Connect All Schools Highlights Global Education Initiatives
An ambitious goal has been set by partners in the new Connect All Schools initiative: To connect every school in the United States with the world by 2016.
Inspired by President Obama's 2009 speech in Egypt, where he asked for "a new online network, so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo," the Connect All Schools consortium is collecting stories of global connections from partner organizations across the United States. Primary Source immediately signed on to this initiative and is encouraging participating teachers and school leaders to post their own examples.
Eighty organizations are currently participating, and the stories shared on the site span every grade level and subject area. One teacher, from Carlisle, Massachusetts, recently posted: "As a result of the courses and trip I took to Ghana with Primary Source, I have created an entire curriculum unit on the music of West Africa. One of the activities of this unit is the creation of an Akan honor poem. These poems are created, often spontaneously, to honor someone of importance during ceremonies or celebrations in Ghana." Another educator, from Belmont, Massachusetts, has developed an entire Global Leadership class based on the concepts and technologies shared in Primary Source's Teaching for Global Understanding course.
Connect All Schools is growing quickly, with 124 stories from 108 schools already included on the site. To browse stories from Primary Source and other partners, or to share your story of global school connections, visit the Connect All Schools website.
