Flat Classroom Workshop goes to Hong Kong!

  Julie Lindsay, (co-founder of the flat classroom projects),  and Kim Cofino, two amazing educators, are running a Flat Classroom Workshop as a strand of the 21st Century Learning Hong Kong conference, September 17th -19th.  This is a students’ and teacher workshop based on the Flat Classroom Conference model that was  run in Qatar in January 2009 (see video). Three of my students and I were priveleged to be part of this conference for a life changing experience. Although not quite  as international as the Qatar conference participants  will work  through the same objectives over the 2 and a bit days. I would encourage any of you who can attend, to please do so, taking your students with you. There is no cost to the students and they will be accommodated with fellow Hong Kong students. All information can be found on the 21C learning site. Please also fill in the online form.

Hope to see you there.

A teacher meets her flatclassroom

Julie and some flatclassroom students

Another exciting event last week was the visit by Julie Lindsay, the cofounder of the wonderful flatclassroom projects, and her family. How wonderful it was and how honoured we were, that they found time to visit our small rural school and take that long 4 hour drive from Melbourne. The students loved meeting their flatclassroom teacher and one of their flatclassroom class members, Violet, face to face. They spent some time talking and catching up. Violet was able to shadow Hawkesdale College students for several lessons.

It was wonderful for me to be able to also keep up with the new, innovative developments of the flat classroom projects for this year and beyond.

The Flat Classroom Projects from a Participant’s Point of View

 

Flatclassroom members meet face to face in Doha

Julie Lindsay has put up a notice on the Oz Teachers mailing list alerting its members to the Flat Classroom Projects that have been organized for the next 12 months. Questions were raised as to “What is a Flat Classroom?” Julie and Vicki Davis (coolcatteacher) started the concept several years ago.

So, I shall answer that question, from my point of view having participated a number of these projects over the last 12 months with my classes. The projects themselves  are now being patented and  involve  project based learning activities. The course has been developed by two of the most innovative, hard working  teachers that I have come across – Vicki Davis (coolcatteacher) from USA and Julie Lindsay from Qatar. In simplistic terms, “flatclassroom” in practical terms, for me, means that my students work in small groups, on projects prepared by Julie and Vicki,  beyond my classroom walls with students from other countries including USA, Canada, Spain, Japan, Pakistan, NZ, Oman, Qatar etc Therefore my classroom walls have been ‘flattened” and, as a staff member I work collaboratively in virtual teams to ensure that the project for all  students to get the best possible outcomes. However, this differs very much to the formal definition found on the wiki. So the formal definition is the one to use.

How I got involved ….. As my year 12 students were studying virtual teams as part of their course, I noticed on twitter, that people were being sought to become the ’sounding board’ for the Horizon Project. Soon after, calls were made for students to be part of the next Flat Classroom Project, so I enrolled my year 9/10 students in this project. Students are grouped with 5 other student members, each from a different school and usually a different country. They socialize and learn about each other on the flatclassroom ning, where they can post images, videos, blog posts and enter into discussion topics. Each group is given a topic which is related to the current and future use of the internet, usually in education. Student groups build wiki pages together, using the discussion tab to work together in asynchronous time. At the end of the 10-12 week program, students complete a video that is uploaded onto the ning and embedded in the wiki for judging by global judges. Part of this video will include an outsourced video clip by another student in another country.

Regular staff meetings are held in elluminte to ensure that all teachers involved are fully informed. At the completion of each project, both student and staff summits are held in elluminate, inviting global participants to listen to the reflections. These sessions are also recorded and linked on the wiki. In the current flatclassroom project, we were able to use videoconferencing to be part of the keynote address on ‘citizenship journalism’ presented by a University lecturer in journalism from Doha Qatar.

Our involvement meant that three students and I could attend the Flat Classroom conference in Doha, Qatar in January 2009 where students met their virtual class mates, face to face and worked again on projects that were of concern to all of them.

