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Periscope lets you explore the world through the eyes of somebody else.

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Since its conception in 2011, more and more teachers from across the globe have used Quadblogging to gain a genuine audience for their learners. In fact, over 500,000 pupils have used QuadBlogging to date! Whether you are a Nursery teacher in Albania or an University Lecturer in Zimbabwe, Quadblogging will Quad you and your learners up with three other classes matching your preferences selected in the sign up process.

As a group of four, each week, a different class will be the 'focus class' allowing the other three classes to visit and comment on the focus class blog. Over a cycle of 4 weeks, each class has their week as the 'focus class'. Each Quad will have a 'Quad Co-ordinator overseeing organisation of the Quad and YOU get to decide how many cycles are completed. When you have completed the cycles, you simply come back and register for a new Quad. Quadblogging will now be a fluid project with no set timings aiming to give each participant a flexible experience tailored to the needs of your curriculum and your learners.

Author and Educational Consultant Pie Corbett explains why he loves QuadBlogging so much:

Signing up is simple... Just fill out the form below, follow @DeputyMitchell and @QuadBlogging and you'll be notified about your Quad details either through Twitter or through the Quad Co-ordinator responsible for your Quad.

QuadBlogging 2016 Quads below:

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Since its conception in 2011, more and more teachers from across the globe have used Quadblogging to gain a genuine audience for their learners. In fact, over 500,000 pupils have used QuadBlogging to date!

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The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with milllions of students having participated.

What is it?

The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are commonly used such as Skype, Twitter, Padlet, or Flipgrid, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.

When is it?

Once a year, starting in early October and running through mid-November. Due to the time commitment, this is only a once a year project, however, two fantastic spin-off projects run at other times; the New Zealand Read Aloud and the French version of GRA, Ecouter Lire le Monde.

I have questions as a Participant

Please see " For Participants" to have all of your questions answered.

I have questions as an Author

Please see "For Authors" to have all of your questions answered.

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To see the blog with the latest news and ideas, go here. To join our Facebook Community, go here - this is how you sign up The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a...

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iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is the world's largest non-profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world.

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Asia Society
Global Learning Beyond School, an initiative of Asia Society's Center for Global Education, supports community organizations, schools, and career and vocational programs with developing young people's global competencies during learning activities that take place outside the traditional school day or setting. Services include: capacity building of state, city, and national afterschool networks and intermediaries; training and technical assistance for out-of-school time program staff on implementing global learning as a quality improvement measure; developing competency-based expanded learning models; and providing resources on career and technical education pathways for students.
Better World Ed
Better World Ed offers a learning toolkit to help educators integrate social change and storytelling into their daily academic goals.
Choices for the 21st Century Education Project
The Choices Program is non-profit organization based at Brown University. We develop curricula on current and historical international issues and offer professional development for educators. Choices materials incorporate the latest scholarship from Brown University and beyond to draw connections between historical events and contemporary international issues.
Facing the Future
Facing the Future offers a wide variety of curriculum resources for use in K-12 classrooms, and in some cases the curriculum is also appropriate for colleges of education, community college courses and undergraduate teaching. The resources introduce students to critical global issues and the skills required for success in the 21st Century. Facing the Future resources include both interdisciplinary and subject-specific materials.
Global Education Benchmark Group
"Global Education: A Roadmap to Program Development" This reader on global education features specialists ranging from risk management to curriculum. The book is meant to serve as a guide for schools who wish to create or improve their global education programs. It includes forms, data, and surveys to help the decision making process in creating global programs that are educational, experiential, and sustainable.

The GEBG Wiki is an interactive forum that contains almost 200 global education practices, forms, policies, videos, and more from member schools. It is the center for global education information that helps guide program development for members interested in improving programs and sharing practices.
Global Dimension
A guide to books, films, posters and web resources which support global, intercultural and environmental understanding for all age groups and subjects and provides summaries of resources and relevant links. It's designed for UK schools, but is of much wider interest. It focuses on resources in English, from a number of countries.

iEARN offers online curriculum and lesson plans for educators on a variety of globally-focused topics. "iEARN Project Books" are also available.
New Global Citizens
The Classroom Program offers units, lesson plans, hands-on student activities, and resources for teachers to integrate their content area with global issues. Aligned with academic standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and 21st Century Skills, the program empowers students to be global citizens and change makers in their own communities. In addition, teachers will have access to NGC staff support and a community of NGC educators across the nation.
P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Learning)
In addition to a comprehensive blueprint for state action, the Global Education Framework includes two guides for use by states to implement the strategy: a Teacher Guide to K-12 Global Competence Grade Level Indicators and a Framework for State Action on Global Education. These guides provide grade-by-grade indicators for global knowledge and skills for teachers and students.
Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance features a blog, a place where educators who care about diversity, equity, and justice can find news, suggestions, articles, free shareable presentations, and lesson plans for their classrooms.
TeachUNICEF
TeachUNICEF helps teachers engage students as active global citizens in learning about UNICEF-the United Nations Children's Fund-and its efforts on behalf of children worldwide. TeachUNICEF education materials have been designed to help educators bring a global understanding of the needs of children and families around the world into the classroom.
The We Can Project
The We Can Project promotes three steps: think, plan, act and reflect. Students pick a goal that are important to them, the people are them, and their communities. They put their plans into motion, take time to reflect on their progress, and adjust their plans accordingly.

