I am proud to announce that working with Buffalo State-SUNY we are now offering a fully online Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) Program to International Educators. This is a special program that only International Educators (Educators working at recognized International Schools) can apply for.

I can't believe it's been four years since we started this program at ISB and three years since Kim Cofino and I took it on and expanded it to other International Schools. At the moment we have 5 Cohorts running (a total of about 100 educators) throughout Asia and now with the online option we can expand into other regions as well.

Here are the details of the program:

The first fully online Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) program offered by SUNY will begin February 5th, 2012.

This 15 Graduate Credit program has been created specifically for International Educators and is taught by International Educators. Over 120 educators have completed the program thus far and SUNY calls it "A rigorous set of courses that address the current and future needs of educators."

Online COETAIL Details:
- Starts Feb. 5, 2012 and ends May 5, 2013
- No Summer Classes (we like our summers too!)
- 15 Graduate Credit Program. Credits can be used towards a Master's Degree from SUNY
- No need to travel, all you need is a computer and an Internet connection
- Only International Educators can apply, due to special rate.

For more information and to register visit http://www.coetail.asia/online12-13/

It really is a fantastic program that is seeing great results. We surveyed graduates of the program six months after completion to see if the program's concepts, knowledge and understanding had brought about change in their teaching. 86% of educators strongly agreed or agreed that what they learned had influenced their teaching practice a full six months after they completed the program. You can see other stats in the infographic below.

It's also great to hear administrators liking what they are seeing and hearing from those that are in or have completed the program. I was having dinner with an administrator this past week who was here in Bangkok for the recruiting fair. He works at a 1:1 Mac school and is looking for educators who have a pedagogical understanding of how to teach in a 1:1 environment. He was impressed with the knowledge, skills, and understandings that the COETAIL participants had...but what he was really impressed with was what they were doing with students in their classroom.

That, I believe, is the real strength of this program. From the first course teachers are creating lessons and implementing new ideas in their own teaching practice and reflecting on their outcomes as they build their own skills and knowledge. 

This new online cohort starts on February 5th. So if you are an International Educator and you or someone you know is interested, visit http://www.coetail.asia/online12-13/ and sign up today!

Climbing Kilimanjaro

Jumping at the Summit

I'm proud to say that all four of us in our group made it to the summit some 5,895 meters (19,340 feet) above mean sea level. It was one of the most mentally challenging things I have ever done. Physically it wasn't that hard of a 5 day hike to the summit, but the mental aspect on summit day of walking for 6 1/2 hours in the dark (leave at midnight to summit at sunrise at 6:30ish) covering some 1200 meters (3,937 feet) was by far the hardest part. As the oxygen thins out you need to stop and rest more frequently....but it is windy and freezing temperatures mean you don't want to stop as you instantly get cold. You learn a lot about yourself on a journey like this and at some stage or another on the trip, all four of us had to push through mental or physical pain. 

cell signal on Kilimanjaro

On a technology note....I was looking forward to being disconnected for most of this trip and that happened...but I wasn't expecting our guides and porters to be totally connected the whole time. Each time we would make camp the guides and porters would go on a high rock or a specific ledge, whip out their cell phones and call home. Yes.....even at the summit of Kilimanjaro in the middle of Africa there is a cell signal. Both my wife and I took out our phones and had them connect just to verify. We talk about how connected of a world we live in that we need to get away from technology at times....but can you really? It's always there, it's just a part of our world......we better get use to it. 

Safari in the Serengeti

cheetahs

Next up was five days in the Southern Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The animal migration for the wet season had all the animals in the south where the land was green and rich with food. Over 1 million Wildebeest and 200,000 Zebras had migrated south bringing with them lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes and a host of birds. It was fantastic to stay in tents at night with buffalo eating outside and the sound of male lions grunting and roaring some 500 meters away preparing for a nightly hunt. 

Obama

I don't talk politics on this blog but the observations I made while in Tanzania as well as the rest of my travels the past ten years has me wanting to reflect on what I have come to understand and notice about the world we live in.

The American President is probably the only leader in the world, that no matter what country you are in everyone knows who they are. Most conversations go like this

"Where you from?"

"America"

"OBAMA!" holding up their thumb in a good-job sort of way

This has been played out countless times in countless countries over the last four years and is exactly opposite to the response we received the previous six years before that. 

