I am trying to develop globally collaborative lesson plans for a high school class that I teach on Cultural Diversity. This class has a cooking element.
I am hoping that there are some teachers out there that can help me answer the following questions or share any suggestions related to their experiences with global collaboration. Thank You for your help!
Which websites/technology have you used to connect your classroom globally?
What type of globally collaborative activities seemed to best motivate and excite your high school students?
What are some general things that students should have knowledge of before collaborating globally?
What type of cultural differences have you noticed that I should make my students aware of?
Are there any legal issues that I should be aware of when it comes to having students participate in global collaboration?
What are drawbacks to communicating globally?
What issues have you run into when having your students work on lessons that are globally collaborative?
How parents and community members in your district feel about global collaboration?
Overall, what is the best advice that you can give me for communicating globally within a high school classroom?
Why did you want to collaborate with another classroom?
How did you find the classroom to collaborate with?
How did the activity go?
What value do you think the activity added for you students?
What do you wish you knew about global collaboration projects like this before you started yours?
What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome to before your activity would work?
Replies
Here is a great project between high school Spanish classes in Tallahassee, Florida and classes in Argentina, with answers to many of your questions. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to get the link to the English-language version):
http://www.epals.com/blogs/teacherspotlight/archive/2011/04/14/entr...
Here's a project between high school teachers in Turkey and Italy:
http://www.epals.com/blogs/teacherspotlight/archive/2010/04/08/far-...
Here's a project, Games We Play, between students age 10-16 in India and France:
http://www.epals.com/blogs/teacherspotlight/archive/2010/12/02/the-...
You can also see a fascinating project from a high school teacher in Germany, including a three-minute video in which he answers many of your questions: http://www.epals.com/media/p/234548.aspx Additional files are there, including some samples of his student work.
Remember that in the southern hemisphere, the school year may start in February or March and end in November or December. Even in Honduras and Costa Rica, in the northern hemisphere, they have that school schedule. So they are in school while we are on summer vacation and are not likely in school in January or more.
Holy Cow Melissa!
You have asked fantastic questions! I connect with my global collaborators via a Wiki site. My HS students are most excited when they talk to each other personally through e-mail. Our big project together is an ethnobotany project. Students should have an understaniding of each other's culture before connecting, (my students needed to know the challenges their counterparts face daily to appropriately structure dialogues (e.g. they don't have clean water and they certainly don't have an X-box). Drawbacks: time differences prevent real-time collaboration. Parents and communitties: love-it when they learn about it. Overall advice for classroom implementation: find the links to your content standards and incorporate it into your syllabi. Why did I want to collaborate: worthy of a disseration, nuf said. How did I find them: a year of digging. How did the activity go: unbelievably inspirational. Added value: reality check to my U.S. students' entitled lives. Biggest obstacle: for me, none. But, for everyone else- tech chops.
Your cooking element might fit perfect with my ethnobotany project. You can e-mail me at robin.dirksen@k12.sd.us.
Wow! Thank you so much for your response. All of this information is very helpful.
How did you find that other school that you are working with? Did you use one of the global collaboration sites or did they respond to your wiki site?