Edina Digital Age Learning

Continuing my reflection on the learning that has happened this year, I would like to share a story on how one teacher found an opportunity to collaborate globally and gave her students a great learning experience. Over winter break, Valley View 8th Grade Social Studies and French Immersion teacher, Irmgard Farah visited Costa Rica. While there, she took a trip to the the Children's Eternal Rainforest in Monteverde . While there, she learned of the " Friends of the Rainforest " project and how classrooms around the world had donated to help with land purchase, land protection, educational programs and guided travel opportunities. On her way home, Irmgard wondered if her students would be interested participating in a fundraising project for the rainforest. She thought it would also be a great opportunity to incorporate service learning strategies for her students, and thought it would also tie nicely to her curriculum if she could make a connection with another Frenc...

The Global Learning Imperative: How do we, as teachers, help empower our students to take their learning experience global? Alan November moderated this session, featuring Kathy Cassidy from Prairie South Schools in Saskatchewan, Michelle Anderson , Principal in Deer Creek Schools in Oklahoma, and Larisa Shelkin , Founder of the Global Technology and Engineering Consortium in Boston. November started by a story about asking "What is the most important 21st Century skill?" to the CEO of the biggest bank in the world. The banker said, "empathy," because we need people who can evaluate the dynamics of a big project from the perspective of others. The worst people at this are Americans. He asked some West Point teachers the same question, "Patreaus had asked his staff to read, 3 Cups of Tea. The mission had changed from win the war to win the peace. Empathy is a critical skill in this endeavor. Michael Wesch, said empathy as well. Blocking social media t...