Assignment 4: Holiday Card Exchange

     Our collaboration group worked on the Holiday Card Exchange Project.  Members of our group were:  Karleen Vaughn, Janet Marcotte, and Elizabeth Williams.  We searched for a project that would include global collaboration with elementary school students across the globe.  After much research and discussion, we found this site for our project.  Our Weebly site was somewhat difficult to set up with additional editors, but after much troubleshooting, we were finally successful with the setup.  The purpose of this project is to collaborate with students across the globe and learn about different customs and holiday celebrations, and also communicate with different classrooms around the world.

     Teachers will complete the Google Form with information about the school, class and students.  Upon submission of the form, selections will be made for each classroom and will be teamed with another classroom to exchange handmade holiday cards and also send cards to local community service people.  Classrooms are provided templates on which to organize the information about the class.  At this point, Internet Safety and Netiquette will be discussed with students to include what information to share and what information needs to remain private.

     Cards are to be handmade and students cautioned about sensitivity and respect of different beliefs and customs for students around the world.

     Throughout this project, students will learn about classrooms around the world, cultures, map skills, geography, customs, holidays and writing skills.
      We have also included extension activities using Google Slides, Flipgrid, and Mystery Skype.

Timeline the for project is:

     Registration - November 1, 2019

     Project Dates - December 2-20, 2019

     

Check out our project at www.my-global-learning.com.

Global Project Reviews

Evaluation 1:  PoetryAround the World

Poetry has always been such an interesting form of literature.  I especially like the “Where I’m From” theme used for the project.  Often times, it is difficult for students to tell about themselves and know what information to share.  Learning about people and their experiences is a great learning experience for the students.  Giving students an example to follow helps to clarify questions or concerns about the understanding of the directions.  Poetry is such an artistic form of sharing information. Once students have dealt with their personal stories and created their poetry, one would better understand the unique lifestyles of different cultures. 

I appreciate the way that the project is organized and the digital aspect of the project, and the ease at which the information is disseminated.  This project has enticed me to purchase the book, Where I’m From, Where Poems Come From by George Ella Lyon.

Evaluation 2:  Global Read Aloud

Since I love to read, I thought this was a great project for classes to share.  Since book interpretations are based on experiences, this should be a very interesting and educational global connection.  It is exciting and inspiring to think about the different countries and experiences that will be “brought to the table” upon sharing after reading the books.  The site gives specific criteria for book selection, which will make the book choice easier for the students and the teachers.  The project, with the digital aspect, as well as, simplicity of the instructions will make for a great project for global collaboration.  Just looking at how fast the project has grown since 2010 with 150 students to 2016 with 1,000,000) is amazing and shows to be well worth the classroom extension for students.

Evaluation 3:  Sharing Cultures Around the World

I liked the way you incorporated so many technology tools for the students to use: Google docs, Flipgrid, iTunes, Spotify, Google, Google Slides, etc.  Giving students choices to select their own software will give them different ways to be creative.  By creating a rubric, students will know exactly what they need to include in their narratives.  Student feedback and peer reviews are a great way to learn from each other.  Grouping students and having students work together help to create a stronger environment in which to create their stories and learn from each other about different cultures and countries.  The timeline and explanation proved to be very easy to follow and understand.  Because of the many nationalities in the United States, this project is a great way for students and teachers to know and understand each other in a deeper capacity.  This also reminds us that we have global connections within our classrooms and schools, as well as, in other parts of the world.  We can learn from each other.

Final Thoughts:

This was one of the most enjoyable and informative assignments of which I have participated  throughout my degree at West Georgia.  I have learned so much about global projects and considerations when participating in a global classroom project.  The information that can be received and the experiences that students share are strong examples of student-centered learning and digital integration.  What a great tool to show students how to be global citizens, collaborators and contributors.