About Friends for Sustainability
Welcome to the Friends for Sustainability global project, a Flat Connections project for Grade/Year 5-8. This is an exciting, challenging and unique experience that allows young people (and their teachers) to connect, communicate, explore global topics and issues and create digital artifacts together that share outcomes of the collaboration. The project is run TWO times each year starting in March and September. See below for the full schedule and timeline.
IMPORTANT - this project replaces the very successful and long-running ‘A Week in the Life’ global project with two essential changes:
Flat Connections was founded by Julie Lindsay, author of ‘The Global Educator: Leveraging technology for collaborative learning and teaching’ (ISTE, 2016) and ‘Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time’ (Pearson, 2012),
Flat Connections provides managed global collaborative projects for students in K-12 across the world with the following aims:
If you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact project organisers for assistance at admin@flatconnections.com.
Who is this project for?
The Friends for Sustainability global project is for students of Grade/Year 5-8, (approximate ages 10-14). Students connect, communicate, explore global topics and issues and share ideas and solutions through co-created digital artifacts.
The Friends for Sustainability Project aims to be holistic and foster collaborative learning. It joins classrooms globally with a view to exploring sustainability issues including what life is like in each country through written discussion and the sharing of images, then contrasting these with an underdeveloped country. A final multimedia presentation is co-created of their findings including valuable reflections on their learning and possible solutions.
Project overview
The Friends for Sustainability project has an interdisciplinary curriculum focus, including concepts for how we live, how we communicate, cultural understanding and global awareness and uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a focus for global issues. The project also uses Design Thinking as a model to foster better understanding of the process of collaboration. Outcomes will include student-driven ideas and solutions shared through creative use of technology.
THEME 2020
Our topics for 2020 will focus on global issues related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The guiding inquiry is: What does it mean to be a friend for sustainability?
Students are invited to collaborate on ideas, resources and outcomes.
Essential questions we aim to answer:
Project structure - Design Thinking model to support the challenge
A design thinking model is used in Flat Connections global projects to foster better understanding of the process of collaboration.
Stage 1: Empathy
Topics for investigation
Students are divided into teams based on global themes. Final themes are decided by teacher members of each cohort.
Modes of communication of final product
Teachers will:
Project spaces and places
The Friends for Sustainability project has these online locations. Teachers will be present and active in all of them as a guide to students and to promote and model global digital citizenship and online learning skills.
These online locations are:
Friends for Sustainability Edmodo Group
Prerequisites for completing the project
To participate in the Friends for Sustainability project it is recommended that teachers have some classroom experience using Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs, educational networks) and multimedia (recording and sharing audio and video files) in the classroom. However, by joining a Flat Connections global project you become part of an online learning community that shares and supports its members - new global collaborators are always welcome! This project is a great way to hone in on digital skills and fluency in the classroom – for both teachers and students!
It is important to remember that this project can be demanding of time and can be a steep learning curve for both teacher and students. Also remember that it is disappointing for the other classrooms if students are not engaged and do not respond regularly, therefore a commitment to the aims of the project is expected.
Students should have been exposed to Web 2.0 tools in some form and have regular access to computers/laptops and devices for joining the online community and for collecting and sharing multimedia artifacts.
Hardware/Software Suggestions and Requirements
It is essential that schools joining the project have Web 2.0 tools needed to participate, unblocked. Regular access to hardware and suitable software to communicate and possibly to create multimedia is needed. This project does NOT require a school have a 1:1 or laptop implementation, although regular access to computers will be necessary to complete all aspects of the project.
Workflow / Timeline
The Friends for Sustainability project typically runs for about 12 consecutive weeks. It is usual for schools to be on holiday for part of this time, so the project is designed for 10 weeks of collaboration.
Here are basic outlines for each of the TWO projects as they run each year:
Friends for Sustainability 01 – February-May
Project Subscription Information
(Please note all prices are in Australian dollars, AUD)
There is a range of subscription options for teachers and schools that include access to one or more projects for each semester. Not sure what the best option is for you and your school? Contact Julie Lindsay to discuss possibilities now!
READ THE BOOK!
Many online global projects are featured in the book ‘The Global Educator: Leveraging technology for collaborative learning and teaching’ by project founder, Julie Lindsay, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (available from ISTE and Amazon – Book and eBook versions).
