After completing Water 401 with the Asian Studies classes at Churchill High School, e-collaborate staff sat down with their teacher, Ms. John, to discuss best practices, lessons learned, and the challenges of adapting the eKWIP Challenge curriculum to fit her classroom needs. Watch this video to learn how the lesson was received by her students and her suggestions for other instructors.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. – M. Gandhi
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/114349563/in/photostream/Mahatma Gandhi
One need not look too deeply into the media to see that the world is caught up in a struggle that seems to be impacting every nation on the planet. Whether it is armed conflict, economic collapse, or failing schools, superlatives label those who are deemed the best and subjugate those who fall short. As Thomas Friedman tells us in his seminal work The World in Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century, the world is growing closer as technology connects nations including small towns in the US with villages in India. His book has been taken by many a progressive educator to be a rallying cry for improving the “failing” education systems of the West in order to compete with the rising economic powers of the East, India & China.
Several years ago, I was attending an Innovations in Education Conference at Penn State University when I came across a book in the “free rack” in my hotel lobby. I traded a worn Stephen King novel for Thomas Friedman’s non-fiction book. A shared text from an anonymous reader, what a fantastic way to come across a book that would ultimately change the way that I perceive the world. The impact the book had on me is different than most readers. I don’t want to see the world in terms of winners and losers. Instead, I would like to see the world as a network of collaborative participants working to make the human experience on this planet a happy, healthy, and productive one.
In the United States, we have an obsession, based on tradition, with selecting those teams or individuals that rise to the top of their sport or competitive field. I don’t see education as an area of human endeavor that requires competition among participants. Instead, I view education as a shared experience where learners help each other to construct meaning in an otherwise abstract world. In this light, the United States is not competing with the educational systems in other nations of the world, but rather using technology and Friedman’s “flat world” theory to allow students to collaborate and transcend the artificial boundaries of the world’s nations. I heard a speaker say that looking down from space the boundaries between nations cease to exist. Boundaries between humans are created in the very minds of those we deem winners and are reinforced to allow these winners to stay on top and in power.
At the Coalition for International Initiatives (CII), we are attempting to make a positive impact by building a computer platform that will allow for collaboration between schools in India and the United States. Children will not be ranked or measured but will be allowed to explore their world and construct meaning that fits their individual realities and expands their learning beyond the classroom walls. It is our belief that if given the technological capacity to collaborate, students will connect and teach each other about their country and culture. As the program advances, we hope to focus these students on the task of solving some the world’s most pressing social problems and issues.
I am currently working on a “teachable moment, ” a small mini-lesson that builds with other lessons to help students solve a common problem, that will have inquisitive students in the US attempt to connect with Indian students to explore the holiday of Diwali. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I am a highly-educated teacher who until accepting my position with CII never heard of Diwali. As the largest national holiday in India, this tradition is important to the understanding of the complex social network that is modern India. Not sure what Diwali is all about–check out the following video from National Geographic on Youtube:
It is through collaboration and global communication that education can transcend the adult-created problems of the world and allow students to find solutions for their future. I welcome your comments to this blog post and would love to hear from our readers around the world. Collaborate with us in order to create the change we wish to see in the world.
PS. Happy Diwali to All of You Who Celebrate the Victory of the Light!
Gregory M. McGough, M.Ed.
CII Chief Academic Officer
e-collaborate 