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Talk About It Talk with your kids about the Internet, and encourage them to see it as a shared, open environment in which they have social responsibilities just as they would in any physical environment.With open discussion, you can set expectations about the behavior you expect from them, curb negativity and discourage behaviors such as secrecy, boundary-pushing or thrill-seeking. You can also emphasize that online safety is something you care about and will continue to examine.Keep in mind: Enjoy the Internet along with your children, and discuss the ways in which it brings value into your lives.Stay open to your kids' questions, and encourage them to share their Internet experiences with you without fear of punishment about what they read, see or experience.Discuss how to safely interact online with others, why kids should stay away from certain types of content and individuals, and that Internet rules are there to protect kids. Teach children to trust their instincts, and to come to you if something or someone online makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Stay calm and remind them that they are not in trouble for bringing issues to your attention. Praise their discretion.As kids get older, keep family communications about the Internet as open and positive as you can. Talk with your kids about their online friends and activities just as you would talk about other friends and activities.

Set Rules for Internet Use Lay out rules for Internet use, setting clear expectations for your kids' online habits. A good set of rules should include things like the amount of time kids are allowed to be online, what types of content are appropriate and who it's okay to chat with as well as proper online conduct and good Internet citizenship.Keep in mind: The most successful rules are those that are created collaboratively. Work with your kids to draw up an online family safety contract that the whole family can agree to and sign. Discuss the rules frequently. Remind them that the rules are in place to protect your family, and that strictly maintaining privacy online can lower the risk of being targeted by online predators. Tell kids that following the rules and keeping communications open will allow them to gain freedoms as they get older. Let them know that you will reevaluate the rules over time. You can reinforce the rules you set by enabling restrictions on your PC. Windows Live Family Safety lets you set parameters that can limit Internet searches, monitor and filter specific websites, receive detailed activity reports of your child’s online activities, and let you be in control of who your child can communicate with in Windows Live Spaces, Messenger, or Hotmail1.

Balance Time Online Maintaining a balance between entertainment and other activities in kids' lives can be a serious challenge. The Internet has made it even more difficult, as the lines between entertainment and education are often blurred. Modeling a healthy balance between your online and offline activities is a great way to encourage children to do the same.Keep in mind: Enforce rules about the amount of time your kids may spend online, and the hours they are allowed to go online. Help your kids develop self-control, discipline and accountability regarding Internet use. Use parental controls in Windows 7 to limit PC time. Set up individual user accounts to determine how much computer time children have and what hours of the day they are allowed to use the PC, as well as which programs and games they can access.Encourage and support their participation in other activities — particularly physical pastimes with other children. If your child is reluctant, look for offline activities that tap into the same interests your kids pursue online. Watch for signs of Internet dependency. If Internet use seems excessive or begins to affect your child's school performance, health or relationships, consider professional counseling for Internet addiction.

What is Global Competence? Help us better define global competence. Send in your students' work. Be a part of a ground-breaking effort to assess student global competence. We are collecting samples of work that demonstrate student global knowledge and skills at various developmental levels. Once the work is published, it will help teachers strengthen instruction and better evaluate student work and provide examples for students to help them strive for greater achievement. With each submission, you will be entered into a regular drawing for $500 Staples gift certificates. Learn more and get involved (PDF download). A globally competent student can Investigate the World Recognize Perspectives Communicate Ideas Take Action Students investigate the world beyond their immediate environment. Students recognize their own and others’ perspective. Students communicate their ideas effectively with diverse audiences. Students translate their ideas and findings into appropriate actions to improve conditions. Students can: Generate and explain the significance of locally, regionally or globally focused researchable questions. Identify, collect and analyze the knowledge and evidence required to answer questions using a variety of international sources, media and languages. Weigh, integrate and synthesize evidence collected to construct coherent responses that is appropriate to the context of issues or problems. Develop an argument based on compelling evidence that considers multiple perspectives and draws defensible conclusions. Students can: Recognize and articulate one’s own perspective on situations, events, issues or phenomena and identify the influences on that perspective. Articulate and explain perspectives of other people, groups or schools of thought and identify the influences on those perspectives. Explain how the interaction of ideas across cultures influences the development of knowledge and situations, events, issues or phenomena. Articulate how the consequences of differential access to knowledge, technology and resources affect the quality of life and influences perspectives. Students can: Recognize that diverse audiences may perceive different meanings from the same information. Use appropriate language, behavior and strategies to effectively communicate, both verbally and non-verbally, with diverse audiences. Explain how effective communication impacts understanding and collaboration in an interdependent world. Select and effectively use appropriate technology and media to communicate with diverse audiences. Students can: Recognize one’s capacity to advocate for and contribute to improvement locally, regionally, or globally. Identify opportunities for personal and collaborative action to address situations, events, issues or phenomena in ways which can make a difference. Assess options for action based on evidence and the potential for impact, taking into account varied perspectives and potential consequences for others. Act creatively and innovatively to contribute to improvement locally, regionally or globally both personally and collaboratively.

The global digital divide is a special case of the digital divide, the focus is set on the fact that "Internet has developed unevenly throughout the world" [7] causing some countries to fall behind in technology, education, labor, democracy, and tourism. The concept of the digital divide was originally popularized in regard to the disparity in Internet access between rural and urban areas of the United States of America; the global digital divide mirrors this disparity on an international scale.

This new reality helps us more clearly define the role that education must play in preparing all students for success in an interconnected world. The United States have invested unprecedented resources in education, betting that our outmoded, factory-age system can be fundamentally transformed to prepare students for the rigors of a global economy. 

 Globally competent students understand that audiences differ on the basis of culture, geography, faith, ideology, wealth, and other factors and that they may perceive different meanings from the same information.  They can effectively communicate, verbally and non-verbally, with diverse audiences.  Because it is increasingly the world's common language for commerce and communication, globally competent students in the US and elsewhere are proficient in English as well as in at least one other world language. Communicating ideas occurs in a variety of culturally diverse settings, and especially within collaborative teams.  Globally competent students are able to situate themselves in a variety of cultural contexts, organize and participate in diverse groups, and work effectively toward a common goal.

Blunders like these can be costly. And as burgeoning markets in Asia increase in importance, new insight is required to break through what you could call a language barrier.As a result of the globalization of business through mergers and international investment, English has become a lingua franca. Almost two billion people worldwide speak it, and more than half of these learned it as a second language. Moreover, global popular culture is dominated by English-language television, music, film, print and social media.

The world is demanding citizens and workers have the knowledge, skills and dispositions to act creatively and effectively on issues of global significance. And American schools are trying to respond to this urgent demand.

Global competence is essential for responsible engagement in the world. Global peace and prosperity rest more than ever on mutual understanding and productive relationships among all nations and cultures.

Increasingly, technology is mediating the way in which the youth around the world communicate, consume content and create meaning. As mobile communication media and the internet become more pervasive, young people from different cultures and communities are afforded more opportunities for collaboration across previously unbridgeable distances.