Stay Connected with Future Friendly Schools

Future Friendly Schools-Living Laboratories for 21st Century Teaching and Learning

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Future Friendly Schools was started to address the fact that our world is changing rapidly and realizing that students need to be taught the skills that will keep them motivated and challenged in order to be informed and creative problem solvers in our complex world. The program focuses on 3 values:

Below are some resources that may be helpful in understanding the three values.

Stewart, Vivien. "Becoming Citizens of the World." Educational Leadership 64, no. 7 (2007): 7-14.

Bridgeland, John M., John J. DiIulio, Jr., and Karen Burke Morison. The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts. A report from Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2006.

National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. Environment-based Education: Creating High Performance Schools and Students. Washington, DC: The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, 2000.

Program participants become connected through project-based learning and immersive use of information and communicative technologies. These approaches, among other things, help to increase retention of information through authentic activities and the use of technology to connect globally. School professionals who join are offered either in-person or online training in order to bring the very best to their students. The goal is to connect, celebrate and collaborate-working off each others ideas while honing the skills needed to attack the solving problems that arise in our world everyday. I love the idea of this program because it forces educators and administrators to see the bigger picture-the 

world beyond our classroom walls and offers a solution in this well-established program. I  see the value in this program, too, as it makes students aware of the opportunities they may never have known existed. The more you know...the more you know! More information can be found at http://www.futurefriendlyschools.org

The presenter of this program, Michael Furdyk, spoke at a quick pace and I noticed that a lot of people who attended the the conference were well-informed with this topic and knew each other from previous conferences. It was sometimes difficult for me to follow since this was something new to me. During question time, I noticed that someone else who attended the conference asked him to slow down when he was speaking Not sure it helped so much. Overall, attending the conference online allows me to see that students would benefit from this form of communication to connect with people globally. 

Art and Global Education

RAINFOREST ARTLINK: Connecting with the rainforest 2013

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The goal of a program called Artlink Rainforest is for students, teachers, parents and administrators to become more globally competent and connected. Artlink Rainforest which has been linking students in grades three through twelve in the United States, Guatemala and Costa Rica through visual arts and technology since 1992. Students in participating schools produced 2-dimensional art pieces using a variety of art mediums including colored pencils, pastels, watercolors, charcoal, etc. that "described" their cultures. The artwork was then swapped between the schools. Students analyzed the art, asking questions then researching either via the internet or through books, gaining a better understanding what the students value in their culture. Any unanswered questions about the art and culture were asked directly by students to students by means of video conference. 

Number of pieces of artwork exchanged this year. Next goal? To exchange between 100 schools!

I found this conference very relevant for a variety of reasons. I loved the fact that students were connected not only through technology, but first through a tangible piece of art. I wrote in my note taking that it is far more powerful to have an actual piece of art in the hands of the students then just seeing it in a photo or on the computer. There is an immediate connection that students realize they have, and that is the ability to create art. Then they start understanding the differences, and perhaps, more significantly, the similarities of their cultures. Later the presenters said the exact same thing...that part of what was so important about this program was for students to have the primary source element (the artwork) to analyze. I love the fact that this program gets students discussing art as well. I can imagine the comments and informal critiques 
that take place between the students during the video conferences. It reminds me of a program I used to have my students participate in called Art Responding Through Technology or ARTT. This was an online program that allowed student artists to post photos of their artwork to a web page where other participating students would answer questions posed by the artist. These responses could come in the form of suggestions, specific techniques or comments about the work. ARTT was a beginning to communicating using technology and a great way to get used to integrating technology with the visual arts. The Artlink Rainforest program takes this idea to the next level and is proving to be an effective way to make students more globally aware and competent. Evaluations prove that 76% of students have a better understanding of specific cultures and 78% of students have a better understanding of their own cultures! More importantly, teachers are realizing the value of the hands-on learning, creativity and integration. We do not always need to teach to the test. Art exhibits in both Guatemala and Hartford, CT honor artists and make for a great culminating event. 

Attending this online conference was far more accessible than I thought it would be. I didn't know exactly what to expect and was thinking that the topics would be a bit intimidating. This was not the case and I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of presentations and relevance of this particular one to what I do. The most important thing I realized in participating in this conference was that it makes me what to investigate more into this program or similar programs. In addition, I loved the immediate feedback after I asked a question in the chat room. 

Lastly, the conference was presented bilingually which was necessary for the audience. Very cool. For more information on this and other programs visit: http://www.creativeconnections.org

How Sweet It Is

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Tootsie Roll by Ethan F. - Grade: 5

With the excitement of the change of season, comes one of Rumney students' favorite holidays, Halloween. Some kids even admitted that it ranks right up there with Christmas. So to capitalize on the holiday and knowing the next lesson I would teach to  fifth and sixth grade artists was realistic drawing, I asked them to save and bring to class a wrapper from one of their favorite candies or treats. They sketched an initial drawing in pencil practicing techniques such as  looking at where things were in relationship to each other, noticing what basic shapes within the wrapper and shading. They also practiced drawing thee letters and various creases and folds of the wrapper. Students used Prismacolor colored pencils to get realistic and vibrant colors to finish their work. 

Almond Joy - Grade: 6 artist