Connected Learning
Experiences

Who We Are in Place and Time - We are Unique

Each student during this unit would focus on introducing where they were from in the world, their family history, and special family traditions that they have.

Students create a kidblog to document learning over the course of the year and keep parents and family members abroad connected. GLOBAL

A focus on conflict resolution including understanding perspective with an introduction with the Dr Seuss book The Sneetches

extremely brief look at real life scenarios online of current conflict areas like Syria (relevant because of Syrian students) GLOBAL

Students research how to resolve conflict and create posters LOCAL

Ice breakers and teambuilding LOCAL

Study of relevant flags in the classroom, and then learning the song 'Waving Flag', talk about the meaning . GLOBAL

Suki's Kimono Book suggests the importance of uniqueness

Find a photo on the internet to represent an aspect of yourself that makes you unique and share it with the class LOCAL TO GLOBAL

LOCAL - Chinese Lunar Calendar

Research the meaning online, learn the story

Zodiac Signs GLOBAL

Research the mearning

How We Organize Ourselves - Assembly Line

Students learn about different jobs in the world, in their family and in the school.

GLOBAL Skype Education interviews with sparky the fire dog in the US

Students are asked to create interview questions about different roles in the school community. The private school where we worked had many people including groundskeepers, administrative staff, cafeteria workers, parent-teacher leaders, school leaders, sub-level coordinators etc. Each student had a different person to investigate and we made a giant 'school family tree' in the hallway with completed work.

LOCAL focus on the immediate community

Sharing the Planet - Homey Habitats

The class researches all of the different habitats around the world. The class decides as a group which habitat to look at in-depth, and each member of the class chooses an animal from that one of the GLOBAL habitats (ie the Arctic). We decorate the classroom according to the look of the habitat (snowflakes) and each student chooses an animal in that habitat to do an in-depth research poster presentation about.

Skype education interviews with Lion experts in Botswana and Shark experts at a research centre in the US GLOBAL

Online encyclopedias GLOBAL

Understand the LOCAL and NATIONAL habitats, and go on a local hike/the local zoo

Where We Are In Place and Time - Here and There

Students study the local area including maps and history relating to international trade that is relevant to many students at the school GLOBAL TRADE, NATIONAL TRADE

Students make a brochure of a local attraction including all of the relevant information for a tourist to visit it using various research tools and online images, searches. They produce a document in Microsoft Publisher, print it, present it and display it. LOCAL

Look at old maps of the local city and observe how it has changed over time. Do a local walk about and create maps of the local area/campus/sports complex

How We Express Ourselves - Sign Language

Students study many ways that people express themselves through signs, languages, naval semaphore flags, morse code, sign language, road signs etc., different alphabets like Korean, Arabic, Japanese, braille, hieroglyphs, body language, cave paintings, graffiti, map symbols, international signs and symbols, anglo saxon runes, roman numerals GLOBAL connections

Learn how to write their name in many different ways

In small groups , students create a culminating task - a presentation for visiting students about one form of communication that has a brief explanation, overview of how to do it and an interactive activity for guest learners.

Students create bully free zone signs - immediate LOCAL COMMUNITY

Learn about Helen Keller GLOBAL

How the World Works - Buildings and Structures

Learn about famous buildings around the world GLOBAL

Learn about different homes around the world - yurt, apartment, houses with grass roves, igloo etc. GLOBAL

Learn the three pigs story and read several different versions including the one about different world architecture. GLOBAL

Learn about different animal homes - bee hives, ant hills, beaver dams GLOBAL

Earn student researches a famous building in their home country or in a location of their choosing and presents about it GLOBAL

Students build a 3D model of a building or structure (Eiffel tower) using found material and present to the school community with a history and relevant information including a map of location. GLOBAL

All education is environmental education

Interconnected learning strategies

Learning Locally

Integrated Learning

Acting on Learning

Real World Connections

Considering Alternative Perspectives

Inquiry

Sharing Responsibility for Learning

Transformative Learning

Change is required to meet needs

Critical thinking is mandatory

Thinking about past-present-future

adaptive learning is personalized to the learner

Learning through projects

learn in the community as well as the school environment

deeply integrated use of technological tools and real-world sources

Assessment as, for and of learning is emphasized

The world is rapidly changing and the use of new technologies are needed to keep up with the innovation

Peer to peer learning is amplified by technology through learning collectives

HPL How People Learn framework- Bransford, Brown and Cocking's

Learner centred

Community Centred

Knowledge Centred

Assessment Centred

Subtopic

There is a shift from singular 'learning events' toward collaborative learning experiences

innate ICT integration amplifies collaborative learning

Google Docs

Wiki

Blogs

Design and facilitation for collaboration

Beyond the school

Connecting with expertise

constructivist approach of problem solving through a common problem forges co-operation,

partnerships and collaboration within the learning environment,

meets individual interests and empowers students

force out of comfort zones