We are pleased to announce the fifth annual Global Education Conference, a free week-long online event bringing together educators and innovators from around the world, held Monday, November 17 through Friday, November 22, 2014 (November 23rd in some time zones). The entire conference will take place online in webinar format.

The Global Education Conference is a collaborative, inclusive, world-wide community and online conference involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels. It is designed to significantly increase opportunities for connecting classrooms while supporting cultural awareness and recognition of diversity and educational access for all.

Strands for the 2014 Global Education Conference include:

• Teachers
• Students
• Curricular
• Leadership
• Policy
• iEARN
• Education for All

* If you are submitting as part of iEARN, please be sure to include "iEARN" as one of your conference strand choices.  You can tag your session with more than one strand.

Call for Proposals

Thank you for your interest in presenting at the 2014 Global Education Conference. The conference will be held online, around the clock, over the course of five days: November 17 - 22. It will be free to attend, and everyone is encouraged to submit a presentation proposal, including first-time presenters.

Presentations must be non-commercial. For profit entities need to be sponsors to present. Interest in commercial sponsorship or presentations should be directed to Steve Hargadon at [email protected].

The Process:

Proposals can be submitted from May 1st until November 15, 2014, and we will begin accepting proposals June 1st. We encourage you to submit your proposal as early as possible because as soon as a proposal is accepted, you are given the ability to select from the available presentation times (the time choices become increasingly limited closer to the event). You may submit more than one proposal, but we will give priority to providing as many presenters the chance to present as possible.

Your presentation proposal, once submitted, will be listed on the Global Education Conference website, with the opportunity for members of this network to view, comment on, and/or "like" your presentation proposal. This will give you and the other members of this site the chance to share ideas and to make connections before, during, and after the conference. Additionally, it will allow us to gauge the popularity of your topic or approach. It is our intention that all serious proposals be given the opportunity to be presented.

Presentation Guidelines:

Presentations should be at least 20 minutes in length, and all sessions must be completed (including Q&A) within one hour. All sessions will be held in the Blackboard Collaborate online platform (previously Elluminate/Wimba). You will be responsible for familiarizing yourself with the web conferencing platform. We will send you recorded training material, as well as provide live training sessions where you can ask questions. To practice, you can also sign up for the Collaborate trial room at http://www.WeCollaborate.com.

All presentations will be recorded and released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. For more information, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). By submitting to present, you are agreeing to these terms.

Presentations must be non-commercial. For profit entities need to be sponsors to present. Interest in commercial sponsorship or presentations should be directed to Steve Hargadon at [email protected].

Conference Strands:

You can indicate one or more conference strands when you submit your presentation. Your presentation does not have to fit into the conference strands to be considered--the strands exist for the convenience of those interested in finding particular types of sessions. The strand names and tags are given below, and a fuller description of each strand can be found here.

How to Submit Your Proposal:

Please follow these instructions carefully. It is your responsibility to make sure your presentation proposal is submitted correctly. You must be signed up on the Global Education Conference network and be logged in to submit your proposal.

Important Instructions:

1. Join the conference presenters group at www.globaleducationconference.com/group/presenters2014 to receive general emails for those who have submitted proposals.

2. Copy the following text to your computer's clipboard (highlight and Ctrl+C/Cmd+C on your computer):

• Your Name and Title:
• School or Organization Name:
• Co-Presenter Name(s):
• Area of the World from Which You Will Present:
• Language in Which You Will Present:
• Target Audience(s):
• Short Session Description (one line):
• Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
• Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

3. Click HERE to open a new forum discussion post.

4. Title your discussion post with the title of your proposed session.

5. Paste the template text (Ctrl+V/Cmd+V) copied in Step 2 into the body of the discussion forum post.

6. Fill in the session information according to the template. If you separate your answers with a blank line and make the questions text bold, it will make your proposal easier to read.

7. In the Category drop-down field, check to make sure the category is Global Education Conference 2014 Submissions & Waitlist

8. In the tags field, use the strand tag code for the strand to which you are submitting your proposal. You MUST use at least one the following strand tag codes:

• For the "Teachers" strand, use "2014Teachers".
• For the "Students"strands, use "2014Students".
• For the "Curricular" strand, use "2014Curricular".
• For the "Leadership"strand, use "2014Leadership".
• For the "Policy" strand, use "2014Policy".
• For the "iEARN" strand, use "2014iEARN".
• For the "Education for All" strand, use "2014EFA".

NOTE: (If not input correctly, your session will be invisible in searches.)

9. Click the Add Discussion button to save your proposal.

You are able to modify your proposal after it has been saved and up until it has been accepted by clicking on the Options button in your proposal.

If you need to change your proposal after acceptance, please email [email protected].