The We Can Project is designed to be completed gradually over a semester or school year. By working towards their goals a little at a time, students learn the importance of commitment, communication, strategic planning, and follow through. They come away with confidence, leadership, and a profound sense of accomplishment.

Since its creation, The We Can Project has been implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools all across the United States and Canada to over 125,000 student participants. It has been featured on CBS Morning Show in New York, CTV News all across Canada, as well as in numerous local publications.

Individual classes or whole school districts can participate and costs are arranged based on a school's budget.
University of Minnesota Immigration History Resource Center
Flexible, interdisciplinary, and discussion-based-IHRC's educator resources are a useful collection of lesson plans and toolkits for instructors and teachers to facilitate a better understanding of immigration history. These resources are designed for a wide variety of educational settings, including high school and college classrooms, adult English Language Learner (ELL) classrooms, and discussions taking place in the community.

Series author Annie Wendel was recently accepted as a fellowship graduate student at Merrimack University to pursue an M.Ed. in Community Engagement. Due to a long-standing passion for global citizenship and social justice, coupled with critical questioning and hard-nosed analysis, Annie has long been a friend of globalsl.org, repeatedly interning for the network and moving our work forward. She is currently completing programming with the Wyman Teen Outreach Program in middle and high schools in the Greater New Haven area in Connecticut, implementing a positive youth development curriculum and organizing community service-learning opportunities for students. She has also learned and served elsewhere in the States, Nepal, South Africa, and the Solomon Islands. After graduate school, she hopes to continue to pursue global education through experiential models and service-learning programs.

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Global Learning: Curriculum Guides, Lesson Plans, and Teaching Materials on globalsl.org

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Asia Society Global Learning Beyond School, an initiative of Asia Society's Center for Global Education, supports community organizations, schools, and career and vocational programs with developing young people's global competencies during learning activities that take place outside the traditional school day or setting.

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By the time today's toddlers join the workforce, the ability to work globally and cross-culturally will be mandatory -- not just the "nice to have" it was years ago. But are our teachers prepared to help raise global children?

While it's important for parents to help prepare their children for the global marketplace, educators play an equally important role in developing cross-cultural competency and knowledge. Teachers with global perspectives can help foster increased cultural understanding and support more young people to think, act and live as global citizens. All teachers should be properly trained and prepared to teach all subjects through a global lens, not just social studies and language, in order to help prepare students to compete and thrive in the global marketplace.

According to Global Teacher Education, a globally competent teacher is one "who possesses the competencies, attitudes, and habits of mind necessary for successful cross-cultural engagement at home and abroad." Globally competent teachers demonstrate the following characteristics and guide their students to do the same:

1. Investigate the world beyond their immediate environment, framing significant problems and conducting well-crafted and age-appropriate research;

2. Recognize perspectives, others' and their own, articulating and explaining such perspectives thoughtfully and respectfully;

3. Communicate ideas effectively with diverse audiences, bridging geographic, linguistic, ideological, and cultural barriers; and

4. Take action to improve conditions, viewing themselves as players in the world and participating reflectively.

But global competence training is not part of the standard U.S. teacher training or certification process. So how do we help them? Certainly getting involved and supporting the Global Teacher Education project will be helpful. The group was established to support the internationalization of teacher preparation, and it partners with colleges of education to help more teachers become globally competent before they enter the classroom.

But what about the teachers who are already in the classroom?

Additional training and certification credits focused on global competency will certainly help, and districts should encourage teachers to pursue them. But in the meantime, teachers can start implementing some very practical steps right away. In my latest book, Raising Global Children: Ways Parents Can Help Our Children Grow Up Ready to Succeed in a Multicultural Global Economy (published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 2013), readers learn how developing a global mindset is the first step - and it's relevant for adults as much as children. Creating a global classroom, a place that is inclusive where all children have an equal voice, doesn't have to take much extra time. Teaching materials should reflect the world's diversity, as should classroom visitors. A few examples of what a global classroom entails:

Encourages creative representations of the world;

Avoids stereotypes when selecting international images;

Creates games using maps and globes;

Plays music from a variety of cultures and take time to reflect on and discuss it;

Creates a global bookshelf, including books written in other languages to show how books are physically read in other countries;

Posts and refers to the alphabets of other world languages;

Introduces world languages through online sources, such as the one used by the Peace Corps;

Incorporates toys/items from around the world in teaching both a subject and cultural similarities and differences; and

Posts and frequently uses a variety of maps.

