Tiffany+Long

Tiffany Long Global Educator Interview

Global education is an important factor in preparing students to become 21st century citizens. It is equally important to establish whether or not educators are incorporating technology and global skills within their classrooms. I was fortunate to interview a teacher that belongs to a school where technology and global skills are incorporated within each classroom. This teacher is the instructor of a split-grade level class, which includes kindergarten and first grade students. The school is located in the city of Wilmington and is a part of the New Hanover County school district. The questions that were included in this interview directly related to the institutional and individual philosophy of technology and global education within this particular school.

I began this interview by asking what technological resources are available within this teacher’s school. He explained to me that each classroom has abundant technological resources. Each classroom is set up with four student computers, two teacher computers, a document camera, and an interactive white board. He also explained that smart carts were readily available to provide further assistance for instruction. In addition, the school has a technology lab for whole class instruction and application of technological concepts.

After explaining the technological resources available for instruction, I posed a question that asked if teachers at this particular school received training to use these technological applications within their instruction. He responded by informing me that he, as well as the other teachers at the school, have received two training sessions to instruct them on how to use these technologies appropriately.

The next question that I posed was how he used these technologies, within his classroom instruction, on a daily basis. He answered that he uses the interactive white board for reading, writing, and mathematics in his instruction daily. Furthermore, the document camera is utilized daily to explain handouts and other tangible materials that he is discussing. He also mentioned that he pulls up videos daily from discovery education, which he uses to discuss current events and show students real life examples of concepts being taught in the classroom.

Since my interviewee has taught for a number of years, before the invention of interactive white boards and the use of technology within the classroom, I made sure to ask how these new teaching tools have changed the way in which he teaches. He told me that the answer is simple. These technologies have facilitated students to become more interactive with the skills and concepts being taught. He has also found that students are more engaged and entertained in their studies.

We then moved into the global perspectives section of the interview. I asked him what future benefits his students would receive from incorporating global perspectives within his classroom. He listed a number of reasons that reinforced the positive aspects of global education within education. First, he stated that students gain perspectives of different cultures and points of view. He then stated that global education has the ability to give students a broader sense of where they come from. The last reason that he listed was that global education enables better critical thinking skills within students.

These statements brought me to ask him how he is ensuring that each student will be ready to compete in the global marketplace. He replied that the only way to prepare students to be 21st century citizens is to provide them with opportunities and experiences that will give them knowledge of technology and different cultures.

Finally, I asked him if there was any literature that he has read to become more affluent with incorporating technology and global education within his classroom. He told me that __Framework for Understanding Poverty__ really helped him to understand many issues related to technology and global issues. He pointed out that this text gives the perspective of what people in poverty go through and how to address it. He has used some of the concepts, discussed in the text, to enlighten his students on situations involved with poverty and what some individuals around the world are subjected to.