The American President is held to a different standard, in places like Thailand, Tanzania, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, etc. I wonder if it has to do with the level of corruption in their own political systems and they see the American system as not being corrupted....it has its faults for sure...but corruption at the level it is in these other countries....not quite.

obama Picture in a Shop

Tanzania however was the first place I have visited that took this love for President Obama to a new level.

On one occasion, one of our guides had his cell phone ring tone set to President Obama's speech to the muslim world in 2009. I asked him about it and he has different parts of different Obama speeches set as ring tones on his cell phone. He claims to have listend to all of Obama's big speeches and loves to hear him speak. 

Everywhere we went in Tanzania there were Obama posters, Obama '08 bumper stickers, and even Obama t-shirts...we saw all this in Zanzibar as well where 97% of the population is muslim.

obama Sticker in Zanzibar

Whether we like it or not we live in a global world where America and its president are still seen as powerful figures in much of the developing world. People around the world care who we elect as our leader. It impacts their lives too...one person even said that he felt the rest of the world should also get some electoral votes, because it directly influences their lives as well! 

As an American living overseas I can honestly say that it has been easier to live overseas the last four years than the previous six. The feeling towards America and Americans has changed. All of this of course is just my opinion and my experience....take it only as that. 

In the end it was a great 20 days almost completely disconnected. Other than the occasional Facebook update to let family and friends know we were still alive I lived offline and enjoyed every minute of it. 

I welcomed in 2012 standing on the beaches of Zanzibar.

Looking forward to what the New Year will bring!

Nothing more to say.

Created by Benya Kraus 10th Grade Student at ISB and CEO of Kraus Productions

It has been a few weeks since we were in a virtual school situation here in Bangkok. Although the flood water continues to slowly move South into Bangkok our school has reopened with no immediate threat to flooding in sight if at all.

SOME RIGHTS RESERVED BY MITH17

Some rights reserved by mith17The school was closed for a week, along with all schools in the Bangkok area, by the Ministry of Education. ISB is lucky in did not get hit by the floods. Not all International Schools were as lucky.I have done presentations throughout Asia on preparing for school closure as it seems they follow me where ever I am in the world. Saudi Arabia with terrorism, Shanghai with Typhoons, Bangkok with riots and flooding, and even Washington State with snow and earthquakes. Depending on the situation many times schools try to move into an virtual school situation. Here are some things that no matter why the school closes seem to be factors in having a successful virtual school experience.Blended Classrooms to Virtual Classroom is an easy Transition  Those teachers who use technology on a daily basis in a blended classroom environment have the best success when it comes time for virtual school. The technology is already in place and more importantly the students know where to go to find information and what the expectations are. The students and educators who struggle the most are those who have to try and set up the technology at the last minute….it just doesn’t work.

Virtual work isn’t Homework Virtual work is different than homework and both educators and students need to understand this. Many teachers not being trained as online educators have a hard time understanding what kind of work can be done other than just “busy work” or homework type of assignments. Creating lessons that are interactive, that are deeper in meaning then what educators are use to giving online is PD time worth spending.

Videos are Good Students like videos. They really like videos that their teachers have taken the time to make. Quick 3 to 5 minute videos (no longer then 10 minutes at the most) seem to always get high marks for students. A good YouTube video isn’t bad, but there’s something about a teachers touch that kids still enjoy.

Preparing Students for the Future

Lastly I think every school should follow the lead of Idaho and require every high school student to take classes online as a graduation requirement. If for no other reason than to prepare them for the university that awaits them. The lastest research from universities shows that online classes in undergraduates is still on a very steep raise with over 500,000 more undergrads taking at least one online course last year than the year before.

According to the Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011 report, university presidents view online learning as a very significant part of their future school plans, which means more and more students will be taking classes online. The key finding in the report were:

• Over 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2010 term, an increase of 560,000 students over the previous year.
• The 10% growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 2% growth in the overall higher education student population.
• Thirty-one percent of higher education students now take at least one course online.
• Reported year-to-year enrollment changes for fully online programs by discipline show most are growing.
• Academic leaders believe that the level of student satisfaction is equivalent for online and face-to-face courses.
• 65% of higher education institutions now say that online learning is a critical part of their long-term strategy.
• There continues to be a consistent minority of academic leaders concerned that the quality of online instruction is not equal to courses delivered face-to-face.