Teachers can also incorporate cultural exchange into their core curricula through virtual international exchange programs enabling students to have direct communication with kids their own age living under significantly different circumstances. Students have the opportunity to "travel" to another country without leaving their own school. The number of networks and organizations dedicated to connecting students and teachers around the world is growing. Although each organization does it a little differently, they all create an educational and cultural exchange that enriches the lives of students, teachers and administrators. Some of the many organizations include:
ePals provides project-based collaboration on a variety of topics and has classrooms in 200 countries and territories;

Environment Online is a global virtual school and network for sustainable development based in Finland;

Global Nomads Group delivers interactive education programs for students about global issues;

iEARN is a project-based site that encourages teachers and students to take part in international collaborations, as well as offers professional development courses for teachers and administrators on how to integrate global collaboration projects into the curriculum;

Project Explorer offers free multimedia content and lesson plans that improve students' global awareness and cross-cultural understanding; and

World Wise Schools, a Peace Corps Program that matches U.S. students with Peace Corps volunteers around the world with the goal of infusing global issues and 21st-century skills into the classroom.

In addition to bringing the world into the classroom, many organizations offer creative opportunities for teacher exchanges and encounters abroad for them to then bring back to enhance their lessons inside the classroom. The following list of programs and awards are excellent opportunities for teachers to experience the cultural context of the subject or language they teach:

Teachers for Global Classrooms Program (TGC) provides a professional development opportunity for middle and high school teachers from the United States to participate in a program aimed at globalizing teaching and learning in their classrooms. TGC is a program of the ECA and administered by IREX, an international nonprofit organization providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally. The applications for TGC are available now on IREX's website. The deadline is March 11.

Hilton Honors Teacher Treks gives teachers the opportunity to spend three weeks abroad in the summer exploring and experiencing culture firsthand, or teaching English as a Second Language in a Hilton Worldwide hotel. Applications for the 2014 grant can be found on the IIE's website. Although the deadline just passed (Feb. 26), the voting will begin soon! It is open to U.S. primary and middle school educators. Teacher Treks is sponsored by Hilton Worldwide which is inspired by its "World Peace through International Trade and Travel" philosophy and administered by the IIE.

The Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the United States and abroad. U.S. and international teachers receive grants to study at a university, observe classes, and complete a project pertaining to their field of educational inquiry during their time abroad. The program, which is sponsored by the ECA, is open to teachers from the United States and other selected countries.

The Hanban Chinese Teacher Training Program is designed to provide trainees/teachers with systematic, professional knowledge in Chinese language teaching methods and Chinese culture promotion techniques based upon the established teaching practices of their home country. Applicants cannot be native Chinese speakers or citizens of China. The program is administered by the Ministry of China Education and Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban).

The Instituto Cervantes was founded in 1991 by the Spanish government to teach and promote the language and culture of Spain as well as the co-official languages of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. The Instituto Cervantes offers a comprehensive teacher training program designed to cater to the needs of teachers of Spanish as a second/foreign language in different stages of their careers.

If we are to raise global children, we also need globally competent teachers. If you agree, share this post with a few teachers and administrators you know. Perhaps it will inspire them to pursue their own global adventure inside and outside the classroom.
Stacie Nevadomski Berdan is the coauthor, most recently, of Raising Global Children: Ways Parents Can Help Our Children Grow Up Ready to Succeed in a Multicultural Global Economy (ACTFL, November 2013). Follow the discussion on Facebook and www.stacieberdan.com.

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By the time today's toddlers join the workforce, the ability to work globally and cross-culturally will be mandatory -- not just the "nice to have" it was years ago. But are our teachers prepared to help raise global children?

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An Interactive Tool for Developing Global Competence in Teaching | Global Teacher Education

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We designed the GCTC as a self-reflection tool for professional growth for both teachers and teacher educators. It outlines 12 elements of globally competent teaching across three domains (dispositions, knowledge, and skills), and defines 5 levels for each element (nascent, beginning, progressing, proficient, and advanced).

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Gaming for a better world

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Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how.

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5 Elementary Global Competency Lesson Plans for Next Fall

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Elementary and secondary school lesson plans

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3 Middle School Global Competency Lesson Plans

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#SIGGlobalCT

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SIG Global Competence & Technology @ GREAT17

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Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/youtube/ -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you to develop cool animated clips and animated presentations for your website, office meeting, sales pitch, nonprofit fundraiser, product launch, video resume, or anything else you could use an animated explainer video.

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What This School Is Achieving

OUTCOMES

John Stanford International School's model produces strong academic results for English-language learners and native English-speakers alike.

Since focusing on foreign language immersion, this school has achieved:

90% growth in math

90% growth in reading

90% growth in science

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John Stanford International School's model produces strong academic results for English-language learners and native English-speakers alike. Since focusing on foreign language immersion, this school has achieved: 90% growth in math 90% growth in reading 90% growth in science

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Climate Change

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This is "Core Concepts of Global Competence" by World Savvy on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

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"If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity ... we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week by the end of the next decade." When Jane McGonigal made this statement at TED 2010, people in the audience laughed. But McGonigal was serious. She explained that hundreds of millions of gamers worldwide play online games for billions of hours each week, and that her goal is to "make it as easy to save the world in real life as it is to save the world in online games."

