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Happy New Year!
Highlights of 2010
The New Year is typically a time of reflection and celebration and, looking back on 2010, there is certainly much to celebrate! This past year saw many improvements to the virtual classroom platform, exciting new partnerships and initiatives, and a surge in TIGed community membership.
Highlights of the year's site improvements include the addition of a comprehensive, downloadable user’s manual to help you get the most out of the TIGed platform, the "school window" tool - which facilitates the sharing of content from private virtual classrooms with external parties such as parents and administrators, and the TIGed Lounge - an online space for TIGeducators to connect, share, and collaborate.
We worked with a range of partners to offer innovative new educational initiatives that harness technology to build students’ global citizenship and 21st Century Skills. Through the support of Microsoft Partners in Learning Network, we brought a group of youth leaders to the Asia Pacific Innovative Education Forum in Singapore to collaboratively develop innovative ed-tech projects and compete for seed funding. While in Singapore, we also worked with educators from the region to lay the groundwork for the DeforestAction initiative, which has since become one of the central global action projects within the broader Shout global citizenship education program - a partnership between TIG, Microsoft Partners in Learning, and the Smithsonian Institution. We partnered with World Vision Canada to create the website and a customized virtual classroom platform for the World Class global citizenship education program - freely available to teachers across Canada. The Staples Foundation for Learning generously renewed its funding of the Tread Lightly climate change education and engagement program, which is now available in 9 languages! Finally, we solidified a partnership with the Centre for Global Education (CGE) to launch a video conferencing program centered around TIGed’s suite of thematic classrooms.
With so many great new opportunities for educators and students to engage in technology driven, global education, it is not surprising that the TIGed network expanded to include 20 new countries, bringing the overall breadth of the community to 4,300 teachers in 115 countries! This is definitely something to celebrate as more TIGeducators means more opportunities for meaningful collaboration!
As we enter another exciting year, please accept our appreciation for engaging in the TIGed program. None of the accomplishments of the last year could have taken place without your support, input, and participation. Thank you for helping us to improve the platform, spreading the word about our work, and continually reminding us of why we do what we do.
All of the best in 2011!
~ The TIGed Team
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Upcoming International Days
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Announcements
Last Chance to Register for the TIGed Introduction to Global Education e-Course
TIGed is thrilled to be responding to educators' growing requests for professional development opportunities in technology enabled global education by launching two accredited e-courses!
Accredited by the College of Graduate Studies at Plymouth State University, TIGed e-courses are designed to support teachers in enhancing their understanding of and competencies in global education and the use of e-technologies to bring the world into the classroom. Discounts are available for groups of 3 and 5, and educators based in Least Developed Countries may apply for tuition assistance. Please visit the TIGed Professional Development homepage for more information and to register. Hurry, the first e-course begins tomorrow, February 2nd!
Tread Lightly Now Available in 9 Languages!
 This month, the Tread Lightly climate change education program became available in 7 new languages, expanding the program's reach across Europe and the world. Language and Engagement Coordinators in 7 European countries have facilitated the translation of the Tread Lightly material into Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Dutch and Norwegian, in addition the original English and French, thanks to the continued support of the Staples Foundation for Learning. Contact info@treadlightly.me or visit www.treadlightly.me for information on how you can join in on the interactive learning experience, and stay on top of Tread Lightly news by following us on Twitter!
New Thematic Classroom: DeforestAction
With versions tailored for both primary and secondary audiences, these thematic classrooms were designed to raise awareness about deforestation, with a focus on the destruction of native forests for the commercial production of palm oil. Through engaging in DeforestAction (the global action of the Shout program), students learn about issues surrounding deforestation and what youth can do to reclaim at-risk forests and preserve them for future generations. For more information, please see the DeforestAction thematic classroom page.
Student News Action Network Launched
Hosted on TIG, the Student News Action Network is taking journalism and the school newspaper beyond the classroom. The network allows students to collaborate online and make journalism global. Students address a variety of issues such as poverty, the environment and human rights. They also make a commitment to use multimedia journalism to make meaningful change in their communities. For more information, and to find out how your class or school can get involved, visit the News Action site.
TIGed Site Improvements
 We recently implemented two improvements to the TIGed platform. First, we added national flag icons to the list of collaborators to make it possible to see at a glance the countries represented in any collaboration space. Second, we added WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editing to the class blog tool, greatly simplifying formatting and the addition of links and images.
Introducing Kate Lang!
