iEARN Project Facilitators Resource Toolkit
Thank you for facilitating an iEARN Project! The resources below are meant to provide support and guidance through each stage of your project - from concept to completion.
We recommend reviewing the iEARN Project Facilitation Guidelines. These guidelines are a great place to find out how to get started with facilitating a project, and what is expected of you as an iEARN Project Facilitator.
Ready to start facilitating? Great! The below resources are broken up into four sections. You can use the quicklinks below to jump to your section of interest!
Project Design & Planning
Project / Online Community Facilitation
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Outreach & Exhibition Resources
Rubric / Evaluation Tools
Skills, Competencies, and Standards for Global Projects
Technology Tools
Designing Effective Global Collaborative Projects
In this article by Garzón, Magdalena and Manso, Micaela, posted in Learning & Leading Digital, learn about guidelines for designing effective global projects. Topics include Project Goals, ICT Integration, Collaboration and Exchange.
Buck Institute for Education (BIE)
For teachers, BIE offers professional development on how to design, assess, and manage projects that engage and motivate students. Through project design and planning tools and worksheets, BIE provides tips on how to design a “driving question” for your project.
Starter Kits for International Collaborative Projects
Developed by the Washington State Coalition for International Education with support from the Longview Foundation and Asia Society. (2006). Resources to help design and implement global project activities including a general starter kit, and series of iEARN project theme examples, including a day in the life, global art, environmental sustainability, and food and recipes. Assessment ideas, including rubrics and Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) are suggested where appropriate. World language teaching and cross cultural sharing is a focus of this work, incorporating multiple perspectives and languages to deepen learning by engaging with a real audience of global peers.
Project / Online Community Facilitation
EdTech Leaders Online
In this article, Ten Tips for Effective Online Facilitation, many of the tips are aimed towards online course facilitation, but most apply to project facilitation too! EdTech Leaders Online (ETLO) provides flexible, capacity-building, research-based programs, courses and services to enable organizations to build successful online and blended learning programs.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform
This Knowledge Platform seeks to provide leadership and catalyse action in promoting and coordinating implementation of internationally agreed development goals, including the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From here, you can find out the specifics of each UN Sustainable Development Goals, and learn about potential activities and resources.
TELAR-iEARN Program and Sustainable Development Goals – A publication produced by TELAR (iEARN-Argentina) as a resource on aligning iEARN project activities to the SDGs. Also available in Spanish – Programa red TELAR-iEARN y Objectivos de Desarrollo Sostenible.
Outreach & Exhibition Resources
Global Collaboration Day On this day, experienced global educators and professionals will host connective projects and events and invite public participation. The primary goals of this whole day event are to demonstrate the power of global connectivity in classrooms, schools, institutions of informal learning and universities around the world, and to introduce others to the tools, resources and projects that are available to educators today.
Global Education Conference GEC is a free virtual conference held online using the Blackboard Collaborate platform, is a collaborative, inclusive, world-wide community initiative involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels. Activities are designed to increase opportunities for connecting classrooms while supporting cultural awareness and recognition of diversity and educational access for all. The first call for proposals for the 2016 conference will open July 1st, 2016. Presenters can submit proposals for general sessions focused on four possible tracks: Teachers, Students, Curriculum, and Leadership. iEARN is a founding partner and ongoing sponsor of this event, and it’s an excellent opportunity for you and other participating educators and students to share out their project experiences.
UN International Awareness Days – How might your project relate to one of the international days observed by the United Nations? Are there opportunities to connect your activities and reach others through these events? Check out Let’s Celebrate United.
RubiStar – A free tool to help teachers create quality rubrics (evaluation guides) for Project-Based Learning Activities. In addition to creating rubrics, educators can search and find rubrics designed by others. For example, on topics such as class/group participation, multimedia presentations, and more.
Skills, Competencies and Standards for Global Projects
New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning through Technology – Article from the World Economic Forum. See p.4 for an outline of Foundational Literacies, Competencies, and Character Qualities.
Collaboration Centre Tools
iEARN Tutorials – Tools of the iEARN Collaboration Centre, including Project Group tools
Translation Tools
Google Translate - A free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages in over 100 other languages.
DotSub – Dotsub enables users to caption, translate, enhance, review, approve, and distribute videos in multiple languages across most screens via seamless integration with standard content management systems and players.
Webinar / Videoconferencing
Skype – Skype is an application that provides video chat and voice call services. Users may exchange such digital documents as images, text, video and any others, and may transmit both text and video messages.
Blackboard Collaborate – A tool that enables live web-conferencing and virtual meetings, including audio and video, application sharing, and whiteboards. When users join a Blackboard Collaborate Room, they are given a URL and go onto a web browser to connect. iEARN has 2 dedicated Blackboard Collaborate Rooms that any iEARN participants is welcome to book for iEARN-related meetings. Go to sites.google.com/site/iearnelluminate for more information on how to register to use iEARN’s Blackboard Collaborate Rooms.
Adobe Connect – A tool that is similar to Blackboard Collaborate. See recordings of sample iEARN-related Adobe Connect sessions via the links below, featuring an iEARN Adobe Youth Voices Media Festival: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. iEARN-USA has rooms that can be made available for use by iEARN project facilitators. Write to ____ to inquire about availability.
Google Hangout (for videoconferencing and live meetings).
Mapping Tools
Google Maps – Check out some of the ways that iEARN projects have used Google Maps – Natural Disaster Youth Summit participating country map.
Audio Tools
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Video Tools
VLC Media Player – VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
Screencasting Tools (for creating tutorials and visual presentations)
Form/Survey Tools
Media Sharing Sites
Website and Blogging Tools
Blogger – Blogging tool from Google
Document Sharing
Google Doc Tools – Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Form.
Design Tools
Canva – Drag and drop tools for creating designs and graphics.
Nations International Days the iEARN Way,” (pdf) a resource developed by iEARN-Pakistan featuring lesson plans and activities connecting global projects with the UN’s international awareness days (Global Family Day, International Mother Language Day, etc).
International Education Week – a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department that celebrates the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. Many iEARN project facililtators and country coordinators have included iEARN project-related event in the IEW events database over the years. Consider if there are particular events you might be holding during the week that could be added to the database. The dates for IEW 2016 are November 14-18, 2016.
Twitter hashtags and Twitter Chats – Consider connecting with others via Twitter using hashtags like #globaled, #virtualexchange, #iearn, and others that will enable you to interact with like-minded people.
