GLH3 Preparation, Implementation, Assessment, & Additional Considerations
Preparation
To prepare to use the Global Voices Program, instructors should have a clear plan for the profile of IU Community member they are seeking, for example, current student, faculty staff, or alumni, from which specific country, with experience or knowledge of which topics. They should know when during the academic semester they would like to engage with the students and the type of interaction they hope to facilitate.
Implementation
Once you have determined the course content for which you would like to provide an international perspective and the type of learning activity you’d like to design around this content, fill out the request a speaker form on the Global Voices Program Links to an external site. webpage.
If using a reading assignment:
Select a book or other reading with cultural or global themes. In this case the book was Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and the instructor organized chapters into six assignments, with reflective questions as deliverables.
Prepare any supplemental materials for the activity:
In this case, because the expectation was meaningful interaction and exchange and not only information sharing, the instructor assigned “Day in the Life” videos for her students to share with their South African counterparts.
Inform students that they will create and share videos of daily life between them and their international counterparts and participate in at least one live Zoom meeting with them.
Provide students with instructions to record their own “Day in the Life” videos and how to upload into Canvas (with specific instructions for Kaltura). International counterparts, in this case staff and members of the Global Voices Speaker’s nonprofit, also prepare similar videos depicting their “Day in the Life” around their home (if desired) and in their activities at the organization.Both the IU student and international counterparts share videos via links.
Instruct the IU students to create questions based on the videos that will be shared with their classmates, forming the basis of a class discussion.
Instruct the IU students to create questions for their international counterparts to be posed during the live Zoom conversation.
Considering the use of technology:
Students are tech savvy and, in this case, have enjoyed making the videos. Some students are more creative than others (adding music, mimicking tic tok, etc.).
For this particular learning activity, assuring each student completes the assignment is key to establishing a relationship with the students’ international counterparts. The assignments help the IU and international counterparts see similarities between themselves as they compare and contrast their videos.
Create graded reflection assignments for your book (if applicable), as well as the attached assignments/instructions for videos and assignments for feedback.
Follow up with students who are tardy in submitting their video, as others will not be able to view them and thus not gain insight into their lives as with the other students.
Assessment
- Reflection assignments responding to specific questions or covering specific topics from the chapters
- Pre-zoom meeting assignments to assure students have studied organization and prepared their questions for the Zoom session
- Reflection about the Zoom session with a 200 or 250 word count; also asking about thoughts for future classes
Additional Considerations
- Assigning Day in the Life videos of the students and the organization at the start of the semester provides an early opportunity for students to become acquainted with one another, fostering a comfortable and trusting environment conducive for sharing and storytelling.
- It is important that the specific instructions are used (see Examples) to make the videos accessible in Kaltura and walking students through this is class may be necessary
- It is helpful to have a practice Zoom session with the organization to avoid any technology hiccups during the class Zoom meeting.
- Creating a class activity displaying the commonalities in the videos/lives of students and asking the questions posed to one another is helpful to bring activity full circle.