World Wisdom With Weaver - Global Learning Blogging!

I'm a surfer. No, not the sun-kissed glistening skin, bleach blonde, "gnarly" dude surfer. I'm a web surfer. Yes, the internet can suck you in to a vortex of funny cat videos, kids being adorable, 50 pins that I'll never actually do, etc. But, it can also be a realm of knowledge, growth, and new ideas to challenge and expand your horizons.

And it connects us to people from all over the world - different cultures, races, religions, ideas - who can share ideas.

In short, global learning and the ever-expanding internet are pretty much hand in hand.  Through this blog series, I've found that to be an ever constant fact. I'm honored to share my insight and discoveries with you, but there are plenty of others out there who are more well-traveled, more eloquent and writing more about global competency!

For this entry, I sought to find other bloggers who are using the Internet to share their ideas and experiences of global learning.

In particular, I'm going to highlight five resources:

1. Matador Network - @MatadorNetwork (also @MatadorU) This isn't a blog per se, but it is a vast resource of travel information and first-hand experiences from people who are living, working, thriving, and writing about travel. In particular, I found an interesting article written about the American vs. European view of travel (Americans Need a Thesis Statement for Travel). I enjoyed the article thoroughly. Now, teachers, some of this content is not G-rated, so I suggest pre-viewing before sharing. But it has some great insight from people who travel. A great resource to use with students. Their contributors come from all over the world and share stories about travel, living in other countries, learning culture, and taking photographs. 

2. Education Week - @educationweek Yes, once again, this isn't a blog I've given you, but please open THIS LINK. On the page are several blogs about teachers and international education/global learning. You have to register to read the entirety of most of the articles, but they have a FREE option (it lets you read three articles/blogs per month. Or you can subscribe for about $60 a year). Some ones of note?

• A Global Artology Program - Guest blogger Jamaine Smith discussed this program developed by a Build A Bridge initiative. Students from Philadelphia spent weeks over the summer in an experiential learning program. It enlisted the help of artists, science teachers and medical students to develop the curriculum. They worked in and around Philadelphia doing various activities and then got to speak to students from Ecuador as part of the program. I highly recommend the read - cool stuff happening here!
•  Real World Connections to Global Learning - I like how this blog discusses how the blogger's school has incorporated global learning into multiple academic disciplines. Meghan Sullivan covers efforts from the World History teachers to the French teacher and even discusses how they partnered with Proctor and Gamble in regards to clean water. They have typically done a lesson on water where they collected water to test the quality. Proctor and Gamble provided them with a lesson on "Children's Safe Drinking Water Campaign" and water filter packets. The students then had to clean the water with the packets provided.

3. The NEA Foundation - Global Learning Fellow This blog series (you have to scroll down toward the bottom of the page to link to the blogs) followed a group of 30 teachers who traveled to China in June of this year. It was part of a year-long fellowship. There was one in 2013 to Brazil. 

4. Global Learning Partners - BLOG - "Speaking of Dialogue" This blog has some fun posts about global learning. I encourage you to stop by and check out a few!

5. Shady Side Academy - Global Learning Blog This one is so cool! The students at Shady Side Academy are able to participate in diverse travel programs that take them across the globe and involve them in culture, service experiences and more! This blog is in the words of the very students who are traveling - a great way to show your students the benefits of travel!

Do you have any to add? Please comment below! 

Oh and hey! Have you checked out the NAAE CoP Global Agriculture page? You haven't?!? Well, HERE IS THE LINK - Global Agriculture Space. It's a great place to collaborate with other teachers, share your ideas/curriculum and get ideas from others regarding global learning in agriculture! Let's make it a great resource for everyone!

Agriculturally Yours,

Nicole Weaver

PSU Global Teach Ag! Fellow

Agriculture Science Teacher

@TeamWeaverFever