Global Classroom Module

Global Classroom Module:

Dream Vacation

Image Source: http://www.sodahead.com/living/wheres-your-dream-vacation-destination/question-

4110967/?link=ibaf&q=&esrc=s

Magdala D. Norton
Integrating Technology: Global Perspectives
Professor: Dr. Joseph Wieczorek
EDTC 645
Spring 2015

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Global Classroom Module

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Global Classroom Module

Introduction:
This Global Classroom Module is a collaborative project in which one of my 11th grade
economics class (16-17 years old), will work with students from schools which they have been
assigned a country to complete a dream vacation assignment. Students will be paired into groups
of threes. The classes will work together to learn more about each others countries. Students will
create a presentation that will display the dream vacation location, expenses accrued traveling to
that location and while in that location. Both classes will collaborate to create a website that
combines the dream destinations of each group.
At the conclusion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools
2. Use various forms of technology effectively to communicate with others.
3. Practice research, writing, and collaborative skills.

Global Classroom Module: Pre-Planning Proposal (Previously Submitted)

Summary: Students will be assigned a dream vacation location and an epal in the location to
which they have been assigned. Students will be provided a $5,000 budget which will be used for
traveling to that destination and remaining there for a total of 7 days. Students will research the
cost to travel to that location, the average cost of lodging, food, and transportation in that
location. They will research important or fun facts about that location as well. They can also use
communication with their epal as a form of research.
Background concerning the school and the group you are working with: I am not a teacher
at the moment. For purposes of this assignment I would use the Empowerment Academy in
Baltimore City, MD. It is a charter school with a population of 98% African-American students
and 2% Hispanic students.
Time frame: One semester.
Subject and Grade level: Desired grade: 7th grade social studies or 11th grade economics
(please provide feedback. I did a similar assignment in my 11th grade economics class so I
believe this assignment will best suit that class; however, I would love for students in middle
school to learn about economics as well)

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Proposed Topic and Rationale: Dream Vacation. The rationale behind this project is for
students to learn economics and be exposed to another culture. The partnering school will
practice their learning of the English language with the students that are communicating with
them from the United States. The idea is to partner with a teacher from another school in another
country who is teaching English and the students in my class would communicate with his or her
students in English. Both would learn and benefit from their communications.
Global Network You Plan to Use: epals.com
Key Challenges: The most challenging for me would be finding English teachers in a variety of
locations. Some students may be assigned the same country or I may have to make it a group
assignment
Prior Knowledge: This builds on students research knowledge, communication knowledge,
writing knowledge. I will assess if they have prior knowledge by surveying them in class. I
would ask them if theyve ever traveled outside of the U.S, how much do they think that vacation
cost, and if theyve ever communicated with a person on another part of the globe. Most of their
knowledge on this project will be introduced to them. Some students may not know how to use
the internet for research, how to type, how to look up travel cost and they may not know about
any other parts of the globe besides the U.S.
Standards and Key Concepts
Content Standards:
National Education Technology Standards for Students NET (S):
2. Communication and collaboration
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other
cultures
3. Research and information fluency
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to
specific tasks.
P21 Standards:
1. Content Knowledge and 21st Century Themes
3. Information, Media and Technology Skills
4. Life and Career Skills
National Education Technology Standard for Students NETS (S): see content standards
Pre-Lesson Steps:
1. Obtain parents consent for their child to participate in this project.
2. Connect with teachers from other countries and discuss the project with them.
3. Allow them time to get approval from the parents of their students should they choose to
partner with me on this project.
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Global Classroom Module

