High Techpectations

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Typepad is old and dated. Moving my writing to Medium! 

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The Gray Family Goes to Paris

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." - St. Augustine

While I have traveled to some amazing places for work (Finland, Portugal, Bahrain, Singapore etc), it’s always been somewhat of a solitary experience and I’ve always felt a twinge of guilt of leaving my family behind particularly as my kids have gotten older. I have chosen to embrace these opportunities not only for experiencing the world and learning about education systems outside the US, but to prove to myself that I can make my way through the world. I grew up seeing my mother not being able to handle her life competently, and I swore that I always will be able to take care of myself. Traveling and navigating other cultures can be a confidence booster and a reality check on one’s world view.

While we have epically traveled as a family mostly within the US, we have never immersed ourselves as a family in an adventure like this one. The trip’s genesis came after a hard few months supporting my dad and our desire to celebrate some significant milestones including big birthdays for Pete and Julia and our 25th wedding anniversary. The Normandy portion of the trip was also complementary to what my son, Henry, is studying in his American history class this year.

We found that it was more affordable to go to Europe than to a warm place at this time of year and started looking at Costco travel packages at a friend’s suggestion who had a good experience with Costco while traveling to Spain. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Those were really reasonably priced and there was a London/Paris trip that was a special offer. That didn’t work out due to blackout dates, but I would encourage others to check out their deals. I found a good deal on Expedia and away we went.

Here are some additional thoughts and resources that I’ve culled post-trip in case others would like to do a similar trip.

- Additional travel sites that are helpful are Google Flights, Kayak, and Hopper which will help you track flight prices.

-Citymapper is a good transportation app. We loved biking and scooting throughout Paris via Lime and Jump.

-I am really glad I upgraded my iPhone before this trip. The new camera is worth it.

-Join Facebook groups to research your destination. Certain groups were invaluable for our Glacier National Park trip last summer and with this trip. I also searched the NYT food group for Paris suggestions and posted some of my pics there. Be aware that some groups may have an agenda promoting services. Also, make sure to search a group for previous posts with information before posting a question. Also, don’t ask questions that can be answered simply if you do a Google search. Be mindful of people’s expertise and time.

-Solid shoes were crucial on this trip. We averaged 16,000 steps a day over the last week. A new pair of Merrill hiking shoes, gym shoes and my trusty Blundstones were necessities. We also spent most of the time in casual clothes and did laundry once at a local laundromat rather than pay through the nose at our hotel for items to be washed.

-We discovered this brand of travel pillow and bought one light version. The full version made us laugh.

-Our hotel was the biggest disappointment of the trip. We got a deal on a Novotel in the 15th arrondissement. I thought I had booked something in the 7th. It was 1970s modern, had no character, and was run down. It was the most unParis-like hotel I’ve stayed at during my four trips to that city. It had a pool for Peter, and we didn’t really care that much about the hotel as we were out and about all the time.

-By the way, I looked into AirBnB when researching options and there didn’t seem to be many affordable options near the city centre.

-Strolling through the big fancy department stores in Paris is a treat and totally out of our league. Their food and housewares emporiums are really amazing! And, the rooftop of Galleries Lafayette offers some of the best views of the city.

-It was hard to fit in visits to suggested restaurants around visits to sites. This was due to the holidays and transportation strike. The metro was running only on two lines. We rarely are a full breakfast and grabbed amazing croissants, coffee and juice most mornings. Dinner was typically in a corner cafe. I’d love to go back just to focus on food alone in Paris. My favorite meals were the Breton crepes and pizza in Caen plus an omelette in Marais.

-My favorite museum was the National Picasso Museum. It was not what I expected and I loved its building and location.

-My kids loved the museums more than they let on at first and I think they have a point about how museums engage young people. They found that audio tours helped them engage in museums more, and they liked how the Louvre uses Nintendo 3DS devices for this. My son did find some of the language used in museums to describe works to be very pretentious and he was very irritated by this. As a former student of art history, I found this amusing.

- I  also really loved the Van Gogh experience at the Digital Atelier... if this exhibition travels around, go see it. It was incredible!

-Make sure to turn on the TV and watch local channels when traveling. My husband and I watched a lot of sports and marveled at soccer, rugby, and auto-racing. Additionally, we watched a lot of news. CNN International is a bit repetitive with its content but very different than their US version. We also liked BBC News.

