MAIN > SPOTLIGHT ARCHIVE > Luke Walker (Dec 09)

Saturday 9th December 2006 1:51 pm

Luke Walker: Globalize This! A film festival powered by social networking

What inspired 8th grade studens in Scarborough, Ontario, to take action? Social networking for social good through TakingITGlobal.org…

As Kate Raynes-Goldie mentioned in her post, social networking sites get a bad rap, particularly in schools. Legislation like the Deleting Online Predators Act seeks to further separate the physical environments in which kids have to spend their days from the virtual environments to which they’re choosing to devote their time. But there are a growing number of examples of the powerful learning experiences these environments can create.

The Globalize This! Film Festival was a shining example. An 8th grade class from Scarborough, Ontario, powered by the TakingITGobal.org community, researched major global social issues and created short educational films. After their public screening, the students, most of whom do not speak English at home, took questions from the audience of adults--teachers, school district officials, and local community leaders. And they were the experts! After months learning about and discussing the issues and the change that young people are making, through TakingITGlobal’s vibrant blogs, discussion boards, and action project tools, the students had mastered a number of key twenty-first century skills, and produced a set of excellent educational resources for their peers.

This kind of exemplary use has given rise to a number of school-oriented social networking services, including the Oracle Foundation’s think.com and TakingITGlobal’s TIGed.org. And more and more students are benefiting from the combination of familiar toolsets, authentic audiences, and truly innovative opportunities for learning.

Category: Civic-Engagement

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Comments

Rob Newbold
 The Gen Y Project
http://www.thegenyproject.com
Posted on December 10 2006 9:39 PM

Thank you for this example of kids blending learning, technology, sustainability, and creativity to inform, inspire and empower others.  Social networking sites enhance the connective tissue which our youngest generation has embraced.  They allow the world to grow smaller, as solutions to complex global issues increasingly become more local awareness.  Access to these connective sites should not be eliminated through broad brush-stroke legislation.  Congratulations Scarborough, Ontario for recognizing the benefits of teaching responsible social networking and sustainable world education.

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