The netgened project was a fantastic experience and the biggest ventures of all so far.  Students worked with Don Tapscott, best selling author of “Grown Up Digital”. The awards ceremony was held in Reaction Grid of Open Sim, a virtual world where a big stage had been set up on an island with the powerpoint slides uploaded to announce the winners of each category. Students, staff and other interested parties chose avatars and were dressed in fine form for the presentation. The Digiteen project is less demanding and a good entrance point to the project. It  works on building effective digital citizenship concepts.

For me, personally and also for my students, this has led us on another amazing journey using the emerging technologies and has boosted our practical knowledge of digital citizenship, cyber safety, collaborative work in virtual teams, netiquette and using wikis and nings effectively. It pushes the students beyond their comfort zones and gives them real life skills.  Several schools from Australia have been involved. Please join us in the next project(s) for an amazing journey in your teaching career – one that takes you beyond your classroom in the digital age that is ours today.

Here are the proposed projects for 2008-09

For further information, read Julie Lindsay’s post

E-grand virtual finale to netgened!

Arriving early for the big event

This was a world first! The final awards ceremony for the netgened project was held in a virtual world, involving reactiongrid in opensim, staff and students from 13 countries, an award winning author, Don Tapscott of “Grown Up Digital”,  the founders of the flatclassroom project, Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay and Steve Dembo of Discovery Education.  The stage was set, the big screen up with slides of the winners of various categories, including the grand winner, winning a $1000 scholarship towards their education. Excitement mounted, dress rehearsals had taken place and avatars started to fly in from everywhere.  A wardrobe of gowns and tuxedoes had been specially prepared and countless hours put in by Vicki Davis to ensure that all ran smoothly. Software developers worked around the clock to ensure that the site was stable as there was seating for 200 people.

The ceremonies were to be held at 10am US time, which meant 12 midnight for the three schools involved from Australia – Claire Rafferty ’s students from Ringwood Secondary College, Erin Neyland’s students from James Cook Boys’ School, Sydney, my students from Hawkesdale P12 College and Steve Madsen one of the lead teachers from Sydney. All teachers showed up and one of my students  ‘braved the late hour’ and quickly learnt how to survive in a virtual world. Flurogreen was elegantly gowned in green from the costume department. However, I stayed in my normal avatar clothes as I could not seem to put on the gorgeous pink gown that had been given to me.

It was an amazing adventure of collaboration and virtual team work with all participants working together to help each other ensure that all were comfortable.  Unfortunately, an unexpected and increased number of students  and attendees arrived, all wanting to change their gear and test out the animations that their avatars would produce.  This caused some problems with the stability of the site but the organizers were determined to make it succeed.

Some technical difficulties

At one stage, I became bald, could not sit elegantly, avatars were flying everywhere and  I was drowning in some sea surrounding the island. This was a steep learning curve for one who had little interest in virtual worlds, including second life. At times humour burst forth as it was interesting to watch everyone cope with the ’slowing’ world. As the early morning hours set in, it was time for the Australian  contingent to retire to bed, as most of us had to work the next day.  To the credit of our Australian students, several made the finalist categories.

Brief Summary of the project Students worked in groups comprising students from other countries to develop a wiki on the emerging technologies as outlined by the Horizon Report 2009, mashed with the 8 netgened characteristics from Don Tapscott’s book, “Grown Up Digital. Don challenged students with discussion prompts and videos. Social networks were established on a joint ning and each student was responsible for completing a video, summarizing what they had learnt. Part of their video included an outsourced clip from one o f the other global students. Students came from the Middle East, USA (including Alaska, of whom some could not upload their video due to a nearby volcano eruption), Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand etc A special keynote address was produced in video format “No future left behind” by Peggy Sheehy and her students.

This highlights the fantastic opportunities and learning experiences that can now be ours, with the use of the emerging technologies.A huge thank you goes to the collaborative effort of all involved in this global project of grand proportions.

