WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Applications are accepted from full-time teachers or other staff who influence classroom instruction (i.e., principals, curriculum coordinators, media specialists, technology specialists) and who work in a Chatham, Durham, Orange, or Wake County public or private school. Applicants "must show commitment and excitement for the theory and practice of technology as it applies to education." The fund particularly encourages teachers or administrators "with little experience abroad, but will not penalize those with ample international experience." We accept applications from educators in the noted counties served by the Triangle Community Foundation (funding agency) across all grade levels and content areas. In past cohorts, we have not had equal participation from minority educators, male educators, or educators outside of Wake County, so we particularly encourage persons in these demographics to apply.
Applications are accepted from full-time teachers or other staff who influence classroom instruction (i.e., principals, curriculum coordinators, media specialists, technology specialists) and who work in a Chatham, Durham, Orange, or Wake County public or private school. Applicants "must show commitment and excitement for the theory and practice of technology as it applies to education." The fund particularly encourages teachers or administrators "with little experience abroad, but will not penalize those with ample international experience." We accept applications from educators in the noted counties served by the Triangle Community Foundation (funding agency) across all grade levels and content areas. In past cohorts, we have not had equal participation from minority educators, male educators, or educators outside of Wake County, so we particularly encourage persons in these demographics to apply.
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WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We seek educators who understand why there is a need to build cultural understanding among students and who are interested in developing their expertise to bring further cultural lessons supported by digital activities into classrooms or media centers. We seek educators who are interested in promoting technology use in the classroom or media center, although participants need not be expert technology users. We seek inquisitive educators who can articulate a particular cultural theme that they would be interested in studying in the host country, which may relate back to the educator's own classroom, content area, or media center for maximal impact. We seek educators who collaborate well with others in small groups and who can accommodate cultural differences at home and abroad. We seek educators who travel well and can accommodate unexpected circumstances (e.g., travel delays, closures, weather). |
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WHAT TO EXPECT BEFORE APPLYING
- What Are the Dates, Where Are We Going, What Are We Seeing: We are excited to be taking our first cohorts to the Bavarian region in summer 2022 (Munich, Germany) and summer 2023 (Salzburg, Austria). The Munich program is summarized on this syllabus and travel schedule (July 7-21, 2022). The Salzburg program is summarized on this syllabus and travel schedule (July 6-20, 2023).
- Participants Will Study a Cultural Theme: Applicants will need to articulate a cultural theme they are interested in studying in their application. This theme is used to provide focus for the digital representations of culture that each educator will develop during the program. Refer to the "professional development" section of this web site for further information about cultural themes and resources to help identify relevant themes.
- Participants Will Build a Portfolio of Projects: Participants who are selected for the program will complete six digital representations of their self-selected cultural theme (e.g., marked-up map, timeline), compiling those representations on a portfolio page within this web site. A few reading reflections and one summary lesson plan will also be added to the portfolio. See program syllabus for details. Teachers who complete the program will receive three CEUs of continuing education credit in digital learning competencies (2 credits) and English/literacy (1 credit). If any participants are enrolled in graduate programs at NC State, they can also receive course credit for completing the program (3 credit hours).
- Required Classes Are Held Before, During, and After Study Abroad: Applicants should be available to attend three Saturday professional development classes at NC State before and after the international travel (May 7, 21, and June 11, 2022). As our formal class time is very limited, it is very important that applicants are available to attend ALL of these scheduled classes. Applicants should also expect to participate in scheduled work time while in Germany/Austria. Designated class times have been set aside during the study abroad portion for participants to compile the cultural information they have been gathering and work on digital projects, with instructors available to provide assistance.
- Traveling With the Group: Participants should expect to travel with the larger group to designated cultural sites while in the host country, but will also have some free time in which to plan their own cultural tours and activities with peers on the trip. The expectation is accepted participants will stay with and travel with the group during the designated program period, while any further travel with friends/family will be before or after the program, not during.
- Hotels and Flights; Flight Credit Option: 2022 Munich participants will stay in hotel rooms at a highly-rated hotel (#5 in Munich on TripAdvisor) called the Hotel Metropol. The hotel does have wifi, air conditioning, and breakfast is included daily. While laundry is not available in the hotel, it is available within a block at a laundromat that closes at 11pm. The room class provided is "superior." Before departure, participants who agree to share their hotel room with one other participant will receive a $500 reimbursement by direct deposit to offset the cost of their flights. As lodging consumes approximately half of our annual budget, regrettably educators must provide their own airfare which is beyond the scope of our budget (average of $1400-1800 for summer round-trip flights to Europe). Sharing hotel rooms does allow us to pass some of those cost savings back to participants for airfare credit, but sharing is not mandatory. One can opt for a private room, but will not be eligible for an airfare credit. A non-stop flight between Charlotte and Munich on American provides for efficient transit to the Bavarian region.
