Download WRITE Institute Conference - Multilingual Education Services

Strengthening Language Learning
Through Global Learning Networks
This session will highlight the use of technology to engage students, build 21st
century skills, and strengthen students' English Language development through a
global connection. Examples will be shared from iEARN (International Education
and Resource Network), in which students use their first and second languages to
engage in collaborative critical inquiry with partner classes around the world.
Grade Level Focus: All
Accountability Leadership Institute for
English Learner and Immigrant Students
California Department of Education
San Diego Sheraton
Dec. 5-6, 2011
Kristin Brown, Ed.D.
Policy Studies in Language & Cross-Cultural Education
San Diego State University
Co-Director, De Orilla a Orilla & iEARN-Orillas Center
Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Cell phone: 562-706-0410
Mailing Address:
847 Arden Dr.
Encinitas, CA 92024
Websites:
De Orilla a Orilla http://www.orillas.org
iEARN: http://www.iearn.org
Developing a Vision for 21st Century Teaching and Learning
Are our schools preparing our students for the world they are entering?
Are we teaching and valuing the skills and type of knowledge students will need in order to
function, thrive and lead in this era? (Californians Together)
The future is here. It’s multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual. But are students ready for it?
•U.S. high school graduates will:
•Sell to the world and buy from the world
•Work for international companies
•Manage employees from other cultures and countries
•Compete with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets
•Collaborate with people all over the world in joint ventures.
•Tackle global problems, such as AIDS, avian flu, pollution, and disaster recovery
(“The Prepared Graduate” Vivien Stewart, Asia Society, in Educational Leadership, April, 2007)
Are we preparing young people to succeed in college and careers?
As students advance through the grades will they exhibit the capacities of a literate individual, such
as understanding other perspectives and cultures, and using technology and digital media
strategically and capably? (Common Core State Standards Initiative http://www.corestandards.org)
How can we integrate 21st century skills into core academic content in alignment with the CCSS?
How can schools prepare students for the future by creating a stronger focus on creativity, critical thinking,
communication and collaboration? (Partnership for 21st Century Skills http://www.p21.org)
As educators pursue CCSS alignment… it is crucial to design curricula and assessment systems that
emphasize authentic real world problems, engage students in inquiry and exploration and provide
opportunities for students to apply what they know in meaningful ways. (P21 Common Core Toolkit p. 10)
Global Learning Networks: An Overview







Use technology to create an online community of learners (can include students, teachers, parents)
informed by community input.
Support collaborative interdisciplinary projects in which students use digital media to investigate local
issues and report their findings to classrooms in other parts of the globe.
Internationalize all curriculum areas and can be adapted to fit educators’ classroom needs and academic
standards
Engage partner classes in parallel investigations, in which students raise and respond to questions
generated by one another.
Require students to explain their thinking in detail to others who cannot observe the same things in
person, or whose background information differs.
Provide authentic opportunities for students to use world language skills, promoting the use of
students’ conversational and academic language abilities through multilingual interdisciplinary
projects,
Encourage civic participation as youth become global citizens and learn that they can make a
difference in the quality of life on the planet by collaborating with others around the world.
GRADES:
K-12
Global Learning Network Projects
De Orilla a Orilla
From Shore to Shore
De Orilla a Orilla (Spanish for “From Shore to Shore, and Orillas for short) is an international
learning network of students and teacher researchers interested in documenting promising practices
for intercultural and multilingual learning, addressing issues of equity, and promoting 21st century
learning. Founded in 1985, the network has involved many educators of English Language Learners
and immigrant students. http://www.orillas.org
Orillas is recommended by:
U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment (Roberts & staff, 1987)
Computers and Cultural Diversity “Certainly one of the more, if not the most, innovative and
pedagogically complete computer-supported writing projects involving students across distances”
(DeVillar & Faltis, 1991)
Brave New Schools “Orillas remains -- after more than a decade-- a leading global learning
network project working to explore and expand the theoretical and practical boundaries of
multilingual, intercultural learning.” (Cummins & Sayers, 1997)
California State Department of Education in “Identifying Effective Instructional Interventions for
Immigrant Students” (Dolson, 1999)
California Tomorrow Video Project of Promising Practices for English Language Learners (created
for the California State Dept. of Education, 2006)
International Education and Resource Network (iEARN) and the
iEARN-Orillas Professional Development Center
iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is the world's largest non-profit global
network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on
projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world. The network now involves
more than 40,000 teachers, 2 million students, 130 countries, and 30 languages around the world.
http://www.iearn.org
iEARN is recommended by:
Partnership for 21st Century Skills
American Association of School Librarians
George Lucas Foundation
Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education
Tech Museum Award for “Technology Benefiting Humanity” (in the education category)
iEARN-Egypt Evaluation Report (includes data on student outcomes)
To participate in the Orillas or iEARN-Orillas Global Learning Networks, contact:
Kristin Brown [email protected] or Enid Figueroa [email protected]
3