4. Conduct research on the countries myself so that I may have information that may assist the
students and so I may know what would populate in their search.
5. Type up the project so that I could hand it out to the students when Im assigning it to them.
6. Communicate with travel agencies or look up online travel sites to provide students with a list
of research options.
Technology Use: Students will use technology to complete their research and communicate
with their epals. Lab times will be scheduled.
Essential Question (s): I want my students to be able to answer what they learned about the
country they were assigned? I also want them to answer what sources they used to book their
travel? Would they travel to that destination? Do they believe that travel to that destination is
feasible in their current economic status? Overall I want to learn from them if they knew that
traveling would cost so much.
Starting Activity or Module: I will hook my students by sharing with them my experiences; I
will share with them the locations Ive traveled to and what Ive experienced through traveling. I
will open it up by saying I am a global citizen!
Lesson Plans:
Summary of Two Lesson Plans: The first lesson will focus on economics. Students will learn to
budget and manage finances. They would calculate every expense and journal it; they are
expected to stay within budget. The second lesson will teach students communication. They may
have to correct any spelling of the students from the partnering school since their objective
would be to communicate in the English language.
Summative Assessment: Briefly Final assessment would be a presentation, preferably digital
but students may create a poster board containing the information learned from their research.
Their presentation will include a chart which list the cost of their travels, important and fun facts
of the location they are traveling and photos of that location (postcards, internet photos, photos
their epal may have sent them, etc.)
References:
International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational technology
standards for students. Retrieved 14 October 2015, from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/2014_iste_standards-s_PDF.pdf
Administrator. (n.d.). Framework for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved 14 October 2015, from
http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework
Changes/Revisions to the GCM Proposal: After reviewing my proposal for the module, I have
decided to make several changes. I decided to create two separate lessons that will tie in to the
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overarching theme of economics. The second lesson plan is a new lesson plan. I also decided to
add to project 1 a task which would involve all students, foreign and local, inputting their
completed projects onto a weebly website that would be created specifically for this project. The
time frame has been changed to six weeks as opposed to one semester.

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE # 1

Lesson Title:

Dream Vacation

Grade Level/Subject Area:

11th Grade Government/Economics

Concept/Topic:

The topic/concept of this project is creating an effective collaborative

environment between my students and the students in the other country in
which theyve been assigned to conduct research on. Introduce my students
and the area they live in (Baltimore City, Maryland) to our collaborative class
in their assigned countries.

Length of Lesson:

This project will run over the course of four weeks. Two weeks will be
dedicated to research and the third week to compiling their research into a
multimedia presentation. Monday through Thursday students will go to the lab
to conduct research on their locations and work on their presentations. Friday
students will work collaborate with students from the other schools to share
the information that they have learned and to ask any questions they believe
would be pertinent to their research. The fourth week will be inputting their
multimedia presentations into the classroom website.

Standards Addressed: (Local

or National Standards)

Curriculum Standards:

National Education Technology Standards for Students NET (S):

2. Communication and collaboration
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging
with learners of other cultures
3. Research and information fluency
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the
appropriateness to specific tasks.
(ISTE, 2007)

P21 Standards:
1. Content Knowledge and 21st Century Themes
3. Information, Media and Technology Skills
4. Life and Career Skills
Lesson Goals:

The goal of the lessons is for students, in groups of four, to research and
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present the to the class information of their dream vacation location. Students
will display in their presentation the following information:
Name of project, class and group members
Their dream vacation location
Itinerary and cost
Car rental(if any) and cost
Lodging(name and photo of hotel) and cost
Entertainment(photos) and cost
Dining locations and cost
Miscellaneous expenses accrued
What they learned from their epal
Performance Objectives:

After completion of the lesson, students will be able to:

Maintain a budget
Create an itinerary
Search websites for information
Create a multimedia presentation
Work effectively in small groups
Collaborate in an online environment
Evaluate websites for accuracy and current information
Create a bibliography

Introduction:
Students would be placed into groups 4 and assigned a country for their dream
vacation. Once assigned their dream vacation location there will be an in class
discussion about vacations and budgeting for vacations. The discussion will be
used to assess students prior knowledge into budgeting for vacations, which
essentially is economics. Students will create an excel spreadsheet so that

they can keep track of the expenses that would be accrued en route to
and while at their dream vacation location. Students will also save, in a
word document, information learned from their research and from the
communication with their epals (taking notes is an alternative). Students
will then compile the information gained from their research and their
epals into a multimedia presentation to present to the class. The
multimedia presentation will then be placed on the classs weebly
website for the collaborating school to view and provide feedback on.
Step-By-Step Procedures:

