Connecting to the World
ISSUE ORIENTED
About 10 years ago, we ran an article title in L&L patterned after the iconic Wizard of Oz line, “Lions and tigers and bears, oh,
my!” It doesn’t really matter which three technologies we replaced those animals with back
then because, of course, they’ve kept changing.
Today, it could easily be “Twitter and Facebook
and Skype, oh, my!” What is important is that
tech tools like these and others have significantly
expanded our ability to connect with people
across the globe.
In a recent blog post, Jim Vanides, education
program manager in Hewlett-Packard’s Office
of Global Social Innovation, discusses the need
to increase students’ global awareness. However,
our world has grown so flat that the jobs our
current K– 12 students will seek after college
will demand not just mere global awareness or
even literacy, but fluency as well. The good news,
though, is that tech tools are making it easier to
help our students connect to and with the world.
(See the Resources section for a link to this blog
post and other tools.)
This issue of L&L illustrates how global initiatives (our target topic for this issue) are providing valuable experiences for students and creating collaborative opportunities for educational
organizations worldwide.
In “Helping Students Express Their Passion,”
Michelle Mann describes the Adobe Youth Voic-
es project (see page 10). Students from around
the globe are creating videos on topics they are
excited about and sharing them with the world.
Not only are they using technology effectively to
tell their stories, but they are gaining self-esteem,
giving back to others, and “creating with pur-
pose” through this unique initiative.
By Kate Conley
Kate Conley is ISTE’s
periodicals director
and the editor of
L&L. Her first career
was as an English
teacher in the San
Francisco Bay Area.
She holds a master’s
degree in journalism
and a bachelor’s in
English. Conley has
been with ISTE for
more than 10 years.
Resources
Books
Multiculturalism in a Global Society by Peter Kivisto
When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World
and the Birth of a New Global Order by Martin Jacques
Websites
Adobe Youth Voices: www.youthvoices.adobe.com
Asia Society’s International Studies Schools Network:
http://tinyurl.com/24qbndg
Asia Society’s Partnership for Global Learning:
http://tinyurl.com/22l4vgj
CoolHub: www.coolhub.imsa.edu
ePals: www.epals.com
Global Education Conference Partners List:
Jim Vanides’ blog: http://tinyurl.com/2ak532l
