Being in a classroom of thirty is one thing. What if you were in a classroom of 300? Better yet, the classroom wasn’t in a building, but in the ‘world’ itself: essentially, a global classroom. You get a whiff of that notion when dealing with overseas studies, or taking in a foreign exchange student already–but what if you could expand that concept even more?
With the rise of the internet, you actually can.
The fact is global collaborative learning is actually beneficial to any student. A wide grasp of knowledge facilitates learning and creates an experience that is long lasting and memorable. For instance: a student can learn much more effectively experiencing Australia and all its culture and history in person than reading about it in a textbook. Thusly, conversing and working with other students from other countries can actually benefit learning on a wide scale, a global scale if you will. Because of webcams and other virtual reality services such as “Second Life” and other such gaming services on Facebook that can connect you to people from all over the world, learning has become a global phenomenon that should be better utilized for the purposes of schooling and keeping children interested in the learning process.
Why is it so important? Why does it make it that much easier for a student to learn when experiencing things firsthand? It all surrounds one basic fact about humans: we are generally very social creatures. While we for the most part are able to learn and adapt to things on a solo basis, our abilities are essentially optimized and heightened when in groups. We can think and work together. It is, in fact, one of our best traits, and not coincidentally one of the most important characteristics of keeping a job.
So next time you have that field trip, don’t appreciate it just for fun. It’s all still a part of the learning process.