Reflections
HE 6535 Globalization in Higher Education
By Elizabeth Andrews-Standafer
I Movies, Prezis, Glogsters, S'mores, just to name a few, are platforms I used this semester that greatly increased my knowledge about how to communicate creatively in a globalized world. The opportunity to utilize these forms of communications using content from the globalization efforts at Forsyth Technical Community College increased my capacity in both understanding globalization issues on the college campus and communicating effectively in a global society. Specific activities that increased my knowledge regarding globalization were researching a community college, creating an implementation plan, and viewing resources on facebook regarding globalization issues via posts and projects.
No Pain, No Gain
Yes, I gained content knowledge in this course, but that can be said of any course. My biggest gains were the result of being forced out of my Powerpoint comfort zone. Making a movie and publishing it to Facebook was one of the most challenging activities that I have ever done. I learned about various ways to create movies by collaborating with my colleagues, but ultimately found it very difficult to do on free programs like Camtasia or iMovie. I downloaded viruses, my computer crashed, sound and audio did not jive, and the free programs did not allow much time to create a quality presentation. Finally, I contacted the film program at our local community college for help. The instructor's equipment worked, but it was very time intensive and difficult for him to get the videos from my phone into his program. What I learned about his program paralleled our discussions in the class. This rural program operates with little resources and is very behind the times. The whole experience making the movie for our project made me realize how globalization happens at different rates for different areas of the world and often economics is a factor. The frustration was worth it because in the end, I did learn a new technology and I learned about the impact of the economy on globalization.
iMovie
complicated and frustrating, but produced a great way to communicate globally via social media
Glogster
something I had never heard of before, but was a great way to navigate information
S'more
the simplest of platforms, but the most informative in a global world
My Classmates Put the Social in Networking
Working and learning in a social media platform helped me to gain much more from interactions with my peers than the qwak or a traditional classroom setting. On our Facebook group site, we were allowed to express our views of globalization at our own pace and in our own unique and creative ways. I learned so much about the backgrounds of my classmates and how they view the world. Some folks were more globally inclined than others, evidenced by the materials they posted and how they posted them. It was interesting to see the engagement and learn from the materials that people shared. This working group was a true exercise in globalization as we started as an academic group and now interact socially on Facebook. Being friends with classmates on social media has led me to find other professionals we know in common. Thus, promoting the concept of globalization.
My Class Contributions: Some Think I am an Open Qwak
Though I did contribute to Facebook discussions, I think that my most notable contributions came in class discussion. I enjoyed presenting our presentations and adding to the discussion of globalization topics in the classroom via the mic and text chat. I often led discussion in our break-out groups, as well. I think I added a fresh perspective to the class based on my background.
High Impact
Indirectly, this course will inform my work by making me always consider the global impact our plans are having on our students, our school, and our community. The direct impact has already occurred. On May 4th I will be teaching 70 staff about globalization and how it affects our campus. They will be watching a "Did You Know" video followed by how to utilize social media as a teaching tool in their classrooms. This course has modeled for me how to address globalization in education.