Has the Flat World Reached Your School District

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Has the Flat World Reached Your School District?

• Panel
• Howard Poole, Tracy DuBay, Robert Leneway,
• Sharon Peterson, Charlotte Poole

2
Objectives

• Participants will
• Learn about the ten technology-related forces
  that shaped the coming of the Flat World
• Have explained case studies and examples of the
  Flat World as they related to K-12 schools,
  technology support services/personnel, and
  classroom teachers jobs/roles
• Participate in a discussion on preparing for the
  impact of the Flat World in their schools

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Outline of Presentation

• Introduction
• Overview of Book (H. Poole-Peterson)
• Personal Experiences (DuBay)
• Culturequest (Leneway)
• Other Books (C. Poole)
• Open Discussion

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Ten Flatteners by Friedman

• Flattener 1
• When the (Berlin) Walls Came Down and the Windows
  (Microsoft) Went Up 11/9/1989
• Flattener 2
• When Netscape Went Public Explosion of Internet
  8/9/1995

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Ten Flatteners by Friedman

• Flattener 3
• Work Flow Software Applications Sharing Data
  (Standards) Mid-1990s
• Flattener 4
• Open-Sourcing Public Domain Software User
  Access Software - 1989

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Ten Flatteners by Friedman

• Flattener 5
• Outsourcing Having someone else do your work at
  a reduced price Late 1980s
• Flattener 6
• Off shoring having someone overseas doing your
  work at a reduce price Higher quality - 2001

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Ten Flatteners by Friedman

• Flattener 7
• Supply-Chaining Producing things and delivering
  them just in time for sale or manufacture -
  1983
• Flattener 8
• Insourcing Synchronizing and/or adding value
  and services to the supply chain - 1996

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Ten Flatteners by Friedman

• Flattener 9
• In-forming providing individuals with
  information Google, Yahoo, and other search
  engine services Late 1990s
• Flattener 10
• The Steroids Digital/Mobile technologies that
  allow access so that other flatteners will work
  Late 1990s

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Fungibility

• Work that can be easily digitized and transferred
  (transported) to lower-wage locations (job skills
  and tasks that others can perform at lower
  costs/wages)

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Three Dirty Little Secrets

• Numbers Gap
• (small number of college grads) is emerging that
  will sap Americas prowess in science, math, and
  engineering

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Three Dirty Little Secrets

• Ambition Gap
• Where too many American young people have grown
  up with plenty and with a sense of entitlement.
  They too lack a feeling of needing to work hard
  to attain a better standard of living

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Three Dirty Little Secrets

• Education Gap
• Because weve got to find ways to stimulate more
  of our young children to do better in science
  and math

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Compassionate Flatism

• A national commitment to change things
• Categories of action include
• LEADERSHIP Political, governmental, and
  industrial leaders explaining impact of
  globalization
• MUSCLES Lifetime employability via portable
  benefits and opportunities for lifelong learning

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Compassionate Flatism

• A national commitment to change things
• Categories of action include
• SOCIAL ACTIVISM Collaboration between
  transnational companies and individuals/communitie
  s seeking social/environmental solutions
• PARENTING A new generation of parents
  administering tough love to their children

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Rules for Coping with Globalization

• 1 When the world goes flat (School Districts)
  should reach for a shovel and dig inside
  themselves (for answers)
• 2 The small shall act big (School Districts)
  should be quick to take advantage of new tools
  (technologies) for collaboration

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Rules for Coping with Globalization

• 3 The big shall act small (School Districts)
  should learn how to act small to allow
  individuals to enable themselves to act big
• 4 Best (School Districts) will be the best
  collaborators because the world is too complex
  for one single firm (school) to be able to master
  the challenges

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Rules for Coping with Globalization

• 5 Best (School Districts) will be the ones
  that do a regular self examination and share
  the findings with their shareholders
• 6 Best (School Districts) will outsource to
  innovate faster and more cheaply to grow larger,
  expand market, hire more specialists, provide
  better services

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Rules for Coping with Globalization

• 7 Outsourcing will be used by the social
  idealists (School Districts) to combine business
  decisions and social activism

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Geopolitics and Globalism

• Where people have hope you have a middle
  class.
• - Chinese Official
• Many people around the world live in the
  twilight zone between the flat world and the
  unflat world.
• - Friedman

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Geopolitics and Globalism

• (The flat world) connects people to people much
  faster than people and cultures can often prepare
  themselves (for the changes)
• - Friedman
• (Because of demands for higher standards of
  living) we are going to experience either a
  serious energy shortage or worse, wars over
  energy, that would have a profoundly unflattening
  effect on the world.
• - Friedman

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Geopolitics and Globalism

• (One of the most interesting dramas to watch in
  international relations will be the interplay
  between the traditional global threats
  (conflicts) and the (need to support) emergent
  global supply chains.
• - Friedman

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Geopolitics and Globalism

• Infosystems versus Al-Qaeda Who else (besides
  successful businesses) use open-sourcing and
  supply-chaining so imaginatively?
• - Friedman
• We can not live with nuclear terrorism. That
  would unflatten the world permanently!
• - Friedman

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DSM Plant Closing in South Haven

• Presentation Comments by Professor Tracy DuBay
  regarding globalizations impact in southwest
  Michigan as part of the discussion Has the Flat
  World Reach Your School District?
• MACUL Conference 2006

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CultureQuest - One Option for Teachers
(www.culturequest.us)

• CultureQuest involves students and teachers
  engaged in inquiry-based classroom projects that
  explore other peoples and cultures. Projects are
  rooted in students? questions and interests and
  involve the focused, intensive study of one or
  more aspects of the art, music, history,
  literature, religion, values, daily life,customs
  and traditions of other cultures.

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CultureQuest - One Option for Teachers
(www.culturequest.us)

• Students completed work becomes part of class
  websites, which may be accessed at this site.
  CultureQuest seeks to promote better
  understanding and appreciation of other cultures,
  strengthen inquiry, research and literacy skills
  and provide students with technology skills for
  the 21st century

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Additional Book References on Globalization -
Charlotte Poole
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Online References for Presentation

• http//homepages.wmich.edu/poole/edt6460/friedman
  .htm or Contact Poole_at_wmich.edu

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What are Your Questions?????

• Let us hear what you think about Globalization
  and Schools in Michigan?
• Will globalization impact you as a teacher,
  administrator, or technology support staff?
• Are your School Districts ready to confront the
  impact of globalization?
• Will your job change because of globalization?

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Thanks for Coming!!!

• Have a good day and enjoy the rest of the
  conference!