- Partial Expense Reimbursement: In late August, participants who have completed their portfolio will receive a $400 reimbursement by direct deposit to partially offset expenses they are likely to incur (e.g., airport transfers, lunches/dinners, cultural tours and activities scheduled on one's own). Our grant does cover: instruction, web services and tools, lodging, in-country transit, city attraction passes, tickets for group excursions, and food during classes.
WEHN TO APPLY, AND APPLICATION LINK
Our summer 2020 and 2021 cohorts were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, so these teachers will be combined into one larger cohort traveling to Munich in summer 2022. We have additional funding for summer 2023 to take another cohort to the nearby city of Salzburg, Austria. Our application form is OPEN for the 2023 Salzburg cohort and will close December 31, 2022. See link below.
To apply, eligible educators should first make a short video of themselves discussing answers to the questions listed below. The video can be created with a cell phone camera and video app or a laptop camera and video capture software. It is not necessary to use props or Powerpoint slides, just capture yourself answering the questions below. After creating the video, place it online using any Web service that generates a "shareable URL" (e.g., YouTube). When filling out the application form, paste-in the URL to your video. Please test your video URL to make sure it can be watched/viewed publicly by anyone with the link.
Answer these questions in your application video (max of four minutes for entire video, or about 1 minute per question):
**Please do not let the questions above dissuade you from applying. We don't expect you to describe the perfect cultural theme, to know about all of the cultural resources that can inform your theme, or to know about all of the ways to digitally represent your theme at the time of application. We will help you make some of these choices, identify resources, and train you to use digital tools. We are only interested in your INITIAL ideas about these elements. We understand they will be refined as you get into the program.**
Our summer 2020 and 2021 cohorts were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, so these teachers will be combined into one larger cohort traveling to Munich in summer 2022. We have additional funding for summer 2023 to take another cohort to the nearby city of Salzburg, Austria. Our application form is OPEN for the 2023 Salzburg cohort and will close December 31, 2022. See link below.
To apply, eligible educators should first make a short video of themselves discussing answers to the questions listed below. The video can be created with a cell phone camera and video app or a laptop camera and video capture software. It is not necessary to use props or Powerpoint slides, just capture yourself answering the questions below. After creating the video, place it online using any Web service that generates a "shareable URL" (e.g., YouTube). When filling out the application form, paste-in the URL to your video. Please test your video URL to make sure it can be watched/viewed publicly by anyone with the link.
Answer these questions in your application video (max of four minutes for entire video, or about 1 minute per question):
- Describe your existing grade level and content area(s) and how teaching about culture is relevant in your curriculum or setting. If an administrator, describe your school and why teaching about culture is relevant in your curriculum or setting.
- One of our program expectations is that participants will select a cultural theme, research that theme online and on-site in Germany, and use different technology tools to digitally represent that theme and their reflections on it. Describe the cultural theme that you would be interested in learning more about if accepted into this program, and if applicable, how that theme ties into your teaching. Examples of cultural themes are available in the "professional development" section of this site (e.g., elementary teachers might be interested in studying German folk tales since they teach reading and folk tales in their curriculum; high school history teachers might be interested in studying nationalism with many museums and sites dedicated to its perils around Munich; a PE teacher might be interested in studying German approaches to fitness or the historic relevance of the pre- and post-war Olympics in Germany with an opportunity to visit the Olympic Park in Munich; a business teacher might be interested in unique German business practices in a particular industry like auto manufacturing with an opportuntity to visit the BMW plant in Munich; a music teacher might be interested in Bavarian classical traditions with opportunities to visit the national theater in Munich where Wagner operas were premiered or Mozart sites in Salzburg; an art teacher might be interested in studying influences on the Bauhaus movement and emerging styles, or changing traditions for displaying art with opportunities to visit Pinakothek's old, new, and modern galleries). Your theme can be modified as you get into the program, we would just like to hear what you might be interested in studying up front.
- The "professional development" section of this web site lists cultural resources available in the Munich region (museums, schools, historic sites). Other cultural resources may be available online. In your application video, try to mention a few cultural resources you might use to inform your cultural theme. Program staff can help you identify other appropriate resources as you get into the program, we would just like to hear if you are aware of any specific resources at the time of application.
- Finally, the "professional development" section of this web site lists examples of how one can digitally represent a cultural theme (e.g., through maps, through augment/virtual reality, through data, through documentary, through writing, through a game or digital objects). Thinking about your theme, do any of these forms of representation stand out to you now? Which do you think would work best to represent your theme? Your response is not binding and forms of representation can change as you learn more about each. Program staff will help you choose appropriate representations as you get into the program, we would just like to hear if any representations stand out to you at this time as you think about your theme.
**Please do not let the questions above dissuade you from applying. We don't expect you to describe the perfect cultural theme, to know about all of the cultural resources that can inform your theme, or to know about all of the ways to digitally represent your theme at the time of application. We will help you make some of these choices, identify resources, and train you to use digital tools. We are only interested in your INITIAL ideas about these elements. We understand they will be refined as you get into the program.**