K-2 Building Bridges to Tomorrow 14-1 Kickoff

K-­‐2  Building  BridgesProject  14-­‐1  Welcome!  

Teacher  kickoff  mee>ng  February  17/18  2014  

The  Project  wiki  can  be  found  at    h"p://k-­‐214-­‐1.flatclassroomproject.org/    The  project  Teacher  Guide    can  be  found  at  h"p://9nyurl.com/k2flatconnect      This  project  is  part  of  the  Flat  Connec>ons  group  of  global  projects  h"p://flatconnec9ons.com    

Meet  FuzeBox!  Our  virtual  classroom  for  Flat  Connec>ons  

Where  are  you  from?  Add  to  chat  your  name,  your  city/state/country  and  >me.  

Agenda  

Part  1:  K-­‐2  and  Flat  Connec9ons  

•  Introduc>ons  •  What  is  Flat  Connec>ons?  •  What  is  K-­‐2  Building  

Bridges?  •  Places  and  spaces  

Part  2:  Project  details  •  Project  content  •  Project  aims  and  challenges  •  Project  structure  •  Project  outcomes  •  How  to  get  started  •  What  to  do  now….and  next  

Introduc>ons  •  Project  Manager  

– Sandy  Wisneski  

•  Lead  Teacher  – Cathy  Wolinsky  

•  ‘All  Projects’  Coordinator  – Yvonne  Caples  

•  Flat  Connec>ons  founder  –  Julie  Lindsay  

A  Flat  Connec>ons  project  is  about…..  

CONNECTING  ●  Being  informed  -­‐  making  sure  you  receive  informa>on  

●  Making  valuable  connec>ons  with  other  par>cipants  

●  Building  a  learning  community  -­‐  teachers  and  students  

●  Being  comfortable  with  project  spaces  and  places  

A  Flat  Connec>ons  project  is  about…..  

COMMUNICATING  ●  Synchronous  teacher  mee>ngs  ●  Asynchronous  Ning,  wiki,  Edmodo  work  ●  Sharing  resources  and  ideas  for  learning  to  improve  project  outcomes  

●  Observing  project  workflow  and  informing  partners  of  school  breaks  and  interrup>ons    

A  Flat  Connec>ons  project  is  about…..  

COLLABORATING  ●  Contribu>ng  to  all  aspects  of  the  project  ●  Being  reliable  and  responsible  global  collaborators  

●  Monitoring  and  being  part  of  the  project  conversa>on  with  students  

●  Suppor>ng  co-­‐crea>on  objec>ves  

What  is  K-­‐2  Building  Bridges  to  Tomorrow?  

The  K-­‐2  Building  Bridges  to  Tomorrow  Project  is  a  global  collabora>ve  project  that  joins  together  students  at  the  lower  elementary  level  (typically  grade  K-­‐2,  4-­‐7  years  old).  

It  uses  Web  2.0  tools  to  support  communica>on  and  interac>on  as  well  as  collabora>on  and  crea>on  between  students  and  teachers  from  classrooms  around  the  world.  The  topics  shared  and  discussed  are  real-­‐world  scenarios  that  aim  to  pique  interest  amongst  students  as  to  similari>es  and  differences  between  classes  and  cultures.  Teachers  will  meet  most  

weeks  to  discuss  project  goals,  aims  and  progress.  Classes  will  be  grouped  into  teams  of  3-­‐5  on  each  topic.  

The  project  is  designed  to  develop  cultural  understanding,  skills  with  Web  2.0  and  other  sofware,  experience  in  global  collabora>on  and  online  learning,  awareness  of  what  it  means  to  live  and  learn  in  a  flat  world.  

Places and Spaces…… Getting a handle on where to go

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog

K-2 Teacher Community

• Flat Connection network (Ning) o  Join teacher group (http://flatconnections.net) o  http://flatconnections.net/group/k-2-building-

bridges-14-1

• K-2 Google group o Set your own email preferences and make

sure you are receiving mail during the project

For private email communication •  http://groups.google.com/group/flat-classroom-k-2-project •  Email: [email protected]

Wiki http://k-214-1.flatclassroomproject.org

Ning  Group  –  Important  resources  hhp://flatconnec>ons.net  

Project  Content  Summary  

All  teams  do  this  topic  •  A  View  from  the  Window  

Project  Topics  •  How  We  Play  •  Going  to  School  •  Celebra>ng  Together  •  Part  of  a  Family  •  Making  a  Meal  •  Sharing  Stories  

Aim/Challenge  Aim:  To  build  understanding  of  life  beyond  the  immediate  

environment  and  also  build  community  through  regular  connec>on  and  collabora>on  and  by  sharing  between  classrooms.  

