All in Contributing Author

When Flan is Not a Dessert

I have known Ilene for a few years now. We met through the ISTE Global Collaboration PLN, and she continues to impress me. I love this post she wrote because it demonstrates all the things I haven’t been in my life abroad, and I respect her so much for it. Her motivated curiosity is something we should all aspire to have. A big thank you to Ilene for showing us all that it’s possible to learn a language despite the struggles.

From Front Royal to Charleville: Making the Global Connection

Heidi’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I could tell right away that she brings something special to education. Learning a language can often be a laborious experience leaving a wake of frustration for the learner (at least it has in my own experiences with language learning), but not in Heidi's French class. Here’s her story about how she brings the world to her classroom each day.

When Students Have a Voice

I found Jennifer on Twitter, a happy accident, as much of my activity using this technology seems to go. I sent her a message out of the blue inviting her to write a post, and within a day she sent me this story. Talk about motivation! I’m so happy to have connected serendipitously with her, and I’m excited about the possibilities of writing collaborations in the future! Here’s her story…

To Be a Global Educator

I had the pleasure of connecting with Ava through my work with Participate. I was helping to pilot a new professional development program, and Ava was one of the brave teachers who took a risk and learned alongside her students as they looked for ways to make their school lunch healthier through multiple student-driven avenues. I was immediately impressed with her motivation and excitement toward teaching and learning and her openness to feedback. Here's what Ava believes about education and what she's been up to since I last worked with her.

My Meandering Journey to Become a Global Educator Part 1

I met Jeff at ISTE18. He sat next to me in a meeting about global collaboration. What he didn’t realize at the time was that he gave me a very nice compliment about a curriculum I had developed while working for a global ed. company the year before. I had a chance to chat a bit with Jeff during the conference and could tell right away that he was a passionate global educator. What I didn’t realize was the incredible story he had to tell. There’s so much we can learn from this story, so I decided to split it into two posts without having to cut anything. I hope you are inspired as much as I have been. Here’s part 1 of Jeff’s story.

iREAD to Change the World

While I have never met Jacob in person, our paths continue to cross. Last week, I shared a story of some time spent with the founders of Inspire Citizens in Beijing. This week, I introduce you to Sule Jacob Olaoluwa who is also a member of the Inspire Citizens team of educators and unlikely founder of an organization dedicated to quality education in Nigeria. Here’s his story of how iREAD to Live Initiative came to be…

Educational Path for Immigrant Children

Nam is a regular contributor to the JRNEY blog, and I admire him a great deal. In fact, I hope to be able to visit him in Vietnam in the very near future. In this blog, he discusses an important topic, within in context of Vietnam, that increasingly affects every educator around the world: migration. When homes are no longer safe or opportunities arise or diminish, people move. People have always moved, and they will always continue to do so. How education responds depends on you.

A JRNEY to Explore Online Learning

I met Greg in June at the end of a scavenger hunt as part of an ISTE Global Collaboration PLN event. And I'm so glad I did. Right away I could tell that Greg was one of the good guys working hard to find ways to make the lives of kids and teachers better. And his way was through analytics. Now this is not my normal cup of tea, but when I heard him explain what he was doing, I felt strongly about having him share his story here. 

The Joyful Ride to Becoming My Best Teacher Self

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Gina at the ISTE conference in Chicago this past June and seeing the result of her JRNEY in action. While my path to teaching was direct, my path out of the classroom has been meandering, to say the least, and I believe that these crooked, twisting roads lead us to our best selves both inside and outside the classroom. Gina’s story is a perfect example of how the process is the point.