Blog # 7 Cross-World Education!!!

What is Globalization? 

According to Doherty, "Globalization is a process in which economies, cultures, and societies have combined through a global network of trade and communication."  Globalization influences all spheres of our life:  education, culture, business, trade, politics, and enviroment.  I think we can look at the rapid growth in cross-border social, educational, cultural and technological exchange as part of the phenomenon of globalization.  Technology make globalization change the way of life for us and our students.  The way we teach and the way students learn has change dramaitcally over the years, since globalization is more popular. 

Have you asked yourself, how will the change impact the way we value education and knowledge-based work going ahead?  Where we use to just communicate and collaborate with people inside of our educational community, now we can use the web to communication and collaborate all over the world. 

Where the cost of education and knowledge was great for the less fortunate students all over the world, now they have access to the same knowledge and learning tools globally. 

Nowadays everyone talks about the importance that the students of every career and country have an international experience during their school years. Professors, parents, businessmen and many other people argue that an international experience gives students an advantage because they can meet people and cultures from other parts of the world, which helps them to understand the globalized world of today.However, just a few ones talks about how understanding the globalized world of today will help students. Some say that this will help them to achieve a well- paid job, and others say that this will allow them to help their communities and countries making an international cooperation. For me, both of them are right, because an international experience gives you the tools both to success in a professional way, so as well to collaborate in the development of your country and two or more countries in the same time is the most rewarding for me.

I feel we as teacher can help our students learn about globalization, by teaching then how to use the tools that are available to them.  Also, if we incorporate interactive lessons, the students will become more prepared to excel as global students and citizens.

Here are some tools that students may use to learn and discuss global issues.

Reflect and Get Inspired

Take a moment to reflect on the world around you. Think about the things you know, the things you're not quite sure of, and all the things you have already experienced when exploring the many ways these Global Issues have impacted your life. At this step, you will learn what a global issue is, what TakingITGlobal's Global Issues pages have to offer, the many tools you can use to interact with the Global Issues pages, and all about the Global Issues team!

2 Identify and Get Informed

Is there a global issue that you are passionate about? Are you interested in connecting with other young people throughout the world to learn more about how to reduce poverty, raise awareness about child and youth exploitation, do your part to slow down climate change, and speak out against global injustice? At this step, you will have the opportunity to get a quick and informative snap shot of a global issue, which will serve as the basis for your future exploration and engagement with issues of global concern. Take a look at the Global Issues' online resources to expand your knowledge on the many different angles you can take to explore and interact with a global issue.

3 Lead and Get Others Involved

Once you have learned about the issues that affect your communities locally and globally, its time to learn about how others have taken the lead to inform themselves and their communities on the global issues that matter to them most. At this step, you will learn about how global issues are impacting our world one global citizen at a time. Come read the stories, case studies, and narratives of people just like you who learned about a global issue and then used that knowledge to reach others and make some change in their communities. It is at this step, you will have the opportunity to learn by example about the many ways that global citizens just like you have been bringing about change in their communities on this global issue.

4 Get Connected

Learn about local and global community networks, make your contribution, and get directly connected to the global issues you want to make a lasting impact in. Networking can help you generate new and innovative ideas while giving you access to real life local experiences where you can further develop your skills to create lasting change on a global issue. In this step, you will learn about the different organizations and projects that can help you get directly involved in your community with the global issue of your choice.

5 Plan and Get Moving

Have you ever wanted to take action on a global issue but didn't have the resources or skills to do so? Well in this step, you will learn about the many different action tools that are available on TIG and on the web that you can use to help you take action on a specific global issue. For example, you can use TIG's action tools to create a petition, make a commitment for a better world, or use one of TIG's action guides to learn how to start your own community project on a global issue of your choice. Here's your chance to build the skills you need to take action and make a difference in your community and in your world!

6 Have a Lasting Impact

Remember, learning about a new global issue is only the first step to developing the skills you need to have a lasting impact. In the end, the extent of your impact on a specific global issue will depend on your capacity, and the capacity of others, to create meaningful and sustainable change with the help and support of your community. In this step, you will have the chance to begin your journey with insight and collaboration through inspiring and engaging in intercultural dialogues with the goal of making the change you want to see with the help of your Global Issues Team!

Globalization has opened new avenues for both employers and job seekers.   So it is our jobs to help prepare our students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i83l7ve3QcI

Resources: 

Patrick R Doherty:  (April 20, 2010).  Globalization and Education .   http://EzineArticles.com/4057621

Global Issues .  http://www.tigweb.org/global-issues/

Blog #6 Impelling Today's Learners

Are we challenging today's students?  Is it our jobs to motivate students? 

I believe the teachers can motivate their students with assignments that excite them and help them to learn the topic at the same time.  Students are exposed to a lot of new information at school.  We as teachers must use a variety of strategies to motivate students to learn in the classrooms.   If we look at students attending schools today, we see that they are very technologically savvy.  They have no problem navigating the internet and more importantly, contributing to the content on the internet.  There are many ways teachers can motivate students with their assignments.

• use the students curiosity
• use technology
• use mystery
• shorter assignments
• different types of assignments (not just paper/pencil)
• student involved assignments
• assignements related to students lives or environment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEFKfXiCbLw

Teachers can make assignments that require students to publish their work on the internet.  Students would think more critically before writing anything that was going to go into the digital sphere for the whole world to see.  Also, if they wrote and received comments from people all over the world it could encourage them to improve and write more.

Teachers can motivate students by impelling them to inquire, think and interact in lessons.  Posing qustions as mysteries is a great way to involve students in discovery.  By having students debate and pose questions makes them think and come up with different answers.  Then they are curious to prove their answers are right, so they become engaged in ways to learn if they are right or wrong.

Teachers,  I believe that we must change and use technology to motivate our students to learn and help prepare them to be 21 Century Learners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZJ7fkaCRFI&feature=related