Part One : Global Educator Case Studies

Case Study 1.4

Janice Newlin Taking Teacher

Education Global

Janice Newlin is an adjunct instructor who teaches Educational Technology

courses for two universities, Athens State University in Athens, Alabama and
Auburn University Montgomery in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. She also
serves as an Intern Supervisor for Athens. She has over 17 years classroom
experience most of which she has integrated technology in her curriculum. She
also has experience training preservice and inservice teachers on how to
integrate technology into their own curriculum as well. She believes technology
is a tool for students to become the creator of their learning and to engage in
deep and higher level thinking.

Background
Janice is one of the teacher-educators featured in this book. Through careful
curriculum redesign Janice has mapped out a pathway for her students to connect,
communicate, and collaborate with others beyond their usual boundaries, often to
their amazement! Her resolve that global learning is imperative is encouraging for
all educators and inspiring to other teacher educators perhaps working in systems
that need overhaul and change to produce the teachers we need to see in schools
and new learning environments today.
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The Impact of Global Learning

As a teacher educator and intern supervisor, Janice shared her passion for global
learning and alternative ways to raise awareness about the world as part of the
Educational Technology Minor program at Athens State University in Athens
(ASU), Alabama. As a lone wolf on the mine-fields of global learning, Janice is
adamant her students should learn the strategies for connecting with the world for
professional reasons and for teaching and learning in the classroom.

What Is a Global Educator?

According to Janice, a global educator is one who is willing to open up his/her
classroom to allow students to connect with the rest of the world to learn
different cultures. In her position as course designer and teacher at ASU, Janice
is not only teaching her students how to be global educators, but models this
herself through connected learning beyond her immediate institution and
responsibilities.

In Janices words, Global connected learning is reaching out to others regardless

of their location in this world. This is accomplished by using available
technology to connect our students to the world.

Teaching Preservice Teachers

Janice teaches preservice teachers to think outside of the box. She encourages
them to go above the normal classroom responsibilities and develop global
mindedness. Hearing about what is going in the world is the first step, having a
direct connection with students and teachers in other countries is the essential
next step. Many of Janices preservice teachers will end up teaching in rural areas
in Alabama. As they do her course, they tell her they never comprehended they
could be connected with otherseven in Australia!

Local Context, Digital Divide

In Alabama, K12 schools have different levels of technology therefore the
potential for global connections is impacted by this. Many schools are not 1:1
yet, and this is to do mainly with state funding. Students do generally have access
to online learning via a computer lab attached to the library. While many may
have technology in the home, they may be without an internet connection.
Classroom teachers are usually provided a desktop or laptop for professional use.
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Part One : Global Educator Case Studies

Teacher Education Redesigned

In the past year Janice, who loves instructional design, has redesigned one of the
elective courses at ASU for preservice teachers, Issues and Trends in
Educational Technology to include global learning opportunities. She told me,
Students in this course gain a better understanding of what it means to be a
global educator, to explore the pedagogy of collaboration and learn how to
design and manage their own global projects for successful curriculum
integration in their future classroom.

Her goal is to prepare teachers to promote global understanding in their future

classrooms and to use available technologies. She firmly believes all students
need to do this to be competitive in the future, they need to be ready for a new
working landscape that includes global communication and collaboration and a
better understanding of cultural differences. Students who have this experience
already as new teachers will be able to transfer this to their students and design
new learning outcomes that focus on the global. For the degree at ASU, students
are given the opportunity to add a minor specialization in hopes to be more
marketable and, according to Janice, school principals are looking for ed tech
students. This specialization gives them an edge in a very competitive field and
allows them to be employed as lead technology teachers. Janices new ideas and
course design have the full support of her administration, as she says, I would
think not having local support from the educators school district and
administration, as the educator participates in a global project, would result in
frustration and failure.

Regarding the new course Janice tells us, At the beginning of the semester, my
preservice teachers (students) meet virtually with Julie Lindsay, from Australia
and author of their textbook, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to
Global Collaboration One Step at a Time (Pearson Resources for 21st Century
Learning) to discuss various issues and trends in educational technology from a
global perspective. Midway through the semester, the students become Expert
Advisors for the Flat Connections Global Project to influence and support
students as they research and develop original content and responses to issues and
trends in emerging technology. At the end of the semester, the students are
assigned the task of developing their own Global Project Plan, which is later
shared with the Flat Connections Ning community consisting of pre and in-
service teachers from around the world.
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The Impact of Global Learning

The bottom line for preservice teachers is for them to learn how to go into future
classrooms and connect their learning with other areas of the worldbecome a
global citizen, realize how important this is.

The Role of an Expert Advisor

For preservice educators (as well as in-service!) becoming a member of a global
collaborative community is a quick way to connect and learn with and from the
members. As part of the new course design, Janice has built in a requirement for
students to be Expert Advisors for a global high school project. Their role
includes reading student work, suggesting resources, verifying citations and
becoming a virtual advisor for student teamwork. The success of this opportunity
relies on the high school students knowing how to work with a virtual advisor,
and the advisors themselves knowing how to support but not dominate the work.

Students Share Their Work in Public Networks

As part of the new global course, and as part of Janices pedagogical approach,
her students are encouraged and at times required to share their work in public
networks. One example of this is the use of the Flat Connections global teacher
community (via a Ning) to publish their work. They know that others in the
network may be looking at this work, both educators and their peers. Janice tells
us students want to share their work so they can learn from each other, and in her
experience it makes them reach a higher standardany old work just for the eyes
of the teacher does not cut it anymore. Output in a public global learning
environment encourages a better standard from the students, and also encourages
real-world interactions with visible peer and other feedback.

Emily Cummings, a student of Janices writes, As a teacher I will encourage and

support co-creation by getting involved in projects and getting my students
involved in projects as well. I will also discuss and practice how important trust
is and how important sticking to our word is. I will be sure to be innovative when
I work with my students. I will support co-creation by having a student-centered
classroom. I will allow my students the time and opportunities to take
responsibility of their own learning. I will share my role as a teacher with my
students so we can share these responsibilities as well.
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