Contact Flat Connections
Dr Julie Lindsay, Australia
Founder and CEO, Flat Connections
Email: admin@flatconnections.com
Telephone: +61 449260590
Flat Connections is registered to Learning Confluence Pty Ltd, Australia. ABN 20138788155
IMPORTANT - this project replaces the very successful and long-running ‘A Week in the Life’ global project with two essential changes:
- Student entry is now Grade/Year 5-8 and above (does not include Grade/Year 3-4)
- There is an increased focus on being a thoughtful and knowledgeable learner in the world with skills to research, communicate, collaborate and co-create products that make a difference
Flat Connections was founded by Julie Lindsay, author of ‘The Global Educator: Leveraging technology for collaborative learning and teaching’ (ISTE, 2016) and ‘Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time’ (Pearson, 2012),
Flat Connections provides managed global collaborative projects for students in K-12 across the world with the following aims:
- Core content objectives united between classrooms,
- Unique, individual, personalized learning experiences for each student,
- The ‘merging’ and ‘flattening’ of classrooms for learners to get to know each other and work online together in groups or teams,
- Innovative implementation of modern learning skills supported by Web 2.0 tools,
- Customizable components based upon the unique situation of each classroom’s curricular objectives,
- Supportive Project Managers who support all teachers and ensure the project is successful
If you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact project organisers for assistance at admin@flatconnections.com.
Who is this project for?
The Friends for Sustainability global project is for students of Grade/Year 5-8, (approximate ages 10-14). Students connect, communicate, explore global topics and issues and share ideas and solutions through co-created digital artifacts.
The Friends for Sustainability Project aims to be holistic and foster collaborative learning. It joins classrooms globally with a view to exploring sustainability issues including what life is like in each country through written discussion and the sharing of images, then contrasting these with an underdeveloped country. A final multimedia presentation is co-created of their findings including valuable reflections on their learning and possible solutions.
- We invite teachers who want to address and integrate their curriculum objectives, in meaningful ways, especially with regards to science, literacy and ICT.
- We invite teachers who believe online global collaboration has a place in their classroom.
- We invite those who want to improve digital literacy, digital citizenship and cultural understanding, leading to global competency among students and teachers.
- We invite teachers who have some digital fluency and access to digital tools who want to use them in meaningful ways to connect with others and learn together.
- We invite classrooms who are passionate about making a difference in the world through shared exploration of global issues.
- Best platform to connect with educators and students around the world.” -Sudha Rajouria, Nepal
- “Students were exposed to a variety of tech tools that may have been new to them. They liked feeling like they were a part of something larger with others from all over. This project also helped some of the teachers from our school learn about collaboration and learn some new tools.” -Bonnie Birdsall, USA
- “Regardless of where we live and how different our environments are, there are many things we have in common.” -Elena Markowicz-Troy, USA
- “My students really had fun taking the photos to share. We had some great discussions about what others would want to know about us.” -Tina Schmidt, USA
Project overview
The Friends for Sustainability project has an interdisciplinary curriculum focus, including concepts for how we live, how we communicate, cultural understanding and global awareness and uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a focus for global issues. The project also uses Design Thinking as a model to foster better understanding of the process of collaboration. Outcomes will include student-driven ideas and solutions shared through creative use of technology.
THEME 2020
Our topics for 2020 will focus on global issues related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The guiding inquiry is: What does it mean to be a friend for sustainability?
Students are invited to collaborate on ideas, resources and outcomes.
Essential questions we aim to answer:
- What are the essential issues and challenges facing the world in terms of sustainability?
- How does your geography, history and lifestyle of where you live impact your global understanding?
- What part does global/digital citizenship have to play as we connect with each other?
- What are some essential solutions to researched global issues?
- How can we share these solutions for the benefit of our world?
Project structure - Design Thinking model to support the challenge
A design thinking model is used in Flat Connections global projects to foster better understanding of the process of collaboration.
Stage 1: Empathy
- Teacher kick-off meeting – (Zoom virtual room)
- Workflow determined – all known holidays and interruptions shared
- Gathering as a learning community – (Padlet)
- Class and student introductions and digital greetings/handshakes
- Students grouped in mixed-classroom teams
- Topic definitions
- Team formation
- Initial brainstorming
- Critical thinking and discussion
- Creative problem solving
- Teamwork – visible thinking and sharing
- Identification of the problem(s) – facts, issues
- Sharing ideas and possible actionable outcomes
- Multimedia collection
- Creative use of technology
- Outcome sharing
- Peer review of team solutions
- Team and/or class presentations ‘summits’
- Teacher feedback
- Research a global topic / global concept.
- Complete a team project demonstrating information and solutions.
- Share their ideas using creative technology collaboratively.
- View all the group projects and compare and contrast the results.
Topics for investigation
Students are divided into teams based on global themes. Final themes are decided by teacher members of each cohort.
