This document summarizes a presentation about connecting classrooms globally using emerging technologies. It discusses how Thomas Friedman's concept of a "flat world" enabled by the internet allows for sharing knowledge across borders. Six essential skills are outlined for the conceptual age: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Educational networking, social bookmarking, multimedia mashups, and collaborative writing on wikis are presented as tools to connect, communicate and collaborate globally. Emerging technologies like mobile computing and augmented reality are also discussed. The presentation models connecting classrooms internationally to learn 21st century skills.

1. The World is Flat and
Your Classroom Can Be, Too:
Learning and teaching with
global peers in the
Flat Classroom™ Project
Presented by
Connor, Helena, Mia, Talia, and Honor
From The International School of the Americas
San Antonio, Texas

2. Roundtable Discussion Questions
• What did you hear?
• What stood out to you?
• What surprised you?
• What did you notice?
• What are you
wondering?
• What intrigues you?
• What are you thinking
now?
• What else would you
like to know?
• How might you apply
this idea in your own
classroom or school?

3. Round One
• The World is Flat and A Whole New Mind
(Honor)
• Educational Networking (Mia)
• Social Bookmarking (Connor)
• Multi-Media Mash-Ups (Helena)
• The 3 C’s: Connect, Communicate, Collaborate
(Talia)

4. The World is Flat and
A Whole New Mind
Facilitator: Honor

6. Friedman’s Concept of a “Flat World”
“a global web-enabled platform for multiple
forms of sharing knowledge and work
irrespective of time, distance, geography, and
increasingly even language”
Thomas Friedman, “The World is Flat,” MIT World video, May 16, 2005
http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/266

7. The “Six Senses”
Design
Story
Symphony
Empathy
Play
Meaning
+
The 11 “Flatteners”
Connecting the World Online
World Wide Web
Workflow Software
Uploading: Changing Shape of Information
Web 2.0
Globalization and Outsourcing
Google
PLEs and Social Networking
Mobile and Ubiquitous
Virtual Communication
Wireless Connectivity

9. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-
Brainers Will Rule the Future
• Agricultural Age (farmers)
• Industrial Age (factory workers)
• Information Age (knowledge workers)
• Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)
“A Whole New Mind reveals the six essential
aptitudes on which professional success and
personal fulfillment now depend . . .”

10. http://www.edutopia.org/images/graphics/fea_collabage_walls_howworksstat.jpg

11. Pink’s “Six Senses”
• Design - Moving beyond function to engage the sense.
• Story - Narrative added to products and services - not
just argument. Best of the six senses.
• Symphony - Adding invention and big picture thinking
(not just detail focus).
• Empathy - Going beyond logic and engaging emotion
and intuition.
• Play - Bringing humor and light-heartedness to
business and products.
• Meaning - Immaterial feelings and values of products.

12. The Future is Now
“In the future, how we educate our children
may prove to be more important than how
much we educate them.” (p. 309)
The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
by Thomas Friedman, 2005, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

13. Educational Networking
Facilitator: Mia

14. Popular Social Networking Activities
Creating and Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social—and Educational—Networking
National School Boards Association, 2007
http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/41400/41340.pdf

24. Social Bookmarking
Facilitator: Connor

33. Multi-Media Mash-Ups
Facilitator: Helena

38. http://grownupdigital.ning.com/video/video/listTagged?tag=isa

39. The 3 C’s: Connect,
Communicate & Collaborate
Facilitator: Talia

40. NEW SKILLS FOR A NEW AGE
What students must master to succeed.
LEARN
• Access, evaluate, and use different forms of information
• Exercise critical thinking
• Exhibit fluency with tech tools
CREATE
• Use various forms of media when presenting ideas
• Display originality
• Employ problem-solving skills
COLLABORATE
• Work successfully as a team
• Demonstrate cross-cultural awareness
• Communicate complex ideas effectively
http://www.edutopia.org/images/graphics/fea_collabage_walls_newskillsstat.jpg

41. "collaborate-communicate-connect" CC by langwiches on Flicker

42. "What does Learning mean?" CC by langwiches on Flicker

54. Round Two
• The Horizon Report and Grown Up Digital
(Honor)
• Emerging Technology Trends (Talia)
• Information Literacy and Research Skills
(Helena)
• Collaborative Writing on Wikis (Connor)
• Student Summits (Mia)

55. The Horizon Report
and Grown Up Digital
Facilitator: Honor

56. Net Generation Norms
Freedom (Choice)
Customization
Scrutiny (Transparency)
Integrity (Digital Citizenship)
Collaboration
Entertainment
Speed
Innovation
+
Technology Trends
Mobile Computing
Open Content
Electronic Books
Simple Augmented Reality
Gesture-Based Computing
Visual Data Analysis

58. The Digital Generation
Image from BLC07 Conference, CC Share-Alike by Torres21 on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/torres21/848315727/in/set-72157600845034284/

61. Emerging Technology Trends
Facilitator: Talia

67. Information Literacy
and Research Skills
Facilitator: Helena

75. Collaborative Writing on Wikis
Facilitator: Connor

82. Student Summits
Facilitator: Mia