Explain to students that this is the beginning of a global collaborative module

in which they will be collaborating with students from a school in another part
of the globe to research the country of those students. Explain that this module
consist of various assignments that will ultimately be compiled into one
collaborated website that can be viewed by everyone. Explain that the first step
is to be introduced to their epal and communicate with each other about their
perspective countries.
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Global Classroom Module

Day 1:
Students will be informed about the global classroom module and what
will be expected of them throughout the completion of each project.
Students will be assigned their dream vacation locations and assigned
into groups. The classroom will change seats so that they would be at
the same table with their group mates. An in class discussion will be
held to learn what students may know about the destination they were
assigned.
Day 2 - 4:
Students will report to the lab so that they can continue researching their
dream vacation locations. Students will be provided with handouts of
preferred sites to visit for their research. By the end of day four students
should have information on the cost of travel to and from their dream
vacation location, location and cost of their lodging, car rental if needed,
information on whether a passport will be required for their travels, if
so, the cost of a passport and any other fees associated with acquiring a
passport. Students will add the cost of all listed items above to the excel
spreadsheet that they will create for purposes of tracking their expenses.
Day 5:
Students will communicate with their epals. They will use this time to
communicate with their epals about their country. This communication is an
opportunity to learn more about the local attractions in that area, activities the
students there believe would be fun to do, nice restaurants to eat at, must haves
for their travels. Their epals will in turn inquire of them the same information.
Week 2: The schedule listed above will be followed for week 2
Week 3:
Day 1: Students will make final revisions to multimedia presentation. They
will determine who will lead the presentation and speaking points for each
member of the group. Students will conclude their research by the end of class
time.
Day 2-3:
Students will create and work on their multimedia presentations. Students will
input the data collected from their research into the multimedia presentation as
well as the excel spreadsheet that displays their expected expenses.
Day 4-5:
Presentation day! Students will present their multimedia presentations to the
class.
Week 4:
Day 1: Students will work in groups along with their epals to input their
multimedia presentations into the classrooms weebly website
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http://dreamvacationcollaboration.weebly.com
Day 2: Review the presentations of their epals and provide feedback on
their presentations.
Day 3: Students will complete an online survey as an assessment of the
project.
Technology Requirements:

Computer and Internet access

Presentation software

Resources:

www.epals.com

Assessment Based on
Objectives:

Students will complete a multimedia presentation on their assigned dream

vacation location based off of their research.
Students will also create an excel spreadsheet which they will use to manage
their budget; all expected expenses will be inputted into the spreadsheet.
Students will be expected to add their presentation to the classroom website
that will be shared and viewed by all classes involved.

Follow-Up:

Following the lesson and activities, students from each class will provide
feedback on each others project. They will evaluate whether the information
presented is an accurate account as to how much a vacation to the dream
vacation location would cost.

Classroom Management:

The teacher will monitor all computer usage to ensure students are
working on the task at hand. The teacher will also help guide the
communication between the students to ensure they are asking questions
that would be beneficial to their research. The teacher will be available
to answer any questions students may have while completing their
research.
Differentiated instruction for students who need scaffolding on
searching websites. Students that have hearing and vision disabilities
will be given a transcript of the presentations. Subtitles can be added to
the multimedia presentation should a student have a speech impediment
of difficulty speaking. Gifted and talented students will have the liberty
to be more creative with their dream vacation. Their challenge would be
to travel to multiple locations on the provided $10,000.00 budget. They
could select to take a multi country vacation, cruise to various locations;
they will have more creative freedom. Their intentions must be
communicated with the teacher to ensure that an epal in their chosen
locations can be located. If no epal in their chosen location they can
research vacation reviews of that destination.
Teacher must ensure that the lab is available and reserved for the time
frame needed to complete this project.

Accommodations:
(Special needs / gifted &
talented)

Comments / Notes:

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LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE # 2

Lesson Title:

Goods and services

Grade Level/Subject Area:

11th Grade Government/economics

Concept/Topic:

The concept/topic of this lesson is for students to learn what goods and
services are provided to the citizens residing in their dream vacation location.
Students will first learn the definitions of goods, public goods, and the role of
the government, services and taxes.

