Away we go... and oh the lessons we are learning!

[Suzie Nestico]

From a teacher's perspective, it is both an honor and a privilege to be involved in a project of this magnitude and scope. The teachers in this round of the Flat Classroom Project have met and thus far, it seems we all work well together. The introductions among students from varying places of the world have taken place. Students are beginning to get to know each other, although their partners are on the other side of the world. I would not have dreamed this ever being possible when I first began teaching.

As we settle into our Flat Classroom Project this week, we are well on our way in researching topic areas and will be working on editing Team Wikis throughout the week. Students are both excited and apprehensive at the same time, as they want to be able to contribute their very best. Some students still are unclear why I feel this project is so important.

The students I currently teach have lived through some pretty significant historical American events... September 11, 2001, the first African American elected to be President of the United States, etc. They live in an American world, with an American media. From all of these, they are inundated with the images, sometimes negative, put forth about the world OUTSIDE of America. As I sit in my classroom, there is no greater joy than watching students overcoming prejudices, misconceptions and negative images through involvement in this project. The point is -- I could tell students ten times that not everyone in the middle east is associated with terrorism or I could have them read numerous scholarly journal articles that support the same claim. Students are sharpening their technology-based presentation skills and bettering their ability to cooperatively work with others. Most importantly, by my students' involvement in this project, they are learning, hands-on, how there are people everywhere that are a lot more alike than we are different. A very big thank you to Flat Classroom Project for allowing my students to have this amazing learning experience!

[Julie Lindsay]

Thanks Suzie for sharing your thoughts and experiences with flat classroom with us. It is that direct contact and opportunity to interact with people that are different that starts to broaden horizons...and potentially change the world as we know it. Thanks for being part of this with us!