TIGed

GreenLearning Canada Announces COOL 2.0!

GreenLearning Canada has just launched COOL 2.0, a powerful new online community for teaching and learning about climate change. COOL 2.0 gives you access to hundreds of teaching resources on energy, the environment, and sustainability. Look for resources created by teachers, GreenLearning Canada, and many of its partner ENGOs — among them, UNICEF Canada, Sustainability Frontiers,Biosphere, Wild BC, and Earth Day Canada. COOL 2.0 also provides you with a robust web 2.0 platform, powered by TiGed, for customizing resources, creating assignments, and connecting with colleagues.

What can you do at cool.greenlearning.ca?

• Access lesson plans and activities, videos, research and data, and collaborative projects in the Education Database.
• Search for teaching resources by keyword, grade level, subject, province, language, and more.
• Use Teacher Space to tailor COOL 2.0 resources for your students.
• Create assignments that integrate blogs, mapping, online discussions, and media galleries.
• Exchange ideas in the Teacher Forum, meet colleagues, and team up to collaborate on class projects.

Anyone can access the resources in the COOL 2.0 Education Database. To access the COOL 2.0 Teacher Space, log in with your GreenLearning or TIGed ID and password, or register on the COOL 2.0 homepage. Like all GreenLearning programs, COOL 2.0 is free to teachers. Discover the best in climate change education at cool.greenlearning.ca!

Hey! I'm Didi and I'm one of the Program Assistant and I'll be logging in remotely from Washington, DC. In 2010 I recevied my BA in Sociology from Rutgers University.  I've spent most of my professional career working with underrepresentive populations in the US and it excites me that I get to continue to work for an organization that focuses on addressing today's pressing issues. Please let me know how can I be of help.  I look forward to connecting with all of you!  

Hello! My name is Sunniva Vann (but Sunni suits me better) and I'm lucky enough to have just started as one of the new Programs Assistants for TIGed. I have my HonBA in Journalism and International Development from the University of King's College in Halifax, although I'm originally from Elora-small-town-Ontario. I've spent the last year working abroad – first as the Fairtrade Officer of Oxfam New Zealand, and then working on a fairtrade project for an NGO called Awamaki in the Peruvian Andes. I can't wait to get started here at TakingITGlobal and to learn how to become a supportive part of the global community. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for any of you!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to take some time out to introduce myself to the team. My name is Dalia Rashid and I am the new Marketing and Promotions Assistant for TIGed. I am a recent graduate from the University of windsor with a degree in Communication Studies, and a background in advertising and film. 

I look forward to working with you all and contributing in any way I can, as well as to learn as much from the team as possible. To be able to work in a professional environment, that allows me to learn the marketing ropes whilst being able to make a difference is an absolute treat ! and I cant wait to get started! Please feel free to start throwing work my way :) 

Thanks to our Program Assistant, Michelle Smith, for writing this blog!

Given the increasingly interconnected global community that we live in, the chances are quite high that you know and interact with migrants on a daily basis. Perhaps you or your family has migrated from another country. A migrant is essentially anyone who is working outside of their home country. In 2000, The United Nations declared December 18^th as International Migrants Day. Observing this day brings to light many issues surrounding migration - including securing formal and substantive fundamental rights for migrant workers and their families. Debates regarding immigrant policy, and combating racism are also prevalent themes.

While these issues are important, the circumstances that led to migration in various countries are often left unaddressed. Often underlying the reality of a mass movement of migrant workers is a lack of opportunity in underdeveloped nations or countries faced with crisis. Even more ignored are questions of power and privilege implicit within migration. Who gets to decide the value of contributions made by migrants and how they are compensated? What are the social implications of families broken apart by migration in labor-exporting countries? These are questions that never crossed my mind until pursuing higher education, but I strongly believe that they should be addressed when studying migration in the classroom at the secondary level.

Despite these issues, migration in countries rich with multicultural identities, presents people with a rare opportunity to interact with various cultures, world views and experiences first hand. This is no doubt one of the benefits of migration – it is a valuable contribution to the multicultural identity of a nation by helping to create a more informed and inclusive society. Growing up in Canada, I’ve always tried to develop a more adequate understanding of the world through connecting with a diverse group of people. However in my experience, the lessons that I’ve learned have often been taught outside of the classroom, rather than being included in school curricula. For example, it was in my afterschool multicultural club, that I first started to question why history is dominantly taught from the perspective of Anglo Saxons. It seems more appropriate for the multinational Canadian identity to be adequately reflected in the nation’s history.

So what does International Migrate Day mean for education? It should cause us to reflect on the changing nature of our society, and how we should incorporate new perspectives, debates, voices and information into the classroom. I would encourage all educators and students to reflect on these themes, not just on International migration day, but whenever possible.

Photo credit: fdecomite