With the economy where it’s at, online schooling also makes fiscal sense for many families. As a university student you can take your classes and still live at home saving anywhere from $10,000 on up in room and board cost.

If we believe that part of our job as educational institutions is to prepare students for their future then I believe we need to prepare them to learn online.

Some rights reserved by stevendepolo

Ready or not a new school year is upon us and the CoETaIL Program continues to expand. This will be the second year of CoETaIL under this site and structure and the expansion of the program to international schools continues to grow. Here's a list of schools and cohorts and where they are in the program.

Taipei American School Cohort: Beginning course 4: Technology: A Catalyst for Learning

BKK Cohort: Beginning Course 2: 21st Century Literacy Ideas, Questions, and Issues

EARCOS Cohort: Beginning Course 3:Visual Literacy: Effective Communicators and Creators

We're also excited to see three new cohorts get started this Fall.

Yokohama International School

American Embassy School:

Zurich International School

All together that's about 150 active CoETaILers to start the school year with the potential for other cohorts to come online throughout the year.

Get Connected:

Some rights reserved by courosa

Throughout the CoETaIL program we talk about being connected, creating your personal learning network and using the educators connected around the world to learn from. As CoETaILers you have a unique opportunity to connect with and learn from each other. There are many different ways to do this.

Twitter:

In your Google Docs you'll find a Google Spreadsheet where you can add your Twitter URL. Once you do that you'll be added to the CoETaIL twitter list where you can follow all the CoETaILers that are on Twitter. Here's the link:

http://twitter.com/#!/jutecht/lists/coetail-asia

Simply click on the link and follow. You'll then be able to follow all the CoETaILers, learn from them, bounce ideas off them, and have them be part of your learning network.

Groups and Forums on the Site:

On the CoETaIL site we've given you ways to communicate and connect with others as well. There are many different groups that you can join as well as forums that might have answers to some of your most pressing of questions about this site, the program, or ideas to use in your own classroom.

Get involved:

At the end of the day it's about being engaged in the conversation and being involved in the community. What you get out of this course and how it changes your life, your teaching, your perspective is up to you. You'll get out of this program what you put into it. Start creating new habits around how you learn, who you connect with, and how you engage in your personal learning network. Making a conscious effort to start the year off right will help and keep you motivated all year long.

Learn your way around the site:

The CoETaIL site is running the latest WordPress Multi-User installation with the Buddypress plugin which makes it a very robust social network. There are other great features of this social-network like the ability to friend someone, send private messages and even update your status much like Facebook. Take some time in these beginning weeks to click and find your way around the site. Some updates:

- New Themes have been added

- New Plugins have been added...including a Google+ plugin!

Take some time to set up your blog and get it looking great for the new year.

We're here to help:

Some rights reserved by TheNixer

Kim and I are excited to be adding Dana Watts as an administrator running the American Embassy School Cohort. Kim and I worked with Dana at ISB and she was a graduate of the first CoETaIL cohort two years ago. Since then she's left ISB to join AES in the role of Middle School Technology Facilitator where she's spearheading a lot of new initiatives at the school including running their CoETaIL program.

Know that we are here to help, yes the technology can be frustrating at times, and yes it doesn't always work the way it should, but that's what we're here for. You can e-mail us, ask a question in the forum or catch us online and we'll do the best we can to help you out. The CoETaIL community is very supportive so I highly recommend asking a question in the forums or to a group. An e-mail to use is just one set of eyes on the problem. By posting to the forum you'll get many more people thinking and helping you out.

We'll see you online!

I for one am looking forward to a great year of learning from all of you. What I love about teaching these courses is that I learn way more from all of you and the great stuff you're doing in your classrooms then I could ever imagine. This is a great community to belong to and I'm looking forward to learning along with you.

headr

Over the past three days I have been meeting with other international education regions to discuss the World Virtual School Project (WVS). At the moment this is an International School project being driven by the Department of State: Overseas Schools Division. The history of the project goes back to 9/11 and the closing of the International School of Islamabad after the terrorist attacks on that day. Basically as the embassy and school were shut down shortly after for security concerns it became critical to find a way to have the education continue especially for graduating seniors and even 11th graders at the time. Long story short a virtual school was set up for those students to continue their education and graduate on time.

