Monday, November 27, 2006

Flat Classroom Project Launch Today

Vicki Davis and I invite you to drop in on our Flat Clssroom Project over the next 3 weeks. This project has been in the planning and development stage for about 6 weeks and today it is launched!

The idea for the project came from us both reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. I started to learn about Friedman and the flat world through David Warlick's blog and also through Will Richardson at NECC06. I have also been keeping bookmarks for 'flatworld' and 'flatclassroom' on delicious.

In October Vicki blogged about her students 'weighing in on Friedmans Flat World', so I contacted her and suggested we develop a collaboration between our students so that they could interact and discuss and develop links with other students from 'the other side of the flat world'. For the next 3 weeks students from International School Dhaka, Bangladesh Grade 11 ITGS class and students from Westwood Schools Grade 10 computer class will discuss life from their side of the world based on the selected 'flatteners' as per Friedman's book.

So here we are today with a project launch and a lot of excited students anticipating some fun learning experiences. The project is wiki-centric and has been developed to align with each of our curriculum and assessment needs for this time of the year. Each student has been partnered with another from the other side of the world. Each partnership has a topic based on one of the 'Ten Flatteners'. There are comprehensive assessment rubrics and a code of ethics for online learning. We are also developing resources and approaches to using Web2.0 tools in the classroom and for communication and sharing.

We are expecting a lot from our students and have discussed the need for regular and ongoing communciation and discussion between them and their partners as they develop their own wiki pages and multimedia content. We have also invited noted international educators to help review the final wiki pages and multimedia objects with a view to awarding and showcasing best practice learning outcomes. More about this later.

So, we invite you to drop in and browse the development of the first Flat Classroom Project. Our students know that their wiki will be viewed internationally. We look forward to your encouragement. I look forward to being part of the growing and maturing I anticipate my students to do as they embrace this online adventure.

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2 comments:

Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher said...

I am so excited about our project! This is going to be an excellent opportunity!

Anonymous said...

I recently blogged about creating a virtual 21st century school. I think you and Vicki are starting something fantastic here. I will check in often and watch the progress. If you need any help be sure to email me.

Chris Harbeck
Grade 8 Math
Sargent Park School
Canada
makeitinteresting.blogspot.com