In a globalized world like the one we are living in, citizens are required with a respectful vision of multicultural diversity, informed and empathetic, willing to get involved in the search for solutions, professionally competent, but at the same time sensitive to said cultural diversity. In this regard, multicultural teachers have the challenge of having the appropriate tools to achieve the goal of multicultural education. It is worth mentioning that At Prepa Tec, a multicultural teacher is one who teaches his subject by linking the content with some aspect of cultural diversity, whether local, national or international.
Global Generation The Generation Globalby its name in English, is an educational program of the Tony Blair Foundation created for young people from 13 to 17 years old, whose mission is support the development of global citizens through video conferences, dialogues and tutorialsas well as providing teachers with reliable and quality resources such as training, class material, pedagogical assistance, among others (Generation Global, 2021).
“By participating live in international videoconferences reflection and Global Communicationwere lThe skills that students consider to have developed to a greater degree. On the other hand, by participating in the dialogues offline consider that the Reflection and Critical Thinkingwere the most practiced skills”.
Since 2017 I am a teacher with a multicultural approach, as part of the training I have accredited a number of courses, training and certifications. I had long heard about the platform Generation Global but I had never used it, for different reasons I did not decide to do it. In 2021, I set myself the goal of getting to know the platform and integrating it into my classes. Below, I share my experience, the experience of the students and a series of recommendations that can guide those teachers who do not yet know it to bring this resource to their multicultural classes.
Recommendations to integrate the platform Generation Global in class
My first recommendation is carry out prior planning and anticipate any eventuality. I made my registration on the page Generation Global in the month of June 2021, this gave me time to learn about the platform, the tools, how to register students, available material, and above all, check the schedule of videoconferences available for the months August-December.
The topics available to discuss in dialogues offline and in videoconferences are very varied, relevant and of interest to adolescent boys. The conversations in the chats offline they are a safe space, since each comment sent by the participants is reviewed by the staff from Generation Global before being published or made visible. It is important to mention that, for privacy reasons, teachers cannot read the participation of students in the dialogues offline.
The platform presents elements of gamification, since each activity that the participants complete or each participation in dialogues gives them points that are reflected in levels of experience: Amoeba, Goldfish, Bullfrog, etc.
It must be considered that a videoconference will not take place if at least one other group of participants does not join, in addition, the available times are complicated by the time difference. Booking videoconferences in advance will allow students to be prepared in the selected topic, which will lead them to have a better performance. Second recommendation, train the boys. Before participating in a video conference It is very important that students answer the exercises corresponding to the selected topic (available on the platform), this will allow them to have context and greater fluidity in the conversation. Additionally, if possible, provide them with additional sources of information and carry out a mini-discussion in class as training. Finally, ask them for a certain number of participations in the dialogues offline It will allow them to develop desirable skills for a quality dialogue in the videoconference (critical thinking, active listening, reflection and questioning).
Considerations for using the platform
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When entering the platform for the first time, students must answer a first topic called Learning Dojo; otherwise, they will not be able to carry out any other activity.
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The teacher does not have a “student view”. This can cause difficulties when students ask us where in their interface to find the various resources and activities that are requested of them.
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When students participate in dialogues offline they can receive replies to their comments and in theory they can see those messages and continue the conversation. In the case of my students, we never knew how to keep the thread of that conversation.
Programming of multicultural videoconferences and learning
Let’s review a little about multicultural videoconferencing; in my case, I selected the theme Fake News and Social Media since I linked it with the themes that you would see in the last partial; There were 39 students from the first semester of the multicultural program belonging to two groups of the Creativity and Digital Design subject. In this activity we have the participation of two other schools, one from India and one from Indonesia; altogether almost 60 participants.