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The TakingITGlobal Dispatch!
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1 -> Welcome to the Dispatch
2 -> Contest: Take Your Classroom Global!
3 -> What's New on TIGed?
4 -> Calling ALL TIG Members: TIGed Speakers Bureau
5 -> Help refresh Technology Standards for Education!
6 -> Internationally Recognized Days
7 -> World Youth Congress 2008 QuĂŠbec
8 -> Featured Partner: Our World Youth Survey
9 -> Wrap Up
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++ 1. Welcome to the Dispatch
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March 1st marks the first anniversary of the launch of TakingITGlobalâs dedicated portal for educators, TIGed.org. For this reason, we are celebrating the theme "Learning and Education" throughout the month of March. What better way to celebrate than with a contest? This contest is open to all TIG members, teachers and students.
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++ 2. Contest: Take Your Classroom Global!
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We want to know how you are taking your classroom global. We're looking to showcase the best examples of creative, collaborative, technology-rich global learning from around the world. This contest will be open from March 1 - April 30, 2007 -- share how you are taking your classroom global as a teacher or student. Recognized entries will be featured in a TIGed Best Practices publication and be eligible for cool prizes!
Learn more, check out the guidelines, and submit YOUR entries at:
http://www.tiged.org/contest/
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++ 3. What's New on TIGed?
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TIGed (
http://www.tiged.org) is TakingITGlobal's resource for educators that combines all the tools of TakingITGlobal.org with some extra features to help make the site more useful and relevant for teachers and students. We've added a lot of tools to TIGed since it first launched a year ago, including:
- The Activities Database: A collection of global education-related activities, linked to curriculum, submitted by teachers and partners.
http://en.takingitglobal.org/tiged/activity/
- Collaboration Tools: Special features to help educators find partners for global collaborations.
http://en.takingitglobal.org/tiged/ec/
- Video Chat: This easy to use tool enables student dialogue across cultures and geographies in real-time.
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++ 4. Calling All TIG Members: TIGed Speakers Bureau
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In response to requests from educators who wish to connect their students to global youth leaders, we are establishing a "TIGed Speakers Bureau" where TIG members can volunteer to chat online with classes about their cultures and issues of interest/expertise. If you are interested in being an online guest speaker to TIGed students, send an email with your username and a brief explanation of your interest to:
education@takingitglobal.org.
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++ 5. Help refresh Technology Standards for Education!
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What are the most important technology-related skills for young people in the 21st century? The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a partner of TakingITGlobal, is updating its National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and wants your input! These influential standards have been used to guide educational technology decisions around the world.
Join our discussion (
http://en.takingitglobal.org/tiged/ec/discuss/5517) or fill in our survey (
http://surveys.takingitglobal.org/survey.html?SurveyID=61) to express your opinions on how education systems can best keep pace with the changing demands of our connected, global society!
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++ 6. Internationally Recognized Days
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Internationally Recognized Days promote issues of international interest or concern. In 2007, TakingITGlobal invites you to join millions of people worldwide in the observance of these days. Throughout the year, we will feature International Days on our homepage and provide you with the opportunity to inform yourself about them, get inspired to take action on the issue and involve others in the celebrations.
Check out the first internationally recognized day we celebrated on February 21st:
http://en.takingitglobal.org/understand/intdays/intday.html?ID=3
Important Upcoming Days in March include:
March 8 â UN Day for Womenâs Rights and International Peace
March 22 â World Day of Water
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++ 7. World Youth Congress 2008 QuĂŠbec
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The 4th World Youth Congress will bring together 600 of the world's most dynamic young sustainable development activists from around the world to QuĂŠbec City in August 2008. Powered by TakingITGlobal, one of the organising partners of the Congress, Quebec 2008 will be a highly web-driven youth event. By hosting the Virtual Congress that will be an important part of the congress itself, TakingITGlobal will help bring the congress to those that can't make it to QuĂŠbec. Find out how you can get involved!
Click here:
http://www.wyc2008.qc.ca
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++ 8. Featured Partner: Our World Youth Survey
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Are you a global citizen?
What are your attitudes towards citizenship and identity in the 21st Century?
In this age of globalization, where technological advancement makes communication and travel faster, cheaper and easier and where many country borders are practically nonexistent and widely open to trade and travel, it seems as if the world is unifying. Policy makers and educators around the globe are wondering what influence, if any, this âglobalization effectâ has on forming the identity of todayâs youth around the globe.
In an aim to find the answers to this question the Our World Alliance is administering the â2007 Global Survey of Youth Attitudes Towards Citizenship and Identity in the 21st Centuryâ. As a partner in the Our World Alliance, we are asking you to take a few minutes to participate in this on line survey before March 15, 2007. This year we aim to collect data from at least 10,000 young people around the globe, thus your participation is crucial and greatly appreciated.
The survey is now available and will be on line until March 15, 2007, at
http://www.ourworldgce.net/currentactivities.htm
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++ 9. Wrap Up
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Your interest, support and involvement with TakingITGlobal helps our community to grow and encourage more young people to become inspired, informed and involved everyday! In being a member of TakingITGlobal, you are part of a community that is 139,000 strong coming from over 250 countries and territories. Thank you for having a vision of positive change. Your work makes a difference!
In friendship,
The TakingITGlobal Team