-Paris is such an amazing city which may seem obvious. I think I love it more than NYC. Not sure how to articulate how I feel about it. We saw a great deal, but it was only a fraction of the possibilities. My dream would be to live in a few cities like this for longer amounts of time. Maybe one day!

In conclusion, it is most definitely a privilege to travel like this, but the lesson I’ve learned is to explore whatever corner of the world you have access to. Find your state or national park, an amazing library, or a museum within your reach as a starting place. I am so glad I did this with my family as these experiences will marinate with my kids for a long time as a friend wrote on FB in the comments of an earlier post. My ultimate hope is that they will grow up to have a zest for life and an insatiable curiosity about the world. These past 10 days helped us be more present with each other, too, and I’m impressed with how my family trooped through everything.

Here’s our day-to-day itinerary:

Sunday, December 22

Walked to the Eiffel Tower

Ate dinner at the Christmas Market in the Tuileries Garden

Checked out the Louvre Pyramid

 

Monday, December 23

Drove to Normandy

Visited the Caen Memorial

Had crepes in Caen for lunch

Went to Omaha Beach & the American Cemetery

Visited the Bayeux Cathedral

Ate pizza in Caen

 

Tuesday, December 24

Went to the Paris Zoo to see “the blob” - the zoo was phenomenal, but the blob was underwhelming

Saw the Van Gogh Exhibit at the Atelier des Lumieres

Visited Jim Morrison’s grave in the Père Lachaise Cemetery

Dinner at the Christmas Market again

 

Wednesday, December 25th

Went to Disneyland Paris - food in the Ratatouille section is very good and various stands provide an opportunity to sample some typical French food

 

Thursday, December 26th

Drove to Versailles and toured the Palace

Dined at the Relais de l’Entrecote back in Paris

 

Friday, December 27th

Rode scooters to the Musée d’Orsay

Took the red line Big Bus

Went to the Arc de Triomphe

Ate dinner near the Avenue des Champs-Élysées at Chez Barbara

 

Saturday, December 28th

Rode scooters to Musée de l'Orangerie

Ate croissants in the Tuileries

Visited the Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Took the Big Bus

Ate dinner in the 1st arr. at an average bistro

 

Sunday, December 29th

Visited to the Louvre (we should have booked a ThatMuse hunt, but I forgot about it)

Had a snack at Angelina’s which was overrated

Went to the National Picasso Museum

Took a taxi to Sacré-Coeur

Ate great pizza near Sacré-Coeur

 

Monday, December 30th

Lucy and Julia explored Bon Marché, La Grande Epicerie, and Conran’s

Bought chocolates at Patrick Roger

Saw St. Sulpice

Went to Shakespeare and Company

Ate at Café de Flore - overpriced and not worth it

Peter and Henry went to the Musée de l'Armée 

 

Tuesday, December 31st

Went to the Galeries Lafayette, visited their home and food sections, and went up on the roof  - great views

Sat on the steps of the opera building Palais Garnier

Walked to the Marais

Had lunch in Marais at Café Charlot

Walked through Marché couvert les Enfants Rouge

Had ice cream at Berthillon - best ice cream I’ve ever had 

Took Seine boat ride - avoid Vedettes de Paris Seine which was recommended by our concierge; I had a better experience with this company on another trip

Had dinner at a café that preyed upon tourists near the Eiffel Tower - make sure to read Yelp reviews before choosing a restaurant

 

Wednesday, January 1

Had brunch at a local café

Rode bikes and scooter to the Grand Palais using Jump app

Went ice skating at the Grand Palais - overpriced for the experience, but kids enjoyed it

Did a skip-the-line tour of the Eiffel Tour - it was nice, but not needed.  It was not crowded at 8 PM at night, but perhaps that is because it was very foggy. We booked this through our concierge.

 

Additional Resources

• Rick Steves' Paris Guide
• Google Map of Places I Researched
• Apps and Sites: Food Lover’s Guide to Paris, Localites, Swarm, Four Square, Google Maps, Expedia, Trip Advisor, Waze, City Mapper, Jump, Lime, Kayak, Hopper, Google Flights
• Ostrich Travel Pillow
• Paris Month by Month - Lonely Planet
• Paris Museum Pass (make sure to get this pass rather than the Paris Pass; they are two different things)
• Transportation Information Related to the Transportation Strike
• Upcoming Transportation Strikes in France
• French Cookbooks I Want to Check Out
• Tasting Paris: 100 Recipes to Eat Like a Local - Clotilde Dusoulier
• My Paris Kitchen - David Lebovitz
• Around My French Table - Dorie Greenspan
• Bistro Cooking - Patricia Wells
• Les Halles -  Anthony Bourdain
• Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home: A Cookbook - Ina Garten