After this success story the State Department and schools in the region started working on putting a plan into place that would allow them to carry on school if for some reason there was a school closure. Out of this concern the World Virtual School Project was born and has slowly been expanding to International Schools around the world.

The State Department would really like to see all International Schools that are tied to U.S. embassies, consulates, and interests to have a plan to continue school if for some reason school closure was to happen. 

As luck would have it two of the three schools I’ve worked at have closed for different reasons. Saudi Arabia for terrorist attacks and Bangkok for political protests. So this type of system would benefit many different international schools around the world.

With this project also comes the added benefit of actually connecting schools to do projects both regionally and globally. Using Moodle as the backbone of the project, the project has slowly expanded to 65 schools and is growing.

The WVS also played a role this past year in Egypt and in Tripoli were the education of students was disrupted due to upraising in those countries. So as you can see this is a program that is needed and has been successful already.

Unless you’ve been in International Education you probably don’t realize just how vital this aspect is to supporting U.S. interests abroad. It’s hard to explain and would take to long here…so the next time you run into an International Educator have them explain it to ya. 

All in all it’s been an interesting three days here just outside of D.C. I’ve learned a lot about the project, about the U.S. State Department’s role in International Schools and the WVS project and it’s goals for the future. 

In the end it’s just another way that technology is helping educate students around the world.

Step 2: Read the reflection

Step 3: Ponder the creativity and the ideas that come forth when we empower students and then get out of the way so they can learn.

Step 4: Leave Sarah a comment. 

I’m once again left thinking about Dan Pink’s book Drive and the power of Autonomy, Purpose and Mastery in education.

And if that wasn’t enough, she’s now reinventing the way a classroom newspaper is created. 

I remember creating classroom newspapers with my students in 4th, 5th, & 6th grade. This project almost makes me want to go back into the classroom again just to try it for myself. 

First, there is Laura’s understanding of how kids learn technology. Before they start this project, she exposes them to Google Docs and lets them explore the program. It didn’t take long for the kids to of course find the chat feature in Google Docs. For some teachers, this would have been a reason to stop using Google Docs, for others like Laura, it was a teaching opportunity and a chance to use it for learning. A quick call to the carpet, the class talked about the chat. Why did Google put it there? How would you use it? What would you say? And off they go again exploring the program.

Then there is the template Laura found by searching the Google Doc Templates for “Student Newspaper.” Someone else out there had done the hard work of creating the template for her (Thanks Lezlie Harris whoever you are).  

Next was the creation. I went to observe as the students took the rough drafts they had on paper and started typing them into the newspaper template. Three to four kids to a “section” of the newspaper, working simutaneously on the same document. As I watched via the Google Docs, it didn’t take the students long to start chatting. One group talked about the font they were going to use. Another group commented and encouraged each other on how much they had written or how fast they were writing. Yes, they were all in the same room but what a great way to start teaching “chat etiquette” in an environment that could be monitored by a teacher.

Next it was time to find pictures. A lesson on Creative Commons and using compfight and the kids were off to find pictures for their articles. Another lesson on citation/attribution and with a little help from the teacher, the students also learned how to correctly cite pictures used from the Internet. 

Lastly, Laura makes some final formatting edits, downloads the different sections of the newspaper out of Google Docs in PDF form. She combines them into one PDF and uploads them to Youblisher to create their online Newspaper. 

Click the Image to see the Magazine

I haven’t even talked about the writing standards, research standards, or reading standards that were covered along the way. What a fun, engaging, powerful project. Just the thought of using Google Docs with 3rd graders blows my mind. Adults have a hard enough time wrapping their heads around how Google Docs works and here 9 year olds go about it like they “get it”. No fear, handling frustrations in stride, like it was another day at the office….and for them and their future…it probably will be. 

A great project that I wanted to take the time to celebrate. Laura also has a professional blog that she keeps where she’s outlined a lot of the procedures she used and thinking about this project. Elementary teachers, here’s another voice to connect with!

