Flat  Connections  Conference  Sydney  2014  |  www.flatconnections.org  

Welcome  to  the  Student  Summit,  a  strand  of  the  Flat  Connections  Conference  to  be  held  at  Shore  School,  North  Sydney  June  17-­‐20.  

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ABOUT  The  Flat  Connections  Conference  is  bringing  

together  educators,  education  leaders  and  students  from  over  30  schools  and  more  than  5  countries.  There  are  two  strands  to  the  conference,  the  Leadership  Workshop  and  the  Student  Summit,  and  both  of  these  will  work  together  and  separately  on  a  challenge-­‐based  project.  

You  are  attending  a  summit  where  students,  teachers,  and  leaders  present  in  a  highly  interactive  format  using  the  newest  technologies  and  including  virtual  participants  from  around  the  world!      

This  conference  is  based  upon  the  groundbreaking  work  of  Flat  Connections  Projects  and  Flat  Connections  Live  events  (formerly  Flat  Classroom)  that  have  included  students  and  teachers  from  over  50  countries  in  the  past  eight  years!  

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CONFERENCE  THEME  The  theme  for  this  event  is  ‘What’s  the  other  

story?’  We  will  be  exploring  the  other  stories  that  give  us  identity  and  understanding.  We  will  discover  how  we  can  use  these  stories  to  inform  and  create  new  and  engaging  opportunities  for  global  learning.  

As  Chimamanda  Ngozi  Adichie  tells  us  in  'The  Danger  of  a  Single  Story',  you  must  engage  with  all  of  the  stories  of  a  place  and  a  person.  The  single  story  creates  stereotypes,  hence  is  an  incomplete  story  and  emphasises  how  we  are  different  rather  than  similar.  

What  are  the  stories  we  want  to  tell  to  break  through  stereotypes  and  emphasise  common  humanity?  By  discovering  new  stories  and  sharing  our  own,  we  inevitably  combat  isolation  and  cultural  division.  In  doing  so,  we  can  open  each  others  eyes  to  a  more  enlightened  future  of  interaction  and  collaboration  across  the  globe.  

Flat  Connections  Conference  2014  Student  Summit  Welcome  Pack  

Flat  Connections  Conference  2014  Julie  Lindsay,  Chair  conference@flatconnections.com  Website:  www.flatconnections.com  Community:  www.flatconnections.org  

 

 

Flat  Connections  Conference  Sydney  2014  |  www.flatconnections.org   2  

Pre-­‐Summit  What  to  do  before  you  join  us  in  

Sydney  

Survey  your  technology  This conference is very technology-infused. It is important that every participant have access to a device. Students are encouraged to bring laptops, Tablets and/or Smartphones. Shore School will have some technology for loan, but having your own tools will best support your fluency during this conference.

What will you do with the technology?

• Set up a profile on the conference portal

• Blog, discuss and interact with others at the conference

• Share multimedia and pitch ideas

• Use the ‘backchannel’ during the event to connect with real and virtual participants

• Research using online Internet resources

• Access team places and spaces including Google docs for collaborative work

• Collect online and original multimedia – images, videos, animations, music, audio

• Create presentations and final multimedia to support your ideas

• Share ideas and artifacts with the world!

Ideally a laptop is the best tool to do all of the above tasks. An iPad, Tablet or Smartphone will be good for collecting multimedia but may not be adequate for the rigour of video creation.

Students will work in mixed classroom teams and we expect each team to have access to a range of devices between them, therefore it is not essential all students have a personal laptop, but every student should have one personal device.

Software  requirements  The following software is needed:

• Movie making software: You will need access to video software such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. More advanced tools are acceptable as well, but there will be little time to learn how to use multimedia software. Bring what you have and what you are comfortable with

• Presentation software: PowerPoint or Keynote

• Internet browser: Firefox or Chrome are best for the Web 2.0 tools we will be using

• Communication tools: You may use Skype or other tools to connect with others

Note: Shore School will provide access to desktop computers as well to support multimedia making if needed

 

 

Flat  Connections  Conference  Sydney  2014  |  www.flatconnections.org   3  

Flat  Connections  Conference  provides  a  unique  opportunity  for  students  to  get  to  know  each  other  and  to  explore  the  host  city,  Sydney,  through  this  ‘Day  0’  pre-­‐summit  event.  

