home

=Dear teachers,=

I've recently learned about the power of PLNs and how effective can the Internet be when people who are willing to share and grow work together. I've seen lots of discussions, some projects, and met some people who are interested in getting their students to communicate with people from different cultures.

As an English teacher, I believe I should try my best to motivate my students to use the language they're trying to learn in a meaningful way. And what better way is there than letting them share their own culture with students from all over the world? I've been discussing the possibility of creating a sharing environment with a teacher from Argentina (@bealup ), and more people have joined. A post by the Chicken Man has fostered in me the idea of creating an environment in which there would be global collaboration.

Classes at my school will start only in late February (some groups) and early March. Therefore, I believe teachers who are willing to participate will have plenty of time to tweak the project and make sure it runs smoothly when we try it with our learners.

Too ambitious? Maybe, but it all depends on who wants to join. On some of my conversations with Beatriz, we've chosen some topics that students could discuss. The idea is to give them choice so they can talk about something they enjoy. Besides, if we can get learners from many different countries to participate, we're bound to have conversations about myriad topics.

This wiki is created for teachers only, so that we can do things ourselves before we invite our learners to do the same. The idea is to have other wikis with the same beginning (crossculturalelt) and either a number (12010) for the first semester of 2010, or a name for different age ranges, levels, etc.

What do you think? Can it work? What are some of the problems we might face in this project and what are the solutions?

If you liked the idea, add me on twitter ([|@hoprea] ) and send me a message, or email me(henrick.oprea@gmail.com) straightaway.

Henrick Oprea