collaboration

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Creating a 'Flat Classroom' - The idea behind "Flat Classrooms" comes from educator responses to 'The World is Flat' by Thomas Friedman. = = What does a "flat classroom" project mean? As [|Will Richardson writes in his blog] "//we have to stop seeing our classrooms as spaces with four walls. **Teachers must be willing to be connectors.**// And second, in the context of those connections, //**we can give our students real, meaningful, relevant opportunities to teach** the rest of us what they know. The fact that the work of these students will be published in its many forms to the world as a whole is just so radically removed from the ways most educators still look at what happens in the classroom. If we are simply content to shuffle paper back and forth only for the sake of slapping an assessment on the work, we are doing our students a grave disservice//."

In his blog, [|Beyond School], Clay Burell writes "//...flat classroom projects, like any other educational exercise, are as valuable - or as worthless - as their design and method make them. They’re gaining popularity now, so more and more schools and teachers will be trying them. And it’s the nuts and bolts of these efforts that will sink or swim them - for teachers, administrators, and students alike//."

Ideas to Get you Thinking About Collaboration ~ Educators to Collaborate With

 * [|Life ‘Round Here Wiki] [|Finished stories here] Here is a sample digital storytelling project that ran in the fall 2007
 * [|The Global Education Collaborative] - "a community for teachers and students interested in global education. Contribute by adding media, conversation, and collaborative project ideas"
 * [|Classroom 2.0] - "social networking site for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education"
 * [|GlobalSchoolNet.org] - "Global SchoolNet's mission is to support 21st century learning. We engage teachers and students in meaningful project learning exchanges with people around the world to develop literacy and communication skills, foster teamwork and collaboration, encourage workforce preparedness and create multi-cultural understanding."
 * [|Rolling on the River] - "This is a resource for global collaboration and the educational study of rivers and other bodies of water. Share information, find global partners, and learn more about rivers, lakes, and oceans through participation and collaboration."
 * [|Collaborative Writing Projects Through Wikis] - from Annette Lamb - take ideas from what others have done nd then get started on your own collaboration
 * [|Class Blog from Quatar] - In the [|Thin Wall's class blog] Clarence Fisher states, "Mr. Raisdana’s class in Qatar has begun blogging and they are looking for classes to talk with, exchange comments with, and get to know".