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TIGed Newsletter

Inspire Inform Involve

News from TIGed
May/June 2013


Toronto District School Board Innovation Fair

TIGed and the Toronto District School Board wrapped up our pilot project with an innovation fair on May 22, celebrating the impressive achievements of the participants in our collaboration with the WR3 family of schools. Our partnership created opportunities for more than 100 educators, school leaders, and district staff to undergo blended professional learning courses in global citizenship, student voice, and environmental stewardship. During the fair, participants showcased projects they had developed as their culminating activity for the courses. We were blown away by their projects! For more on this exciting event, check out our blog post. Congratulations to all involved. We hope to expand our work with the TDSB next year!


International Days

May 31 - World No Tobacco Day

On May 31st, the World Health Organization marks “World No Tobacco Day” to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption and raise awareness of the health risks associated with its use. Despite being the single most preventable cause of death, tobacco use kills nearly 6 million people each year. Read more about this year's "Ban Tobacco Advertising, Promotion, and Sponsorship" campaign and help prevent tobacco use by having your students make a comittment to say "No" to smoking.

June 5 - World Environment Day

World Environment Day (WED) takes place annually on June 5th to celebrate positive environmental action and raise global awareness of the pressing issues affecting our planet. Every year, we waste 1.3 billion tonnes of food - this is equivalent to the amount of food produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. This year's "Think.Eat.Save" campaign focuses on anti-food waste and food loss to encourage people to reduce foodprint. Download the teacher tool kit from TIGed's GRUB thematic classroom and talk to your students about making healthy food choices.

June 12 - World Day Against Child Labour

World Day Against Child Labour is observed every June 12th for the purpose of raising awareness and activism to prevent child labour in both economic and military fields. Today, an estimated 246 million children around the world are exposed to some kind of labour, and over half of them in hazardous conditions. This year's theme, "No to Child Labour in Domestic Work", will raise awareness of domestic labour, which is often hidden from the public eye. Explore the resources on TIG's global issue page on Child & Youth Rights to start a conversation about children's rights with your class.

June 14 - World Blood Donor Day

World Blood Donor Day is marked yearly on June 14th to celebrate voluntary blood donors for their life-saving gift, and raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products. This year’s campaign “Give the gift of life: donate blood”, focuses on the value of donated blood to the receiving patient as a way to encourage voluntary blood donation. This is a great opportunity to discuss the importance of donating blood and motivate young people who have never given blood, to start doing so. Learn more about giving the gift of life on the World Health Organization's campaign webpage on the issue.

June 17 - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

June 17th is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. This year’s campaign, “Don’t Let Our Future Dry Up” brings attention to the natural resource challenges we face, and promotes the message that we are all responsible for water and land conservation to achieve sustainable development. This is a good opportunity to reinforce the message that desertification can be tackled by community participation and cooperation. Have your class make a commitment to help combat desertification, and send an e-card to help raise awareness!

June 20 - World Refugee Day

June 20th marks the the United Nations's World Refugee Day - a day to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. This global event recognizes the desperate situation that 42 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world face. On this day, introduce the topic of Refugees and internally displaced persons into your classroom by using this excellent resource in our database added by TIGeducator, Danielle Cote.

June 21 - World Music Day

Music Day, or Fête de la Musique, is a festival in celebration of the gift of music in all its forms. The idea behind this day is to promote the work of amateur musicians and to make all kinds of music genres available to the public. So, on June 21st, the day of the summer solstice, there will be hundreds of free concerts and events happening worldwide! Use this resource added by TIGeducator Karen to teach your students how they can use music to communicate their feelings and ideas.

June 26 - International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traficking

The use of illicit drugs is a serious threat to the health, safety, and well-being of humanity, especially young people. The UN created this day to strengthen the action and cooperation in achieving a world that is free of drug abuse. Bring this topic into your classroom and encourage your students to submit their written work to Panorama, TakingITGlobal's online magazine.

Announcements

HP Catalyst Academy Fellowship

We are proud to announce that TakingITGlobal's co-founder and Director of Technology, Michael Furdyk, was chosen as one of fifteen inaugural fellows in the HP Catalyst Academy. As part of this program, TIGed will offer a STEM+ professional learning mini-course to educators around the world called "Challenge-based Learning on Climate Change". This self-directed course will be offered on a monthly basis starting in July, and will be free of charge. If you are interested in participating, please email us at education@takingitglobal.org to be notified when our sign-up process goes live. Thanks to our friends at HP, ISTE, and New Media Consortium for making this program possible!

Opportunities

My Class Needs

Do you and your students have an idea for a classroom project that needs funding? My Class Needs is an exciting new Canada-wide initiative that allows teachers to receive grants through a crowd-sourced funding platform. This program gives donors the opportunity to support teachers and students in their educational projects, enriching our classes across the country. It’s easy - submit your project idea on the My Class Needs website, including the learning goals and the resources required to achieve them. Once approved, the proposal will be posted on the website, helping you spread the word and attract interested donors across the country! Kudos to Curriculum Services Canada for launching this innovative program!