We are pleased to announce that Kate Lang recently joined the team as TIGed program assistant. Over the course of her internship with TIGed, Kate will be working to provide general programmatic support for the program, guiding and assisting TIGeducators in-person and virtually, supporting the development of the TIGed platform, and working to strengthen the TIGed community. She can be reached at kate@takingitglobal.org.
Opportunities
Are you ready to Shout?
Officially announced in October 2010 at the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum in Cape Town, Shout is an action-oriented global citizenship education program currently focused on issues related to environmental sustainability, offered in partnership by TIG, the Smithsonian Institution and Microsoft Partners in Learning. Shout invites educators and students to connect online with experts in the field, share ideas, and collaborate with people around the world committed to solving environmental challenges. To learn more and get involved, please visit the Shout website.
Imprints Art Contest
A core component of the Tread Lightly program, the Imprints Art Contest calls on socially-minded artists aged 13-30 to submit their eco-artwork now through April 15th 2011. Submissions must be digital in nature, in order to be uploaded to the contest site, with acceptable formats including (but not limited to) video, animation, digital photography, and digitally captured drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and mixed media. All submissions should reflect this year's theme, which is creating a narrative that addresses climate change or ecological footprints. Submissions will be showcased online, and the winners will receive Staples gift cards. For more information, please visit the contest page.
Global Education News at World Vision: World Class Collaboration Projects
Are you interested in connecting your students with grade 2-8 classes across Canada to learn about and take action on global issues? World Vision's World Class program provides free global education resources and a virtual space for collaboration projects with schools across Canada. Register for free on the site and visit the World Class Staff Room in for details on new and upcoming collaboration projects and how you can create a virtual collaboration space for initiating student discussion.
Mentorship through the World Educational Leadership Link
The Educational Leadership Development Academy at the University of San Diego is currently seeking innovative educational leaders around the world to mentor aspiring school leaders through the World Educational Leadership Link (WELL). The goal of the WELL is to connect aspiring leaders and experienced school-based administrators and innovators around the world in order to build the professional relationships necessary to construct effective leadership practices and support social justice. The name implies reaching deep into the well of resources that currently exist in leadership practitioners throughout the world. For more information and to get involved, please visit the WELL project page.
TIGed in the Media
School Library Media Activities Monthly (December 2010)
 TIGed was recently highlighted in the December 2010 edition of School Library Media Activities Monthly in an article titled “It's a Small World: Nurturing Global Citizens,” by Kathy Frederick.
Recent and Upcoming Events
Shout Online Conferences
November 16 2010 and January 26 2011, Online
Visit the "Live with the Land" and "Study the Land" pages of the Shout website to access video archives of interactive e-learning sessions led by scientists from the Smithsonian Institution. Once you’ve watched them, be sure to visit the Shout student community on TIGed to carry on the conversation!
Free Online Conference 2011 (CO11)
February 4-6 2011, Online
Focused on sharing experiences in using the Internet for instruction and learning, CO11 features 41 webinars, including one about TIGed.
Flat Classroom Conference
February 25-27 2011, Beijing, China and Online
The Flat Classroom Conference brings students and educators together to envision the future of education while utilizing leading social media tools. TIG is supporting the event by facilitating pre-conference presentations online and coordinating virtual participation. So, if you can't make it to China, TIG will help to ensure you don't miss out!
2011 Digital Media and Learning Conference
March 3-5 2011, Long Beach, California, USA
The Digital Media and Learning Conference is an annual event supported by the MacArthur Foundation and organized by the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub at the University of California, Irvine. TIG's Operations Manager, Sean Keith, will be attending this year's event to share his experiences studying online behaviours and offline impacts on civic engagement.
Utah Coalition for Education Technology (UCET) Conference
March 4-5 2011, Sandy, Utah, USA and Online
TIGed will be participating in this event virtually. Stay tuned for more details about how you can connect to the learning sessions we facilitate!
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Conference
March 14-16, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Don’t miss the two learning sessions co-facilitated by TIG co-founder Michael Furdyk: “Best Practices in Global Collaborative Learning and Innovative Ideas from an ICT Living Lab” and “Social Networking in Education.”
Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Conference
March 16-18, Detroit, Michigan, USA
TIGed staff will be attending in person to facilitate two learning sessions as part of the conference program: "Digital Citizens, Global Citizens" and “Take Your Classroom Global.” We hope to see you there!
Reminders
Don't forget to add your collaboration details!
Do you have specific ideas for how you'd like to work together with other educators on TIGed? Share your collaboration details by visiting the TIGed community page and inputting your ideas. Your details will be featured alongside your name in search results.
Wrap Up
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