What would it take to leverage the power of gaming and the collaborative problem-solving skills of gamers around the world to help solve real-world global problems? Can students develop global competence- the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance -through gaming? And how do those game-based understandings and complex-thinking skills translate to real-world decision-making and action?

Recently, much attention has been given to the importance of play, the potential of game-based learning, and the gamification of education. Games compel us to learn by engaging us in an experience that situates our learning in a meaningful context. They tap into our human affinities for story and play. They motivate us through progressively harder challenges as well as long- and short-term goals. They offer frequent and specific feedback, and they give rewards (points, badges, leveling up) for gradual success.

So how can gaming help young people develop global competence?

Investigating the World

There are a variety of online games designed to help students learn about global issues including environmental challenges, human rights, and even world peace.

The Nobel Prize website hosts a Peace Doves game designed to help players learn about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and a Trade Ruler game that helps them learn how countries benefit from specialization and international trade.

GRUB and MDG Matters are card-matching games from Taking IT Global that explore hunger and other global food issues as well as the Millennium Development Goals.

While these games test students' knowledge, other games require players to make decisions that help them understand the complex nature of global issues. For example, the Garbage Dreams game is inspired by the Zaballeen people who have survived for centuries in Cairo by recycling the city's garbage. Players discover that they must consider a variety of factors in order to build an effective recycling business. Food Force challenges players to complete six missions, each representing a different step in the process of delivering food aid and helping to rebuild a community in need.

In the Stop Disasters game, players learn how to prevent and prepare for natural disasters to reduce risks and limit damage that results when disasters strike. Operation Climate Control is a multiplayer game where teams work through different scenarios to make local policy decisions that will slow climate change. And in the Crisis of Nations game, the leaders of four nations must work together diplomatically to solve international crises while secretly collecting resources to try to win the game.

Recognizing Perspectives

Powerful learning experiences are often evoked by the way games engage us in role play. Games afford us the opportunity to take on different perspectives, play out decisions, and see what happens. As we try out various possibilities, we learn to recognize multiple perspectives and diverse pathways for action.

In the Nobel Prize website's Prisoners of War game the player takes on the role of a commander in a prisoner of war camp and must apply an understanding of the Geneva Convention to make decisions about the camp. Another game from Taking IT Global simulates the Ukraine's Orange Revolution. The player must make decisions for the two main presidential candidates and work towards fair elections without violence. Against All Odds is a game that lets students experience what it's like to be a refugee, fleeing from oppression and seeking asylum in another country, and the Peace Corps Challenge game has the player act as a Peace Corps Volunteer helping villagers respond to health, education, environmental, and economic challenges. The Curfew invites players to navigate a dystopian future, learning about civil liberties while experiencing a world where freedoms have been taken away in the name of security.

Communicating Ideas

As evidenced by the National STEM Video Game Challenge and the growing popularity of Gamestar Mechanic, where students can currently participate in the Playing 4 Peace Challenge, there is great interest in students designing and developing games. One good example of developing global competence through game creation is Globaloria, a learning network and game-making platform where students design, program, and share their own STEM and social issues games. Students collaborate virtually and face-to-face as they develop educational games on topics that matter to them. An online community connects students with peers, teachers, and experts for support throughout the process.

Within the serious games genre, there are many games that focus on globally significant issues. I would like to highlight two that were designed by students. I Can End Deportation, or ICED, was created by a human rights organization called Breakthrough. With input from many undocumented high schools students, they developed this game in which students play the role of an immigrant teen trying to gain citizenship, in order to learn about the issues confronting undocumented youth.

Ayiti: The Cost of Life, requires the player to make decisions on behalf of the Guinard family living in rural Haiti. The goal is to help them achieve health, happiness, and education, and earn enough money to survive the challenges they encounter through four growing seasons. This game was designed by students participating the Global Kids' Playing 4 Keeps program.

Taking Action

Some educational games enable users to take action on global issue from within the game. Darfur is Dying, a role-playing simulation of life as a refugee, includes activism tools embedded in the game. Players can take action to help stop the crisis in Darfur by sending a message to the president, their state representatives, or by starting a movement in their local communities. When students practice their vocabulary-and now other subjects including math, science, geography, and world languages-on the Free Rice website they can see the bowls of rice fill up as they answer questions correctly. And for each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to fight world hunger.

Other games rely on the players' creativity and collaboration to translate gaming into real-world actions. In eMission, a Facebook game from DoSomething.org, players compete with friends to see who can save the most energy. They score points in the game by reducing their carbon footprint in the real world.