The WORDshop: A safe space for inspiration, connection, and collaboration.

“The WORDshop” is an exciting new day-long workshop from our friends Jennifer D. Klein and Erin Sanchez from Principled Learning Strategies available in the 2013-14 school year. "The WORDshop" focuses on globally- and culturally-inclusive creative writing and introduces students to multiple pathways to creative expression. Led by skilled facilitators, "WORDshop" can be adapted to any student age group to meet student needs and support their ongoing writing practice. This initiative is a new approach to creating safe, student-driven spaces in schools to foster the talents of their young writers. Workshops for teachers are available in connection to all student events. Empower your students and faculty to connect, collaborate, and use their writing to facilitate global change!

TIGed in the Media

DeforestACTION Creates Global Citizens!

April 22, Online

DeforestACTION is a collaborative project developed and run with, for, and by students around the world to address deforestation within their communities. This past April 22nd, in celebration of World Earth Day, over 500 students came together online to participate in a special conference and share what they are doing to raise awareness about this pressing environmental issue in their schools and communities. The event featured Youth Ambassador for the Jane Goodall Institute, Holly Carroll, who talked about her research on apes and the impact of deforestation on orangutans in Sumatra and Indonesia. Check out this blog post by Lynnette Whitfield from Cisco to learn more about how social events like this one can create opportunities for global citizenship.

Recent and Upcoming Events

Connect 2013

May 6 - 7, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada

TIGed was excited to participate in the very first CONNECT conference, a two-day event focused on supporting educators to enrich student learning through the use of technology. This conference took place this past May 6 and 7 at the new Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, and it brought together educators, administrators, industry leaders and technology specialists. Recognizing the need to enhance teaching practices through the use of innovative technology, the conference featured a series of hands-on workshops, poster sessions, and interactive seminars. The event gave educators a chance to connect and collaborate with each other in their quest to prepare students to be successful individuals in today’s connected world. Great job, organizers! We can't wait to see what powerhouse collaborators Mindshare Learning, Brock University, Niagara College, and the local Niagara public and Catholic school boards come up with for next year!

International Society for Technology in Education Annual Conference

June 23 - 26, San Antonio, TX, USA

TIGed is gearing up for another jam-packed ISTE conference! The 34th annual conference will take place from June 23 to 26 in San Antonio, Texas, and will feature a variety of professional learning and collaborative networking opportunities for educators from around the world. ISTE is one of the world’s largest ed-tech conferences, giving educators the chance to explore the themes of school improvement, digital age teaching and learning, virtual schooling, and technology infrastructure. It's also one of the highlights of our year at TIGed!

The TIGed team will be hosting a variety of presentations, including a panel on our Global Encounters student video conference program, a three-hour workshop on project-based learning, and poster sessions on our environmental education programs like DeforestACTION. Check out the program for a full list of our events, and register today!

Can't make it to San Antonio this year? Find out how you can attend the conference virtually with Access ISTE. We are pleased to be participating in this forum with our BYOD presentation, "Taking Classrooms Global through the Use of Collaborative Technology". See you there!

Partnership for Global Learning

June 27 - 29, New York City, NY, USA

The Asia Society's Partnership for Global Learning (PGL) is an annual conference dedicated to exploring global competence and supporting educators in facilitating learning experiences that will ensure college-readiness. PGL13 will take place from June 27 to 29 in New York City, bringing together educators, policy makers, resource providers and business leaders to collaborate and share their insight on how to prepare students to lead in an interconnected world. The conference itself features big-name innovators and many hands-on workshops, including three presentations by our Education Program Manager, Kate Gatto. This is a great opportunity for elementary, secondary, and after-school educators to connect, collaborate and share their practices.

Global Encounters Conference - Child Soliders: Caught Up in Conflict

June 4, Online

Bring the complex issues of child soldiers, peace and conflict to your classroom through our international video conference “Child Soliders: Caught Up in Conflict.” The event will connect students with former child soldiers to learn about situations in which children become caught up in conflict, and explore ways in which this critical human rights issue can be addressed. We hope you join us on June 4th 9:00AM – 10:30 AM (Mountain Time) for what promises to be a moving and inspiring event. Register today!

If you missed out on our Global Encounters events this year, but are considering getting involved in the future, visit our Livestream page to access recordings of past events. To learn more about this exciting program, visit our webpage. While you're there, sign up for our mailing list to be kept in the loop about upcoming events!

Wrap Up

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Copyright 2013 TakingITGlobal

This newsletter is a subsection of TakingITGlobal's TIGed division, electronically published via email, and compiled from various events and news from within the TIGed network. Questions and/or comments can be sent to education@takingitglobal.org. Please include your full name, age, and your TIG username. Click here to unsubscribe.