The Global Classroom

I'm imagining myself as a young child in school -- our class is reading a gripping novel that each student is intrigued by. After each chapter, we write a blog post to share and express our ideas, opinions, and hypotheses. Every student becomes engaged by reading each post and making comments as a way to share our thoughts, only, our blog doesn't just involve our class. Our blog is a collaboration with two other classrooms in two different countries, reading the exact same book on the same schedule. Not only do we have a collective blog, we use Skype to video chat with groups of students from the other classrooms to discuss each week's reading. We get to share our opinions, analyze the characters and plot, and exchange views on the main points. We get to hear from students living in a different culture who might have differing views than ours. We get a global perspective. -- 

This isn't all from my imagination however, this is the story of an actual fourth grade classroom from an international school in India. Their teacher, Ms. Blair, came up with the idea to create what she calls a 'Global Book Club.' Through the use of her Personal Learning Network (PLN), she was able to find two other classrooms willing to participate located in Bangladesh and China. It took some time to determine a schedule that would work with time differences, but eventually they established the program. Their students became more engaged with the book and had productive discussions and conversations on their blog and with face-to-face interaction over Skype. Students in the book club recognized the power of having a global perspective through the use of technology. It helped them learn to express their ideas clearly, to be engaged with the book, and to listen carefully to other people's thoughts and ideas. This technology is redefining the classroom. 

Using the SAMR model of technology integration, it is evident that this level of learning reaches the depths of what it means for technology to be useful and engaging in schools. Students are no longer having to read accounts of people from other cultures to gain a different perspective. Technology is opening a door for students to actively interact with students their age who represent different cultures and perspectives. This is something that wouldn't be possible without the technology we have today. It is up to teachers to be educated about the many creative and engaging ways technology can be brought into the classroom and used to deepen the learning of students.