The second keynote was a couch session, where a presenter from NBC interviewed Jim Carleton and Mali Bickley in Today show style. They are 2 Canadian educators who have become really involved in global projects with their students over the past 5-6 years.
These have been through the iearn.org web site and include some of the following projects:
My Hero Project – this is a good one to start off with. This project is done through learning circles which provides very good support for teachers new to global projects. A teachers guide to learning circles link.
Art Miles Project – also good for beginners.
My Dream World Project - This project provides an opportunity for the students in schools around the world to share their ideas about their dream world through writing essays, prose, poems and short stories or drawing pictures.
There is much agreement here that schools need to start teaching kids 21st century skills through authentic tasks that require higher order thinking skills. Global projects that can make a difference help our students to be global citizens and to develop the skills they will need.
