Flat classroom project

I just read about the "Flat Classroom Project" in the August 2007, Learning and Leading with Technology [Link to full text - pdf file] and am more than wowed! I think I am green with envy, glowing with admiration, and anxious to get to know these two women as we obviously share common pedagogical beliefs.

To summarize, international educator, Julie Lindsay, currently in Qatar, and Georgia, USA high school teacher and EduBlog award winner, Vicki Davis, have teamed up and implemented the Flat Classroom Project in reaction to Tom Friedman's "The World is Flat". The project paired geographically separated international students and had them investigate one of the precepts of the the Friedman book as a function of their own perspectives. The instructors served as facilitators, and the learning was documented via video and wiki. Now, how cool is that?

This project has reinforced our belief that learning takes place in many different ways, times, and places. It also shows us that the single-classroom research that emphasizes the effectiveness of collaborative learning, genuine assessment, and project-based learning can occur when students have partners that are never in class at the same time. Additionally, social learning research has shown us that the sociability of online learning combined with interaction can help promote understanding. (p. 28)

In addition to wikis, the project utilized synchronous and asynchronous tools, including many Web2.0 applications. As noted in the article, they have plans for future projects where they think an implementation of Elluminate as a student final project summit would add to the benefits.

An instructional environment such as this would be a phenomenal opportunity for our community college students, many of whom have never traveled outside their area. We strive to help them incorporate a respect for diversity, but there is little context for them. An international project could certainly help with this.