As James Paul Gee argues, playing video games is an ideal way for students to learn collaboration and problem solving. World of Warcraft is probably the best-known example of collaborative problem-solving environments in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game genre. Players not only communicate and collaborate within the game space, they also use social networks, wikis, blogs, and discussion boards to mentor and support one another. And there are games designed to leverage the power of this kind of global communication and collaboration among players to solve real-world problems like poverty, hunger, clean energy, and education.

World Without Oil invites players to collectively imagine the impending threats of an oil crisis and use the "wisdom of the crowds" to develop solutions. With the tagline "a crash course in changing the world," EVOKE empowers teams to collaboratively develop innovative solutions to the world's pressing problems at the local level. Although EVOKE's target audience is primarily young people in Africa, it's played by people around the world. In ten weeks, players learn the ten "Evoke Powers" of collaboration, courage, creativity, entrepreneurship, local insight, knowledge networking, resourcefulness, spark, sustainability, and vision. Players develop plans and a real-world pitch for a project to make a difference in their community. Selected projects from the first season of the game have already been funded.

Most of the games I've described here are simulations. Having facilitated student participation in Model United Nations and the Global Village Simulation at Heifer Ranch, and after hearing John Hunter talk about the World Peace Game, I'm thoroughly convinced that simulations can lead to deep learning. Indeed, more and more professionals, including doctors, soldiers, and even teachers, are getting job training this way. Games and simulations take us to virtual worlds and possibilities we would otherwise not be able to experience. They allow us to experiment, take risks, learn from failure, and experience agency in solving problems. Through game-based learning we build new schema, which we can then apply to real life.

Gaming helps young people develop global competence through participatory, interactive, and experiential learning. It motivates them to investigate issues of global significance, engages their emotional interest through role-play, helps them develop complex critical thinking and collaborative problem solving skills and often leads to participation in a knowledge network or community of practice. In addition, research shows that civic engagement in games corresponds with civic engagement in real life.

Will gamers help save the world? Perhaps the best example so far is the recent success of online Foldit players who were able to crowdsource a solution to an AIDS research puzzle in weeks that had been eluding scientists for years. And on April 3rd, the Institute for the Future will host Catalysts for Change, a 48-hour collaborative game to solve global poverty.

I hope educators around the world will take advantage of this opportunity to bring gaming for global competence into the classroom.

All games in this article are free.

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"If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity ... we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week by the end of the next decade." When Jane McGonigal made this statement at TED 2010, people in the audience laughed.

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Computers, video conferencing, computer games, online courses, blogs, video-sharing Web sites, smart phones, Web 2.0 tools, help connect our world like never before. They have bridged distances and increased our opportunities to learn from each other: to see new places, meet new people, explore other cultures, learn new languages, and share and develop ideas. Bringing the world into the classroom has never been faster, easier, or more motivating for teachers and students.

Educators agree on two key points. First, technology provides vital tools for 21st-century learning. Also, today's students are indisputably motivated by technology. Digital devices are already familiar gateways to the world for today's students. Used thoughtfully, these technologies can give students meaningful connections to people, places, and issues far beyond their own neighborhood.

How can different digital tools and formats be used to promote global learning within content standards for accountability? These technologies should not be considered a supplement for existing curricula, nor should they be limited to technology training courses. Instead, they can be used to help teachers meet their global learning goals across multiple curricular areas. Technology-based projects can be easily aligned to district and state standards.

A highly qualified professional in the knowledge economy requires the ability to pose critical questions and develop defensible responses to complex challenges. In developing these skills, teachers and students can tap a host of digital technologies. Locating and manipulating information online, collaborating in virtual work teams, and presenting and publishing via digital platforms is preparation for the future in a world that increasingly runs on technology.

Investigate the World

Digital technologies can help students investigate their world in many classes and curricular areas. A case in point is Google Earth, which is changing the face of geography, history, and science instruction. Students can investigate regions via satellite views or get street-level views of a specific location. Real-time views of ancient sites in Turkey or new construction in Hong Kong via Google Earth enlivens the study of places beyond the classroom in ways that photos and, in some cases, even video can't match.

Randolph Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, has a very diverse student population. Connecting to cultures that originate thousands of miles away can be challenging, but Randolph's teachers turn to digital technologies to bridge the divide. They use Google Earth to discover the ancestral homes of students new to the United States and those whose families have been here for generations, as they study family histories in their curriculum. Lessons with this kind of personal association motivate students more than simply reading about cultures here or abroad.

Recognize and Weigh Perspectives

Globally competent students are able to weigh their own perspectives and those of others and also against the perspectives that data, science, and history offers. Students can also understand and articulate the differences between these points of view. One exciting way to provide such experiences is through digital technologies, which have been a major force in providing extended opportunities for global exploration, learning, and reflection. These technologies are especially valuable to students who don't have the opportunity to travel. Virtual worlds immerse young learners in a new environment and encourage exploration. Panwapa, for example, is an online virtual world created just for children, in the preschool and primary grades, by Sesame Workshop. Its Muppet characters have a familiar look and activities are designed specifically to help four- through seven-year-olds build respect and empathy for others, to spark an interest in other languages and global learning, and to develop a sense of responsibility as global citizens. Children join this virtual community and create their own avatar, select their home country, and even design a flag for it.