Guests commence flying in

The kids from the bush are off to Awards in Town

How exciting is this? Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay, in conjunction with Don Tapscott and the NetGenEd project announce the awards ceremony in OpenSim on April 20, by invitation only. All Flat Classroom related project participants are invited to attend.  Net generation education project to hold first of its kind closing ceremonies, April 20, 2009 at 10 am edt on reactiongrid, an opensim virtual world .The students from the ‘bush’ of Australia, Hawkesdale P12 College, have received this invitation to attend the closing awards ceremony in opensim for our amazing netgened project:-

Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay

in conjunction with

Don Tapscott and the Netgened project

request the pleasure of the company of

The Netgened students of Hawkesdale P12 College

To  the very first of its kind

Closing Award Ceremonies

April 20th 2009,
 10am EST (USA)

Where: On reactiongrid
Opensim virtual world

We hope that some of us can attend in our best avatar gowns/suits, despite the late hour of the night or early hour of the morning for the students in the land ‘down under’. Roll out that red carpet…..!

Here  is the press release for the big event, per kind favour of Vicki Davis and published with her permission.

Unique Opportunity for Journalists to be Mentored  by NetGen Students from Around the World in the Creation of their Avatar

Toronto, Ontario, April 6th, 2009 – Don Tapscott, best selling Author and Chairman of nGenera Insight, and Flat Classroom Project teachers, Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay, today announce the closing ceremonies of their collaborative project, The Net Generation Education Project (NetGen Ed), to be held on April 20, 2009 at 10 am EDT on ReactionGrid, an OpenSim virtual world. This first of its kind awards show will bring together students, teachers, and educators from around the world to recognize the best videos from the project as well as the winner of the Grown Up Digital Net Gen Education Challenge. The event is jointly sponsored by nGenera Corporation, ReactionGrid, and Flat Classroom Projects and will provide an opportunity to showcase Open Source Virtual World Capabilities.

The event, which is invitation only, will be made available to students, teachers, and educators involved in the NetGen Ed, Flat Classroom, and Digiteen projects as well as select members of the press, and educational bloggers.  Journalists and Educators wishing to attend the event will have the unique opportunity to be mentored by NetGen Ed students and ReactionGrid volunteers on the setting up of their avatars and movement in OpenSim. This partnership will provide first hand insight into the many talents of the Net Generation and continue to build upon the collaborative theme of the project.

The awards show will be recorded and streamed from a NetGen Ed website hosted by nGenera and will be hosted live within ReactionGrid on the F.L.A.T.S. (Flat Learning Area for Teaching &Sharing.) 

The event is the culmination of an eight week project studying emerging technology trends and how education must be transformed to reach students based upon the eight NetGen norms, as shared in Don Tapscott’s book, Grown Up Digital. Throughout the project’s duration students from countries such as Australia, India, Qatar and the United States have been collaborating together via the internet – writing a wiki report, creating videos, and discussing trends with Don Tapscott on the Grown Up Digital Ning, an educational network set up for the project, and participating in live webinars with Discovery Educator Network about movie making and digital storytelling.  To promote increased inclusivity, the ning, as well as partnerships with the Discovery Educator Network and Classroom 2.0, have provided forums for students, parents, professionals and educators not directly involved in the project to engage in a global dialogue on learning and the future face of education. All NetGen Ed student video entries will be considered as part of the Grown Up Digital Net Gen Education Challenge, a video contest presented by nGenera. The contest, which was first announced on the CBC series “Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister,” challenges people from around the world to provide their “next great answer” via video submission as to what they would do to change the education system. The grand prize winner, which will be announced during the April 20th awards show, will receive scholarship money as well as a private webinar with Don Tapscott.

For more information on the NetGen Education Project and the Grown Up Digital Net Gen Education Challenge, please visit: http://netgened.grownupdigital.com or http://netgened.wikispaces.com.

Virtual seating for the event is limited to 200 participants. For media inquiries or to request an invitation to attend,

 Joanna Griffiths, Marketing and Communications Manager

The Tapscott Group  Phone: 416-830-1664   email:  joanna.m.griffiths@gmail.com

All eyes on the flatclassroom conference

A flatclassroom f2f

 Words cannot begin to describe the amazing experiences that we had whilst in Doha, Qatar, in January 2009 for the flatclassroom conference.

