4.3 Diversity, Cultural Understanding & Global Awareness
Candidates model and facilitate the use of digital tools and resources to support diverse student needs, enhance cultural understanding, and increase
global awareness. (PSC 4.3/ISTE 5c)
global awareness. (PSC 4.3/ISTE 5c)
Artifact: Diversity, Cultural Understanding, and Global Awareness Blog - ITEC 7430
Reflection:
The Diversity, Cultural Understanding and Global Awareness blog is the artifact that best represents standard 4.3. In the blog, ways to model and facilitate the use of digital tools and resources to support diverse needs, enhance cultural understanding, and increase global awareness is addressed. Digital tools can be used to differentiate instruction, broaden students’ understanding, and develop respect for diversity. The internet allows teachers to connect, collaborate, and learn from many different sources from all over the world. Many classrooms today are collaborating with classrooms around the globe. Students are learning about other cultures, and most importantly, they are learning that not everyone lives the same way they do.
Digital tools can also be used to meet the diverse needs of all students. Teachers can differentiate their instruction to help students be successful with classroom content and in the many years to come. It is important to get to know the students’ skills, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Teachers should vary the way they deliver content from lecture, small group, one-on-one, and self-discovery activities. Multiple forms of assessments that correspond to the content objectives should also be used. Technology can be used to help students who need a little extra assistance in meeting grade level standards.
This blog best demonstrates mastery of standard 4.3 because it explains that programs such as Edmodo, Skype, Kidblog, and e-pals have helped teachers make connections with other teachers who want to expose their students to other cultures. Hilt (2011) shared an experience Amber McCabe, a 4th grade teacher, had with using Kidblog to connect her students with people in other cultures around the world. These types of connections and collaborations are authentic and have true value for helping student develop a respect for other cultures. It is important for students to realize that the world is not filled with people who look, act, live, or believe certain beliefs like them. They need to be exposed to other cultures to realize that our society is made up of many different people and that it is ok to be different. Through exposure to other cultures, students will hopefully develop an awareness of and desire to learn more about people from around the world.
Researching ways to provide diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness using technology tools in the classroom was very informative. I learned a lot of great activities that I can implement in my classroom to help expose my students to other cultures so they develop an awareness and respect for other cultures. If I could add something to improve this artifact, I would add a video of a classroom implementing programs such as Edmodo, Skype, Kidblog, or other programs to communicate with audiences around the world. It would be interesting to hear the students’ perspectives on these experiences and how they impact them.
Providing students with learning experiences that expose them to other cultures and help them gain respect for themselves and others is an important life skill. Experiences such as these increase student achievement while providing students with ways to learn about geography, cultures, time zones, seasons, language, internet safety and more in an authentic way. Classroom observations could be used to assess the effectiveness of these types of learning experiences.
Reflection:
The Diversity, Cultural Understanding and Global Awareness blog is the artifact that best represents standard 4.3. In the blog, ways to model and facilitate the use of digital tools and resources to support diverse needs, enhance cultural understanding, and increase global awareness is addressed. Digital tools can be used to differentiate instruction, broaden students’ understanding, and develop respect for diversity. The internet allows teachers to connect, collaborate, and learn from many different sources from all over the world. Many classrooms today are collaborating with classrooms around the globe. Students are learning about other cultures, and most importantly, they are learning that not everyone lives the same way they do.
Digital tools can also be used to meet the diverse needs of all students. Teachers can differentiate their instruction to help students be successful with classroom content and in the many years to come. It is important to get to know the students’ skills, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Teachers should vary the way they deliver content from lecture, small group, one-on-one, and self-discovery activities. Multiple forms of assessments that correspond to the content objectives should also be used. Technology can be used to help students who need a little extra assistance in meeting grade level standards.
This blog best demonstrates mastery of standard 4.3 because it explains that programs such as Edmodo, Skype, Kidblog, and e-pals have helped teachers make connections with other teachers who want to expose their students to other cultures. Hilt (2011) shared an experience Amber McCabe, a 4th grade teacher, had with using Kidblog to connect her students with people in other cultures around the world. These types of connections and collaborations are authentic and have true value for helping student develop a respect for other cultures. It is important for students to realize that the world is not filled with people who look, act, live, or believe certain beliefs like them. They need to be exposed to other cultures to realize that our society is made up of many different people and that it is ok to be different. Through exposure to other cultures, students will hopefully develop an awareness of and desire to learn more about people from around the world.
Researching ways to provide diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness using technology tools in the classroom was very informative. I learned a lot of great activities that I can implement in my classroom to help expose my students to other cultures so they develop an awareness and respect for other cultures. If I could add something to improve this artifact, I would add a video of a classroom implementing programs such as Edmodo, Skype, Kidblog, or other programs to communicate with audiences around the world. It would be interesting to hear the students’ perspectives on these experiences and how they impact them.
Providing students with learning experiences that expose them to other cultures and help them gain respect for themselves and others is an important life skill. Experiences such as these increase student achievement while providing students with ways to learn about geography, cultures, time zones, seasons, language, internet safety and more in an authentic way. Classroom observations could be used to assess the effectiveness of these types of learning experiences.