Third graders at Sugar Creek Elementary School in Verona, Wisconsin, have begun a virtual partnership with Morland Primary School in Ipswich, England. Students on both sides of the Atlantic share a Web site where they post photos and joint assignments. They have shared haiku, New Year's resolutions, and videos in which they introduce themselves.

Online networks foster global perspectives among students by connecting them directly to peers around the world through collaborative learning projects. One of the most popular is the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). This nonprofit organization connects classrooms around the world via the Internet and other digital technologies. Classrooms work together on projects that meet learning objectives and have an impact on issues that affect students in all nations.

Communicate Ideas

Communicating ideas with peers in other countries is an important way to build global understandings. Clyde Erwin Elementary Magnet School in Jacksonville, North Carolina, connects with its sister school in Puebla, Mexico, through Elluminate, a Web conferencing program that also uses an interactive white board. Staff members won a grant to help Clyde Erwin students and their counterparts in Puebla collaborate on a book-authoring and -publishing project. They collaboratively published a book about "Canela" and "Erwin," two teddy bears (one from each school) who visited each other's country and had interesting adventures. The book was published in both English and Spanish. This type of collaborative learning works to foster cultural understandings as well as global content.

Using digital connections to communicate with native speakers, especially other students, is revolutionizing language learning. Students today can easily connect with their peers in another country, practice language skills with native speakers, see classrooms in other nations, and make a human connection with someone across the world.

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Computers, video conferencing, computer games, online courses, blogs, video-sharing Web sites, smart phones, Web 2.0 tools, help connect our world like never before. They have bridged distances and increased our opportunities to learn from each other: to see new places, meet new people, explore other cultures, learn new languages, and share and develop ideas. Bringing the world into the classroom has never been faster, easier, or more motivating for teachers and students.

Educators agree on two key points. First, technology provides vital tools for 21st-century learning. Also, today's students are indisputably motivated by technology. Digital devices are already familiar gateways to the world for today's students. Used thoughtfully, these technologies can give students meaningful connections to people, places, and issues far beyond their own neighborhood.

How can different digital tools and formats be used to promote global learning within content standards for accountability? These technologies should not be considered a supplement for existing curricula, nor should they be limited to technology training courses. Instead, they can be used to help teachers meet their global learning goals across multiple curricular areas. Technology-based projects can be easily aligned to district and state standards.

A highly qualified professional in the knowledge economy requires the ability to pose critical questions and develop defensible responses to complex challenges. In developing these skills, teachers and students can tap a host of digital technologies. Locating and manipulating information online, collaborating in virtual work teams, and presenting and publishing via digital platforms is preparation for the future in a world that increasingly runs on technology.

Investigate the World

Digital technologies can help students investigate their world in many classes and curricular areas. A case in point is Google Earth, which is changing the face of geography, history, and science instruction. Students can investigate regions via satellite views or get street-level views of a specific location. Real-time views of ancient sites in Turkey or new construction in Hong Kong via Google Earth enlivens the study of places beyond the classroom in ways that photos and, in some cases, even video can't match.

Randolph Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, has a very diverse student population. Connecting to cultures that originate thousands of miles away can be challenging, but Randolph's teachers turn to digital technologies to bridge the divide. They use Google Earth to discover the ancestral homes of students new to the United States and those whose families have been here for generations, as they study family histories in their curriculum. Lessons with this kind of personal association motivate students more than simply reading about cultures here or abroad.

Recognize and Weigh Perspectives

Globally competent students are able to weigh their own perspectives and those of others and also against the perspectives that data, science, and history offers. Students can also understand and articulate the differences between these points of view. One exciting way to provide such experiences is through digital technologies, which have been a major force in providing extended opportunities for global exploration, learning, and reflection. These technologies are especially valuable to students who don't have the opportunity to travel. Virtual worlds immerse young learners in a new environment and encourage exploration. Panwapa, for example, is an online virtual world created just for children, in the preschool and primary grades, by Sesame Workshop. Its Muppet characters have a familiar look and activities are designed specifically to help four- through seven-year-olds build respect and empathy for others, to spark an interest in other languages and global learning, and to develop a sense of responsibility as global citizens. Children join this virtual community and create their own avatar, select their home country, and even design a flag for it.

Third graders at Sugar Creek Elementary School in Verona, Wisconsin, have begun a virtual partnership with Morland Primary School in Ipswich, England. Students on both sides of the Atlantic share a Web site where they post photos and joint assignments. They have shared haiku, New Year's resolutions, and videos in which they introduce themselves.

Online networks foster global perspectives among students by connecting them directly to peers around the world through collaborative learning projects. One of the most popular is the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). This nonprofit organization connects classrooms around the world via the Internet and other digital technologies. Classrooms work together on projects that meet learning objectives and have an impact on issues that affect students in all nations.

