Re/coding Global Citizenship: How Information and Communication Technologies have Altered Humanity… and Created New Questions for Global Citizenship Education

In the broadest sense, the concept of global citizenship education (GCE) includes many facets of a rapidly changing world and concepts in education. The information and communication technology (ICT) advances of the last few decades have created opportunities for educational connection and interaction through digital spaces at all levels, local and global. In linking technology with global citizenship, neither GCE nor ICTs can be assumed to be mutually progressive and/or mutually beneficial. In recent years, governments have moved to centralize ICT technologies exacting more control over their use for surveillance, including the weaponization of ICTs for strategic gains. This complicates the work of GCE scholars and practitioners in unforeseen ways as centralized control limits decentralized interactions. ICT concepts and philosophical stances are explored and defined to address how GCE scholars and practitioners can reimagine and reframe the tenets of the field within this informational world. Key topics discussed include complications of GCE in the infosphere, digital citizenship & GCE, and teaching GCE in the age of “inforgs” & digital identities

Mindful “Servants:” Reflective Practices in a High School Service-Learning Classroom

Increasingly, public school teachers, administrators, and students are turning towards including reflective practices, such as “mindfulness” activities, in their daily teaching and learning experiences. This article shows the importance of how practitioners and students use and experience these practices, especially in a service-learning program aimed at pushing students to change habits and ways of thinking. This qualitative study explores reflective techniques applied to a high school service-learning course that was created and maintained to push students out of their “comfort zones” and further into community exploration and self-reflection. Results of the study conclude that reflective activities were effective in class and service contexts, supported personal growth and connection, and that students experienced “buy-in,” embracing weekly journal assignments, one-one-one-conversations, and meditation. Keywords: Mindfulness, service-learning, reflection, meditation, adolescents, high schoo