Journal 2

Learning Without Borders - NETS 1,2,3, and 4

Anderson, S. (2012). Feature: Learning without borders. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/l-l-december-january-2012-13/feature-learning-without-borders

  

Summary

     The article Learning Without Borders by Sue Anderson is about her experience with a program called Schoolwires Greenleaf. This program is a virtual international exchange classroom where her students in Pennsylvania worked with middle/high school students in Beijing, China. The purpose of this assignment was to learn how to work and learn in the digital age. The students benefited by getting to know peers in China as friends. The students would work on projects together and the Chinese students translated. The technology the students used was what connected them. They were able to share emails, and using a program, they could share documents and work on them at the same time. The American students had to be very careful with their writing to the Chinese students because they could not use slang or anything that the Chinese students would not be able to understand. The students were able to show their digital citizenship and responsibility through participating in this program.

What kinds of technology issues did the students run into during the program?

      The students had a few problems with not being able to open documents because they were old versions. "Schoolwires has since created a tool within the platform where students can work collaboratively on a document." (Anderson 2012)

How did the students work together?

     The students worked as groups and each group worked with another group in China. For the second year that they are in now, Anderson said that they want individual students paired up with other individuals in China so that they are able to get to know each other better.