Silvia Tolisano's chapter refers to building personal
learning networks (PLN). Discuss some of the resources from the two chapters
this week. Even if you don't have any personal experience with some of
them, which are you interested in trying? Consider online global
programs, wikis, global books, films, television shows, blogs, and news outlets
that may be used in schools.
As a physical educator, I
find it difficult sometimes to integrate technology into my classroom. My
classroom is a place of active movement. Before this class I knew technology
could be a tool to use but did not embrace it as much as I do now. Mainly
because I was unaware of so many different ideas and things I could do in my classroom.
One thing my district does to incorporate some ideas stated in Edutopia article are
Learning Walks. We have been using learning walks for almost two
years. The purpose of each walk is not to evaluate a teacher but to look
at the area of need (school wide) and give suggestions on ways to improve
it. It was interesting to read what other districts do with learning
walks in their school systems.
In chapters 2 and 3 in
the Mastering Global Literacy book, many creative ways
to integrate technology in a various amount of disciplines were discussed. The chapters stated
that global connectedness deals with the following areas:
- raising awareness
- making commitment
- developing your competence with contemporary tools
- building your PLN
- amplifying your curriculum
I started to think about
my classroom as well as how I could tweak the suggestions in the book to meet
the needs of my students and curriculum. One area that really caught my eye was
watching a TV program with a global perspective. In both physical education and
health it is easy to find videos, shows or articles relating to the same areas
we discuss here. I started to think about how to take it one step further
in my classroom. I also teach personal fitness. I feel it would be a
great opportunity to "walk a day in someone else's shoes" in the
class. What do various people around the world do for exercise? Are they
required to walk to school, work, or their home? How does their
"steps" compare to my students? I also really enjoyed +Stephanie Lavado's idea of
using pedometers to measure steps. She discussed walking to Disney with
her students. Maybe my high school students could not only
incorporate technology through mapping their steps but also integrate a cross
curricular lesson. For example, discuss the activity with their history
teachers and integrate it into where we are walking.
Another idea I found
useful in my classroom was to incorporate global news. I believe
this would be a great "warm up" activity for my health
students. It would only take a couple minutes and we could look at global news articles relating to
the concepts we are talking about in class. Some of these concepts would include self-esteem, bullying,
health and wellness as well as other areas of health. Not only can we
connect our discussion on a global level but it will fit nicely with our class
flow.
The two chapters also
discussed Skype, twitter, google apps, and wiki into the
classroom. I do not have much familiarity with wiki as I do the other
programs discussed. Since being a part of the #itdml program, I have tried to
use google apps more in my classroom. Now, my students
frequently use google as a tool to hand in assignments, take notes and share
items with other students. I believe because I am more comfortable with
technology, it is easier to embrace it into my classroom.
There
are many things I can do to incorporate more global awareness in my
classroom. Join an established group or create a new project/activity of my own are
only a few ideas Mastering Global Literacy has brought to my attention.
Student blogging and an international sports day are great ways to
incorporate global connectivsm in my Physical Education/Health
classroom. During the international sports day, the chapter
suggested students would perform an activity and upload videos,
times, scores and even rules. The students would then connect with others
around the globe and "learn" from each other. As stated in
chapter 3, "we live in a world that is easily accessible, if not
face-to-face then at least virtually" (pg. 64). Therefore, learning is able to take place anytime and anywhere.
Resources:
Alcock,
M., & Jacobs, H. (n.d.). Mastering digital literacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment