Assignment 7: Reflective Summit

When I was asked to reflect on my global learning course from my first semester back in graduate school, I thought it would be an easy task because I feel like I have learned about a lot of things this semester. As I sat down to write, it was a little more challenging because so much of what I learned was a collaboration of the three classes.

For my global learning course, I created this infographic:

I broke everything down by numbers:

• I spent 48 hours, 45 minutes, and 33 seconds logged into the course online--that does not include all the hours I worked while I was not logged in!
• I read 362 discussion posts.
• I created nine original discussions, but only replied to six--YIKES! 
• I logged into this class specifically 61 times!
• I had 21 classmates on this journey with me.
• I submitted eleven different assignments.
• I read an entire text (ish) book.
• I collaborated with two complete strangers to create a project that I am actually implementing in my classroom next semester. It was arguably one of the best professional learning experiences of my career.

Looking back, this class taught me that the most valuable resource we have is each other. Without collaboration with peers, teachers are just singular people navigating the educational chaos known as teaching. All of the "tools" and "resources" I learned about this semester are just ways to reach the true resources out there: other teachers and learners.

I shared with someone recently that I keep misnaming this course. It wasn't about global learning with technology as its name suggests. Instead, it was about global COLLABORATION with the help of technology. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn how to effectively collaborate and learn from my peers around the globe. 

Assignment 4, Part 2: Evaluating Peers

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with my group because these ladies are people I would never have had the opportunity to meet outside of this class. I am grateful to Naketa and Jamie for being willing to take all of our ideas and modify and create materials together. The process for our project was amazing, and I hope those I am evaluating had similar experiences. 

Evaluation 1: Global Learning: Holiday Card Exchange

The first project I chose to evaluate is the Holiday Card Exchange created by Janet Marotte, ​Karleen Vaughn, and Elizabeth Williams. The first thing that I appreciated about the project is the professional appearance of the website. Weebly sites usually look amazing, but the images selected for this project made it appear exceptionally well polished. One the project tab, I appreciated that you did mention this is a HOLIDAY card exchange that encompasses different beliefs and cultures. I also appreciated the community involvement in sending a card to someone serving the community. The directions are very clear and easy to understand, and this seems like something students would eagerly want to do in class. I also appreciated that the links opened in another tab--that is a pet peeve of mine. 😊 Finally, I LOVE that you chose to use FlipGrid--it is one of my favorite technologies to use in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:

• I like that your project involved entire classrooms AND your community. Creating a sense of togetherness near and far really embraces the theme of most holidays.
• The fact that you are able to select a holiday project that is inclusive and built around snowglobes is thoughtful and intentional. This shows that you have considered the cultural differences in your classroom and in your collaboration.
• I like that definitive deadlines are required and posted for viewing. This helps with accountability for everyone involved.
• Finally, I like how you were able to provide the Pinterest icon as your link--that is cool. I learned how to do that after seeing it on your project.

Evaluation 2: Global Read Aloud

The next project I evaluated was the Global Read Aloud created by Ashley Plante and Mandy Fueston. I like that your landing page is simple and informative. You give a great overview with the quote you provided. The Project Outline is clear and easy to follow. The universal suggested pacing is also helpful to viewers to have a better idea of how to plan the time. I also appreciate that you have listed specific standards, but I wish you had student objectives or I Can statements to make it more student-centered. Your project has inspired me to consider some changes to my personal global collaboration project and ways to hold students more accountable as you have with your timeline. I enjoyed this project! 

TAKEAWAYS:

• The landing page: Sometimes less is more. I wish we had created a home page with this approach! I think this looks more professional. 

• I did not know that Global Read Alouds like this existed! Collaborating with people reading the same book is always something I have wanted to try because I believe that our personal experiences influence how we interact with books. I would love to try this in middle school! 

• Creating projects with specific timelines on global projects helps to create personalized classroom accountability. Our project is more open-ended, and now I am starting to think of extensions to do with my own project throughout the year to create an identity anthology. 

Evaluation 3: Sharing Cultures Around The World

The final project I chose to evaluate was Sharing Cultures Around the World created by Daphne Hernandez, Dione Morton, and Paige Griffin. I like that you phrased your objectives in student-friendly language. I think this is important for engaging learners in the process. I also like that your project is a whole-class project but takes ESOL student experiences into consideration. The inclusivity of the assignment seems like it will help to create a strong classroom community. Narrative writing is a great way for teachers to get to know their students and for students to get to know each other, so I love this idea. I know the rubric you posted is the state-aligned rubric, but I think it might be worth taking the time to create a more student/learner-friendly version so that students have better access to the expectation.

TAKEAWAYS:

• I like the reminder that collaboration within our own classrooms has a global component with our ESOL students. 

• Additional technologies do help to make the learning experience more authentic! I like the variety of tools that you plan to use. I am already a huge fan of FlipGrid, and I love the popularity it is gaining. 

• Simple things like phones and microphones can become challenges when collaborating globally. The plan to create podcasts out of their narratives is an exciting way for ESOL students to scaffold toward English proficiency since their verbal fluency is generally more advanced than their written fluency. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I enjoyed the projects I was able to evaluate, and I look forward to viewing more projects as they are submitted. I learned a lot about elementary teachers and their creativity and engagement strategies for students as I was evaluating these projects. I am excited to see how the students in these classrooms will learn and grow from these projects. The social-emotional learning piece is that part I always worry about getting lost in the transition to greater technology integration, but these projects are all reminding me that we can keep SEL in our curriculum as we teach these kiddos to be global collaborators and contributors! 💗

Assignment 4: Poetry Around the World

I had the pleasure of working with Naketa Cornegay and Jamie Tuggle to create a global collaboration project for Poetry Around the World. We were able to collaborate electronically to complete the project, and we were all able to contribute academically because we all have experience with English language arts at various ability levels in the area of secondary English education.

We discussed different texts and timelines, but we ultimately decided to work on a project about identity. I was excited that we agreed on this topic because it was very similar to the concept from my original plan, but Naketa was able to modify the plan to make it more accessible to a wider audience using a global pen pal site. Jamie was able to create the platform with assignment directions and rubric linked directly to Google Drive. We collaboratively worked to make the poetry assignment, reflection, and rubrics appropriate for a variety of learners. This was the first group project where I felt like everyone contributed based on their strengths and no one was left wondering what to do.

Our project requires students to think about where they are from in terms of memories and experiences rather than geographically. Students read the mentor text "Where I'm From" and create their own version following the same/similar format.

Students then explore the criteria for global collaboration and join the PenPals School website to post their poems. Students then respond and collaborate with another student based on his/her entry.

Finally, students reflect on the process of writing a personal poem about their history and the process of learning about another student.

Our hope is to create a better understanding of different cultures and experiences and how those cultures and experiences make us all unique individuals who still share similarities that we all experience with moments in our lives.

Welcome to the next chapter....

Hi, everyone. This is not my first blog, and it probably will not be my last. I am starting another chapter of my educational journey; this time I am working toward my EdS in instructional technology. I thought this would be a natural step in my career because my school's instructional technology specialist told me this was right up my ally.

I realize that I have A  LOT to learn in this program--more than I ever expected. However, I know that the more I learn in this program, the more it will benefit my students. Global collaboration is fascinating to me, but I am still trying to master collaboration within my school building.

Welcome to the journey. The more the merrier!

All of my hopes and dreams are riding on coffee and determination.