Durham College expands learning with global classrooms concept

Durham College professor Lon Appleby takes education to a whole new level at one of his recent global classrooms.

May 13, 2011

What began as an extension of a General Education elective course for Durham College students eventually turned into something much larger – something global – that has taken education at the college to a whole new level.

Branching off from the A Short History of the World course, Lon Appleby, a professor with the School of Interdisciplinary Studies & Employment Services teamed up with Chris Klimek, an e-learning content developer with the Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment, to create and co-ordinate the global classrooms concept.

Each global classroom sees Durham College students learn with students from another country and interact with an industry professional or expert to discuss a specific topic, via a live, Internet video communication program. The first global classroom was held in April 2010 to great success.

Appleby’s goal is to have students interact with each other in a live environment as opposed to a silent social media forum such as an Internet blogs or email. “The story of our humanity is interesting if you think about it and we’re all fascinated by that,” said Appleby. “It’s important to bring other countries and colleges together to get their perspective on common interests and similar issues.”

Each global class focuses on a different topic with past discussions focused on poverty, outer space, the environment and anything students from different countries are thinking about. Some discussions have also included a contemporary component focused on current events.

While the global classroom concept is fairly new to the college and its students, they have embraced the new learning opportunity. Within the past year, more than 250 students have participated in the sessions and provided nothing but positive feedback.

“It’s an absolute blast to be part of something so ground-breaking at the college and in general,” added Appleby. “We’re doing something really cutting edge and exciting for the students.”

While Durham College remains the central hub for the classrooms, it has already conducted classes with Mahindra United World College of India in Maharashtra, India and hopes to add more colleges from around the globe in the near future.

Ideally, Appleby would like to connect three colleges from different continents to one global expert, expanding his current set-up from two experts and two colleges. So far, he’s conducted three global classrooms and is preparing for another session with students from India in the fall, which will feature award-winning American documentary filmmaker Adolfo Doring.