Here are some more of the session descriptions for the presentations I attended during the Global Education Conference 2013 http://www.globaleducationconference.com/ with links to some of the websites and programs that were mentioned and a collage of images.
Dr. Jamal Din Slimani
Able-bodied People’s Perceptions of and Communication with Persons with Disabilities
Full Session Description: My presentation aims at shedding light on able-bodied people’s perceptions of and communication with individuals who have disabilities. Those perceptions are mostly shaped by the powerful phenomenon of social construction, i.e., people “learn” to perceive individuals with disabilities based on what the different agencies of socialization (family, school, peers, and the media) have “taught” them. Therefore, interactions between able-bodied persons and people with disabilities are, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Origins of negative attitudes will be explained and solutions for a social de-construction of those attitudes will be suggested.
It is hoped that this presentation will provide valuable information for people who may interact with disabled individuals and teachers who may have students with disabilities in their classes.
Peter Stidwill
QUANDARY: Building creativity, empathy and ethical decision-making through play
Full Session Description: The Learning Games Network’s QUANDARY is a free, multi-award winning game that engages your students in ethical and critical thinking. In this session, you’ll see the game in action and explore how players are encouraged to understand, analyze and resolve difficult ethical situations that face a community. You’ll also discover the newly launched Character Creator – a unique tool and Contest that connects together students, and their own character creations, from around the world. The prize? A chance to join the design team to build a fourth all-new episode of the game!
The game’s scenarios challenge players on a range of societal, cultural and environmental issues, and forms a brilliant spring-board for rich discussion. The setting for the game, Planet Braxos, including its inhabitants and challenges, offers a microcosm of Earth and its very real-world problems. What happens when a diverse set of people need to work together to overcome problems that require teamwork, creativity and compromise in order to solve, an where the player can see the outcome of their choices? The game encourages perspective-taking and systems thinking in order to equip citizens to make better decisions and act on more informed viewpoints.
We’ll share practical tips from teachers on seeding and facilitating those discussions, along with advice and ideas for classroom set-up and gameplay – information that is applicable to many game-based learning scenarios.
Come and explore the exciting but challenging world of space colonization on the Planet Braxos – and discover how QUANDARY will help your students recognize ethical issues and deal with challenging situations in their own lives
http://www.quandarygame.org/
http://www.brainpop.com/games/
KEYNOTE
Brandon Wiley
Six School-Wide Strategies to Globalize Your School
Understanding how to prepare students to succeed in an increasingly global society takes careful planning. Explore six school-wide strategies that can be employed by school leaders and teachers to globalize the curriculum and learning experience of your students. Hear how schools across the United States are developing students’ global competence through the use of authentic, project-based learning experiences and portfolio assessment. Participants will leave the session with practical tools and frameworks to identify ways they can develop a more globally-focused school.
http://mappingthenation.net/
http://mgraffin.edublogs.org/
http://theglobalclassroomproject.wordpress.com/
http://globalclassroom2013-14.wikispaces.com/
http://asiasociety.org/pos
http://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence.pdf
http://www.ctaun.org/
http://www.solution-tree.com/leading-new-literacies.html
Lisa Parisi and Donna Adams Román
Natural Disasters and Us
Full Session Description: Natural Disasters and Us was a collaborative Project-based Learning unit between two 5th grade classes designed to teach geography though the study of natural disasters around the world. One of the schools is located in Long Island, NY where Hurricane Sandy hit. This added an unfortunate but real perspective. The project included synchronous and asynchronous lessons as well as guest Skype speakers from areas affected by natural disasters during that year.
http://naturaldisastersandus.wikispaces.com/
http://www.bitstripsforschools.com/
http://globalclassroom2013-14.wikispaces.com/
http://ourglobalfriendships.wikispaces.com/
KEYNOTE
Julie Lindsay
How to go Global – Lead, Learn, League
Emerging technologies and increased access across the world is the catalyst to embed global awareness, interaction and understanding into all learning opportunities, but has this really happened yet? What positive social change needs to take place to fully realize the goal of a connected and ‘flattened’ environment that supports personalized learning? Join Julie for ‘How to Go Global’ as she describes, and shows through current examples, how leadership, collaborative learning that leads to true co-creation, and building ‘leagues’ of designers, innovators and communities can take learning to the next level. Our future is important, let’s articulate and plan now to go global now.
http://eventifier.co/event/flatclassroom13/videos?page=2
http://www.wise-qatar.org/
http://globalclassroom2013-14.wikispaces.com/
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/es/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html
http://charterforcompassion.org/
http://www.globalyouthdebates.com/
http://thinkglobalschool.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
Mary Jo Allegra
The Art/Science Connection: How to build Successful Collaborations
Full Session Description: During this presentation, I will share my successes in collaboration via my experiences in building an integrated Art/Science program in an elementary school setting. By thinking and creating like an artist and scientist, students begin to understand how both disciplines share many skill sets as well as reflect and support one another. Students study concepts that share knowledge based in both the Visual Arts and Science. Developing an awareness of our natural environment will allow students to build a personal aesthetic and discover how art mimics nature. Students explore the elements and principles of art via natural phenomena and discover how the arts of every world culture are inspired by their surrounding environment.
http://sunporchstudio.com/
Gifted Resources 