January 2006 — Features
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Beyond Borders
| Global Success
in 10 Easy Steps How your school can collaborate on an international scale. |
| 1. People first. Ensure the project has backing from the appropriate administrators, teachers, and technology leaders. |
| 2. Set goals. Develop curricula, experiments, and projects that inspire students to engage at least weekly with their international counterparts. |
| 3. Seek external funding and assistance. Many technology vendors launch special K-12 funding programs from time to time. In particular, Cisco Systems Inc. (www.cisco.com) and other companies are donating equipment to Gulf Coast schools that need to replace network infrastructures decimated during the hurricane season. |
| 4. Hit the road. Generally speaking, successful international collaborative projects require participants to visit each other at least once. The face-to-face interactions help teachers and administrators to understand cultural differences that might otherwise be overlooked during videoconferences, e-mail, and other electronic interactions. |
| 5. Go broad. Stick with the most widely deployed software and hardware standards, such as the Apache (www.apache.org) Web server and Ethernet infrastructure. |
| 6. Unlock some windows. Reset your firewalls to allow students to share information with the appropriate foreign schools. |
| 7. Check your clocks. Be sure to recognize and account for international time-zone differences, local holidays, and other geopolitical traits. |
| 8. Report results. BEnsure that teachers and students alike share program outcomes, so that future projects can benefit from past mistakes and experiences. |
| 9. Regroup. Any international collaboration program will suffer occasional setbacks. Regroup regularly with your international counterparts to measure progress and discuss areas of weakness that need strengthening. |
| 10. Unplug frequently. Kids often lose track of time when using instant messaging and other collaborative software. To compensate, set firm start and stop times for online interactions, and encourage students to interact with their classmates using tried-and-true face-to-face communications. |
Joseph C. Panettieri has covered Silicon Valley, business, and K-12 technology issues since 1992. Callisburg ISD educators Tim Jones, Karla Burkholder, and Danita Ortowski, who each participated in the JFMFMTP, also contributed to this article.
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Joseph C. Panettieri, "Beyond Borders," T.H.E. Journal, 1/1/2006, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/17770
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