Communicate Ideas

Communicating ideas with peers in other countries is an important way to build global understandings. Clyde Erwin Elementary Magnet School in Jacksonville, North Carolina, connects with its sister school in Puebla, Mexico, through Elluminate, a Web conferencing program that also uses an interactive white board. Staff members won a grant to help Clyde Erwin students and their counterparts in Puebla collaborate on a book-authoring and -publishing project. They collaboratively published a book about "Canela" and "Erwin," two teddy bears (one from each school) who visited each other's country and had interesting adventures. The book was published in both English and Spanish. This type of collaborative learning works to foster cultural understandings as well as global content.

Using digital connections to communicate with native speakers, especially other students, is revolutionizing language learning. Students today can easily connect with their peers in another country, practice language skills with native speakers, see classrooms in other nations, and make a human connection with someone across the world.

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Use Technology to Develop Global Competence

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Computers, video conferencing, computer games, online courses, blogs, video-sharing Web sites, smart phones, Web 2.0 tools, help connect our world like never before. They have bridged distances and increased our opportunities to learn from each other: to see new places, meet new people, explore other cultures, learn new languages, and share and develop ideas.

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Festivals of Light

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What does Global Competence mean to you?

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What does Global Competence mean to you?

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2012 Global Competence Survey

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Test of Global Competence for 15-year-olds

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Test of Global Competence for 15-year-olds

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Coming in 2018...

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In this article, you will learn:

How the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development defines global competence,

How global competence can be measured and what can be done with the results of these assessments,

What schools and educators can do to improve the development of global competence of their students,

The role of AFS and other global education advocates in promoting the development of global competence.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has announced that its annual tests of 15-year-olds worldwide will soon include the assessment of global competence. (Up to now the assessment focused on math, science and reading.) How will these new PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) global competence tests impact curriculums in schools around the world?

AFS's Milena Miladinovic interviewed Andreas Schleicher, the Director for the Directorate for Education and Skills at OECD and coordinator of PISA, to explore how global competence can be defined and measured across cultures, and what schools, educators and advocates of global education should focus on.

Connect: Plans are in place for PISA tests to start measuring global competence in 2018. Why is this important?
It is becoming increasingly clear that traditional academic knowledge is not sufficient to prepare young people for life, citizenship and employment in multicultural societies and in a globalised world. Education systems need to rethink goals, content and methods with a focus on the kinds of human beings that we are raising and the kinds of societies - open, cohesive, respectful, supportive - we collectively value.

Education is our strongest shield against radicalization, intolerance, hate crimes and social apathy. Improving education systems is thus not just about increasing academic performance, but also requires creating learning environments that invite young people to understand the world beyond their immediate environment, interact with others with respect for their rights and dignity, and take action toward building thriving, multicultural communities. This is what global competence is about.

With this project, we aim to make a first step towards assessing what our students learn about the complexity of a globalizing and multicultural world, and to what extent they are prepared to address global developments and collaborate productively across cultural differences in their everyday life. This initiative is timely also because it will provide worldwide, comparative data on what schools and teachers are doing to prepare young generations for global citizenship in their national and local contexts.

Of course, global competence is not only developed at school. However, good education can shape and give direction to the lifelong process leading to global competence. We believe that promoting global education is essential for three key goals:

Develop intercultural awareness and respectful interactions in increasingly diverse societies to limit cultural prejudices and prevent violent conflicts;

Support employability by helping young people more easily adapt, apply and transfer their skills and knowledge to new cultural contexts;

Form new generations who care about global issues and get engaged to solve social, political, economic and environmental challenges.

Global competence is defined in PISA as 'the capacity to examine global and intercultural issues, to take multiple perspectives, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development'.

Connect: How does OECD define global competence and how will these skills and abilities be measured?
Global competence is a contentious and politically sensitive subject, not easy to define. In 2013, we engaged in a long process with countries participating in PISA and several international experts on global and intercultural education. During this process we developed our conceptual framework and measurement approach, trying to reach a consensus as broad as possible on what is relevant to measure and what is feasible within the parameters of the PISA test.
Global competence is defined in PISA as 'the capacity to examine global and intercultural issues, to take multiple perspectives, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development'.
Global competence is thus a multifaceted cognitive, socio-emotional and civic learning goal, involving four core dimensions:

1. Students' capacity to examine issues and situations of local, global and cultural significance (e.g. poverty, economic interdependence, migration, inequality, environmental risks, conflicts, exchanges across cultures and cultural stereotypes);

2. The capacity to value and take different perspectives as long as they do not violate core human rights (human dignity);

3. The ability to establish positive interactions with people of different national, social, ethnic, religious backgrounds or gender; and

4. The attitudes and capacities to take motivated and constructive action toward sustainable development and wellbeing.

The four dimensions of global competence stem from an integrated view of knowledge, skills and attitudes as inseparable factors contributing to the development of students as responsible citizens. The definition favours a locally rooted view of global competence in which young people understand and appreciate their own cultural and geographic contexts and place them in relationship to larger issues shaping the world or cultures elsewhere.

