Jennifer_Booher

Exactly Jennifer. You have it figured out.

Thanks! I'm working on it!

I interviewed Kelly Crowley, a 5th grade teacher at my school, who incorporates technology and global perspectives into her classroom.

Kelly Crowley is a 5th grade teacher at Pine Valley Elementary school. As an educator, not only does she strive to incorporate global perspectives in her classroom, but she continuously is educating herself to be more globally aware, as well as sharing her knowledge of technology with other educators. Most recently, she traveled to Oregon to be a part of a teacher innovator camp that focused on technology. Along with that she has been very involved with training other educators on learning.com products and mycurriculum. She feels that the mycurriculum part of learning.com is what makes it the program so global. It gives educators the opportunity to create and share lesson plans. Kelly is sharing her knowledge about mycurriculum to spread the word about this great online resource! Her training extends beyond technology, as she also serves as one of Pine Valley’s Positive Behavior Support program’s chairpersons. She feels so strongly about the culture of PBS that she has traveled all over the state of North Carolina and around the U.S. to promote PBS and share and learn ideas with fellow educators. To keep up with all that is going on in education Kelly receives many professional enewsletters that she feels keep her abreast with what is going on in global education. These enewsletters include: Inside the School, Learning.com, and Brainpop.com. She also follows educational sites on twitter.

When asked about her education and globalization Kelly reflects that when she was coming through school globalization was not a priority. The term globalization had not been coined yet and was not a buzz word within education. However, now that she has become an educator she has been awarded many opportunities through professional developments like taking smartboard training, classcapes, and by taking a 21st century workshop at UNCW when she hosted an intern. Kelly would like to continue her global education by getting her Master’s degree in an education field and would eventually love to work for an educational dot com. Kelly decided to teach globally for several reasons. She has been very interested in all of the social networking movements. When she was in high school AOL instant messenger was the new “thing.” At the time it was cutting edge. Over the years Kelly has been able to watch and see technology grow and change with the times. Through Facebook, cell phones, and texting Kelly has watched educational opportunities grow and finds it exciting to think about what changes could be made in education through technology. Her time at the Teacher Innovator Camp in Portland, Oregan also added to her excitement and interests to teaching globally.

An influence that caused Kelly to incorporate global perspectives into her classroom was that of social networking. She recognizes the fact that children are on it and wants to be able to protect her students in the global world. She feels her students are not yet capable of truly understanding just how global we are, and wants to be able to teach them how to use the internet safely. Kelly reflected on a time that she taught her students how quickly text messages and emails worked. She showed her students this to show them just how quickly information can move and the importance of being careful about what students put out there.

In her classroom, Kelly incorporates global perspectives through many facets. She has a Smartboard in her classroom and has used the Smartboard and a webcam to Skype with others. She has used the Skype connection to illustrate how easy it is to communicate with others, all over the world. She also uses a program called My Access. This is a new online writing program for students that grades their work and has the capability for teachers and students to leave comments to each other back and forth. She not only trains for learning.com, but she also implements it in her classroom. One of her favorite parts of this program is a social networking concept that gives students the ability to post comments and get instant responses from her. She feels that the reactions she gets from using these pieces of technology is that it engages and motivates her students. The overall impact that she sees is giving students a global awareness and preparing students for what is out there and teaching them tech etiquette. She also stresses the importance of making students aware of what a great tool technology can be, but also teaching them the dangers of technology.

While Kelly recognizes all the benefits to teaching globally she also recognizes some of the drawbacks. If President Obama names her Secretary of Education Kelly would address global education by finding money for schools to buy into this movement. Kelly stated, “Kids need an education, they will be healthier in the long run with an education. If we are going to provide the education for free we need to go all out and do it!” Kelly feels like the next move for North Carolina is to find more money for technology, provide more computers, white boards, and to update our classrooms. Administrators are supportive of Kelly’s efforts to provide a globalized education for her students. She receives support in her efforts and praise for her accomplishments. However, some of her more traditional coworkers feel the strain of trying to get students in the computer lab and just teach basic skills. They struggle with the changes involved in teaching globally. Kelly is a little apprehensive sometimes about sharing her global perspectives because not all teachers have bought into this style of teaching yet and so it is hard for her to tell colleagues this is what we should be doing.

