This month’s #globalclassroom Twitter chats topic comes to us from my good friend Clive Elsemore (@clivesir), who has worked extensively as a volunteer teacher in India and Sri Lanka over the past few years.

In his own words, …  

As classroom teachers, we understand the value of making global connections, and the benefits of learning and sharing with different cultures around the world. We make contacts through web searches, databases or through acquaintances in social media, setting up Skype sessions, sharing blogs or voicethreads, comparing and contrasting with junior voices in far-off lands.

Undeniably, there are huge benefits to be had. But the very technology which facilitates the connections to different cultures also restricts its diversity.

The reality in many classrooms around the globe is that there is no electricity; let alone any laptops or Internet connection. When you connect through the web to a networked school in a developing country you must realise that that school is probably atypical of that general society.

As developing societies are potentially less affected by the transforming effects of technological connections; sharing with them offers huge opportunities for learning on both sides. For them, contacting you takes a lot of effort which is only worthwhile if it results in a long-term relationship. From your perspective, you may want to make contact, share, and then move on to the next objective on your curriculum. And then there's the difficulty of connecting with unconnected schools in the first place!

Is it possible to overcome these obstacles?

Which brings us to this month’s discussion question:

How can we connect with and build collaborative partnerships with schools in developing countries? 

In particular, how can we collaborate with schools which don’t have electricity or an internet connection?

Some potential topics for discussion:

• Where can we find these connections?
• How can we tap into the hidden potential of schools in developing countries?
• Examples of real educational projects which teachers can join which don’t require an online collaboration.
• The critical role of the @iEARN network in facilitating global access to schools and potential collaboration partners in the developing world.

Schedule

Saturday, June 16 - USA, Europe, Africa (17:00 - 18:00 GMT)

• 1PM (13:00) New York, 6PM (18:00) London, 7PM (19:00) Cape Town, 8PM (20:00) Bucharest
• Or click here to find out when this chat runs in your timezone.

Sunday, June 17 - Asia / Europe ( 9:00 - 10:00 GMT)

• 10AM (10:00) London, 5PM (17:00) Singapore, 6PM (18:00) Tokyo, 7PM (19:00) Sydney, 9PM (21:00) Wellington
• Or click here to find out when this chat runs in your timezone.

Monday / Tuesday June 18 / 19 (22:00 - 23:00 GMT)

• 6PM (18:00) New York, 11PM (23:00) London – Monday
• 6AM (6:00) Hong Kong, 8AM (8:00) Sydney, 10AM (10:00) Auckland – Tuesday
• OR click here to find out when this chat runs in your timezone.

You can add our official #globalclassroom chats Google Calendar to your schedule here.

Find us on Twitter under the #globalclassroom hashtag! We hope you will join us for what promises to be a very engaging discussion.