Phil Noble is the founder of World Class Scholars, a program that leverages technology to connect teachers and students across the globe. WCS announced last month that it will open its third global classroom, a first in the U.S., at the Oasis Center in Providence.
PBN: How does World Class Scholars work? To illustrate, what could a day in a typical World Class Scholars classroom look like for students?
NOBLE: World Class Scholars is a real-time, online education and cultural exchange program that links classrooms around the world. Just as LinkedIn connects two people for business, WCS connects two teachers and classes for learning. We are currently in 72 countries.
Teachers are the key to the program, and they manage the process we call “connect learn and share.” We provide the general framework and materials, but the teachers adapt it to fit their students – they know best.
First, the students and teachers connect with each other online. Second, they choose a project and learn together about something that is of interest to both classes. It could be about climate change, music, sports, food – anything they have in common that’s interesting to the two classes. And third, once they complete their project, they share it with others in their school, in the neighborhoods and online.
PBN: What is the goal of the program, and are there any specific skills that it focuses on?
NOBLE: The goal of the program is to connect students and teachers around the world and give them what they need to succeed. We are developing a Digital Learning Center where we provide all of the courses, software, learning programs and training materials that teachers and students need to be successful. The students learn 21st-century skills such as working with others from different countries and cultures, team building, leadership, empathy for others, etc. The program and all the resources are free to individual teachers.
PBN: What makes Providence a good fit for the first U.S. location of World Class Scholars?
NOBLE: Providence and Rhode Island are a good fit for World Class Scholars because the state is small enough to connect all of the classrooms, and also there's a tradition of innovation. Roger Williams called it “the lively experiment,” and that's what this is about. We are still in the experiment stage and this Providence Global Classroom No. 3 is the first in the Unites States. There are other Global Classrooms in Dubai and Ghana, and we have literally hundreds of others planned.
PBN: How does WCS facilitate collaboration across classrooms with differing technology access? Do these variations create obstacles, and if so, how does the program help to mitigate them?
NOBLE: Once Global Classroom No. 3 is fully operational this fall, various classes will come to the Global Classroom to connect with others around the world. The classroom is very kid-friendly, with lots of bright graphics, bean bag chairs and such. It's all designed so that when the students walk in the door, they think, “Wow, this is going to be fun.”
They connect with a classroom somewhere around the world and get to know each other a bit. Then they go back to their regular classroom and continue meeting with their partner classroom once a week for about an hour until they complete their joint project, usually in six or eight weeks. Once they complete the project, the teachers and students get a special World Class Scholars Diploma.
PBN: Has WCS formed partnerships with any specific schools or districts in Rhode Island? Which ones, if so, and will that selection expand?
NOBLE: We are working with Oasis International, which is hosting the Global Classroom in their facility, and they have begun to reach out to schools. Oasis is a perfect partner because they are focused on providing support to immigrants and their children, principally from Africa but also in targeted neighborhoods in Providence.
We hope to first connect all of the schools in Providence and then expand throughout Rhode Island. We are excited that Rhode Island could be the first state in the country that connects all their schools globally. That would be a very big deal.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