Our  Challenge:  To  connect  classrooms  around  the  world  in  meaningful  discussions  and  collabora>ons  and  to  show  that  co-­‐crea>on  of  ideas  and  products  is  possible  at  this  level  of  educa>on  

Guiding  Ques>ons:  Guiding  Ques9ons:  

•  Can  very  young  students  effec>vely  connect,  communicate,  

and  collaborate  in  a  global  project?  

•  What  does  this  look  like?  

•  What  products  can  students  in  mixed  classroom  teams  co-­‐

create?  

•  What  ac>vi>es  and  structure  can  we  design  and  implement  

to  scaffold  this  collabora>on?  

How  will  Workflow  support  K-­‐2  14-­‐1?  

•  Online  Teacher  Informa>on  Mee>ng:  before  March  1  

•  Classroom  Handshake  and  Kick-­‐off:  March  1-­‐15  •  Team  Forma>on  and  Project  Discussions:  March  15-­‐April  1  

•  Projects  to  be  started  by  April  1  •  Mul>media  Collec>on  and  Sharing:  April  1-­‐15  •  Product  Development  and  Co-­‐Crea>on:  April  15-­‐30  

•  Celebra>on,  Summits  and  Reflec>ons:  May  1-­‐15  

K-­‐2  Building  Bridges  Project  Structure  

Team  forma9on,  Handshakes  

Project  discussions,  Mul9media  collec9on  and  sharing  

Project  development  and  co-­‐crea9on  

Celebra9on,  Reflec9on,  Sharing  outcomes  

What  are  Project  Outcomes  for  Students?  

•  Online  learning  community  interac>on    – Real  >me  interac>ons  e.g.  Skype  – Sharing  mul>media    -­‐images,  videos  e.g.  class  handshakes  

•  Collabora>ve  learning  and  team  skills  •  Major  outcome  1:  Contribu9on  to  one  of  the  Team  topics  

•  Major  outcome  2:  A  View  from  the  Window  

Crea>ng  the  Handshake  

●  Handshake  phase  ○  Reach  out  and  “shake  hands”  over  the  next  week  ○  Share  this  experience  via  the  Ning  or  the  Wiki  

●  Tools  for  the  Handshake  ○  You  decide  ○  Skype  -­‐  Mystery?  ○  Video  

Examples  of  Past  Projects  hhp://k213-­‐1bridges.flatclassroomproject.org/Home    

Handshake  Example  h"p://youtu.be/nTI9meJBz_0  

Examples  of  Past  Projects  hhp://k213-­‐1bridges.flatclassroomproject.org/Home    

View  from  Our  Window  -­‐  h"p://youtu.be/FdiQUrh617Q  

Proposed  Outcomes  

Co-­‐created  Product  from  Mixed  Classrooms  using  Mul>-­‐Media  

●  E-­‐Books  ●  Voicethread  ●  Glogster  

Examples  of  Past  Projects  hhp://k213-­‐1bridges.flatclassroomproject.org/Home  Final  Project  

Voicethread:  hhps://voicethread.com/share/4508761/  

K-­‐2  13-­‐2  examples  

•  Refer  to  wiki  hhp://k-­‐213-­‐2bridges.flatclassroomproject.org/    

What  now?  

•  PM  will  email  a  mee>ng  summary  and  recording  link  for  this  kickoff  (and  this  info  will  be  on  the  Ning!)  

•  Invita>on  to  Google  group,  Ning  group,  Timebridge,  join  the  wiki  

•  Week  star>ng  February  24:  – Another  teacher  mee>ng  run  by  Sandy  and  Cathy  – Teachers  start  introducing  students  to  the  project  – Real  >me  connec>ons  explored  

Badges    -­‐Teachers  &  Students  

Flat  Connec9ons  will  introduce  ‘Badges’  this  semester.  More  informa9on  coming  soon!  h"p://credly.com    

Discussion  and  Ques>ons  

Final  words………  

•  Anyone  who  has  never  made  a  mistake  has  never  tried  anything  new.  -­‐  Albert  Einstein  

•  The  important  thing  is  not  to  stop  ques>oning.  -­‐  Albert  Einstein  

FLAT  professional  development    Flat  Connec>ons  Global  Educator  

FLAT  encounters    Sydney  June  2014  

FLAT  projects  for  K-­‐12  hhp://flatconnec>ons.com  

Global  Portal        flatconnec>ons.com  Teacher  Network    flatconnec>ons.net  Email            admin@flatconnec>ons.com  Twiher          @flatconnec>ons  Julie  Lindsay      julie@flatconnec>ons.com