Global Learning Portal Guest

Teacher's Corner
What is happening in ICT in education?
Resources, Information, Debate

The Educational Technology Debate (ETD) seeks to promote a substantive discussion of how low-cost ICT device initiatives for educational systems in developing countries are relevant to students, teachers, and t communities. The July Debate is Saturations and Computer Labs: Can Their Benefits Bring a New Model?

ICT and Changing Mindsets in Education is a book on how Africans adopt and adapt ICT. It critically examines the potential for creative use of ICT to question habits, change mindsets, and deepen practice.

UNESCO Bangkok recently published an e-learning CD-ROM containing modules on ICT in Education Essentials and ICT in Education Decision Making. The two modules were especially designed for policymakers, educational planners, school administrators, education specialist and educators, in general.

Visit the World Bank Blog on ICT use in Education.

Submit an abstract by 1 August 2009 for the 13th UNESCO-APEID International Conference, in conjunction with the World Bank-KERIS High Level Seminar on ICT in Education, a forum to share experiences on how ICT is used to transform educational systems and increase the reach and quality of education. The forum is 15th-17th November 2009 in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China.

Global Education Projects

Networks, schools and communities collaborating on projects, connecting students and sharing ideas

• Rock our World: Connects K-12 students on every continent to collaborate to compose music, make movies and meet each other in live video chats

• iEARN : Global network that enables teachers and youth to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world

• ePals: Global community of connected classrooms

• Flat Classroom Project: Global collaborative project that joins together middle and senior high school students

• Taking It Global: Collaborative learning community for youth

• eTwinning: Promotes school collaboration for schools in Europe

• GlobalSchoolNet: Engages teachers and students in meaningful project learning exchanges

• Global Gateway to educational partnerships

• The Global Education Collaborative: Helping Teachers and Students Reach the World

• Internet Public Library

• Shahi is visual dictionary that combines Wiktionary content with Flickr images.

• LearnOutLoud has 20,000 educational audio books, MP3 downloads, podcasts, and videos.

• Free Online Library has News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles, and Classic Books.

• Online Books Page has 35,000 free books.

• World InfoZone aims to add an international perspective to education.

World Environment Day: 5th June

The theme for World Environment Day 2009 is 'Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change.

• Global Warming Kids.Net has links for kids on global warming, climate change and solutions.

• The World Wildlife Fund has a Climate Curriculum for Teachers, Your Climate, Your Future, an interdisciplinary approach to incorporating climate change in the classroom. It includes lessons, handouts, glossary and additional resources.

• The European Commission has quizzes, presentations and films for schools to learn about climate change.

• Fixing the Climate with ICTs: A guide to communicating the role of technology in addressing Climate Change challenges is an advocacy guide produced by OneWorld South Asia in partnership with Global Knowledge Partnership to promote the creation and diffusion of knowledge in combating the effects of climate change.

Protecting Children in Cyberspace
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day: 17 May

The theme for World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2009 is Protecting Children in Cyberspace. It aims at ensuring that children can safely access the Internet and its valuable resources without fear of falling prey to unscrupulous predators in cyberspace.

Resources on Cybersafety:
• Child Online Protection (COP) is a global initiative of the ITU

• Safer Use of Services on the Internet

• R U Cyber Safe, a Cybersafety Project of the California school system

• Lesson Plans and Student Activity sheets about safety and security online by CyberSmart!

• Keep updated on sites and resources through the Advocates for Digital Citizenship, Safety & Success group

The World Digital Library, a website hosted by the U.S. Library of Congress that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world, was launched recently by UNESCO and 32 partner institutions. The site makes available unrestricted public access, free of charge to significant primary materials such as manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, recordings and photographs.

Be part of The Big Read during Global Campaign for Education’s Action Week 2009. Millions of adults can not read this, and millions of children who are not in school will be denied the chance to learn to read and write. Read Stories in support of education, short stories from influential figures around the world, that tell remarkable tales of education and the struggles of those who are denied the chance to learn and find more ideas about how educators can use the BIG READ book in the classroom.

Visit Earth Day's Educators Network for Lesson Plans on environmental education. Resources are available for themes such as Sustainability, Climate, Natural Resources and Wildlife, Energy, and Organics and Food.

What is sustainability, for example? As defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." A lesson plan on What is sustainability? for primary schools is available on the Educators Network Sustainability Theme page.

World Water Day 2009: March 22

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The theme for World World Day 2009 is "Shared Water - Shared Opportunities." The Third UN World Water Development Report:Water in a Changing World (WWDR-3) was recently published.

The World Water Youth Forum is part of the World Water Forum taking place 16-22 March 2009 in Turkey. Visit the forum's Virtual Meeting Space.

Water Aid has teaching resources, lesson plans, games and videos on water at the primary and secondary levels.

Learn more about Human Rights

<• United Nations Cyberschool Bus, of the Global Teaching and Learning Project offers various teaching material about the topic of Human Rights: such as the interactive declaration of Human Rights, question & answers, and other links and resources.

• Amnesty International – USA offers a Human Rights Education portfolio developed by education professionals, and composed of film curriculum guides, a selection of projects, teaching guides, lessons plans and various other material.

• For further reference, use the Oxfam Education material about Human rights, organized by children age range.

Become a Health-Promoting School (HPS)

• Healthy Promoting Schools Toolbox published by Queensland Health

• Creating Health-Promoting Schools how-to guide by the World Health Organization

• Training Guide for Peer Health Education Programs in Africa

• Skills-based health education tools for schools by UNESCO

International Mother Language Day: 21 February

What languages are used in Africa in education? AFRICAN COMMUNITY LANGUAGES AND THEIR USE IN EDUCATION shows 45 countries and languages used for education.

How living languages are there in the world today? Ethnologue is an encyclopedic reference work cataloging the world’s 6,912 known living languages.

Which languages are becoming endangered? Find out in the latest edition of UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger to be released 19 February 2009.

Let's Discuss the Environment

Water for All, Oxfam's online learning resource on water for ages 9-13, contains lessons, activities, quizzes, case studies and maths exercises and loads of pictures.

TUNZA, UNEP's Youth Strategy, publishes a magazine in English, French and Spanish on topics such as UNite to combat CLIMATE CHANGE – Paint for the Planet, Food and the Environment and Technology and the Environment.

The GLOBE Program is worldwide community of students, teachers, scientists, and citizens working together to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth's environment at local, regional, and global scales. It is a hands-on science and education program where students study environmental issues, make environmental measurements, and share useful data with the international science community.

Learn about Physics

Learn new concepts from High School Physics Resources available from MIT's Introductory open courseware.

Watch the Magical Match experiment or Cloud in A Bottle and other Physics To Go Videos on Physics.org.

The Multimedia Physics Studio has demonstrations for high school physics students on the Physics Classroom Tutorial site.

The 40th International Physics Olympia will be held in Mexico 12 - 19 July 2009 where high schools students worldwide demonstrate their abilities in physics, share experiences and build cross-cultural contacts. Read about past IPHOs.

International Year of Astronomy 2009
What to learn how to introduce astronomy to the classroom? Explore how Dutch teachers do in Introduction to the Sky and find more tools, activities and games on Universe Awareness for Young Child's educational materials site.

Visit Hands-On Universe, Europe to bring frontline interactive astronomy to the classroom.

Read Epo's Chronicles which describes Epo's, a sentient spaceship, journey through space to learn about the universe. Find more education and multimedia resources on National Aeronautics and Space Administration's site.