Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Flat Classroom Project

Learning about the Flat Classroom Project was nothing new for me.  In fact, I actually had to read Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat for my Globalization class during my freshman year of college.  These articles provided a nice review of a topic that we had thoroughly discussed.  What exactly is the Flat Classroom Project?  We learned that it is a multi-modal learning environment that is student-centered and a level playing field for teacher to student and student to teacher interaction.  The objective is to work collaboratively with others around the world in order to create students who are competitive and globally minded.  I believe it is a great way for students to think “outside the box.”  In other words, we need to learn about things beyond our local neighborhood, beyond the state in which we live, beyond our nation, and learn about issues/ideas that we face globally.  When reading the article called Learning & Leading, I really liked the statement that read, “Technology is essential to school transformation and future opportunities for the 21st century learners around the globe.”  Without the technology, this would be impossible.  Think about it:  Don’t you find it amazing that you can sign on to Skype and talk to someone across the world in China?!  I certainly do!  My generation grew up with technology and I sometimes feel we take it for granted.  Technology allows us to do many things and we must use it to our benefit.  Until reading these articles, I have never heard about Digital Citizenship.  I learned that Digital Citizenship is about transforming yourself into a professional who can effectively research technology trends, monitor the uses of technology in your school or district, avoid the fear factor that can easily paralyze you, and empower student-centered learning to create vibrant, exciting learning projects.  This is a powerful statement that we as individuals should strive for and, more so, in becoming an educator.  I also like the idea that was made about learning.  Learning takes place in many different ways, times, and places.  My learning style might be different than yours, but the success is that we both understood/can apply the information.  When I am sleeping, somewhere across the world students are at school.  Learning is everywhere and it is a great opportunity for us to expand our knowledge.  One day, I will be teaching the students about math and how it applies to our everyday lives.  Who knows, I may “flatten” the walls of my classroom by joining with another across the world to virtually become one.

1 comment:

  1. So cool that you have read The World is Flat, Megan, and that this was a reminder/review for you. Interesting to get your perspective as a young college student...taking technology for granted....maybe a different way of saying that is that it's just a part of existence for you that is like a no-brainer. What I have found is that school systems aren't always set up to maximize the benefits of a level playing field. I hope your experience is different, and I hope you are able to do "flattening" activities in the Math classroom. How cutting-edge that would be!

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