 

Paris-Related Movies Recommended by Friends

• Amelie
• American in Paris
• Before Sunrise
• Before Sunset
• Before Midnight
• Bourne Supremacy movies
• Breathless
• Charade
• La Creche
• Les Enfants du Paradis
• Everyone Says I Love You
• Forget Paris
• French Kiss
• La Haine
• Les Misérables
• The Last Metro
• Last Tango in Paris
• Midnight in Paris
• Moulin Rouge
• One Day
• Paris Je T’Aime
• The Red Balloon
• Ronin
• Sabrina
• La Vie En Rose
• Site with Trailers

Apple Music Playlists

• Classical Cities: Paris
• Midnight in Paris
• Paris Cafe: Classic French Vibes

 

How is Professional Learning Approached in Your School?

I'm in the midst of creating a technology and innovation plan for my school and I need your help! Key to the success of any such initiative is providing ample staff professional development opportunities. This can be a daunting challenge for any school or district as schools today are often thwarted by obstacles related to space, time, funding and institutional vision. To overcome these challenges, schools need to be creative in how they encourage professional learning given their particular circumstances. Additionally, it's important for schools to design professional learning experiences around best practices in order for these experiences to be impactful. This EdWeek article from 2016 cites a study that purports teacher-led professional development to be more effective than traditional sit and get methods. 

Below is a survey that I have designed with the purpose of documenting professional learning practices in schools. There are no right or wrong answers; my goal is to get a sense of how other schools are approaching this topic. I am particularly interested in any evidence or research-based practices followed by schools; this paper by Linda Darling-Hammond et al from the Learning Policy Institute outlines best practices in teacher professional development that seem rooted in principles of adult learning theory. Perhaps some schools follow professional learning standards established by Learning Forward. And, I also would love to learn more about specific innovative approaches to professional learning. For example, at the Global Leadership Summit this year, I learned about Washington International School's PD Collaborative that engages not only WIS teachers but teachers in the community at large. Another example would Punahou's Summer Lab School for teachers at which I presented in 2010; I'm not sure the program is still in existence, but here's a video about the program.

I plan on presenting the results to colleagues as we discuss how to fit professional learning around tech and innovation into our busy school calendar. I will also make the results public to those who leave their email addresses when filling out the survey. I think many educators have questions about how to best craft professional learning for their colleagues and hopefully, the results of this survey will provide some answers or inspiration. The usefulness of this data will only become apparent if I am able to solicit responses from a large number of people; please share this survey with others so that we can crowdsource this important information. 

Finally, I just added an additional question regarding the evaluation of professional learning programs. I'm curious as to whether your school analyzes PD programs in any way including for research purposes. 

Please consider participating, and thanks in advance for your help!

 

Creative Professional Learning Solutions: Making the Most of School Closing Days

https://www.flickr.com/photos/akasped/11808898455

Last night, I had an epiphany regarding the polar vortex that is descending upon much of the United States right now. On Monday, we had a significant snowfall here in Chicago and temperatures are rapidly dropping to historic lows. Tomorrow the temperature is expected to be around -13 F which is -25 C, but when accounting for the wind chill, it will feel like anywhere between -30 and -60 degrees (-35 to -50 C approximately). Yikes! Apparently, we should be getting used to this phenomenon.

My school, along with most around here, have announced that they will be closed for the next two days. Many of these school were also closed on Monday due to the snow. As an ed tech director, I'm always thinking about how to move innovation forward in my school and about how I can build enthusiasm among my colleagues for leveraging technology in teaching and learning. Time for providing support for this kind of work is scarce and precious, and it occurred to me last night that teachers now had two days in front of them where they might be willing to engage in some professional learning. I know that other educators around the country have hosted spur of the moment virtual professional development sessions from time to time, and so I put out feelings on Facebook and Twitter to see if any adventurous educators would join forces to host live PD via my Zoom video conferencing room. Alas, I think many people in my professional learning network work were too frozen to be as enthusiastic as I about this idea!

