Learning Projects in Glocal Networks

The digital age has provided new possibilities for the creation of glocal peer cultures that stretch beyond the boundaries of the immediate community. To better understand these opportunities in the school context, this study aims to examine the co-creation of an international learning ecosystem of 2 classes organized around a shared object of inquiry. The participants in this study were 1 Finnish 6th-grade class (N = 17) and 1 American 7th–8th-grade class (N = 16) who communicated through blogs and Skype. Using deductive content analysis on their transcribed Skype meetings, the students’ digital artifacts, and a questionnaire, we aim to describe the learning ecosystem that emerged. The preliminary results of the study indicated that during the academic learning process, an informal peer culture started to emerge through students’ mobile devices and applications such as Skype, FaceTime, and Snapchat. Conclusions are drawn about the hybrid ecosystem that connected friendship-driven, interest-driven, and expertise-oriented participation.