nepa reading association anniversary dinner 2016

Connected Classrooms and a New World of Learning

NEPA Reading Association

Scranton, 2016Mike Soskil @msoskil

STEM is not Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics.It is a culture of problem

solving in which all disciplines are used in conjunction to

make the world better.

Literacy is the means through which every man, woman, and child can realize his or her full potential.

–Kofi Annan

Does the learning in classrooms matter to students?

Photo Credit: Flickr/cristic • Long-term learning

cannot take place without emotional connection with content

• Extrinsic v. Intrinsic Motivation

• Empathy correlates with both happiness and success in life

How do I get started?

Rachel’s Story

Why Global Learning?

• Cultural Understanding

• Emotional Experiences

• Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity

• Student Empowerment

National Council of Teachers of English

21st Century Literacies• Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology• Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships

with others so to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought

• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes

• Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information

• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these

complex environments

It’s hard to change the world when you don’t know much about it.

South Elementary Global Connections

• Song/Cultural Exchanges• Virtual Valentines• Exchange Skype/YT

Video Messages• Data Collection in

Collaborative Spreadsheets

• Quadblogging• Slow Twitter Chat• Collaborative PBL

Projects• Mystery Skype• Skype Teacher Exchange

(guest teacher from another location)

• Digital Post Cards

Distance Teaching Project

distanceteaching.weebly.com

Project LINChttp://projectlinc.clubefl.gr/Kansas Students – Microsoft Video

Once Upon a Flower Time

Children who feel the joy of doing good for others continue to look for new ways to make

a positive impact on the world.

They grow to be the problem solving leaders of the next generation.

HIP Academy - Mukuyuni Bridge Project

Children are never too young to change the world.

Beth Heidemann’s KindergartenersCushing, Maine

Hanif and Gethera Video by the Ms. Heidemann & the Cushkins

That’s great for those students.

But, how do I do that?

TheGlobalReadAloud.com

Virtual Field Trips

• Skype in the Classroom: education.skype.com• Discovery Education: discoveryeducation.com/featured-programs• Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants: exploringbytheseat.com• JASON Learning: jason.org• LivingMaths: livingmaths.com

Mystery Skype• Similar to "20 Questions"• Each class takes turns

asking Yes/No questions to figure out location of the other class.

• Variations: animals, numbers, elements, occupations, etc. instead of locations.

• Builds critical thinking skills and content knowledge.

• Creates opportunities to connect with other locations to have Q&A sessions about culture.

Resource to get started: MysterySkypeOneNote.com

Overcoming Time Zone Issues

The 5 Clue Challenge

• Use Skype Video Message or YouTube to leave 5 clues for partner class to guess location, animal, etc.

• After each clue, students will pause video, do research, and take a guess.

• 5cluechallenge.weebly.com

Twitter Not Just for Donald Trump Anymore! • As of 2014, over 4.2 million tweets per day

were related to education, most by educators

• Hashtags allow you to curate and organize what you see

• There is an educational hashtag for almost every content area, grade level, and educational interest area

A Few Educational Hashtags#SciChat #MysterySkype#MathChat #GlobalEd#SSChat #ArtsEd#EngChat #EdTech#GTChat #EdChat#SpEdChat #21stEdChat#TeachersMatter #EdCamp#TeachersLeading #Education

#KinderChat #STEM#1stChat #CompSci#2ndChat #MusicEd#3rdChat #ElemChat#4thChat #MakerEd#5thChat #DigCit

Most states have their own hashtag (ie - #PAedChat)

Tweetdeck.com

Finding Global Connections• Twitter/Tweetdeck• Have students contact

experts• Facebook• Friends/Family

Twitter for Global Connections#SkypeMT - Skype Master Teachers#GlobalLearning@SkypeClassroom

#GlobalClassroom#Skype2Learn#MysterySkype

Every problem in the world has a solution trapped inside our students’

passions. Helping them see the connection is our job as teachers.

Connect with Me

Twitter: @msoskil

Website: michaelsoskil.com

Email: mrsoskil@gmail.com