2014 Strands

STRAND 1: "Teachers"

Strand Tag: "2014Teachers"

This is the primary conference track, aimed at the individual teachers and their professional development and training. Presentations assigned to this strand should focus on any of the following concepts:

• defining global education perspectives for teachers
• explaining the importance of global education in today’s society
• examining the role of student engagement when planning for global collaborative projects
• showing teachers concrete examples of global collaborative projects
• elaborating the steps needed to participate in existing projects or to design projects
• describing profession development efforts to help teachers and students become globally competent

Ideas for presentations:

• how to get started with global projects
• how to internationalize your curriculum
• how to find project partners and build relationships that will ensure project success through the development of personal learning networks
• ideas for involving parents and school communities in global projects
• examples of teacher exchange and travel programs
• supporting and empowering youth involvement through various programs and activities
• identifying tips, tools and tricks for connecting classrooms
• presenting project showcases
• giving overviews of programs or organizations that support global work in classrooms

STRAND 2: "Students"
Strand Tag: "2014Students"

Along with their teachers and/or parents, students participating in global collaborative projects can submit proposals for this track. Submissions can focus on:

• demonstrating how students are engaged in real world problem solving through global collaborative projects
• examining the role of student interest in civic engagement and social justice topics
• highlighting the role of student voice in global learning
• addressing how to foster leadership skills in students of all ages through service learning
• identifying exemplary student travel and exchange programs
• showing teachers and students concrete examples of student-led projects
• giving overviews of programs or organizations that support student involvement in global issues

Ideas for presentations:

• how to design interesting and rigorous projects that will interest students
• highlighting model projects, programs, and organizations that directly involve students
• identifying tips, tools, and resources aimed at student involvement in global opportunities
• how to involve homeschooled students in global collaborative projects
• student perspectives on exchange and travel programs
• how to involve students locally and globally in communities
• presenting student project showcases
• telling the story of global experiences (including student travel) that has impacted students

STRAND 3: "Curricular"
Strand Tag: "2014Curricular"

Curricular track proposals should focus on best practices in terms of pedagogy and curriculum development. This can be at classroom, school, or districts levels. Submissions can focus on:

• developing student global competency and other 21st century skills
• fostering digital citizenship through global collaborative projects
• examining the role of world language teaching in schools
• creating authentic learning experiences and assessments for students
• exploring standards, guidelines, and habits of mind in relation to globally competent students
• showcasing best practices in developing global curriculum at school and district levels
• giving overviews of programs or organizations that support globally related curricula

Ideas for presentations:

• nurturing responsible use of technology through global collaborative projects
• exploring the role of curriculum in developing global competency and 21st century skills
• highlighting best practices in world language teaching
• showcasing projects that reflect intentional curricular projects around global awareness
• presenting overviews of schools, programs, and organizations that have a global focus in terms of pedagogy and curriculum

STRAND 4: "Leadership"

Strand Tag: "2014Leadership"

The GEC leadership track should contain proposals related to creating global learning environments from a school leadership perspective. Submissions can focus on:

• exploring the role of school administrators in supporting global learning among their immediate communities comprised of students, parents, teachers, and local communities
• examining technical and infrastructure topics related to global collaboration

Ideas for presentations:

• the role of global competency as part of your school’s mission
• communicating global initiatives within your school
• prepping for going global in terms of ICT
• communicating to your school community about the need to connect schools
• developing responsible use policies that support the use of technology in global collaborative projects
• how to go beyond token global efforts in order to promote deeper learning
• how to develop PLNs with other leaders in order to learn about best practices

STRAND 5: "iEARN"

Strand Tag: "2014IEARN"

The GEC iEARN track is for proposals from participants of, and those interested in getting involved in, the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). These are generally sessions focused on using technology to build global understanding and enhance teaching and learning. Proposals are encouraged in all languages and across all grade levels from early childhood through high school level.  Both educators and youth are encouraged to present!   Pre-service and in-service teacher education programs with a technology-enabled international exchange component are encouraged to submit proposals too.

Ideas for presentations:

• Using cell phones and mobile devices in collaborative project work
• Teaching students 21st century skills through global collaborative projects
• Global project-based learning as a language acquisition strategy
• Preparing students to go abroad
• Videoconferencing tools for supporting real-time connections
• Supporting youth media-making in the classroom

STRAND 6: "Education For All - Global Campaign for Education-US"

Strand Tag: "2014EFA"

The GEC Education For All track is for proposals focusing on policy, advocacy and programs to ensure that all young people worldwide have equitable access to a quality education. Approximately 57 million children still need to be enrolled in primary school to meet the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015 and it's estimated that nearly seven million teachers will be needed in this effort. Another 250 million students are illiterate despite being in school because the quality of the education is so poor. Further, over 70 million additional adolescents are out of school, never having attended or having dropped out or pulled out by parents needing them to work or not seeing the value of the kind of education they are receiving. What needs to happen in the post-2015 education agenda to ensure both access and a quality education, starting with early childhood through adult literacy?

Some ideas for presentations:

• Cultural, economic and community barriers to girls receiving a quality education
• How to reach young people marginalized by gender, disability, geography, language
• New ideas for teacher professional development in developing countries and providing resources to educators for effective teaching and learning
• The role of technology in achieving Education For All
• Learning in a young person's actual native language
• Examples of successful education programs in fragile and conflict states
• Developing national educational plans, priorities and strategies to ensure Education For All

Related Links

Global Education Conference