Comments on: Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence, and the Future of Education

By: Higher Education and Collaboration Are Going Global

Higher Education and Collaboration Are Going Global — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:12:14 +0000

[...] the statements educators rose up last night, during the EdTechTalk where Kim Cofino was presenting Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence, and the Future of Education, a pre-conference to be carried at K12Online [...]

By: learn quran

learn quran — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:30:55 +0000

Congratulation! This is going to be a great keynote . Thanks for sharing.

By: Paul C

Paul C — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:55:38 +0000

Congratulations on being selected to deliver the keynote address. As a retired English teacher and now ESL teacher in the local community center, I meet immigrants from the Middle East, Mexico, Asia, and South America. It’s exciting to participate in a global quest for vital learning.

By: Kim Cofino

Kim Cofino — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:28:32 +0000

@David,

Thank you so much! And thanks for reminding me of your blog posts, they’re exactly the type of thing I’m hoping to discuss within the keynote. If you’re at all interested in sending me any audio or video along those lines, I would love to include your voice in the presentation.

@Lesley,

Thank you! A perfect post to compliment the topic of the keynote! Thanks for sharing it here.

@Jane,

Thank you so much for sharing your personal story Jane! This is exactly the type of experience I want to focus on in the presentation. If you’re at all interested in sending me any audio or video along those lines, I would love to include your voice in the presentation. If not, I hope it’s OK to use some of your comments here as text within the presentation.

@Chad,

Thank you!

@Anne,

Just to clarify, this presentation is about expat culture and lifestyle in international schools – not local schools. However, I do feel strongly that the experience of living abroad, regardless of educational institution, is perhaps the most valuable life experience anyone, child or adult, can have. I wonder if you’ve lived outside of your home country at any point?

@David,

Thanks for the link! Any chance you would want to participate in the presentation by sharing audio/video/images about living in China?

@Dennis,

Thank you! Your part of the presentation will surely be the highlight

@Paul,

It was certainly interesting to see the difference between international and local schools at the FCW. Unfortunately I’m not going to be covering that specific dimension of schooling in HK in my presentation, but you should submit one for a K12Online since you have the personal and direct experience!

By: Thing 7a – Interesting blog on Google Reader | K12Learning 2.0

Thing 7a – Interesting blog on Google Reader | K12Learning 2.0 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:58:55 +0000

[...] Going Global : Culture Shock, Convergence, and the Future of Education immediately caught my attention. It was quite interesting to read about the different opinions on learning or teaching in another culture. Most of the contributors seemed to agree though that this opportunity provided them with a broader perspective. I also found it interesting when Jane Ross mentioned that she feels quite at home in both cultures – Jakarta and Australia – and sometimes she forgets which one is her “first” culture. I can identify with this. Every summer I fly “home” to Austria, and I am constantly talking about what I will be doing at “home” and what I am especially looking forward to. Then after a couple of weeks in Austria, I cannot wait to go “home” to Atlanta. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Whatever I personally fell about my two homes, the experiences in both cultures certainly offers me many ways to offer my students insights into how things are done differently in both cultures and, more importantly, why they are different. This is certainly an important distinction, as we want our students to be open-minded about other cultures. [...]

By: Paul McMahon

Paul McMahon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:26:01 +0000

Hi Kim,

Great topic for a keynote and I am certain that you will do a great job.

I am not sure if you reflected on the input of the local Chinese school that I invited along to the FCW at HKIS. You may have found that they were a bit more reserved and hesitant about the use of some of the digital tools for learning than the kids from the international schools.

I have to confess to being a bit disappointed that noone tackled the elephant in the room as far as the digital divide was concerned (the divide between local and international schools in the Asian region). Maybe a group did but did not get to go through. Teachers certainly did discuss it as you might have seen on David Woo’s blog: http://davidwoo.vox.com/library/post/technology-divisible-by-culture.html

I think that this is an issue that needs serious addressing and would make a great keynote and challenge focus for all of us. Here in first-world Hong Kong parents with the means send their kids to international schools where they effectively sacrifice the endless rote learning of the Chinese Script for a more western form of life and become “bananas” (Yellow on the outside, white on the inside).

I have spent 3 years dealing with the local Education Department in Hong Kong trying to get them to come along to things like the recent Hong Kong conference http://21c-learning.hk/ to no avail. This is a very, very tough nut to crack and if we international school teachers think that we are interacting with the global culture at the grass roots by working with the sons and daughters of the top 1 or 2 percent of the population that can afford the international school fees then we are very much mistaken.

How’s that for a challenge for the future

Best wishes.

Paul

By: K-12 Online Conference « Keeping Kids First

K-12 Online Conference « Keeping Kids First — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:16:39 +0000

[...] kick off the week of November 30 with a keynote speech by international teacher and inspiration, Kim Cofino. My session, “Little Kids, Big Possibilities” is part of the Getting Started series [...]

By: Dennis Harter

Dennis Harter — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:59:46 +0000

Oooh, you give away too much!

This is going to be a great keynote, Kim and I’m not saying that because you mentioned me. You’ve got a great perspective and it’s going to speak to a lot of people.

Like everyone…looking forward to it.

By: David Gran

David Gran — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:24:11 +0000

Hey Kim- If you haven't seen it already, there is a great post on Wes Freyer's blog about how living abroad inspires creativity. Looks like something that would be relevant to your presentation.

By: Anne Pemberton

Anne Pemberton — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:39:36 +0000

I have a correspondent in Hong Kong who complains that the structure in Chinese schools is so strict, that he is not able to implement any individualization of education or any recognition of the childhood of children. He sees the “fun” on my websites and tells me it cannot be part of Chinese education.

From Ghana, I have two correspondents, one a student. Both have to use Internet Cafes in the city in order to get online. I have just sent a laptop to one, and hope that when he receives it, I will be able to see pictures of the children in his village. I have already sent print copies of some of my personalized stores (My Own Books), and the children were delighted with them. I hope to do the same with the other village sometime before the holidays.

Even the worst of the schools in our country are better than what some children have in reach.