key global
learning skills to improve their global perspective and collaboration skills.

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THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM COMMUNITY DEVELOPS GLOBAL CITIZENS
References
Carter, Adam B (2014, March 25) Tear Down That Wall: Joining the Global Classroom
Community to Instill Global Citizenship.
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/tear-down-wall-global-
classroom-adam-carter

Tear Down That Wall: Joining the Global

Classroom Community to Instill Global
Citizenship
MARCH 25, 2014

AdamBCarter
Global Citizen, Teacher and Global Education Collaboration Specialist

Instilling "global citizenship" in students is essential to prepare them for our rapidly changing world.
Being a global citizen goes well beyond simply traveling or living in another country. It refers to a more
holistic view of the world, understanding the commonalities we share and recognizing our responsibility
to help our fellow man and safeguard our planet's future. Schools have grappled with how best to
facilitate this skill set, but a model has recently emerged thanks to some forward-thinking global
collaboration projects that incorporate digital tools and a fresh perspective to break down the walls of the
classroom. By focusing on pertinent social issues and cross-cultural understanding, students are able to
learn about these other cultures and also become activists as they collaborate with other students from
around the world to become global citizens and achieve positive change.
We can all agree these are welcome advances, but the question is how can schools -- each with its own
budgetary constraints, time issues and tech limitations -- hope to achieve these lofty goals? Fortunately,
a number of web-based platforms and educational programs have emerged in recent years that were
designed with these goals in mind.

International Education and Resource Network

One of the most prominent of these platforms (composed of 30,000 schools and youth organizations in
more than 140 countries) is iEARN (http://www.iearn.org). They oer a wide range of global projects for
students from elementary through high school based on dierent subjects, such as science, social
studies and math. Throughout the range of projects, one central question always remains part of the
dialogue: "How will this project improve the quality of life on the planet?" iEARN's 15-week Learning
Circles (http://www.iearn.org/learningcircles) project is the most comprehensive of their oerings. These
highly interactive, project-based partnerships bring schools from around the world together to address
educational, environmental or social issues. The teams work together to focus on media creation and
then present their findings to the other schools. iEARN also oers face-to-face and online professional
development courses for educators interested in becoming comfortable with these types of projects.

Going Global
Another major player is TakingITGlobal for Educators. TIGed (http://www.tigweb.org/tiged/) uses
technology and social issues to engage students and connect them with other schools through
international learning projects. In doing so, they seek to empower classrooms to understand the issues
and collaborate to find solutions for some of the world's greatest social issues. Through their online
portal (http://www.tigweb.org/tiged/about.html), TIGed assists teachers to incorporate technology to
"create transformative learning experiences for their students." All of their educational resources are free
for teachers, and these platforms bring diverse perspectives on social issues into the classroom.
Teachers can also enroll in free e-classes that allow them to create lesson plans and connect with
international learning projects, electronically uniting schools from around the world. In order to create
globally aware students, TIGed focuses on three strategies:
1. Global citizenship
2. Environmental stewardship
3. Student voice
They currently draw upon almost 65,000 students in 4,500 schools in nearly 150 countries. One of the
benefits of TIGed is the way they not only unite schools, but also add exclusive content to the dialogue
through live webinars with guest speakers, virtual classes with graduate school mentors and international
video conferences with experts in the field. Their Global Encounters projects, DeforestAction and Sprout
(Social Innovation) are just a few of their fantastic programs.

Learning While Doing

A newer addition to the game, but no less impressive, is Flat Connections
(http://www.flatconnections.com), created by Australian educator Julie Lindsay, which unites schools
from around the world to participate in global collaborative projects. In some cases, each school forms
its own team, like their Global Youth Debates, which can be asynchronously conducted between schools
around the world. Their Global Project, on the other hand, creates heterogeneous teams of students from
dierent schools that are able to collaborate instead of competing against each other. Each of these sixmonth projects focuses on current events or real-world topics. Teams do their own research and create
ongoing blog posts that include audio or video components and forum discussions. Using tools such as
wikis, blogs, social bookmarking sites and media creation programs and apps, they then develop a
written collaborative eBook as well as a personal multimedia response to the theme. Flat Connections
also oers professional development courses for teachers to become versed in the tools and techniques
needed for implementing successful global projects in the classroom. In addition, they oer conferences
where students and teachers can come together and practice their collaboration.

All of the programs mentioned here are free to participate, and while access to basic classroom
technology is required, in many cases, a simple Internet connection with access to blogs, wikis and
Skype is sucient. These programs can be integrated into present curriculums (as part of science, IT or
social studies classes, for example) or designed in an extracurricular space. Once students become
connected with stimulating projects that reach around the globe, they become more engaged with the
learning process and gain a valuable understanding about the world as a whole and their role in a global
society.

Source: www.edutopia.org/blog/tear-down-wall-global-classroom-adam-carter
Reprint Policy: www.edutopia.org/terms-of-use
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Source: www.edutopia.org/blog/tear-down-wall-global-classroom-adam-carter
Reprint Policy: www.edutopia.org/terms-of-use
Privacy Policy: www.edutopia.org/privacy-policy

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