Kelly does a fantastic job of implementing global perspectives into her classroom. Currently, she rates herself at about a 5 on a scale of 1-10. She feels she has seen other teachers do so much more and that she has much to learn. I feel that she does an exceptional job and is always trying new and inventive things to challenge her students. She is truly and educator that is preparing her students for our global world.

What are some things you have done in your career to incorporate global perspectives. o Teacher Innovator Camp, participating in a technology camp in Oregon. o PBS ~ traveling throughout state and country to share and learn ideas. o Read non fiction What are some influences that caused you to incorporate a global perspective in your teaching style? o Social Networking. Kids are on it, to protect her students in the global world and they don’t understand how global we are, it is beyond their developmental capabilities. What education did you receive in K-16 regarding globalization? o Globalization was not a priority, the term hadn’t been coined, wasn’t a buzz word. Have received PD within my career. Took 21st century learning workshop at UNCW when hosting intern. Smartboard training, classcapes, o Remember teaching students how quickly text messages and emails worked. How are you sharing your global teaching style with other educators in your field? o Teacher Innovator Camp. Train people on learning.com products and mycurriculum. The my curriculum is what makes learning.com so global because it allows educators to share lesson plans with others. What are your future plans for continuing or expanding your global curriculum? o Loved to work for an educational dot com. Want to get Masters degree in some type of ed field. How do your more traditional coworkers feel about bringing global perspectives into the classroom? o That there is not enough time to get their kids in the one computer lab at school and they want to teach basic skills. People are resistant to change. Which professional journals or online sites do you recommend to stay on top of global education? o Inside the school, enewsletter o Learning.com, enewsletter o Follow ed sites on twitter o Brainpop.com enewsletter In your opinion, what should be the next move for NC schools concerning global education? o Need more technology o Find money to provide more computers, white boards, classrooms need to be up to date, state of the art If President Obama named you Secretary of Education, how would you address global education? o Find money for schools, stop spending on health care o Kids need an education, they will be healthier in the long run with an education. If we are going to provide the education for free we need to go all out and do it! How do you incorporate global perspectives into the classroom. Can you give an example of one activity/project? o Skype and webcams; to illustrate how easy it is to communicate with others, skyped with a connection and did math brain teasers back and forth and practice interview questions. o My Access – new online writing program for students that grades their work, has the capability for teachers and students to leave comments with each other back and forth. o Learning.com has a social networking concept where students can post comments and get instant responses from teachers. How do your students react to bringing global perspectives into the classroom? o Very engaging students like it they are motivated What is the most significant impact that you feel your students receive by learning in a global classroom? o Global Awareness o Preparing for what is out there, teaches tech etiquette, raises awareness of dangers and benefits What key terms have you adopted in your classroom to support your global curriculum? or What language do you use to enhance your students global perspectives? o Use a lot of text lingo in classroom, students write with it, when teacher uses it on board students know what it means. What made you decide to teach globally? Was there a specific event in your life that sparked global interests for you? o Own interest, engages me o AOL instant messaging in high school, at the time it was cutting edge o Cell phones and texting o Facebook o Opportunity to go to porland, oregan to learn at teacher innovator camp When teaching globally do you feel there are specific pressures or misconceptions that you as the teacher have to be mindful of. Do you have any apprehensions? o Some teachrs are not buying into the global teaching yet, so they do not support what I am doing o The apprehension comes from not wanting to tell a collegue this is what we should do, just because I think this is what we should do. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of global education? o Pros o Cons-having access to resources How successful are you in implementing it into your current curriculum? o I am about a 5 on a scale of 1-10. I have seen other teachers do so much more and I have much more to learn. How much support are you receiving from your administrators in your attempt at global education? o I receive support in my efforts and praise for accomplishments. Are computers a readily available resource for you to use for all of your students? o no How do your students feel about contacting students from another country and do you need permission from parents to make this sort of contact with people across the globe? o It is exciting for students. I would definitely inform parents about what we were doing. I would ask permission if students were needing to contact the person individually. But if we were doing it as whole group I would just inform.