There are two reasons why I have been looking forward to today. First, it is, of course, April Fool’s Day. Although it is not a holiday in its own right, it is the only internationally socially acceptable open season for hoaxes and practical jokes. That’s inherently fun, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I am not going to play a practical joke on you in this post. I do want to point out, however, that now more than ever it is important for us to be socially aware of international mores, cultures, practices and beliefs. For a wide variety of reasons, the Earth is flatter now than ever before. There are more multinational citizens than ever before. A surprising percentage of jobs are no longer location dependent. 70% of Internet users contribute to and communicate with social networking technologies. And the working middle class by American standards now spans the globe. Now, more than ever before, we need to be attuned with a worldwide culture and a worldwide economy, which is why the theme for the 2009 blendedschools.net Conference is Global Living & Learning.
Our 2009 conference will address a variety of critical questions about preparing our students to live and learn globally. How can we help students acquire the technological, political and social skills they need to live and learn globally? How can we use technology to facilitate global social awareness? How can we help students access global learning resources? What are some engaging ways technology can help our students make global social connections?
Today, the 2009 blendedschools.net Conference–Global Living & Learning is open for registration. The conference will be held in State College, Pennsylvania on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30, and will give us opportunity to celebrate yet another international custom.