This document discusses building a collaborative classroom by connecting students globally using digital tools. It emphasizes that learning is now a social, collaborative experience rather than a personal one due to technology. The document provides examples of collaborative projects and tools that teachers can use to connect their classroom with other classrooms around the world. It also discusses roles students can take on to participate effectively in collaborative projects, such as greeters, question askers, videographers. Overall, the document promotes connecting students internationally to learn about other cultures and perspectives.

1. Connecting to the World
Building a Collaborative Classroom
Cheryl Lykowski
Discovery Educator Network Guru
Michigan’s DEN Leadership Council – Chair
Discovery STAR Educator
2013

3. Are today’s students
tech savvy
or digitally literate?

4. Why focus on a
digital and
collaborative
classroom?

5. Technology has
shifted from a
personal experience
to a community
experience.

6. Build a collaborative
community in the
classroom.

7. A 21st century
classroom:
How does it look?

8. Investigative Contributive
Collaborative
Cooperative
? Connected
Community Creative

9. Learning is active.
Learning is social.
Learning is messy!

10. Learning needs rich
contexts.
Learning needs to be
authentic.

11. Learners are diverse.

12. Today’s learners are:
Creative
Leaders
Communicators
Creators
Risk takers
Connected

13. Essential
Question
s

14. *How might this
work?
*How might this
benefit my students?
*How might this add
to my instruction?

15. Global Awareness, according to
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills,
includes:
Using 21st century skills to understand and
address global issues.
Learning from and working collaboratively
with individuals representing diverse
cultures, religions and lifestyles in a spirit of
mutual respect and open dialogue in
personal, work and community contexts.
Understanding other nations and cultures,
including the use of non-English languages.

16. Global awareness is
necessary because:
Students can no longer live isolated
from the world.
Students need to be global citizens.
Students must learn about diversity,
languages, cultures, traditions and
points of view from others.

18. Connections
Make connections with other
educators, near and far

19. Connections

20. Connections

21. Collaborative Digital
Tools:
Multi-user
Synchronous/Asynchronous
Collaborative
Communicative

22. Prepare your
students
Ambassadors Engagement
Movement
Confidence
Silliness
Taking Turns
Loud & Clear
Unexpected
Slang
Questions

23. Collaborative Tools:

24. Role of the
collaborative learner:
Greeter
Question asker
Photographer
Videographer
Scheduler
*adapted from Silvia Tolisano

25. Role of the
collaborative learner:
Backchannel Info Station
writers
Live Bloggers Timer
Google Earth Data writer
Mapper
*adapted from Silvia Tolisano

26. Roles
Live Google
Blogging Earth &
Google
Maps
Back
Channel
Interviewers

27. Roles
Information
Station Scheduler
Question
Asker
Greeter

28. Roles
Greeter ~ Greets the partner school. Makes initial introduction.
Question asker ~ Asks specific questions for data collection.
Photographer ~ Responsible for documenting connection with still
images.
Videographer ~ Responsible for documenting connection with video.
Scheduler ~Responsible for adding Date & Time of planned Skype
connection to embedded Google Calendar.
*adapted from Silvia Tolisano

29. Roles
Backchannel writers ~ Documenting conversation, questions,
answers and classroom happenings during the connection on a
backchannel chat.
Live Bloggers ~ Blogs Skype call live to classroom blog.
Google Earth ~ Finds location of Skype partner and measures
distance in miles & kilometers.
Mapper ~ Responsible for adding placemark of Skype partner’s
location to embedded Google Map on classroom blog.
Info Station ~Responsible to search for any data question on the
spot. Verifies any questionable information as well.
Timer ~ Responsible for noting time Skype call started and ended as
well as calculating elapsed time.
*adapted from Silvia Tolisano

30. Roles
Data Entry ~ Responsible for adding data collected into embedded
Google form on classroom blog. Ex. distance miles/km, temperature in
F/C.
Word Problem Creator ~ Creates a math word problem
from data, questions and answers collected during Skype call.
Backchannel Cleanup ~ Responsible to save backchannel
chat as a word document and cleaning up duplicate comments and mark
questionable statements to be verified.
*adapted from Silvia Tolisano

31. Collaborative Projects
to Get You Started

32. Mystery Skype

33. Skype in the
Classroom

34. On the Same Day in
March

35. Around the World
with 80 Schools

36. Teddy Bears Around
the World

37. Projects By Jen

38. World Education
Games

39. Flat Classroom
Project

40. Collaborative Projects
with Multimedia

42. Collaborative Writing
1001 Flat Tales Mysteries of
Harris Burdick

43. Bringing Experts into
the Classroom

44. Bringing Experts into
the Classroom

45. Bringing Experts into
the Classroom

46. Bringing Experts into
the Classroom

47. Bringing Experts into
the Classroom
Johnathan
Johnathan
Rand
Rand
Sarah L. Thomson http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.c
om/

48. Bringing Experts into
the Classroom
Egg Farmer
Iditarod
Veterinarian

49. Sharing the
Curriculum

50. Resources
Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds

51. Resources
Sylvia Tolisano
http://www.langwitches.org/

52. Resources
Kevin Honeycutt
Kevinhoneycutt.org
Wesley Fryer
Speed of Creativity

53. Questions?
?

54. Contact me:

55. Cheryl Lykowski
Web2.0explorer@gmail.co
m
www.techconferences.wikispaces.c
om