Awesome Tech Tools to Globalize Your Classroom
- Padlet: Essentially a "pad" of "paper", Padlet is a quick way to gather responses to challenging global questions. Padlet links can be shared with others (i.e. shared with another classroom abroad) to garner various perspectives on complex issues. For an example from my classroom: https://padlet.com/bcarlson/d7sraar240jl
- Google Earth/Maps: An amazing way to view the world in so many contexts; shapes of cities, historical sites, deforestation, migration, road systems, culture from Google "street view" images, and the list goes on! https://www.google.com/help/maps/education/
- Esri Story Maps: An incredible collection of stories told through images, videos, and maps. One of my favorites that I use in my classroom to help tell the story of current-day migration can be found here: http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2016/the-uprooted/ The entire collection can be found here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/en/
- Global Nomads Group: Their mission is to, by leveraging technology, encourage dialogue between students around the world on challenging issues. There are lessons and resources for teachers in many content areas including project based learning for environmental learning about overfishing around the world, the education of girls around the world, and gun violence around the world. http://gng.org/
- Earthducation: Their mission is to show students and teachers the importance of education and sustainability for the future of our planet. The creators of the site traveled all 7 continents to explore the concepts of both education and sustainability. This site would be a wonderful inclusion into a science and/or geography classroom. http://lt.umn.edu/earthducation/
- Teach UNICEF: Their mission is provide educators with sources and lessons to help students tackle challenging issues that exist worldwide. Topics that are explored include: child trafficking, poverty, peace education, and child labor. These resources could be used in a variety of Social Studies courses, English/Writing courses, or Health courses. https://teachunicef.org/
- ePals: A place to connect with other educators from around the world. This past year my students and I connected with a classrooms from Norway and Spain and exchanged iMovies relating to the 5 themes of geography of both of our hometowns. One of the videos a student created in my class to showcase the 5 themes of geography of Grand Rapids, Minnesota is shown below. https://www.epals.com/
- For additional resources, access my "Digital Learning Inventory" found at: https://www.thinglink.com/scene/716088598633381888. This inventory seeks to highlight multiple tech tools that are useful in globalizing any classroom to connect students with the world.
iMovie made by one of my geography students which was exchanged with students
in Norway and Spain through an ePals connection
Minnesota Resources to Globalize Your Classroom
- Green Card Voices: A non-profit organization based in Minnesota with a mission to document the story of immigrants and refugees who have moved to the U.S. Each immigrant's story has been recorded and stored in a large collection of video stories. http://www.greencardvoices.com/
- Rotary/Interact Club: Groups of adult members across the world that are dedicated to improving the world. Clubs are found in most major cities in the U.S. and many around the world. Interact is the student component where students conduct community and global service projects. https://www.rotary.org/en
- Global Minnesota: An organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans globally connected through various students programs, cultural dialogues, and community outreach. There is also a place for K-12 curriculum components included on the site. https://www.globalminnesota.org/
- Minnesota Center for Social Studies Education: A collaboration of multiple organization in the field of Social Studies to provide excellent opportunities and resources for Social Studies Teachers, many which incorporate global skills and competencies. www.mncsse.org/abou
The Unit Plan below is an example of how I included global competencies, and many of the tech tools above, into my 11th and 12th grade Sociology class.
After creating and teaching this unit, some additional ideas include:
* Including current issues such as refugee migration, transgender bathrooms, and the shooting in Orlando as connections to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Depending upon time and access to technology, students could create skits, books, or short presentations to highlight their action plans as discussed in Week 3 of the "Learning Plan".
* Students could choose a country in the world to analyze its adherence to the UDHR.
* I would introduce my work with the Days for Girls Program that I began after my trip to Senegal.
* Show the entire movie "He Named Me Malala" on Day 1
After creating and teaching this unit, some additional ideas include:
* Including current issues such as refugee migration, transgender bathrooms, and the shooting in Orlando as connections to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Depending upon time and access to technology, students could create skits, books, or short presentations to highlight their action plans as discussed in Week 3 of the "Learning Plan".
* Students could choose a country in the world to analyze its adherence to the UDHR.
* I would introduce my work with the Days for Girls Program that I began after my trip to Senegal.
* Show the entire movie "He Named Me Malala" on Day 1
The document below demonstrates how I globalized standards, based on the 2011 MN Social Studies Standards, in my classroom.
Disclaimer: This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State blog. The views and information presented are the grantee’s own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.