Mod 8- Global Cooperation from Mod 7

The tool I think would be used best in the classroom for a global cooperation project would be chinswing.com by far. Again, this website allows any users to post a short voice message about any ongoing topic, or even create a brand new topic to discuss. This is a more intimate way to talk with others than simply typing through a message board. It puts a voice to the face one sees in the picture. Because it allows simple voice messages, the teacher (or anyone who wants to start a new topic) can create a new forum for the lesson. The teacher can record the directions for the global project and simply post this to the forum, so others in the project from any classroom/country can hear what needs to be done, and students can instantly work together in a whole new way on the project/lesson. This also puts aside cultural differences through understanding and speaking with others around the globe. I feel this would be very interesting to me as a student because it allows us to break language/cultural barriers and see others opinions who are not a part of our culture.
The only difficulty I could see happen is that some students might not have a microphone, or it might be too expensive to "require" students to participate. It would most likely be feasible in school in a computer room.

Mod 8- Global Cooperation

The two global cooperation sites I would like to compare are "The Global Schoolhouse" and "Taking IT Global". Both of these sites deal with collaboration of issues, teaching, etc. around the world. I find this exceptional because it lets everyone be on the same level to learn different ideas and discuss issues together.
The global schoolhouse is a website mainly built for teachers worldwide to collaborate with each other online to create projects for their students to communicate with other students around the world. Teachers have the option of creating various projects, or searching through a database by topic/subject or even age of students to find something appropriate for their classroom. The website also fosters various programs/competitions like "Doors to Diplomacy" that enable students to create projects for prizes to speak about international affairs in the 21st Century. One feature I particularly like is the "collaboration center" where teachers have tools to start an online program to use globally. The tools include maps and visuals, blogs and forums, calendars and even audio/podcasts. There are just so many mediums on this website for global cooperation that it is hard not to use it. It benefits students because in today's world, it is more and more important to have various cultural understandings. This can ready students for a future career abroad or just a better understanding of the world around them which they can benefit from for years to come.
The other site is called Taking it Global. This site is slightly different than the one listed above because it can be for anyone to collaborate on a global level. It includes credible resources for global issues, open forums and discussion boards, as well as advice/resources to take action in one's own community. It is a great way to discuss an issue such as the new President and our country, and get someone's opinion on it who lives in China. Of course there might be language barriers, but the site is very flexible because it can be viewed in many languages. There is even another way to express oneself on the website through podcasts, or even poetry/short story. There are many flexible mediums one can use which is great for those that maybe don't like to type as much.
I would probably use Taking IT Global in the classroom for cultural days that may be difficult for students to understand from the Target Culture's point of view. To teach them more about this, I would use, under "understanding issues" the link to international days. If we have a computer day (or I could just print them out), students could research more about a particular day and do a skit/project about the day to show how/why this day is important to the Target Culture. I could also create a forum online for the students to discuss things in the Target Language. This will better their communication skills and let them get a better comprehension of why other countries celebrate certain holidays. (Might be more suitable for second or third level students).