Eracism Project
Flat Classroom(tm) Projects
What is the Flat Classroom™ Project? The Flat Classroom™ Project is a global collaborative project that joins together middle and senior high school students. This project is part of the emerging tend in internationally-aware schools to embrace a holistic and constructivist educational approach to work collaboratively with others around the world in order to create students who are competitive and globally-minded. The project was co-founded by Vicki Davis (Westwood Schools, USA) and Julie Lindsay(Beijing (BISS) International School, China) in 2006. The Flat Classroom Project 2006 is was featured in Chapter 13, 'If it's not happening it's because you're not doing it', of the latest edition of Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat' upon which it was based. (pages 501-503)
One of the main goals of the project is to 'flatten' or lower the classroom walls so that instead of each class working isolated and alone, 2 or more classes are joined virtually to become one large classroom. This is done through the Internet using Web 2.0 tools such as Wikispaces and Ning.
The Project uses Web 2.0 tools to make communication and interaction between students and teachers from all participating classrooms easier. The topics studied and discussed are real-world scenarios based on 'The World is Flat' by Thomas Friedman.
More information about this project can be found in:
Elements of the project for students include:
Students analyse the trends of information technology and take a journey into excellence and the very future of education itself. Classrooms are flattened as teacher’s blog, share personal learning networks via nings, collaborate on wikis and reach out to those who share a common curricular perspective.
As a sister to the Flat Classroom Project the Horizon Project, and it's replacement since 2009 the Net Generation Education Project, created in conjunction with Don Tapscott and 'Grown Up Digital', also lowers or 'flattens' the classrooms walls by emphasizing connection, communication, collaboration and creativity as well as higher-order thinking skills and problem solving. This project is based on the Horizon Report released annually by New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative that outlines 6 trends believed will be impacting college and university campuses within the next five years.
A further imitative this year is the Digiteen Project which currently links classrooms of middle school students from Australia, Canada, USA, Spain and Qatar with the aim of promoting better online citizenship through research and discussion and culminates in each school taking action within their own community to promote this.
In October 2009 a new project, culminating from a student action project at the Flat Classroom Conference in Qatar 2009, called Eracism will be launched. This will take the form of a global student debate and include a virtual world component.
Our highly connected world gives educators the global imperative to connect our people. Flat Classroom™ Projects have the power to produce world-class students with a world view, based on understanding, and not misinformed bias from the media. It will require many hard-working, well informed, ethical, diligent teachers and visionary administrators to give them the framework to operate. How about you? Will you be an advocate for a flat classroom™ project at your school?
Vicki Davis: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
Julie Lindsay: http://123elearning.blogspot.com
One of the main goals of the project is to 'flatten' or lower the classroom walls so that instead of each class working isolated and alone, 2 or more classes are joined virtually to become one large classroom. This is done through the Internet using Web 2.0 tools such as Wikispaces and Ning.
The Project uses Web 2.0 tools to make communication and interaction between students and teachers from all participating classrooms easier. The topics studied and discussed are real-world scenarios based on 'The World is Flat' by Thomas Friedman.
More information about this project can be found in:
- ISTE's Learning and Leading magazine article: Davis, V. & Lindsay, J. (2007). Flat Classrooms™. Learning & Leading with Technology, 35(1), 28-30. Available for download from this wiki - Flat_Classroom™_LL_August07.pdf
- Flat Classroom™ projects from a participants viewpoint - excellent blog post from Flat Classroom teacher and Board of Advisers member, Anne Mirtschin
- Flat Classroom™ Project Information Brochure
- Flat Classroom Participants Speak Up - a multimedia review of Flat Classroom live events including student and teacher reflection comments
Elements of the project for students include:
- deeper understanding of the effects of technology on our world that leads students to not only study but actually experience the ‘flatteners”
- students are grouped with global partners to explain trends, give personal viewpoints and create a video containing an outsourced video segment from their global partners.
- use a ning for social networking, blogging, posting photos, videos etc and and a wiki, to plan their topic and build a web page on the topic.
- assessed on a common criterion based rubric
- has real-life flavours of deadlines, accountability and interdependence
- completed videos are judged by global judges
- student summit, using Elluminate, to complete the project.
Students analyse the trends of information technology and take a journey into excellence and the very future of education itself. Classrooms are flattened as teacher’s blog, share personal learning networks via nings, collaborate on wikis and reach out to those who share a common curricular perspective.
As a sister to the Flat Classroom Project the Horizon Project, and it's replacement since 2009 the Net Generation Education Project, created in conjunction with Don Tapscott and 'Grown Up Digital', also lowers or 'flattens' the classrooms walls by emphasizing connection, communication, collaboration and creativity as well as higher-order thinking skills and problem solving. This project is based on the Horizon Report released annually by New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative that outlines 6 trends believed will be impacting college and university campuses within the next five years.
A further imitative this year is the Digiteen Project which currently links classrooms of middle school students from Australia, Canada, USA, Spain and Qatar with the aim of promoting better online citizenship through research and discussion and culminates in each school taking action within their own community to promote this.
In October 2009 a new project, culminating from a student action project at the Flat Classroom Conference in Qatar 2009, called Eracism will be launched. This will take the form of a global student debate and include a virtual world component.
Our highly connected world gives educators the global imperative to connect our people. Flat Classroom™ Projects have the power to produce world-class students with a world view, based on understanding, and not misinformed bias from the media. It will require many hard-working, well informed, ethical, diligent teachers and visionary administrators to give them the framework to operate. How about you? Will you be an advocate for a flat classroom™ project at your school?
Vicki Davis: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com
Julie Lindsay: http://123elearning.blogspot.com