However, as part of  my reflections,  I will take  a  look at it through my eyes in respect to:-

• Students
  

  VickiDavis with Omani students

• teachers
• travellers
• leaders
• parents

 Eyes upon the students

We left amidst some angst as to the Gaza situation in Israel. (Parents had been concerned about going to the Middle East anyway, even before this situation eventuated!)  Many would see it as a high risk undertaking. The three girls from my class had not been out of Australia before. Summer school holidays meant that we had to do all our communicating online . Once at the airport, the girls soon learnt the routine of passports, security, laptops, immigration control etc. After a journey totalling more than 28 hours, we arrived  in Doha, Qatar and were transported into another ‘world’ -  a land that was white, featuring middle Eastern style buildings, crazy traffic, constant building activity  and white sand everywhere. The girls were immediately impressed.

The first days were spent shadowing students around the Qatar Academy, helping with conference administration, packing the showbags  and helping  teach a grade 5 class how how to use voicethreads etc. The girls gradually became familiar with the massive, magnificent school buildings and due to friendly host families, settled in well. The school itself, had a full range of cultures, creeds and nationalities. This is in stark contrast to our school where we have a monoculture of Anglo Saxons.

How wonderful it was to see them mixing with these different groups. When the conference started, there were students from many countries. They met their Omani and American classmates from the flatclassroom project of 2008. The Omani students were, of course dressed in traditional dishdasha and kommah, the African boys attired in suits, the girls from Africa in more formal gear, the Qatari girls in hijabs and the Pakistani girls in their traditional dress. Accents had to be closely listened to, so that we understood what was said. When Carly was introduced at one stage, she was immediately called ‘Cauliflower” Some names we could not even attempt to pronounce and I simply called the students from Oman “Boys!” when I need to catch their attention.

The skype session with Tom Friedman was rather amazing. He wanted the students to ask him questions, which I thought was taking a huge risk. What would they ask? Would enough ask questions to fill in the time? Surprisingly,  students young and old, from all countries represented came up to the microphone and asked some amazing and incredibly mature questions.  Tom  responded immediately and appeared to have no difficulty with the many and varied accents.

When the conference commenced, my girls were grouped with students from other countries to work on a project involving an issue common to all of them eg  poverty, racism etc One of my girls, was placed in a group where the common language was Arabic. So, the Arabic had to be translated back into English for her. Another group had English as their most common language but google translator was used to translate  into Arabic for the Qatari student in the group. On the second day of the conference, a presentation had to be made by student groups, to all conference

Tarzy's group

participants. The aim was to try to convince the audience to vote their project in, to become  the next flatclassroom project for 2009. One of my girls said that she had never been “so scared in all her life.” Yet, she got up and spoke with confidence and played her role admirably to the assembled crowd. Another, had her mother

Presentation time

online until 1am in Australian time, helping her to cope with her nerves and stomach butterflies. All students were pushed well beyond their comfort zones, at so many times, during their stay.

We learnt about the importance of gift giving in some cultures. The students from Oman gave all schools involved small gift and provided tasty sweet Omani treats to try at the end of the conference. The conference showbags also bore evidence of Qatari customary gift giving with printed tshirts, usb drive, a coffee mug etc inside

Despite the differences, there were so many similarities amongst the students – the same passions, interests, needs and goals!

Eyes upon the teachers

How absolutely wonderful  it was to see the students who had been  involved in the flatclassroom project 2008, face to face. These included the boys from Oman and the students from two different schools in USA.  It was also great to see them all mixing comfortably and gaining a deeper understanding of the different cultures. Yet underneath this difference, were common interests, pursuits,  emotions, problems, goals and ideals.

The highlights for me were working with Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis, the founders of the flatclassroom projects. These  two women work so well together, yet have only met 5 times face to face.  The powerful outcomes of their work are testimony to their successful collaboration and virtual teamwork.  Estie Cuellar from Texas and Salim Al-Busaidi from Oman were two teachers who I worked with in the flatclassroom project in 2008 and it was so good to connect with them face to face. Whilst in an elluminate staff meeting,  Salim encouraged us to come to Qatar, as in his words “we are a safe country”. Any fears that I had harboured were dispelled by this statement. I loved meeting face to face some of my other  twitter friends –  Anne Baird from Australia and Paul McMahon, an Australian in Hong Kong, Heather Davis, a  Canadian in Beijing and Jeff Utecht from Bangkok. Then there were the new connections with Chris Chater from Paris (whose work with online music is admirable), Soniiya  Jahangir from Pakistan and two teachers from India, teaching in Saudi Arabia and George Haines from New York. Ray who was such a kind host to us and Jill Boulanger and  Beverley Stubbs from Qatar Academy ensured that we were comfortable and welcomed at the school. The list could go on but I will stop there.

