Name and brief bio of the instructor
Sharon Brown-Peters - Sharon is the HS Technology Coordinator at the American School of Bombay in Mumbai, India. With more than 20 years of experience as an educator, she has taught middle and high school English, technology and media studies. Her students have participated in many global collaborative online projects and have won several awards for their projects.

Number of graduate semester credits - 2

Exact dates and hours of instruction
This is an asynchronous course with an independent learning model. Approximate hours of instruction will be 8 hours per week for 5 weeks.

Description and Purpose of the Course
Meaningful and learning-rich collaborative projects between classrooms have been thriving for more than a decade with the growing availability and reliability of Internet and mobile connectivity. In this course, we will explore the educational advantages of exposing our students to new cultures, perspectives and cross-cultural communication. We will examine a variety of existing projects as well as the various tools and online platforms that exist to support them. Project management approaches will also be presented and discussed. Many educational organizations sponsor and support such projects, while a number of educators have found partners for projects independently through their own personal learning networks. Course participants will be challenged to choose and plan a short-term project with the aid of technology and social media tools that will support the educational goals and standards of their specific learner group and subject area.

The coursework is designed around the ISTE NETS teacher standards for collaboration, creativity and innovation, information fluency, critical thinking and digital citizenship. At the end of the course, participants will have gained a better appreciation of the rationale for global collaborative projects and a working knowledge of some of the technology tools that are available to facilitate such projects. They will have explored the planning and implementation of a small-scope project. Coursework will involve reading, sharing, and exploring articles, blogs and products from existing global collaborative projects as well as their ongoing development of their own project.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Participants of the course will examine and understand new literacy approaches, rationales for global education, and emerging technology tools relating to global collaborative projects. Through this exposure to new approaches and tools, they will be challenged to integrate and support their teaching and learning situations with technology in new or different ways in order to support the goals of global citizenship and collaboration skills.
• Course participants will develop an action plan which will include research and identification of potential projects, preparation of students, project management resources and approaches, assessment plans, and reflection/evaluation of the introduction of technology into their learning environments.

Brief Outline of Instruction

• Week 1 - Reading and exploring about global collaborative projects. Learn what makes global projects a potentially powerful catalyst for learning in the classroom.
• Week 2 - Analyzing project management approaches and tools. Learn how to use a range of project management approaches and technology tools which can facilitate global collaboration between classes.
• Week 3 - Identifying and selecting an appropriate global project for a specific student group. Learn how to search for an appropriate partner or set of partners and begin to plan a relevant, meaningful project that will address the learning goals and standards for a specific subject area and student group.
• Week 4 and 5 - Implementing and collaborating a project with appropriate tools and approaches; reflection and analysis of project. Learn how to carry out a project with collaboration of partners at a distance using appropriate technology tools and approaches. Learn how to assess student learning effectively and reflect on the overall success of the project.

Required Reading

Davis, V., Lindsay, J. 2012. Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time (Pearson Resources for 21st Century Learning)