Then, I thought of a self-directed PD model that was popular a few years ago... not sure if it's 21 Things or 23 Things... but the general gist was to give teachers a list of tasks to explore at their own pace. I also thought about how it's essential that professional development be fun and personal; teachers are more motivated to take risks with educational technology when there is some connection to their professional practice and they have some choice in activities. As a result, I came up with five activities that I thought might be interested in my PreK-12 colleagues and created the following flyer. My hope is that they save a bit of time over the next two days to try at least one of these activities. 

I'm thinking that I should develop a similar list for students and parents that I can update and re-purpose from time to time. Do you have any other creative ideas for encouraging teachers to make use of school closing days? Share them in the comments or on Twitter using the hashtag #PolarVortexPD !

January/February News for Global Educators and Organizations

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 [email protected] 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!

10 Tips for Creating Classroom to Classroom Connections

In my role as the Director of Educational Technology at my new school, one of my goals is to facilitate connected teaching and learning in classrooms; I am more than happy to tap into my network and scaffold these experiences for my colleagues and our students. Earlier this year, I helped a fourth-grade class at my new school connect to other classrooms in order to participate in mystery location calls I also organized a video conference using Zoom and streaming live on YouTube with candy expert Jason Liebig (see below) for our Candy Around the World project. It was relatively easy to set up these collaborations because I have developed a professional learning network for many years and also know a few communities where it's possible to connect with other educators. My fourth-grade colleagues now want to learn how to do the same now they have mastered the basic logistics and routines involved with mystery location calls. 

 

 

Here are a few tips for finding potential connections that can benefit your classroom. 

1. Mystery location calls are a good, basic way to connect for a specific purpose and can generate a great deal of enthusiasm from students. Jerry Blumgarten's page devoted to this topic is my go-to guide along with his page of educational hashtags. Kids can learn geography and develop global awareness and communication skills with these activities. My recommendation is to keep these structured by developing routines and communicating these to your mystery location call partner teacher. 
2. It's essential to join Twitter so that you can follow educational trends and connect instantly to other educators. Hashtags are keywords that you can search for and follow within the Twitter platform; you can post requests on Twitter using popular hashtags if you'd like to spread the word about a mystery location call or global project opportunity. Also, many teachers participate in live Twitter chats using these hashtags.
3. #edchat is a general hashtag to follow on Twitter, and you also may want to follow ones such as #globaledchat, #ISTEglobalPLN, #globaled, #pblchat, and #mysteryskype. Grade level specific hashtags such as #4thchat or #fourthchat can also help you target your audience. I regularly post opportunities and resources to the hashtag #globaled19.
4. Here is an example of how a fourth-grade teacher has put out a request on Twitter for mystery skype partners. Be specific in your requests and make sure to communicate in a timely manner with the teacher of any classroom that you partner with for these activities. 
5. Besides Twitter, I've also had good luck finding mystery location call partners for my colleagues in the Connected Classroom Google+ community. This group originally started out as a community to support a Google initiative that posted live edu events from cultural institutions to a calendar and now is mostly made up of teachers looking to schedule mystery location calls with others. Keep in mind that Google+ is going away at some point, so you will have to look for alternative communities.
6. I run the Global Education Conference Network and people are always welcome to post projects and opportunities to our discussion forum so this could be an alternative place to connect with others.  Our network is free to join and I typically re-post any requests to social media to help get the word out.
7. I've also started a smaller Facebook group that's connected to our GlobalEd Events Facebook page and this might also be a good place to try. Julie Lindsay also has a great Facebook group called Global Educators & Collaborators where members regularly projects.
8. If you are a member of ISTE, check out their Global Collaboration Network (@ISTEGlobalPLN). Members often network with each other and the group hosts monthly webinars in addition to publishing a newsletter. 
9. With any mystery location call, it's important to keep in mind that it may be wildly impractical for a class in another country to connect with yours due to time zone differences. Depending on your location, it might be easier to connect synchronously with schools in the US or within your time zone. Try using free tools that allow for asynchronous collaboration such as Flipgrid. 
10. Microsoft's Skype in the Classroom site is another great site for finding lessons, projects, and partners related to Mystery Skype calls. 

If you're looking for more information about these type of connections, make sure to check out the following books:

• Connecting Your Students to the World: Tools and Projects to Make Global Collaboration Come Alive K-8 by Jerry Blumgarten, Billy Krakower, and Paula Naugle
• The Global Educator: Leveraging Technology for Collaborative Learning and Teaching by Julie Lindsay 

Please share any additional ideas or resources in the comments for teachers just beginning to dabble in connecting their classrooms to the world!