On the measurement approach, the PISA 2018 innovative assessment is composed of two sections: a cognitive assessment and a background questionnaire. The cognitive assessment tests the multidimensional construct of 'Global and Intercultural Understanding'. This cognitive construct involves the capacity to:

Properly select, weigh and use evidence, make syntheses and build explanations;

Recognise perspectives with an awareness of one's own cultural lens and biases as well as those of other people;

Examine communicative contexts, conventions and markers of respect; and

Weigh actions and consequences to identify solutions for issues within local, regional and global contexts.

As in other PISA domains, the assessment will be based on scenario-based tasks. The tasks simulate activities that teachers can facilitate in the classroom or life situations that 15-year-olds can experience, they draw on different areas of global education (e.g. education for sustainable development, human rights education, intercultural education), have different levels of complexity, and require the activation of one or more cognitive processes. In a typical test unit, students read about a case study, and respond to questions that evaluate their capacity to understand the complexity of the case, the multiple perspectives of the diverse actors involved and suggest solutions.

The background questionnaires completed by students, teachers and school principals gather information about the conditions that may enable or hinder the development of students' global competence. Students will be asked to report how familiar they are with global issues; how developed their linguistic and communication skills are; and how much they differ in attitudes such as adaptability and respect for people from different cultures. The questionnaires for teachers and school leaders will provide a comparative picture of how education systems are integrating global, international and intercultural perspectives throughout the curriculum, in teacher education and in collaborative classroom activities.

Schools and educators can provide more opportunities for young people to critically examine global developments, so that they better understand their own condition and their possibilities for action in their community and the world.

Connect: What can schools and educators do to better develop the global competence of their students?
Schools and educators can provide more opportunities for young people to critically examine global developments, so that they better understand their own condition and their possibilities for action in their community and the world. Schools can also let students engage in many different activities that facilitate international and intercultural relations, foster an appreciation for the diversity of peoples, languages and cultures. The action-oriented definition of global competence in PISA has practical implications for what schools should teach.

By developing the PISA assessment we are in fact arguing that, notwithstanding cultural, geographic, or developmental differences, it is possible to identify a set of relevant issues or themes of local, global and cultural significance for all 15-year-old students around the world (e.g. environmental sustainability, migration, poverty, economic globalisation, cross-cultural dialogue). We hope that this work will stimulate more reflection on the content of global education, and on how these global themes can be addressed through stronger connections between what is taught in class and the real world, and through more interdisciplinary work.

But learning global competence is not just about including different material in the curriculum. Innovative pedagogic approaches should also be pursued to introduce adolescents to these complex topics and help them build a critical and multiperspective view of the world. A broad range of learning activities can have an impact on students' attitudes towards diversity and can involve teachers in all subject areas, although to differing degrees. For example, cooperative learning is a specific kind of pedagogy in which students work together on activities that have specific cooperative principles built into the task's structure. Such a practice can lead to improved social skills and conflict-resolution strategies, and can be implemented regardless of the subject matter.

Of course, all these innovative teaching and learning methods are more effective and easier to implement if they are supported by the official curriculum and education authorities. Teacher education and professional training are also crucial to the successful implementation of global competence education.

Education systems need to rethink goals, content and methods with a focus on the kinds of human beings that we are raising and the kinds of societies - open, cohesive, respectful, supportive - we collectively value.
Connect: How do you plan to use the results of PISA global competence measurement?
We have planned a substantial series of validity checks, and these checks will help us identify the best way to report the results. We are going to field trial the assessment instruments in different countries in 2017 before we scale up the assessment to the national level. If the test development is successful (the test and questionnaire items are valid and internationally comparable), we will publish a report and make the data available to researchers. We expect that the dissemination of the PISA results will stimulate a rich and open debate on what education systems and schools should do to promote global competence.
Connect: What role can AFS and other global education advocates play in promoting the need to develop global competence?
Thanks to the impetus generated by the [U.N.] Sustainable Development Goals and the increasing availability of data, the policy debate on global education is entering a critical phase. AFS and other global education advocates have a critical role to play to keep the policy momentum high, so that more education systems take concrete action to strengthen the global and intercultural dimension of curricula, pedagogy and assessment. We know that a lot is already happening in many schools, but much more needs to be done to share internationally successful models of education that build bridges across cultural differences. You can also help us to collect as much feedback as possible on the work we are doing. The development of this assessment cannot happen behind closed doors and we are very eager to learn from AFS community members and students.

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New test to assess global competence of teenagers worldwide

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In this article, you will learn: How the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development defines global competence, How global competence can be measured and what can be done with the results of these assessments, What schools and educators can do to improve the development of global competence of their students, The role of AFS and other global education advocates in promoting the development of global competence.