If you could take your students anywhere in the world, where would you go? To China, to see how a country with it’s enormous population can function? To Africa, to show them that there are still parts of the world where clean drinking water is a luxury? Opening our students’ eyes to cultural diversity is becoming increasingly important in a “Flat World” environment, and fortunately, with Web 2.0 technology, you won’t be on the hook for thirty round trip plane tickets.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could connect and collaborate with another teacher similar to you across the globe?  With WeAreTeachers’ Facebook application, I Am Teacher, we are connecting teachers both across the US and on a global scale to share ideas and expose their students to new cultures and ways of life without leaving the classroom. Through our searchable database of teachers, we can provide quick, accurate matches for you based on several different search criteria.

Recently, Candace Townsley, a Gifted and Talented teacher outside Tulsa, OK agreed to connect and collaborate with another teacher internationally and allow the process to be documented for this blog.

Candace was enthusiastic about global learning projects from the start and looked forward to finding the right teacher to work with.  She connected with Shelly Terrell, an EFL teacher in Stuttgard, Germany. Shelly was also a proponent of global learning outreach, saying “[Global learning] makes students aware of global issues, dispels stereotypes, opens students to cultural diversity & motivates students to collaborate on global issues.”

They connected via Facebook chat before moving the conversation to Skype, where the discussion turned to idea sharing. “We talked about what we teach, our various school systems, and brainstormed ideas and topics that would have the students use higher order skills,” recounted Shelly.

Candace described how they made plans to collaborate on a future project, “We decided that we would work on a project to assist in dispelling various stereotypes projected upon each culture. In doing so [students] will VIRTUALLY see how students really are in Germany/America.”

They made plans to bring their students together to create a lasting collaboration that they could revisit, so they are looking to create a wiki together this fall.  (Watch this space for updates!)

But Candace and Shelly are just two of millions of teachers who are reaching across the globe, motivating, inspiring and sharing with each other. In 2006, teachers Julie Lindsay (Qatar) and Vicki Davis (US) saw the need for giving their students a sense of global unity after reading Thomas Friedman’s popular book about globalization, The World is Flat. Davis and Lindsay created The Flat Classroom Project, a project that brings teachers and classes from across the world together using Web 2.0 technology such as Wikipages and Ning. This video was created to kick off their 2009 Classroom Conference and tells more about using social learning to connect students internationally.

We want to know what you are looking for in terms of connecting globally. Take a minute to fill out this quick survey and  let us know what tools you need to get a global outreach project started. WeAreTeachers would like to track other global learning projects and share the process and learnings with the WeAreTeachers community.

If you are itching to take the first step towards creating a global teacher to teacher partnership, go to Facebook and use our I Am Teacher application to find the right match for you, and leave us a comment to let us know how you’ve used I Am Teacher to take your students and yourself on an international adventure!

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Buzz it up
• Share on Linkedin
• Share via MySpace
• Share on Orkut
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post
• Tell a friend
• Print for later

In an era when the President of the United States uses a Blackberry and computers are  becoming as necessary as number two pencils, digital technology is changing the way we live and learn.  The digital age has created an exciting new environment for us all, and innovative teachers like you are embracing and harnessing the power of digital learning to blow the walls off their schools and open up their classrooms to other educators all over the world. But sifting through all of the information about digital learning can take more time than a busy teacher has to spend, so we’ve found some great resources on the web to help you find new ways to incorporate digital technology into your classroom.

The case for digital learning is simple: your students live in a time of wikis, webinars and iChat. But how could this help them in the classroom?  This video shows what your digital learners expect of you in a Web 2.0 age.

At WeAreTeachers, we want to encourage you in your efforts to be a part of this digital revolution, both by providing you with the tools you need to keep up and through the teacher’s magic word: funding.  Through WAT microgrants, we are helping teachers get their big ideas out into the digital world-and the response has been phenomenal. Our current “Digital Learning “ microgrant sponsored by Dell, had over 200 submissions! From those 200 applicants, the community will vote to determine the top ten who will receive $200 and a flip video camera to share their project with the entire WeAreTeachers community. Have you had a chance to take a look at the microgrant applications?  It’s a great way to see what your peers are doing to bring their students into the Web 2.0 age. You are sure to be inspired!  What is so exciting about each of these teacher-submitted ideas is that they all demonstrate how digital learning empowers teachers to share their passion for reaching students in a fresh new way.

We are so proud of the astonishing response to this microgrant. What this tells us at WeAreTeachers is that you are excited about being on the forefront of using this technology, and we are thrilled to support you!

And we aren’t the only ones, many companies are hopping aboard the digital bandwagon. Everywhere you look, companies and organizations are standing up and taking notice of the need for digital content. NASA has a wonderful Digital Learning Network that was designed to help educators bring the wonder of space into the classroom.  PBS will be launching a fantastic digital learning library this fall, geared especially towards educators. The Digital Learning Commons is a nonprofit organization created with the sole intention of helping teachers find the best digital learning techniques to give their students an edge. Additionally, exciting programs are being developed like the Digital Learning Lab at UC Irvine, which is currently looking for educators to collaborate in a host of digital learning projects.

How do you use digital learning? Do you keep a blog? Have your students used wikis to research information? Have you thought about using a flip video camera like the ones we are including with our microgrants to collaborate and idea share with other teachers?  Is there an area that you’d love to see supported by a microgrant? We want to hear about it! Have you been inspired by an idea from our 200 applicants?  Your feedback is crucial, so please take a minute to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.  We cannot wait to infuse your ideas and bring you more valuable teacher-generated content that will inspire, enlighten and empower you in the days to come!

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Buzz it up
• Share on Linkedin
• Share via MySpace
• Share on Orkut
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post
• Tell a friend
• Print for later