 

Refreshed Global Education Resources!

As long as I've been involved with educational technology, one of my favorite activities has been to curate resources for future reference and for the various populations I've served as an educator, consultant, and co-founder of GlobalEd Events and the Global Education Conference. I use Diigo to save Tweets, bookmark items with tags, to make lists for my current colleagues, and to contribute to collective groups. I grab articles of interest (sometimes from my feeds in Feedly) related to global education and save them in Evernote. Most recently, I've started curating collections in Wakelet,  a free tool that has a clean interface and is very easy to use. I foresee that I'll continue with this workflow.

The Global Education Network has served as an umbrella for global education organizations to share information about their programs and as a place to connect and collaborate for global educators. For the past few years, I've shared digital resources through the aforementioned Evernote notebook and through a Google spreadsheet. Neither has been particularly visually appealing or organized, although both resources are searchable. Over the last month, I've re-organized some of the material I've collected over the years.  I took just about every global education organization that I've come into contact with and put links to their homepages in a Wakelet collection which is embedded on a page within my global community.  With over 500 organizations in this collection, a problem arose. It is time-consuming to scroll through this collection plus I had difficulty exporting this bulky list. I then decided to put my links in smaller collections and the result of all this work is now available here. This page is a special benefit to members of the Global Education Conference Network which is FREE to join. Note that inclusion in these collections does not necessarily imply endorsement; you need to peruse the lists and find the resources that are useful for your particular situation. Also, keep in mind that a few topics are sparse and I will be updating these as I come across organizations and resources that are related to globally oriented teaching and learning. Hope you find this information useful and let me know if you have any feedback in the comments here. 

While I have you here, if you are interested in global collaboration, consider attending our upcoming Global Leadership Summit that we're co-hosting with ASCD at their upcoming Empower 19 conference. This event sold out last year, so make sure to register soon! 

 

Below is one collection as a Wakelet sample!

 

May 2018 Global Education Projects and Opportunities

Here is our semi-regular blog post highlighting happenings in the global education community! If you would like your news highlighted here, make sure to post in our main community’s discussion forum, and we will include it next month. Past blog posts can be found here.

For those of you new to our work, Steve Hargadon and I are the co-founders of the Global Education Conference Network, a professional learning community designed to connect educators and organizations around the world. Our umbrella organization is Global Education Events, and we host several other annual in-person and virtual events. We are part of a partnership with TakingITGlobal. 

Upcoming GEC Events

The spring Global Education Fair

Our second ONLINE AND FREE Global Education Fair is taking place this week. Here's how to participate:

1. Register here.
2. Our website is located here. 
3. Follow us on Twitter and catch announcements via the #globaled18 hashtag. 
4. Browse the exhibitor information that will be available in our virtual exhibit hall on Monday, April 30th.
5. Email organizations, follow them on social media, and/or decide which organizations you would like to meet at our live drop-in sessions on Friday, May 4th from 2-5 p.m. EST (GMT-5).
6. On Friday, May 4th, live links will be available on our site for you to enter chat rooms to meet people from the exhibiting organizations. Drop in any time between 2-5 p.m. EST (GMT-5) to ask questions and to receive more information about their programs and resources for students and educators. 
7. Following the GEF, exhibitors will follow up with participants via email. 

Our exhibitors are excited to meet and connect with you, so please don't be shy! Take advantage of this opportunity to meet them in our chat rooms on Friday, May 4th. 

7th Annual Global Education Day at the International Society for Technology in Education Conference (ISTE)

We are hosting our annual meetup at the ISTE 2018 in Chicago, Illinois on June 24! Our registration procedure has changed this year; please register on ISTE's site. This means that you need to pay for the ISTE conference; our event is not an additional cost. Currently, Global Education Day is at capacity and a waiting list is in place. ISTE will notify those on the wait list as spaces become available.  

Our three-hour event will take place from 2-5 PM CST (GMT-6) and will be streamed live on our Facebook page. Resources from this event will be available to the public as well. This link will be provided to our Global Education Conference Network community close to the date of the event. 

Upcoming Dates

Mark your calendars for our next set of online events!  

• September 17-21, 2018 -  Global Collaboration Week (not just a single day!)
• November 12-15, 2018 - The 9th Annual Global Education Conference 

Celebrations & Events 

Here are a few dates that we've noticed. Note that some have a US focus. Let us know about other dates that should be included in this list. 