Modes of communication of final product
- Images
- Sounds
- Videos
- Develop an understanding of the lives of others in the project through sharing schools and lifestyles
- Appreciate that not all in the world experience equality in living standards, nor have the same degree of choice in many matters
- Realize that children have similar needs and goals regardless of where they live in the world, and that global issues affect all of us
- Explore action ideas that support better understanding of the world by working with others in the world
- Define “what does it mean to be a friend for sustainability”
Teachers will:
- Place students from their class into the teams across the topics
- Provide skill development for Web 2.0 tools used during the project (Edmodo, Voicethread, FlipGrid or other similar tools)
- Provide opportunity for communication and collaboration between team members via the educational community (Edmodo) and via any real time opportunities e.g. Skype
- Connect, communicate and collaborate on their topic
- Research the different topics in their own community. Record their findings (text and other media)
- Research the different topics in an underdeveloped country. Record their findings (text and other media)
- Add voice recordings to final multimedia to emphasise own research findings
- Compare and contrast life in other countries and reflect on this
- Record opinions about possible solutions to sustainability issues
- Share ideas about “what makes a citizen of the world”
- A school/classroom introduction including one or more of these medias: images, voices, pictures, video
- Create a team product with the collected multimedia – artifacts to be placed on the team wiki
- Create a school product that compares and contrasts all topics: showing, discussing, revealing, examining, synthesizing
- Create a personal reflection based on experiences in the project using tools such as Flipgrid and Voicethread
- Real-time Skype (or other tool) session(s) with other classrooms during the project
Project spaces and places
The Friends for Sustainability project has these online locations. Teachers will be present and active in all of them as a guide to students and to promote and model global digital citizenship and online learning skills.
These online locations are:
Friends for Sustainability Edmodo Group
- This is our student and teacher educational network
- The project starts here with introductions, discussions and sharing of initial ideas
- This is where the project shares aims, structure and workflow
- This is where everything relating to the project can be found - teacher guide, weekly tasks, workflow, teams and topics, supporting resources, etc.
- This is where student teams handshakes and final multimedia presentations are showcased
- A unique page is created for each project
- Flipgrid or Padlet for all digital handshakes
- Edmodo for communicating - students to students and teacher team leaders with students
- Google Slides for students to add their research findings (text and other media
- Voicethread or Google slides for team collaboration of a multimedia artifact
- This is a real-time virtual classroom where teachers will meet each week to monitor project developments
- All meetings are recorded for playback to cater for time-zone differences
- Student summit sessions may also be held at the conclusion of the project (optional)
- Many classrooms create synchronous opportunities to meet others in the project through Skype – as part of the ‘handshake’ or for the Student Summit towards the end
Prerequisites for completing the project
To participate in the Friends for Sustainability project it is recommended that teachers have some classroom experience using Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs, educational networks) and multimedia (recording and sharing audio and video files) in the classroom. However, by joining a Flat Connections global project you become part of an online learning community that shares and supports its members - new global collaborators are always welcome! This project is a great way to hone in on digital skills and fluency in the classroom – for both teachers and students!
It is important to remember that this project can be demanding of time and can be a steep learning curve for both teacher and students. Also remember that it is disappointing for the other classrooms if students are not engaged and do not respond regularly, therefore a commitment to the aims of the project is expected.
Students should have been exposed to Web 2.0 tools in some form and have regular access to computers/laptops and devices for joining the online community and for collecting and sharing multimedia artifacts.
Hardware/Software Suggestions and Requirements
It is essential that schools joining the project have Web 2.0 tools needed to participate, unblocked. Regular access to hardware and suitable software to communicate and possibly to create multimedia is needed. This project does NOT require a school have a 1:1 or laptop implementation, although regular access to computers will be necessary to complete all aspects of the project.
Workflow / Timeline
The Friends for Sustainability project typically runs for about 12 consecutive weeks. It is usual for schools to be on holiday for part of this time, so the project is designed for 10 weeks of collaboration.
Here are basic outlines for each of the TWO projects as they run each year:
Friends for Sustainability 01 – February-May
- Application Deadline: February
- Online Teacher Information Meeting: before March
- Project Kick-off: March 1
- Team Formation and Project Discussions: February-March
- Team Collaborative Projects to be started: by mid-March
- Collaboration and Sharing: March-April
- Celebration, Summits and Reflections: April-May
- Application Deadline: October
- Online Teacher Information Meeting: before October
- Classroom Kick-off: mid-October
- Team Formation and Project Discussions: October-November
- Team Collaborative Projects to be started by: November
- Collaboration and Sharing: November
- Celebration, Summits and Reflections: November-December
Project Subscription Information
(Please note all prices are in Australian dollars, AUD)
There is a range of subscription options for teachers and schools that include access to one or more projects for each semester. Not sure what the best option is for you and your school? Contact Julie Lindsay to discuss possibilities now!
READ THE BOOK!
Many online global projects are featured in the book ‘The Global Educator: Leveraging technology for collaborative learning and teaching’ by project founder, Julie Lindsay, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (available from ISTE and Amazon – Book and eBook versions).
Contact Flat Connections
Dr Julie Lindsay, Australia
Founder and CEO, Flat Connections
Email: admin@flatconnections.com
Telephone: +61 449260590
Flat Connections is registered to Learning Confluence Pty Ltd, Australia. ABN 20138788155
