The student as Global Communicator and Collaborator The student as Global Communicator and Collaborator

                                               Student Global Communicator and Collaborator 

Some opportunities that I can imagine would take place while engaging students in authentic audiences around the world would be that content for different audiences (students) would start to take place. So not only the information that is being taught and researched here would also benefit others around the world and the content that is being taught somewhere else and the research that has been done will benefit students here to learn outside of the classroom without leaving the classroom.  

Pros to enabling students to engage with authentic audiences in other places.  

1. Provides real-world experience to students' work.  

2. Students will be more engaging, and interactive, and have more of a social process.  

3. Students will be able to make connections with others which strengthens their collaborative and communication skills. 

 

In what ways do you believe that assignments that challenge students to partner with students globally can be more motivating for students than teacher-assigned grades? 

Some ways that I believe that assignments challenge students to partner with students globally are that students become more independent in learning from others. Students will be more out to look up research and to connect with students to gain knowledge of information that they are having trouble finding reliable resources to make a connection to while doing their work within the classroom. Instead of teacher-assigned grades, this will follow students throughout their learning and even into college. Motivating students will become easier because students want to make connections to others, and this is more natural than trying to create one assignment for a grade and then it is either trash or there is no more need for the work. Learning from others globally creates a meaningful connection that will always create meaning and purpose for the work that was assigned. When assignments are created to make meaningful work there is no right or wrong, this is a way to create and expand a student's knowledge and connect with others. 

 

What barriers do you anticipate educators will face in guiding students in the role of global communicator and collaborator? 

Barriers that educators might face are finding other schools around the world that will be willing and wanting to connect with your class on the same content information. Finding ways that students can connect without giving a bunch of information about themselves I feel would be the biggest concern and challenge.  The role of a global communicator would be that everyone is a good listener, and they accept that others are different and know things that others might not know. Students need to be able to realize that everyone brings something new to the table and that we must be accepting and know that it is okay to be different. So, I can see this could be a challenge for some students. The role of a global collaborator is that students need to learn the skills of being international mindedness which means that students will be able to learn about the world outside of their classroom through others. This is also where students can look at other viewpoints that require effort and being a team. I can see this also being a little difficult for some students as they are just starting and learning from others outside of their normal culture and classroom.