Social Networking for Social Good With TakingITGlobal for Educators

Your Name and Title: Kate Gatto, TIGed Program Manager

School, Library, or Organization Name: TakingITGlobal

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: Toronto, Canada

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): Teachers, Administrators

Short Session Description (one line):

Social networking is used for social good at TakingITGlobal! Learn how to facilitate global education and inspire student leadership in local and global communities with social digital media tools.


Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Launched in 2000, TakingITGlobal (www.tigweb.org) hosts an online multilingual community of youth from around the world who use social networking to create positive global change. Young leaders logging in to TIG inspire each other to make a difference, learn about issues that matter, and find opportunities to constructively channel their energy and ideas into action. With a growing membership of over 412,000  individuals in every country of the world, the TIG site reached over 5 million people last year alone. TIG’s mission is to empower youth to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges. This mission is being accomplished through TIG’s online community and through its platform for schools, TakingITGlobal for Educators (TIGed).

TIGed is host to a community of over 7,900 educators in 135 countries who are interested in empowering their students to think and act as world citizens. Visitors to the site will also find a collection of resources that facilitate the inclusion of global perspectives in the classroom, and a virtual classroom and collaboration space designed for international learning partnerships. Members can start their own collaborative projects with other educators they find in the community, or they can engage their students in TIGed-organized programming in three key areas: global citizenship, environmental stewardship, and student voice.

In this session, we will:

• Explore the importance of global awareness and citizenship;
• Browse the educational tools and resources available through TIG’s online learning community for young global leaders;
• Explore how you can benefit from TIGed's community of globally minded teachers, resources, and virtual classroom spaces;
• Navigate through the available TIGed programs and initiatives;
• Explore how to integrate the study of global issues into the classroom through the use of virtual tools;
• Discuss the power of global collaboration and social networking in facilitating student-led learning and engagement;
• Build confidence in using online tools in our classrooms to facilitate engaging, interactive, global learning; and
• Discuss how to find the support that you need moving forward to take your classroom global.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: tigweb.org; tiged.org; pd.tiged.org