Narrative of our presentation of Globalization in 21st century education

1. My group was assigned the Globalization pillar of 21st
century education. Students will
learn global awareness, and how to become global citizens, as part of 21st
century education.
Global citizens respect the various economies, cultures, and nations of the world. These citizens
stay educated and updated on world news. They exude sympathy for the citizens experiencing
strife, and call for change. Our students will need to learn how to critically think, problem solve,
and analyze world news to fully understand the implications, or consequences, that accompany
natural disasters, economic changes, political decisions, warfare, and many more circumstances.
These prospective global citizens will gain a sense of identity, because they will construct their
own ideas by consolidating all the perspectives they have been exposed to. The great, diverse
world will influence their identity, and they will become world citizens.
We live in an internet obsessed time period. We can access information at the click of a
few buttons (fewer and fewer all the time!). There are huge databases of research articles made
public and accessible to anyone. The information is endless. Learning should be BOUNDLESS.
With so much information out there, our new generations must be able to sift the shit from the
gold. These generations must be able to think for themselves, analyze, persuade other people that
they are correct by providing a logical rationale, and then revise their ideas to make them better.
But simply gathering information is a global endeavor! Research spans the whole world, and
studies are being conducted everywhere. Provided the study is performed correctly, every study
is equally important, and relevant. Just because the study happened on the other side of the
world, doesn't mean their findings aren't valid. We need to remember that there are other
countries asking the same questions we are.
The age of isolationism is over. Globalization is all about making the world a better
place, and embracing the diversity. Through collaboration and sharing responsibility, various

2. skilled experts can come together and solve the problems of tomorrow. Think of the “green”
technology we have: solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric power. That wasn’t just American
scientists, and American environmental engineers; the world continues to monitor and research
these resources for better efficiency. It’s just like in education, it’s just like the new common
core; we’re searching for more efficient and effective ways to educate our students. This is a
global effort.
Students can use social media to expand their world, and shape their ideas. Teachers can
have their students follow a few well-known experts in their field on Twitter. The students could
be required to tweet a quote from class, an opinion, an idea, an intelligent musing, whatever they
want about the subject. These students could be encouraged to tweet at the experts, retweet
poignant posts, or they could take snapshots of the tweets and write a reflection about each
expert (as we did in this class). I think this would be a great idea to incorporate social media in
the classroom, and also promote globalization. The experts on Twitter share interesting resources
that the students can explore, and ultimately, be inspired.
Technology helps global awareness be possible. As in the example above, students have
the opportunity to easily communicate with people from around the world. Internet is a huge
advantage in this technological world. Students have the ability to consume, produce, and
collaborate information across the internet platform. They can access the internet on a variety of
devices, like smartphones, tablets, and computers. Most of these devices are portable, which
allows students to continue exploring wherever they are. Social media sites and Web 2.0
applications promote the efficiency of using and sharing information across state lines, across
national borders, and across oceans. This technology gives a new meaning to the old saying - it’s
a small world after all.