What is your 6 degree's? Getting your Students Connected to the Global Classroom
- Lianne Petrocelli
- Apr 30, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 29, 2021
Are your Zoom calls dragging? Do you need to bring up the energy of your students? What about a Guest Speaker, a virtual field trip or connecting with a class in another country? There has never been a better time to test out your own connections and create authentic global experiences for students while we are perpetually stuck in our own version of Ground Hog Day. Most of you are aware of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, based on the theory of "six degree's of separation". It claims that every person on earth is linked by only 6 acquaintances or fewer. What is your 6 degrees of separation from experts, scholars, politicians, scientist, and global influencers that tie directly to the curriculum you are teaching?
First, let me define what I mean by "expert" as this will be the term I use throughout the remainder of this blog. Expert refers to anyone with comprehensive life or scholarly experience with any specific subject, skill or social structure . This could be a person that runs a homeless shelter who is an "expert" on street survival, a nurse in the ER who has advanced knowledge working with COVID-19 patients or perhaps an author of a book your students are reading.
Strategies to find connections
Social Media is powerful
Start by posing a question on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram. You may be surprised about who knows who right within your own network. When one of my students was writing a research paper about Mt Everest, I posted a message on Twitter asking if anyone knew of someone who has climbed Mt. Everest. Within a few hours I had 3 names, and the following week the student led a call with Mike Chambers and his classmates over Skype. We continued with this strategy for other students research subjects and connected with an expert on John Muir, a Disney animator, a peregrine falcon expert, an Oscar winning screen writer, and a White Shark expert from England.
The magic of Hashtags
Hashtags can be incredibly useful when searching for a specific expert or subject area on social media. Hashtags can also be used to attract attention to your inquiries, or you could search hashtags to see what is trending in a specific area of interest. Go to the search bar of any social media platform and search hash-tagged subjects. You can search according to the most popular, latest, people, photos or video's. One of the hashtags I've been using lately is #remotelearning to connect with other Technology Integrationists and teachers across our globe. Here are a few popular Global Ed hashtags to "lurk" on and see what other teachers are doing: #globaled #mysteryskype #connectclassrooms #penpalschools #skypeforeducation
Have someone in mind? Don't be shy:
If your contact is well known, they will most likely have some kind of social media presence, personal website, or an organization they belong to. Find a way to connect through email, or a private message through their social media. Websites will usually have a "contact me" tab or perhaps a directory search area, but if not, Twitter is a good place to start. On Twitter, for someone of notoriety, they will have a blue check next to their name that verifies who they are. Use the private messaging option to introduce yourself, and you just might be surprised to see a response. When it comes to education, many "famous" people are willing to talk with students. It is also smart to direct them to information on your school website so they can verify who you are.
Google it!
When your six degrees of Kevin Bacon doesn't work, a good ole' Google search can generate great results. When I was trying to find a White Shark Expert for one of my students, I chose to do a google search. After navigating through several websites, and verifying organizations and contacts, I sent some emails and made a few phone calls that eventually connected me with someone in England. She was happy to Skype with the student and our class.
What about your local Connections? Alumni, Parents, and Faculty/Staff from your school can also be a rich resource. Within my own school, I can think of several people to tap into at this time. Film makers, stockbrokers, leaders in non-profit, farmers, politicians, musicians and our very own nurses, who are currently working in our local hospitals.
Hand the connection power over to your students. Why should you do all the work?Give them guidance similar to that offered in this post, and challenge them to connect with experts that relate to your curriculum, or perhaps a research project. The level of supervision depends on the grade level, but this is a great way to teach your students the power of their own global network outside of TikTok and SnapChat.
Use resources from organizations who's purpose is connecting our students to the globe:
PenPal Schools - connect with classrooms across the globe.
iEARN - Global Collaboration Center
Preparation and Follow Up
Prepare your Guest(s):
Before inviting your guest onto a zoom call with your entire class, have a preliminary call to prepare them for what you hope for your students. Discuss your current focus and objectives so your guest(s) can build on the curriculum that is already in motion. This will also give you time to check if they have sufficient wifi, test mic and video capability, and to work out any other logistics such as timezone differences.
Avoid Radio Silence and prepare your students:
Lay out clear expectations for your students. Provide them with information about your guest(s), and have your students prepare questions. If at all possible, share these questions with your guest(s) before the call. When your students ask questions, have them stand in front of the computer that is projecting, so your guest(s) can clearly see and hear them.
Follow up
After your call, allow for a reflective activity and plan to incorporate what was learned into your next class or asynchronous lesson. Find a unique way to thank your guest for taking the time to meet up with your class. Maybe a video message from everyone, or pull quotes from students reflections to share. Create a Flipgrid where your guest can continue an asynchronous dialogue with your class. It's also a good idea to record the call for students to return to when they are writing reflections or conducting further research.
Don't forget about Thousands of Virtual Field Trips
You do not need VR goggles for these field trips but if you have them, that's even better. Here are a few sites to check out:
Google Tour Builder - View tours or have your students build their own.
Many Museums, Aquariums, Zoos, historical sites, and national parks also have virtual tours - here are a few
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