Journal #2: "Learning without Borders"

(NETS 2-5)


Sue Anderson, S. A. (2012). Learning without borders.Learning and Leading with technology, Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/l-l-december-january-2012-13/feature-learning-without-borders

Summary/Analysis: Communication is the key to every relationship. Teaching students to students to communicate with other is very important, especially if it's taught at a young age. "Schoolwire Greenleaf Program” does exactly that, but instead of teaching students to communicate with adults or children their age and in their own language, it teaches students to communicate with others children in a completely different language which is extremely fascinating. Students create a blog that describes American food, music, and culture thus giving Chinese students the opportunity to learn English while American students practice their writing skills.  Something I found interesting was the Google Docs are not allowed in China, this left me wondering on why the government would not allow this application. Although both American and Chinese teachers and students have faced some technically difficulties they have taken advantage of all that can be taught and learned from the Schoolwire Greenleaf Program. Technology can be used for many good things, I think that a lot of people fear of technology because they are just getting used to the revolution. Technology can be used for more than just killing time. If children learn at a young age the responsibilities of technology and how serious cyber bullying can be then they will be far more prepared to use technology for good
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Question 1: How can we integrate this idea into our classrooms and make sure that we our teaching our curriculum?
Answer 1: This curriculum address global awareness, global citizenship, diversity and multicultural understanding, and project based learning. The key of this is to learn to communicate with someone from a completely different culture.


Question 2: What is the biggest these two students have faced?
Answer 2: The biggest challenge they have faced was communication. Chinese students send emails in capital letters which misinterpret as frustration and anger. Translation was also a problem because some words were translated different. However with time and practice both Chinese and American students were able to improvement in their communication skills.