learning across cultures

Perhaps the greatest use of technology in the social studies is the ability to learn across cultures through the connection with students who are across the globe. I read an article this week about a teacher in New York City who partnered up with a teacher in a small rural area in New Zealand. The teachers wanted to educate students on the culture of another area but at the same time help them realize the importance of their own culture. The students were able to describe their worlds to people their age in their own words. The teachers "set up frameworks within which students can learn in open-ended and creative ways."

The teachers describe this learning across cultures project: "As a source for learning that “cultures are dynamic and ever-changing,” we made it possible for our students to exchange knowledge with one another. To “demonstrate the value of cultural diversity, as well as cohesion, within and across groups,” we used our two countries as models. Our mutual emphasis on both Maori culture and the family folklore of all our students helped to teach “how language, literature, the arts, architecture, other artifacts, traditions, beliefs, values, and behaviors contribute to the development and transmission of culture.”

To begin the project the students were assigned one local place such as fire stations or parks that were photographed and sent across the globe, rather than sharing about the major tourist attractions, . The students at the other location sent back information about similar places in their country with photographs so that students in each location could compare and contrast the places and cultures. By doing this, the teachers also learned about the lives of their own students.
Students also sent family or local folklore across the globe that taught students about cultural differences and similarities as well as it taught the individual students about their own familial and local culture which they may have been previously unaware of.

Throughout the project, students in both locations learned about indigenous cultures, the importance of preserving language, the importance of understanding new immigrants, and the value of technology.

I think that projects such as these teamed with the virtual school curriculum will ultimately provide the social interaction as well as the personal transmission of knowledge that will help students to grow and understand their culture as well as the culture of others. Technology is opening doors to understanding that have been available before but not as easily accessible.

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