Global+Citizen

toc =**Essential Questions: What does it mean to be a global citizen?**=

Background
At no time in history has it ever been easier to communicate, collaborate and broadcast information. This change is having a profound effect on the extent to which the individuals can be aware of issues and news outside of their daily sphere. Each hour information about the environment, human conflict and global change is broadcast across many different mediums. Those with access to these powerful communication tools should also have an understanding of how they can be used to promote and create positive change in the community, country, world that they live in. While these themes come up in social studies, science and many other core curricula we felt that overlap from that information and technology side would help strengthen the message that we are all "global citizens" and responsible the health of our global social, political and natural environments.


 * Community**
 * How am I responsible for the communities that I am a part of?


 * Environment**
 * How am I responsible for the environment around me?

**Enduring Understandings**

 * The communication tools that exist today are powerful mediums to help spread positive change and global awareness.

Learning in Practice
Any time we can expose students to how easy it is to affect positive change either locally or globally we should take advantage of the moment. Technology affords us a unique opportunity to be able to connect students with people and places beyond the classroom walls. Exposure to this connectivity should also include conversations and reflections about what can be done with these tool to facilitate positive change and if we all share a responsibility in doing so. When tools like video conferencing, wikis, blogs or any other online collaboration is involved in this process new skills will need to learned by both teachers and students. Along with these skills should come an awareness that with conectivity comes responsibility and we are all members of a global community. **By focusing on this enduring understanding students will learn the responsibility and great power that comes with access to these new communication tools.**

This is how technology is used and learned in the real world. It is this model that we are using to foster student technology learning, as well as teacher technology professional development. As tasks become more rich in technology use, so too will the requirements for learning, teaching and assessment.