Exciting Updates from Flat Classroom® - January 2013

01/14/2013

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We have lots of exciting news to share about Flat Classroom®. If you are still on holiday (southern hemisphere) I recommend you save this email and come back to it in a week or so. We don't want you to miss out!

Teachers, make sure you join in on our Flat Classrooms Ning for educators only, that is where the conversations are ongoing about global learning and global collaboration; that is where partners are found and global innovations in learning are shared!

1. Flat Classroom Projects - We are launching all of our projects again in February 2013. Our goal is to facilitate the best global collaborative projects in the world where students co-create. Make sure you get your applications in! Download a brochure to share.


2. Flat Classroom School Subscription  Co-founders of Flat Classroom, Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis, have a solution for schools who want to 'go flat' and include more classrooms and teachers in Flat Classroom Projects each year AND provide professional development opportunities for teachers. Become a Flat Classroom School!
Prices for 2012-2013
  • Bronze Level - $195 for up to 100 students
  • Silver Level - $495 for 1 certified teacher and up to 200 students
  • Gold Level - $995 for 2 certified teachers and up to 500 students
  • Platinum Level - $1795 for 3 certified teachers and up to 800 students
Each category includes access to all projects across the full year up to the number of students noted. There are three Flat Classroom Certified Teacher courses/cohorts to choose from during the year.
View our current Flat Classroom® Schools on the website!

3. Flat Classroom Certified Teacher course. The next cohort will kick off in February! Come and join us or a PD experience that will not only build your PLN but transform your teaching and learning.
ANNOUNCING! Flat Classroom Certified Teacher - Group discount for schools and organizations (2012-13)
$2000 - 5 certified teachers
$3500 - 10 certified teachers
Contact Flat Classroom now to tailor your professional development needs. [email protected]

4. Flat Classroom Conference  Come and join us at the Yokohama International School, March 8-10 2013 in Yokohama, Japan for this unique, challenge-based event that brings student and teachers together from across the world. We invite you to browse our updated website and consider bringing students to this life-changing opportunity. Teachers looking for course credit for attending this conference watch this space for important updates coming very soon. Virtual participants invited to attend also - watch this space for application form coming by the end of January! REGISTRATION is OPEN!

5. Projects Databank - This is a place for Flat Classroom Certified Teachers, and others, to post their projects and attract classrooms from all over the world to participate.
We invite global project designers to join our Project Databank because:
  • This wiki will be the face of each project but the real power will be in the searchable database currently being built
  • Flat Classroom style projects are about community and networking - and we will provide this for our Flat Classroom community to thrive
Congratulations to Aaron Maurer, Flat Classroom Certified teacher cohort 11-1.
Aaron is running an incubator project, Bald Eagle Project you must see!

6. Future Learning Action Talks (F.L.A.T.s) - We invite you to consider presenting in Blackboard Collaborate and share your global adventures and successes. An archive of past FLATS are on the website. Upcoming F.L.A.T.s with Australian Chris Betcher, the FCP 12-2 keynoter, on January 29, 10pm AEST / 6am EST USA. Topic: The Flat Classroom Project - Taking the Long View.

7. Announcing: The World Wide Think Tank is a joint initiative by THINK Global School and Flat Classroom. It is a student initiated and student driven global student leadership forum. It was launched by students, Hannah, Yada and Paul, during a presentation at the Global Education Conference, 2012.
AIMS:
To foster leadership skills.
To encourage global conversations.
To generate change.
CONNECT WITH WWTTJoin the SPOTX online community
Like the Facebook page
Complete the online form to be sent further updates.
Browse the website to learn more and sign up: WWTT website.
Please spread the word!! #WWThinkTank is our hashtag - tweet it out!
Join in for the next online meeting (week starting January 28), volunteer to be a student leader!

8. Global Events - We invite you to use the Flat Classroom Educators network to advertise your global events. Make sure you keep an eye out for what is coming up!
What’s coming up?
  • Meet the Flat Classroom - The next opportunity to meet Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis in an online information session will be Monday January 21, 8pm EST (January 22, 1am GMT). Check your location for date and time.
  • Join a virtual book club -  A new virtual book club is being led by Kyle Dunbar @edtechdunny based on our book, ‘Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds’. If you want to join, there is still time! Julie and Vicki will be coming to some of the sessions. The meetings are about discussing the concepts found in the book for flattened learning, making connections and learning from one another.
  • Projects, F.L.A.T.s and more!

Questions about Flat Classroom®? Please email us: [email protected]

Julie Lindsay (Australia) and Vicki Davis (USA)
Directors and Co-founders, Flat Classroom®
[email protected], [email protected]
Lisa Durff: Flat Classroom Coordinator - [email protected]
http://flatclassroomproject.net
http://twitter.com/flatclassroom
Hashtag: #flatclass
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Flat Classroom® Projects - applications now open for elementary, middle and high school projects

08/20/2011

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Applications are invited now for a selection of internationally recognised and award winning global projects run by Flat Classroom® to start in September 2011. Co-founders Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay are excited to be offering these opportunities for classrooms globally to connect, co-create and learn together in a carefully designed and supported digital environment.

