Global Awareness

Using 21st century skills to understand and address global issues; understanding  other nations and cultures, including the use of non-English languages; learning from and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions and lifestyles.

Mukuyuni Bridge Kenya

Building Relationships and Empathy with EdTech

One of the most powerful moments in my 22 years of teaching occurred on the last day of the school year. 

During the first week of school, my students in rural Pennsylvania played a game via Skype with a group of students in a rural Kenyan village. During that call, they learned of a bridge in the village so dangerous that many children were not able to go to school because of it. Over the course of the school year, the children in Kenya taught my students how to garden. In exchange, my students designed and fundraised to replace that bridge. 
Top 5 Resources in November

Our Top Five Resources in October 2018

Each month we publish blogs andsnewsletters full of digital learning, funding, professional growth, social media, and STEM resources. Below are items from our blogs and newsletters that educators turned to the most in October.
Student Blogging on Vacation

Making One Student’s Vacation into a Class Field Trip

Every year I have one or two students who are given the opportunity to go on an amazing adventure with their family during the school year. As their teacher, I love the opportunities this gives students. I fully support any chance students have to see more of the world. However, I do not want to create busy work for them to do while they are gone. I want their time doing schoolwork to be as meaningful as their time in my classroom.

Take an Hour to Plan for Hour of Code

I’m middle-aged. However, when I look at all of the opportunities students have today to learn, I feel young again. Flexible learning spaces, multiple literacies, maker spaces, and coding with kids are ideas that didn’t exist when I was young. As an education technology professional and one-time middle school English teacher, coding with kids and coding as literacy are especially appealing to me.