Your Name and Title:

Jack Haskell, teacher and educational coordinator

School or Organization Name:
Know My World


Co-Presenter Name(s):
N/A


Area of the World from Which You Will Present:
Connecticut, USA


Language in Which You Will Present:
English


Target Audience(s):
Global educators, ed tech-developers


Short Session Description (one line):
How to develop cross-cultural learning connections through a digital exchange.


Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
There is a sense of a global community that is beginning to emerge and take shape. More and more people are identifying as global citizens as we continue to discover how the world is naturally connected, and invent new ways for it to be technologically connected. A global conversation of human values and rights will grow steadily louder. I want to be a leader in this conversation by creating safe platforms for students all over the world to have open and honest conversations about race, gender, cultural identity, politics, and religion­­. I am currently an educational coordinator for the organization Know My World and this is what we do. KMW connects classrooms all over the world by providing digital cross­-cultural experiences. The format of these exchanges is project­ based learning, which aims to achieve student transformation through social and emotional learning.

During the spring semester of 2016, I facilitated an exchange between a class of 20 students in Vermont and 20 students in Taiwan. The exchange was centered around cultural identity, which was accessed using a discussion of two essential questions.

  1. What are young people most concerned about when they think about their future?

  2. What responsibility do you have as a 5th/6th grader to reach out and help others?

The discussion developed into an online blog, the exchange of handwritten letters, and a video tour of both schools conducted by the students. It is hard to say how much value we found in this exchange. The creativity and depth of discussion I saw from these 10-12 year old was truly amazing.

For my presentation, I will include content from this exchange, give an inside look at the process of Know My World as a facilitator, and highlight some new and exciting projects happening during this fall semester. Participants of this presentation will get a detailed process and tips on creating a cross-cultural digital exchange in their classroom. I hope to see you all there!

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

www.knowmyworld.org

 

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