February Activity Database Contest

Share your lesson plans and activities and win free software! TIGeducators who contribute to the TIGed Activity Database during the month of February will be eligible to win a copy of Microsoft Office Standard 2007. Two runners up will be awarded the second and third place prizes of Microsoft Encarta 2007 Premium. Visit the "Add Activity" page to start sharing. The more you share, the greater your chances of winning! (one entry per activity submission) The contest winner will be announced in the March edition of News from TIGed.



National Technology Innovation Awards (Canada)

The Learning Partnership recognizes and celebrates the achievements of educators who use technology to enhance their students’ learning environment by administering the National Technology and Innovation Awards (NTIA). The awards offer educators the opportunity to share best practices and provide tips on how to replicate extraordinary projects in other schools by sharing their experiences at an awards dinner and innovation conference.



Call for Educator Blogs

Do you know of any great blogs that discuss global education and/or the role of information and communication technology in learning? If so, we want to hear from you! Please write to katherine@takingitglobal.org to share the names and URLs of blogs that you'd like to see on the TIGed blogroll, a feature that will soon be added to the TIGed blog!



Ongoing TIGed Developments

As you may have noticed, the TIGed site has undergone a major face-lift over the past weeks. We are working hard to implement many changes and improvements designed to make the site more engaging and easy to use. Upcoming changes to watch for include:

• Educator Stories, highlighting how TIGeducators around the world are using TIGed to develop students' technology skills while enhancing global citizenship. If you would like to share your story, please email katherine@takingitglobal.org.
• The ability to see all of your TIGeducator friends within the TIGed community page.
• A blogroll within the TIGed blog, connecting to blogs written by TIGeducators as well as to external blogs focused on global and digital citizenship.
• A whole lot more!

Please be patient with as as we strive to improve TIGed. If you have any suggestions, comments, or feedback, please write to katherine@takingitglobal.org. Your input is welcome and appreciated!



Recent and Upcoming Events

International Studies Schools Association (ISSA) 8th Annual Conference ~ All Classes through Global Glasses
January 17-19 2009, Tampa, Florida, USA.

The ISSA is a network of K-12 schools and educators dedicated to improving students' understanding of the world. Geared towards principals and superintendents, curriculum supervisors, and K-12 teachers of all subjects, its annual conferences provide educators with ideas and resources to infuse curriculum with a global viewpoint. TIGed had the pleasure of being an exhibitor at this year's ISSA conference, focused on the theme of global sustainable development, accompanied by TIGeducator Jane Dougan. Coordinator of Distance Learning at Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center, Jane uses TIGed to provide graduate environmental distance education courses.

The conference agenda also featured a session by a TIGeducator! Jennifer Klein of the Research Journalism Initiative held a session on how her organization is building global perspectives on the Middle East by connecting students in the United States with Palestinian university students through film, radio, photography, and creative writing. To learn more about RJI, please visit its TIG organizational profile or website.

National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) 2009 ~ Celebrating 30 Years of Ed Tech Vision
June 28 - July 1 2009, Washington, D.C., USA.

TIGed will be presenting two sessions at the upcoming 30th annual NECC, hosted by the International Society for Technology in Education:

• Creative Connections: Online Expression as a Means to Global Understanding (Sunday June 28th, from 7-9pm).
• The World in Your Classroom: Online Global Education and Collaboration (Wednesday July 1st, from 9-11am).

For more information about NECC and to register, please visit the conference website.

Upcoming Featured Issues

In recognition of International Mother's Language Day on February 21st, the TakingITGlobal site will be featuring the issue of languages and multilingualism throughout the month. In March, issues related to body image will be featured. Come check out the resources and invite your students to share their perspectives! You may want to incorporate these topics into your classroom to take advantage of the activity happening on TakingITGlobal.org over the next two months.

Virtual Office Hours Are Back!

The TIGed program is reinstating virtual office hours! Each week, either Katherine or Suzie will hold a question and answer session online using Elluminate Live eLearning and Collaboration Solution Software so that you can ask questions and seek support for using TIGed. Rather than being available at the same time every week, virtual office hours will continuously be held on different days and at different times to provide for greater flexibility. Check out the TIGed blog to learn when virtual office hours will next be held!

News from TIGed Goes Quarterly

Since the creation of the TIGed program in 2006, production of the TIGed newsletter has been somewhat erratic. It is time for that to change! News from TIGed will now be produced quarterly, with the newsletter being sent out every March, June, September and December. For those of you who do not automatically receive the newsletter via email, be sure to check the TIGed site for new editions of the newsletter during these months.

We'd love to hear from you! If you have questions or feedback, or would like more information about TIGed, please contact us: education@takingitglobal.org. If you do not wish to receive future TIGed updates, change your settings.