From educators to entrepreneurs to journalists, the consensus is that were a quickly becoming a global community and our students need to be prepared to live and thrive in this community. Gardner tells us that to be successful in this global age we must develop minds that are respectful and ethical. A respectful and ethical mind shows tolerance and understanding of others cultures and belief systems and fosters collaboration between individuals and groups. Julene Reed offers several different ways in which educators can use digital media to begin to develop the skills they need to nurture respectful and ethical minds and eventually prosper in this new global community. Ms Reed lists several examples of web 2.0 tools that can be utilized for this purpose. One that she does not mention are virtual learning environments.
Through virtual 3D learning environments, students can take virtual field trips, work collaboratively with students all over the world and accept others on their character, abilities and behavior instead of appearance or lifestyles. One such virtual world is Zon. Zon is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).In this virtual environment, students arrive in virtual Beijing at a train station and must use their Chinese language skills to navigate through the city. Students who participate in this "game" learn about Chinese culture, Chinese language and they experience being a tourist in a foreign country. Students create avatars and they use audio tools to speak to others within the game. This is a wonderful way to learn technology skills, learn about other cultures and languages and learn how to work collaboratively with others. The game has rules for proper and respectful behavior as well.
Resources:
http://www.experiencechinese.com/index.php/products/zon
Gardner, H. (2006). Five minds for the future. Harvard Business Press.
http://www.edtechmag.com/k12/events/updates/global-collaboration-and-learning-2.html
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