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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Global Education Conference: Developing Empathy...

b>Walking a Mile in Another's Moccasin's By Doug Johnson On Wednesday afternoon I joined this session because it seemed like a really interesting topic, and especially relevant to the courses I teach here at CHS. I spend so much time trying to help my students build empathy, whether I am doing it explicitly, or just one of my underlying objectives, I think on some level I am always thinking about how my students can gain perspective on the world. The session followed this format: first the presenter, Doug, asked us all to introduce ourselves. Then, he took us through a series of background slides that explained his background with the topic of empathy. From there, his presentation took on two forms. First, he debunked Seven Myths About Empathy, followed by a discussion as to how we can build empathy through classroom activities. I really appreciated how Doug tied all of his points into the NETS standards, as well as the AASK standards for 21st Century Learners. He also did a great job weaving quotes from literature into his presentation, and engaging us, the audience. You can view my notes HERE! My first thought when I joined the conference (early at about 2:45 so I could make sure my technology was functioning property) was "Wow! Its so cool how everyone in this room is from ALL over the world!" The first few participants were from the Middle East, then some more Americans joined, then a group of students from (what I assume is an American school) in Japan. The presenter was from Minnesota, in fact he was teaching from his department office, but was reaching teachers from all corners of the planet- how neat! Immediately Doug asked us to start tweeting using the hashtag #globaled13. I did tweet out once, but I found it really difficult to switch between web pages, and ultimately devices (I started taking notes on my iPad) so I only tweeted once. He also asked us to communicate via the chat box. I LOVED this feature of the online class! It was so great that as the presenter was talking we, the "students" were actually able to participate as he was talking (saving time!) and provide each other with additional resources. For example, at one point Doug asked us what we think are some myths about empathy. Instead of having to raise our hands, like you would in a real classroom, we were all able to throw a few out at the same time. Later, when he asked us for ideas about how to build empathy with our students, we were al able to share resources, links to lessons we've done, respond to each other directly, and continue a conversation while he continued the presentation. Check out the image below to see what I mean: This aspect of the conference resulted in huge learning for me. Before this I would have said that the classroom experience is far richer when it is in person. This session made me reconsider that...I can clearly see how the online platform has its benefits!

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