What  you  will  do…..    v Meet at Shore School at 9am on Tuesday June

17 for an introduction and team formation

v Teams will have 5-6 students and at least one

teacher

v All participants will receive a transport pass,

maps, schedules and a CHALLENGE!

v After reading the CHALLENGE plan with your

team the best approach

v Spend the day in Sydney exploring and meeting

the goals of the challenge

v Remember to take lots of pictures and short

videos

v Arrive back at Shore by 4pm

v Create a multimedia review of your day to share

Important: Don’t forget a coat and umbrella!

‘Get  to  Know  Sydney’  Challenge  Tuesday  June  17  Meet  at  Shore  School  9:00  am  

Sponsored  by  Club  Gecko  

https://www.clubgecko.com  

 

 

Flat  Connections  Conference  Sydney  2014  |  www.flatconnections.org   4  

Tuesday  June  17  • 9am-4pm: ‘Get to know Sydney’ Challenge - Optional

pre-summit activity for students and teachers

• 5-7:30pm: Student Summit Launch - All teachers and students arrive to kick-start the summit. Dinner and refreshments provided

Wednesday  June  18  • 8am-5:30pm: Conference program for Student

Summit

• Evening time is free to explore Sydney

Thursday  June  19  • 8am-6pm: Conference program for Student Summit

o Includes a ‘Finding the fun’ session and whole group video creation

• 6-7pm: Conference social, dinner and refreshments provided for all teachers and students

Friday  June  20  • 7:30am: (Yes! An early start) Student Summit teams

working on Global Expose

• 12-12:45pm: Closing Ceremony

• 12:45pm: Final farewells

Flat  Connections  Conference  

Student  Summit  Schedule  Overview  

Join  the  Student  Summit  Group  in  

our  Flat  Connections  Conference  Community!  

tinyurl.com/flatstudentgroup    

 

 

 

Flat  Connections  Conference  Sydney  2014  |  www.flatconnections.org   5  

Student  Summit  Action  Project  

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Introduction  Phase  BEFORE you arrive at the conference:

• Join the Flat Connections Community http://flatconnections.org

• Introduce yourself via a blog post and share a picture or a short video so that we can get to know you. This is what we call the pre-summit ‘handshake’

• Interact with others in the community – reach out and make friends virtually so that when you meet in person you will have already created a bond

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Student  Summit  Launch  The Student Summit launch will take place at Shore School on Tuesday June 17 from 5-7:30pm.

All students and accompanying teachers are invited to attend. Dinner is provided.

This follows the ‘Get to Know Sydney’ Challenge that many of you will be participating in as well.

The Student Summit launch will be a time to find team members and learn more about ‘the other story’ of cultural identity. Important connections and understandings are made at this time.

 

 

Flat  Connections  Conference  Sydney  2014  |  www.flatconnections.org   6  

 

Student  Summit  Action  Project  Student  teams  are  charged  with  finding  a  solution  to  the  problem:  How  do  we  join  classrooms  and  schools  across  the  world  to  take  action  in  the  future  and  share  goals  for  ‘What’s  the  other  story?’  

Phase  1:  Action  Project  Kickoff  (empathy)  

Teamwork to develop initial ideas based on the conference theme ‘What’s the other story?’ Joint teacher and student activity: ‘Living and learning in a flat world’ helps build empathy, research skills and presentation skills.

Phase  2:  Developing  Ideas  (define,  ideate,  prototype,  feedback)  

Teams develop their ideas related to problem solutions into a ‘pitch’ to be delivered numerous times for feedback. Workshops support use of Creative Commons media and how to develop ideas supported by clear images and words to communicate effectively. Design cycle used to ideate and mock-prototype ideas for initial feedback.  

Phase  3:  Storytelling  for  all  

All teams will explore mixed genres in digital storytelling as a medium to share developed ideas and solutions. Storyboard / animatic is developed as pre-visualisation of the final product and used to support ‘Share Aloud’ session.  

Phase  4:  Global  Solutions  

Final teamwork to put together ideas and solutions based on ‘What’s the other story?’ This includes a workshop on the use of social media for impact and sharing. A full multimedia artifact as well as associated sketches and verbal explanation will be ready to share at the ‘Global Expose’.  

Global  Expose!  

This is the finale to the event! Both student and teacher teams will share their final ideas and solutions with the real and virtual conference participants and with the world!