• Children's Book Week - April 30 - May 4
• Global Day of Design - May 4
• Asian/Pacific Heritage Month
• Teacher Appreciation Day - May 1
• Going Global 2018 - May 2 - 4 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 
• Teacher Appreciation Week - May 7 - May 11
• International Day of Families - May 15
• National Chinese Language Conference 2018 - May 17 - 19 - Salt Lake City, UT
• Global Accessibility Awareness Day - May 17
• NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo - May 27 - June 1 - Philadelphia, PA
• International Children's Day - June 1 
• iEARN International Conference and Youth Summit - July 8 - 14 - Winchester, VA

Projects & Opportunities

• Design Squad Global Clubs - register by May 1
• Digital Promise Launches Student Immersive Video Project with UN and Oculus
• Global Education Innovation 2018 Award - applications due June 8 (for European initiatives)
• Global Schools Network to Launch
• Hero Fest Contests - due May 1
• How Travelers Can Help Hurricane-Damaged Islands
• iEARN International Conference and Youth Summit Call for Proposals - due May 1
• ISTE Global PLN Scavenger Hunt
• Lead with Languages Scholarship - due May 11
• Mercy High School International Student Tech Team Hub
• Mystery Skype Selfie Challenge - May 1 through May 31
• The Innovation Project
• Mix It Up Lunch Day
• National Geographic’s “Open Explorer” Lets Anyone Create Their Own Expedition
• Virtual Exchange Opportunity with Washington, D.C. Schools
• World Class: How Global Thinking Can Improve Your School (geared towards educators in the UK)

Worth a Look 

• K-12 Study Abroad Linked with Improved Learning Outcomes 
• Dana Mortenson of World Savvy on PBS News Hour
• EDUpreneurs Wanted 
• Faces of the World
• Global Scholar Students to Present Talks on International Projects
• Polar Bears of Hudson Bay
• The Prom-Like Intensity of High School Folklorico
• The Tech Issue | Global Learning Newsletter
• What Service-Learning and Global Goals Taught Us About Promoting the Greater Good 
• Why Global Education Matters

 

Do you have an event or resource to share? Post it to the discussion forum in the Global Education Conference Network and we'll share it next month. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are Invited to the Global Share-O-Rama!

I'm using a tool called Flipgrid to have educators respond to a series of prompts related to globally connected teaching and learning. The Global Share-O-Rama is located here and I'm looking for educators and global education organizations to participate. Consider doing any of the following:

• Promote your project, organization, or book that relates to global education
• If you are running a project and need participants or partners, let us know in this Flipgrid as well.
• Share your favorite resource (article, book, tool, website etc) for helping educators connect to the world
•  Questions about how on how to collaborate globally are also welcome.

I've created seven topics or Flipgrids within the Global Share-O-Rama; you are invited to respond to one or more of these by recording a short video of yourself discussing the topic. To participate, click on a topic, then the + sign, and allow Flipgrid to access the camera on your computer if necessary. If you are using an iPad, you can download the app, and use the code that is available in the top lefthand corner to join that particular grid. You can also leave responses for other educators who have posted to Flipgrid, too. 

Below are some examples from the Global Share-O-Rama. I hope you will join in and make some new connections to enhance your work with students! Please share this information widely.

 

 

You are Invited to the Global Share-O-Rama!

I'm using a tool called Flipgrid to have educators respond to a series of prompts related to globally connected teaching and learning. The Global Share-O-Rama is located here and I'm looking for educators and global education organizations to participate. Consider doing any of the following:

• Promote your project, organization, or book that relates to global education
• If you are running a project and need participants or partners, let us know in this Flipgrid as well.
• Share your favorite resource (article, book, tool, website etc) for helping educators connect to the world
•  Questions about how on how to collaborate globally are also welcome.

I've created seven topics or Flipgrids within the Global Share-O-Rama; you are invited to respond to one or more of these by recording a short video of yourself discussing the topic. To participate, click on a topic, then the + sign, and allow Flipgrid to access the camera on your computer if necessary. If you are using an iPad, you can download the app, and use the code that is available in the top lefthand corner to join that particular grid. You can also leave responses for other educators who have posted to Flipgrid, too. 

Below are some examples from the Global Share-O-Rama. I hope you will join in and make some new connections to enhance your work with students! Please share this information widely.