IREX- IREX is a nonprofit organization that made it possible for me to travel to Brazil in June of 2015 as part of a teacher exchange program with the United States Department of State. But they do so much more and are an excellent resource for teachers. As their website explains, "IREX is an international nonprofit organization providing thought leadership and innovative programs to promote positive lasting change globally." They work with many stakeholders in increasing access to quality education around the world. They also have an exhaustive library with up-to-date news, publications, and resources for teachers and students. For more research oriented projects or assignments, head over to their Projects page for a database of projects, issues, and countries.
TeachUNICEF- This is a great resource for any and all educators. They provide resources, lessons, teaching guides, and can even help you locate guest speakers. You can search their website by grade level or topic; you can also search their media archives if you simply want to bring multimedia into your lesson(s). According to TeachUNICEF.org's website, "TeachUNICEF provides educators and youth service professionals with global learning resources for grades PreK-12." For my colleagues that work with multi-lingual populations, check out TeachUnicef's World Languages page which provides a collection of resources in Spanish and French.
Peace Corps Speaker Match and Classroom Correspondence- Did you know that we have various Peace Corps volunteers who live in our community and teach at our school? Imagine hearing their stories about life and culture in a country far from ours. The Peace Corps Speaker Match can easily match your classroom up with a past volunteer to provide a fun and interactive in-school field trip or guest speaker appearance! The Peace Corps Speaker Match program brings volunteers' knowledge of the peace corps, various regions, and/or global issues into your classroom. Another resource is the Classroom Correspondence with a current Peace Corps volunteer serving abroad. Volunteers abroad can connect with your students and classroom by email, video and photographs, letters, Skype, or video conference.
TEDx and TED
TED is a non profit organization that asks amazing people, "thinkers and doers" who are the on the forefront of world issues, speak about their lives in 18 minutes. The presentations can be seen on Ted.com. Past speakers have included inventors, educators, artists, politicians, and free spirits making big differences in our world. TEDx is the local off shoot of TED talks that bring speakers to locations around the world. You can also visit Ted.com to search for speakers, topics, or themes that interest you. I highly recommend Rita Pierson's talk entitled "Every Kid Needs a Champion" and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's talk "The Danger of a Single Story." Both are inspiring, thought provoking, and transformational.
Check out their website for more information and tickets
TED is a non profit organization that asks amazing people, "thinkers and doers" who are the on the forefront of world issues, speak about their lives in 18 minutes. The presentations can be seen on Ted.com. Past speakers have included inventors, educators, artists, politicians, and free spirits making big differences in our world. TEDx is the local off shoot of TED talks that bring speakers to locations around the world. You can also visit Ted.com to search for speakers, topics, or themes that interest you. I highly recommend Rita Pierson's talk entitled "Every Kid Needs a Champion" and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's talk "The Danger of a Single Story." Both are inspiring, thought provoking, and transformational.
Check out their website for more information and tickets