Length of Lesson:

This project will run over the course of two weeks. The first week will involve
discussing and learning the terms goods, public goods, services and taxes.
Students will share what they believe the role of the government is and the
teacher will conduct a mini lesson explaining what the usual role of the
government is. Students will begin their research during the first week of the
project. Students will have two days in week two to complete their research.
The latter part of week two will consist of students creating an infographic that
list what goods and services are provided to the citizens by the government and
what goods and services are provided by private businesses. Their infographic
will also list the amount of taxes collected by the government from the people.

Standards Addressed: (Local

or National Standards)

Curriculum Standards:
Standard 4 ECONOMICS
Students will develop economic reasoning to understand the historical
development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and
processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers
participating in local communities, the nation, and the world.

Expectation
1. The student will demonstrate an understanding of economic
principles, institutions and processes required to formulate government
policy.
TOPIC

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A. Scarcity and Economic Decision-making

Indicator
1. The student will utilize the principles of economic costs and benefits
and opportunity cost to analyze the effectiveness of government policy
in achieving socio-economic goals (4.1.2)
Objective
a. Evaluate the role of government in providing public goods, such as
national defense and public education (Unit 1)
(MSDE, 2014)

National Education Technology Standards for Students NET (S):

Standard 2: Communication and Collaboration
Standard 5: Digital Citizenship
Standard 6: Technology Concept and Operations
(ISTE, 2007)

Lesson Goals:

At the end of this lesson students will:

Distinguish between goods and services provided by the government
and those provided by private businesses
Explain why the government provides certain goods and services
Explain that those taxes collected by the government are used to pay for
the goods and services provided by government.
List some of those goods and services that are paid for by the taxes
collected
Performance Objectives:

After completion of the lesson, students will be able to:

Differentiate between goods and services provided by the government

and those provided by private organizations
Explain taxes and why they are collected
Create an infographic that details the goods and services provided by the
government of their dream vacation location, taxes collected, if any, and
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what goods and services are provided by private businesses.

Communicate and collaborate with their epals to attain firsthand
knowledge as to what goods and services are provide to them by the
government and also to learn if they have access to those goods and
services.
Introduction:

This lesson will require students to conduct research on the government

of the locations that they were assigned as their dream vacation. In the
United States, taxes are collected for a variety of reasons and are used
for multiple reasons. Students will be provided a handout which details
how federal taxes are spent. Students will first learn about taxes, goods
and services and the role of the government with the United States; in
learning that their research into their assigned location will be better
guided. Students will know what to look for when they are completing
their research. Students will be provided with a list of recommended
website and advised to use google scholar to complete their research.

Step-By-Step Procedures:

Day 1:
Students will be provided with details about the assignment and a
handout that details what is expected and due dates. There will be an in
class discussion in which the teacher will inquire of her students their
current knowledge on the role of government, what are goods and
services and taxes.
Day 2 - 3:
Students will be provided with a list that includes recommended sites
for purposes of their research.
Students will break into groups and begin their research for the assigned
project.
Day 4:
Students will be provided with the opportunity to communicate with
their epals for purposes of research. They may ask their epals questions
they believe would be relevant to their research. A good question would
be, do you pay for school at your location? In the U.S school is paid
by taxes collected by government but that may not be the case in other
locations
Day 5:
Teacher will demonstrate to students how to create their infographics.
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Students will begin working on their infographic which would include

the required information of the assignment. Examples of an acceptable
infographic will be presented.
Day 6 - 7:
Students will continue working on their infographics.
Day 8 9
Presentation day. Students will present their infographics to the class.
The other groups may ask questions of the presenting group. Students
should expect questions from the teacher as well.
Day 10: Follow-up. There will be an in class discussion in which the
teacher would survey the students to learn whether or not their
knowledge on goods and services provided by the government in their
country and the countries of their epals have increased. Students would
be asked to provide a definition of the vocabulary terms: goods,
services, taxes. They will also be asked to explain the role of
government and what goods and services may be provided by private
businesses.
Technology Requirements:

Computer and Internet access

Smart board/projector

Resources:

https://www.richmondfed.org/~/media/richmondfedorg/publications/education/
concepts_posters/pdf/2010_taxes.pdf

Assessment Based on
Objectives:

Students will to create an infographic that details the role of government, what
goods and services are provided by the government in the countries that they
were assigned, why taxes are collected and what they are used for by the
government and what goods and services, if not provided by the government,
are provided by private businesses. Their infographics will be published in the
classrooms collaboration website.