(P.S. Laura is a CoETaIL participant)

Although I’m officially retired from the planning committee this year…..I’ve been honored as being invited as a speaker and cohort leader for next year’s Learning 2.011 conference. We learned a lot last year about using the cohort model along with the unconference approach and this year the organizers are once again pushing to redefine what it means to be a conference. That’s what I love about this conference, it’s created by educators that are looking to get out of the box, do things different and meet the needs of the 400 people who are lucky to attend. 

One great thing about holding this conference in China is presenters and cohort leaders love a free trip to China…that’s something you don’t get the chance at everyday and over the years we’ve been fortunate enough to continue to attract great cohort leaders and this year will be no different!

Year after year cohort leaders tell us this is one of the most switched on group of educators they get a chance to interact with. To listen to last year’s cohort leaders debrief stop by Wes Fryer’s blog where he’s posted a podcast of last years debrief with cohort leaders to get a feel of the conference and what to expect. 

Last year the conference sold out by July so you are gonna want to register early for this one!

Since our original cohort back in 2009 Kim Cofino and I have continued to be involved in starting, supporting, and teaching other cohorts around Asia. Kim will also be starting a cohort at her school in Japan next year as well.

The original content of the 5 – 3 Graudate Credit courses (15 Grad Credits total) is released under a Creative Commons Licence and can be found here. 

I think there are a couple reasons why this program has taken off Internationally and continues to grow. 

1: People Need Credits

Overseas we do not get all the opportunities one has in their home country to take course and gain credits or clock hours. Yet we all have teaching certificates that need to be keep current. In my case that means 15 credits every 5 years or 150 Washington State approved clock hours. Seeing that I can’t get the 150 clock hours because I’m not in the state the credits are the route I take…and many like me. So there is a need for a program that offers credits for international teachers to keep their certification current.

2: Technology, Future, 1:1

I made a statement in 2009 at an admin conference here in Asia that by 2012 there would be a clear line between those schools who were going 1:1 and those that would not. I still stick to that timeline and the roll out of 1:1 programs here in Asian International Schools continues to explode. This means more and more schools in Asia are looking for teachers who know how to handle every students having a laptop, how to engage and make meaningful lessons when technology and the power of the web is at everyones fingertips. Hence we’re seeing people take this class to up their own skills because they work at a 1:1 school already, or their school is moving in that direction, or they want to work at a school that’s going 1:1.

3. Apply Your Learning Now

The way we have structured the program is that each course is made up of being an active community member and creating a lesson that uses the theory, tools, or approach we’ve been discussing in that class. The constant reflection on CoETaIL blogs allows teachers to be thinking, exploring and processing the new information. The creation of a lesson/unit plan at the end of the unit allows them to apply their learning now in their classroom/school. As soon as teachers start teaching lessons successfully we’re seeing whole school cultures change around their view and approach to technology. 

4. Teachers and Staying Current

We know that teachers still matter and part of teaching this course means staying current in a field that is constantly changing. While in Portland, OR at ITSC11 a few weeks ago I had two people in one of my workshops that told me they were taking a graduate course right now that did not mention or use one of the tools we talked about or the theories we discussed….and that they had learned more in 3 hours in my workshop that they could use right now then they had in their graduate course to date. This is a big issue right now in graduate programs. We all know the programs where you can take the classes and still not know anything. They drive me nuts!

Not one of the CoETaIL cohorts looks the same, the information, the links, the ideas keep changing. Kim and I a month ago sat down and re-evaluated the Blogging, Commenting, and Unit Design Rubrics for the course and made more changes. I tell the participants the first day that the information and the direction we go in these courses can change, and will change, in an instant based on new technology tools, ideas, or conversations.

A big part of this course is getting use with being uncomfortable and not knowing what’s coming next…very much where we find ourselves in this day in age and the pace of technology. Getting comfortable with uncertainty takes time….and is frustration for some.

5. A Program that is relavent and PD that matters

We took a survey 6 months after the last CoETaIL course ended to find out that 93% of participants in the course now think about technology as they are creating unit and lesson plans. That’s the kind of effect we hope that PD has on teachers and schools. 86% say what they learned during the program has influenced their teaching on a daily basis. Those are pretty good numbers I think for 6 months after the program has finished. 

It’s been a fun run and we’ll see where this program goes….for now…it’s back to reading some more blogs.