Imagine traveling anywhere in the world — South Africa, Barbados, Brazil, Mexico or India — and connecting with leaders, artists and activists in any country. The best part: You don’t even have to leave your Dallas College campus.
That’s the goal of International and Global Student Engagement’s (IGSE) Portals in Education initiative, in partnership with Shared Studios.
Experiencing the Global Portal
Stepping into this global portal is an immersive experience, one that breaks down the barriers of geographic distance. The portal’s screen broadcasts a person or group of people in another country, allowing you to have a real-time conversation — just as you would if you were in a room together, sitting across from one another.
The portal, currently set up in the H foyer on the Mountain View Campus, offers sessions that students can attend, and that faculty can bring their classes to. Each session is scheduled for 75 minutes and addresses themes such as cultural preservation, technology and digital culture, leadership development, human rights, sustainability and more.
Conversations Lead to Connection
Jessica Brown, professor of English at Mountain View Campus, took one of her classes to the portal to connect with musicians in Brazil. “We had a discussion with them about the impact and persuasive power (both positive and negative) of lyrics on young people and the use of music as storytelling,” said Brown.
“After the session I had one student talk about it the entire way back to the class. She was amazed that they had the exact same concerns about the influence of negative lyrics on young people. She had never had such an experience or chance to talk like that in a global setting.”
The portal was a centerpiece at IGSE’s Global Artivism event, April 14-15. Portal sessions during the event included a conversation with artists in Mosul, Iraq, and with poets in Lagos, Nigeria.
Students who attended the conversation with the Nigerian poets not only connected over poetry, but also shared more about living in Dallas and discovered similarities between Dallas and Lagos.
Aedin Fields is a student at Mountain View who attended the session. “Even though we’re from different countries, there’s still so much that we can learn,” Fields said. “Just hearing her talk about the political climate, it’s totally across the world and yet we’re still able to relate to that. I think it’s really interesting. I’ve never done anything like this before … I feel like I learned a lot.”
“It has been exciting to witness how quickly students are able to build connections with the individuals across the portal,” said Larisa Olin Ortiz, associate dean of Intercultural & Global Student Engagement. “The students are stepping out of the portals inspired to become global engaged citizens ready to make a difference.”
Want to experience the global portal? Attend an upcoming session:
- Wednesday, April 23, 11 a.m. –Interfaith: Sport as a Catalyst for Social Cohesion
- Thursday, April 24, 11 a.m. – Interfaith: Dialogues at the Intersection of Islam and Christianity
Questions? Email IGSE at Intercultural@DallasCollege.edu for more information.