Discussions

Dear GEC Community,

Our curated global education resources have been updated and refreshed! Read more about this here. Find new collections containing information on projects, topics, and organizations on this page: http://bit.ly/GECresources. Note that you must be logged into the Global Education Conference Network to view! If you have resources to share with our community, post in our discussion forum or post to Twitter using the hashtag #globaled19.

We are also preparing for our fourth annual Global Leadership Summit taking place on March 15th in Chicago, Illinois. This is the second time we’ve partnered with ASCD, the leading professional learning community for educators, and we invite you to join us if you will be attending their Empower 19 conference. Learn more about the program and speakers here. If you represent a non-profit and will be in attendance, participate in our global resource fair at the Summit; email Lucy Gray at lucy@globaledevents.com for more information. Also, Erin Dowd will be hosting a #TeachSDGs meet up following the Summit; details to come.

Here is a roundup of projects and initiatives other organizations we’ve noticed lately:

• #globaledchat is a weekly series of Twitter chats hosted by Heather Singmaster of the Asia Society on Thursday evenings at 8 PM ET (GMT-5). The topic will be Global Competent Leaders on February 7th, and the February 21st chat will focus on Exercise for Everyone. On March 7th, participants will discuss Global Literature.
• 5 Clue Challenge - Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year Michael Soskil hosts this project which is a great asynchronous alternative to mystery location calls. Play a video on a location, animal or habitat for your students and then allow them time to research and find the answers. Then, have your own students create their own similar videos.
• 10 Tips for Creating Classroom to Classroom Connections - This is a new blog post featuring ideas for finding mystery location call partners and project partners.
• Bye Bye Plastic Bags - Get inspired by 2 Dutch/Indonesian sisters who have started an NGO to clean up waterways and to encourage plastic bag bans. Students can start their own BBPG chapters to support the movement. Make sure to check out this NPR interview with the founders.
• The EveryWorld Initiative - An initiative from Know My World is accepting applications through February 23, 2019. The EveryWorld Initiative is a chance for schools around the world to apply for full scholarships to participate in a Virtual Cross-Cultural Exchange facilitated by Know My World.
• Flat Connections Projects - Flat Connections is leading several projects that are starting soon including Friends for Sustainability, Global Youth Debates, Windows to the World, and Poetry with Passion and Performance. Also, just announced is the Building Bridges to Tomorrow project.
• Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program - Applications are due March 7, 2019. The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program (Fulbright TGC) is a year-long professional development opportunity for U.S. elementary, middle, and high school teachers to develop skills for preparing students for a competitive global economy.
• Global Learning Fellowship from the NEA Foundation - Applications are due February 4th. The NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship increases access to global training and experiences by providing global education professional development opportunities for K-12 public school educators.
• The Global Mystery 3D Print -  This challenge runs now through May 6, 2019.  Students create a “Mystery Cube” with 3D printing software. The cube should have clues about the design team’s location (i.e. city, country, coordinates, etc.). The file is then emailed to a moderator, who will send another “Mystery Cube” file in exchange. Students will have one week to use the clues given on the new “Mystery Cube” to figure out where it came from. The answer will be emailed to the teacher at the end of one week.
• The Great Kindness Challenge - Participate between January 28 - February 1, 2019, as a school or as a family. Watch a video, receive a checklist and see how many acts of kindness you and/or your school can accomplish!
• ScratchPals - Are your students using the free coding program Scratch? Connect to another classroom and collaborate on project challenges. This project is organized by Kathleen Fugle, an ed tech specialist in Virginia.
• World Peace Song Project 2018-2019 - GEC member Lorraine Leo has posted information about a new project led by Professor Yoshiro Miyata of Chukyo University. People will collaborate on a global chorus to express peace.
• World Read Aloud Day - This is an annual project that takes place on February 1, 2019, and is organized by our friends at LitWorld. Check out their site which has many resources for getting started! Educator Michael Soskil (mentioned above) is also hosting this project for making connections on this day.

Finally, here are a few reminders about how you can get involved in the Global Education Conference Network community:

• Find members from specific countries or in specific school roles by searching our member directory.
• Browse our conference archives from the past 8 years to learn from global experts.
• Subscribe to our daily Global Education Report, a digital newspaper containing global education news.
• Follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook.

That’s all the GEC news that’s fit to print right now!