Follow-Up:
Classroom Management:

Students will be reminded of the classroom policies and expectations. The

teacher will ensure all students are working on the project consistently and
thoroughly within their groups.

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Accommodations:
(Special needs / gifted &
talented)

Comments / Notes:

Differentiated instruction for students who need scaffolding on

searching websites. Students that have hearing and vision disabilities
will be given a transcript of the presentations. Subtitles can be added to
the multimedia presentation should a student have a speech impediment
of difficulty speaking. Gifted and talented students will write an essay
that compares the government of their assigned country with the
government of the U.S. They will answer the question: what goods and
services are provided where you reside that are not provided in the
location of your epal and vice versa?
Ensure that the lab is reserved for the time frame of the project

Multimedia Presentation Rubric:

CATEGORY

Attractiveness

Makes excellent use

of font, color,
graphics, effects, etc.
to enhance the
presentation.

Makes good use of

font, color, graphics,
effects, etc. to enhance
to presentation.

Makes use of font,

color, graphics, effects,
etc. but occasionally
these detract from the
presentation content.

Use of font, color,

graphics, effects etc.
but these often distract
from the presentation
content.

Requirements

All requirements are All requirements are

met and exceeded.
met.

One requirement was

not completely met.

More than one

requirement was not
completely met.

Content

Covers topic indepth with details

and examples.
Subject knowledge
is excellent.

Includes essential
knowledge about the
topic. Subject
knowledge appears to
be good.

Includes essential
information about the
topic but there are 1-2
factual errors.

Content is minimal OR
there are several factual
errors.

Organization

Content is well
organized using
headings or bulleted
lists to group related
material.

Uses headings or
Content is logically
bulleted lists to
organized for the most
organize, but the
part.
overall organization of
topics appears flawed.

There was no clear or

logical organizational
structure, just lots of
facts.

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Originality

Product shows a
large amount of
original thought.
Ideas are creative
and inventive.

Product shows some

original thought. Work
shows new ideas and
insights.

Uses other people's

ideas (giving them
credit), but there is
little evidence of
original thinking.

Uses other people's

ideas, but does not give
them credit.

Mechanics

No misspellings or
grammatical errors.

Three or fewer
misspellings and/or
mechanical errors.

Four misspellings
and/or grammatical
errors.

More than 4 errors in

spelling or grammar.

Presentation

Well-rehearsed with
smooth delivery that
holds audience
attention.

Rehearsed with fairly

smooth delivery that
holds audience
attention most of the
time.

Delivery not smooth,

Delivery not smooth
but able to maintain
and audience attention
interest of the audience often lost.
most of the time.

Infographic Rubric:

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Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361765782541600332/

Permission Form:
Student _______________________________ has been chosen to work on a global
collaborative project with a school in ______________________. The students final project will
be a multimedia presentation which will be inputted into a weebly website which was created for
this project in particular.
During this project students will be collaborating with students from their assigned country.
Communications will be conducted via epals.
This form grants Mrs. Norton permission to grant the above listed student access to the epals
account which will be used to communicate with their epals form their assigned dream vacation
location. Permission is also granted to have students works added to the online website created
for this project.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email Mrs. Norton at magdala2006@aol.com

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I _______________________, parent of ________________________ give Mrs. Norton

permission to grant the above listed student access to the epals account which will be used to
communicate with their epals form their assigned dream vacation location. Permission is also
granted to have students works added to the online website created for this project.
Parent Signature: ________________________________________ Date: __________________
Student Signature: ________________________________________ Date: _________________

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References:

ISTE. (2007). Educational technology standards for students. Retrieved October 15, 2012 from
http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

MSDE. (2010). World history standards. Retrieved October 15, 2012 from
ftp://ftp3.ccboe.com/Instruction/High/SocialStudies/WorldHistory/
P21. (2010). Framework for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved 14 October 2015, from
http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework

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