Watching my students grow in confidence and push themselves beyond all boundaries was a source of great pride. To see them have a go and present publicly to such a varied but distinguished audience, was quite uplifting. We were also  so proud to celebrate Australia Day in Qatar.

During the conference, I spent time in the ISTE sessions which challenged us regarding the leadership role that educationalists should take on in the digital age.  The conference event was made possible by the support of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) with Don Knezek (CEO) and Lynn Nolan (Senior Strategic Initiatives Officer) coming to Qatar to lead workshops. The elective sessions using online music sites and google applications with Chris Chater and Paul McMahon, respectively, were practical, highly useful and inspiring.

On the last day, teachers were mixed in groups with educaionalists from other countries, with a student project manager, a problem based project, complete with skill challenges and time pressure.  We had to  pitch our outcome at each of the groups. By this stage, I knew just how the students must have felt.

Eyes upon the leaders

The organization was superb. Julie Lindsay worked long and hard hours behind the scenes securing sponsorship, organizing facilitators, students, teachers, programs, showbags, catering, facilities, visas, the tech team  etc.  Vicki Davis facilitated the student summit sessions. These were based on “Project Based Learning” and  empowering students with great learning outcomes.  They learnt to connect, communicate and create together. Their skills in using web2.0 tools were improved substantially with the expertise of Vicki Davis. A producer from Hollywood, tutored the students  in film making and using music under the guidance of Chris Chater from Paris. Digital citizenship and netiquette were constantly reinforced and learnt through experiencing. It was inspirational to see the students  presenting  with competence and confidence,  to the large audience, as a result of their summit collaboration.  Thank you to Julie and Vicki, our flatclassroom co-founders and the other facilitators for your great work.

Eyes upon the parents

One of the really interesting outcomes of this experience, was the involvement of parents. This was something unplanned  and unforseen, but ended up playing a key role in our connectedness. As we were on school holidays the majority of planning and communication had to be made online,. The girls had set up membership to the flatconference ning and wiki prior to departure. Before they left, the girls became ‘the experts’, helping their parents to register for the ning , join our school group and showed  them how to write messages, comments and blog posts. This meant that parents experienced the conference with us. Photos and videos were uploaded daily, with blog posts written when possible. Parents commented regularly on all our pages and activities. They were able to watch the sessions that were webcast and one parent stayed up until 1am to watch her daughter make her presentation.  They even joined in on the chatzy  back channel and could see the commentary going on behind the scenes. We received photos of the Australia Day breakfast, held in Hawkesdale as part of the Australia Day celebrations, an hour after it finished, as one set of parents had uploaded them to the ning. They became part of our learning network.

Eyes upon the travellers

We were fortunate to arrive in Qatar three days earlier. Julie took on the extra workload of organizing accommodation for us with Qatar Academy staff. By the time the conference started, we felt quite comfortable and at home at the school. Students shadowed their host students around at school and experienced a typical school day in Doha. The hospitality of our hosts was wonderful. They were kind, caring and sharing.

For four or five nights, we stayed at the Gloria hotel in Doha. This was situated in the old town within walking distance of the souqs and the Islamic Art museum. The hotel was beautifully furbished, attentive to the needs of its guests and provided wireless internet connection (which kept us all connected to those back home)

Two or three buses picked us up from the hotel door and took us to the Qatar Academy for the conference or other activities. This was a great chance to socialize, listen to the student chatter, enjoy some laughs and talk about our experiences.  I shall never forget that last night on the bus, with students from Australia, USA and Ethiopia and Kenya, singing their national anthems with pride, gusto and emotion! Then they sang songs that they all knew, one being “If I could fly” which seemed to be so appropriate.

