short presentation

							 G.E.T.T.
 Global Education
Through Technology
An International Classroom



Italy
                  Ukraine




        Lebanon             United States
        Classroom Activities
Topic-Based Dialogue
    Family
    Cultural Traditions
    Work/Meaning of Life    Exchange of Lectures


                           Text of lecture   Text of lecture
                               from               from
                             Culture 1         Culture 2
        Classroom Activities
Working with activity rotations:

        Students move from live video to chat

Advance consideration of:

        Different semester start dates

        Matching classes by time zone

       “Plan B” in case of technology
       failure
            Benefits of this Model
                             Students are exposed
                             to truly global
                             perspectives


  A dynamic relation
                                       Multiple viewpoints
 between four cultures                 assure balance
                                       among institutions



                              Enables institutional
Video-conferencing is the     networks for future
next best thing to travel!    collaboration
        Benefits of this Model
  Technology is affordable and sustainable
  Widely used H.323 standard based
  Chat and email support is (almost) always available


Technical support is
essential

                                   User-friendly
Broadband connection                Technology
of 256K essential
       Extensions of the Model
                               Guest Lectures
Topic-Oriented                 (national or
dialogue – input               international)
from other
countries on a
specific
issue/topic in a                                   Occasional Shared
course.                                            Readings and
                   Core: an international          Assignments
                    experience through
                      Interpersonal
                         dialogue
   Study Abroad
   Pre-travel                               Co-development of a
   Orientation                              course which fully
                                            integrates international
                                            partnership(s)
       Curriculum Integration –
           Your Institution

• Coordinate courses with international
  components
• Develop international components of
  current courses (develop or connect)
  – A region of interest to particular disciplines
  – A topic of interest in a particular discipline
• Most challenging - develop new courses
       Curriculum Integration
Faculty-driven at the individual course level

• Course partnerships are very flexible
  – economics with political science
  – child development with sociology


• The goal is a substantial contribution of an
international perspective to selected content
A Sociology Connection
        Curriculum Integration
• Provide   materials that can be shared
   • Professor lecture notes/powerpoints
   • References to news sites/cultural resources/your
   own online materials
   • Class connections beyond the classroom
   • Pictures?
   http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i72/projectpoland_2006

• Encourage dialogue beyond a focus on the US

• Cultural exchange and content coverage
  should be balanced
   What Makes This Happen:
      Technical Support

Of course, this whole
project relies on
successful technology
and “tech support.”


       Firewall – There must be a way to open
       systems to video-conferencing.
       Broadband – There must be a minimum
       bandwidth for successful connections
What We Learned – Challenges
• More work for faculty than expected: many
  lectures to accommodate different student
  groups; incorporation of new delivery and/or
  content in regular classes; etc.
• Multiple groups must be consulted for project
  success (initial contact, test connections, faculty
  consultation, etc.).
• Problems (technical, political, logistical, etc) are
  to be expected!
• Negotiating time zones and different university
  calendars was sometimes difficult.
  What We Learned – Rewards
• Everybody wants to do this! You can count on
  your partners.

• Personal connections inspire faculty as well as
  students and can lead to further collaboration.

• The excitement of being part of a budding
  international educational community.

• The model is adaptable to other goals/visions.
           What Worked for Us
• Keeping in regular email contact with
  international colleagues
• Sharing paper copies of all lectures
• Early distribution of student handouts clearly
  defining:
  –   A typical class session
  –   Assignment expectations
  –   Student responsibilities to partners
  –   Intercultural and videoconferencing communication
      issues
• Early establishment of student partnerships
       More of What Worked
• Prepared questions to initiate discussions
• Prepared ways of connecting course
  content to student’s lives and experiences
  – Selection of content
  – Structure of discussions
  – Types of assignments
• Encouraging student email contact outside
  of class
                   Try It Yourself!

Please feel free to contact us:

Dr. Elizabeth Shadish – 310-660-3763
eshadish@elcamino.edu
Bozena (“Bo”) Morton – 310-660-3235
bmorton@elcamino.edu