Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Racism. We cannot go back and fix the past but we can work on creating a society that promotes the positive relationship of people of all races, gender, economic status, geographic location, educational status, language, religion, and physical conditions through technology.
Here’s a few activities:
Videoconference with a class in another country. I did a videoconference about the math of daily life with students in France and my students said “They are not French; they look like us.”
Do collaborative Internet projects. Compare the results of your school lunch recycling with students in other countries.
Do email projects (modern day “pen-pals”) with another class to discuss your views on a topic such as Freedom. What freedoms do you both enjoy.
Show students what a city/village from another country looks like through the use of images from Flickr or Google. “Those buildings are taller than any in our city.” “What are their huts?” Likewise, showing people from another area doing similar things to what we do (eating, playing, studying, riding bikes, etc) creates a positive emotional link.
Have students read newspapers from other countries to get the perspective of those people. Help them become aware that there are two or more sides to any story/event.
The more our students virtually interact with students and people in other parts of the state, country, and world, they more we help create an inclusive world.
PS. Do not forget various parts of your district that may have different values, economic status, occupations, etc. We had media presentations from our very rich section of the district and from the rural farm section of our district. It was a culturally enriching time for all.
What technology-infused activities have you done that promote positive relationships among various groupings of people?
© Harry Grover Tuttle, 2007
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