There was a good balance of sight seeing tied in to the conference. As this country is quite different to the home country of many of the visitors, it was great to be able to have time set aside for us to do some touring. It also gave us all a chance to mix and get to know each other in a more casual atmosphere.

Ray played the patient, caring  host and took us to the souqs (when it rained), the half day desert tour to the inland sea, the corniche and the Islamic Art museum. The Sunday evening was spent at the souks again where we all scattered in various directions to find something to eat and souveneirs to purchase. The stalls selling hunting falcons were most intriguing. Anne Baird, Paul McMahon, Ray and I enjoyed a wonderful Arabic meal of dipping sauces, hommus, traditional chicken and rice dishes and fresh, warmed, unleavened breads.

The conference meals were varied and tasty. There was always a choice of dishes. The dinner on the Saturday evening , set in a formal atmosphere with the HSBC guest speaker was a fitting end to the first day of the conference. The buffet bar of the school canteen was always appealing. The weather was pleasant as it was winter time.

The final night was spent at Villagio in the new town. This is an ultra modern shopping complex, with painted skys on the roof, the best in fashionable shops,  a canal complete with gondolas providing rides for interested parties, an ice skating rink and the usual Western fast food chains.

Eyes on the sponsors

There were many sponsors involved and we cannot thank them enough - the chief one being the HSBC who sponsored the conference whilst in Qatar.  One of their representative spoke to us at the formal dinner. The Qatar Academy provided the venue, staff and other incidentals. For us personally, ACE radio helped to sponsor my students in their travel and our local Hawkesdale and District Action Committee also donated some money.

Eyes that are now opened!

How proud we were, to be Australian, when Australia Day fell on the last day of the conference! However, we came home with American tinged accents!

This was a truly amazing, life changing experience that will equip us for the flat world that of ourfuture.  We can now state that we have experienced the impact that the digital age will have in  a flat world. Thank you to all involved!

Crossposted

Footnote:   Skills learnt – understanding and working with different cultures, netiquette, digital citizenship skills, communication skills in an online environment, the use of many different web2.0 tools, how to collaborate and work in a virtual team, risk taking, pushing outside personal comfort zones, real life pressures of time commitments/project management and how to create effective products for online use and a global audience. How to live, work and play in a globally connected world!

From the Land of Oz to Qatar

Waiting in the departure lounge, Melbourne

After months of involvement, preparation and communications, three students and I have finally arrived in Doha, Qatar. It has already been an amazing venture and we have only been here for 5 hours or so. Let me share some of our experiences through our senses.

I see….

• Kuala Lumpur aiport at night time, where we had to be ferried by a train across the tarmac to the main airport terminal
• The Hawkesdale College contingent asleep on the couches, for a hour or so, during a 5 hour stopover.
• Our first glimpse of Qatar, through the dark of the early morning arrival.
• Queues at the immigration desk to allow us entry to the country.
• Taxi and limousine touts all wanting to take us to the education centre of Qatar
• The beautiful white buildings of Qatar, and the never ending building sites, with numerous cranes rising above the city horizon.
• The magnificent corniche, or water frontage, complete with wooden boats and modern ships
• The massive education complex comprising schools, univerities, accommodation
• the inspiring architecture and eye-catching spaciousness of the Qatar academy buildings
• Julie Lindsay’s modern apartment  where we had  a shower to freshen up after our early arrival (5:30am)
• The magnificent Qatar academy through a guided tour by Julie’s daughter

I hear…

• groans from the girls  about having to find passports, boarding passes and having to unpack everything for security at each stopover and reconnection
• louder groans from me on finding that my credit card has been blocked by my bank several hours before we depart Australia
• the warm welcomes of the Qatari people everywhere we have been
• taxi driver trying to find the Edcuation complex and address of Julie
• the student throng of Qatar academy out in the corridors at lunchtime
• the welcoming voices of Qatar academy staff and genuine interest taken in us.

I feel…..

• excited about entering a country that is so different from ours 
• even more excited about the days ahead and
• a great sense of pride to be able to bring three students from our school in Australia and to be able to representn our country in this momentous flatclassroom conference.
• jetlag setting in
• rather disgruntled about my credit card (the only one I have) and still trying to sort through the solutions.