The Digiteen™ Project explores digital citizenship through interaction and provides an opportunity for students to not only talk about digital citizenship, but experience via online connection, collaboration, shared research and presentation. It also has an action project component where a classroom designs an action to be carried out in their own school community and then shared back to the global partnership.

The Flat Classroom® Project is designed to develop cultural understanding, skills with Web 2.0 and other software, experience in global collaboration and online learning, awareness of what it means to live and work in a flat world, while researching and discussing the ideas developed in Friedman's book.

The ‘A Week in the Life...’ Project aims to join Elementary School classrooms globally with a view to exploring what life is like in each area/country through discussion, sharing and collecting multimedia to create final products together. The curriculum focus is Interdisciplinary, how we live, how we communicate, cultural understanding and awareness.

Entry to a each project is via application and subscription. In order to help meet the subscription price, teachers can apply for a limited number of sweat equity positions as ‘lead teachers’.

All details for each of these outstanding projects can be found linked from the Flat Classroom® website. We welcome inquiries to [email protected]

Watch this space for more announcements of new projects coming, including the repeat of the popular ‘Eracism’ Project, as well as an opportunity for educators to join our next Flat Classroom® Certified Teacher course, also starting in September 2011.

Also, our book, ‘Flattening Classroom, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration one Step at a Time’ is due for release January 2012. Find out more at www.flatclassroombook.com
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Announcing the opening of a new Flat Classroom® Project

08/05/2011

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Announcing the opening of a new Flat Classroom® Project starting in September 2011. This global collaborative project joins together middle and high school students, typically 14-18 years old. Using ‘The World is Flat’ as inspiration and for content student in mixed teams work virtually together researching and sharing ideas and co-creating products.
“Students who complete the Flat Classroom® Project become more globally minded and engaged with their own learning. Teachers become empowered and embrace 21st century learning modes while helping to build bridges between learners that society of tomorrow can walk across,” says Julie Lindsay, E-Learning Coordinator and co-founder of the Flat Classroom® Project.
One of the main goals of the project is to 'flatten' or lower the classroom walls so that instead of each class working isolated and alone, 2 or more classes are joined virtually to become one large classroom. The project is designed to develop cultural understanding, skills with Web 2.0 and other software, experience in global collaboration and online learning, awareness of what it means to live and work in a flat world, while researching and discussing the ideas developed in Friedman's book. Projects are constructed with an international set of classrooms (as mixed as we can make it depending on applications). Students also have the chance to interact with expert advisers and other classroom teachers and sounding board classrooms in a true flattened learning mode.
This project will follow the project subscription model established last year for the Flat Classroom® Projects. An annual school subscription per project will provide for 15 students in the project.  For any students above this number or for additional projects, a per-student fee is applicable.  The project site will include the ability to embed video, blog, make groups, have discussions using forum posts, and it may be used for other activities for the class during the year.  
In order to help meet the subscription price, teachers can apply for a limited number of sweat equity positions.  These scholarships will be available to cover the cost of per student fees on an application basis.  The vision is to allow teachers to provide administrative support for the project such as RSS monitoring on the project portal, serving on project leadership committees, providing troubleshooting responses, and other activities in order to defray the administrative overhead costs of running the project. The application deadline is September 1, 2011.
For more information about the Flat Classroom® Project, including access to the online application, please see http://www.flatclassroomproject.net/
We invite you to send any inquiries to [email protected]
Watch this space for more announcements of new projects coming, including the repeat of the popular ‘Eracism’ Project, as well as an opportunity for educators to join our next Flat Classroom® Certified Teacher course, also starting in September 2011.

Also, our book, ‘Flattening Classroom, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration one Step at a Time’ is due for release January 2012. Find out more at www.flatclassroombook.com
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Flat Classroom Projects: Classrooms Invited Now!

12/10/2010

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We are starting the next round of projects for Flat Classroom Project and Digiteen in January and invite international, particularly non-USA, classrooms to join us.

The Flat Classroom Project is suitable for students 13 years and up and is based on the concepts found in The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Students work in global teams to explore the themes and then produce a personal multimedia response. The project runs three times per year, with the next project starting in January. Despite the deadline for applications closing 10 days ago, we are inviting non-USA classrooms to consider joining us and will hold places open until December 17, 2010 for the January 2011 project.
Further details:
Flat Classroom Project: http://flatclassroomproject.net
Flat Classroom™ Project New Teacher Guide
Flat Classroom™ Project Application Form
Flat Classroom™ Project Subscription Information
See current Timeline for more details

The Digiteen Project is suitable for students Grade 7 (11-12 years old) and up. It explores the concepts, behaviors and attitudes of being a global digital citizen in teams of students from around the world. Classrooms then design an action project within their school and share this with the global community.
Further details (applications for the next project starting in February is January 15):
Digiteen Project: http://www.digiteen.org/
Digiteen™ Project New Teacher Guide
Digiteen™ Project Application Form
Digiteen™ Project Subscription Information
See the Timeline for more details.

Do you have any questions about Flat Classroom Projects?
Email us at [email protected]

Julie Lindsay
Director, Flat Classroom Projects


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