Dale+C.

Phase I: Who Am I? What's My Place? I'm Dale. I'm a person who has always had a life-long passion for learning and personal growth. I believe that technology has the potential to bridge the inequality gap in education and I would like to help make an impact in that process. I am a strong advocate for educational equality and I feel social responsibility is a natural justice that is the product of awareness, upbringing, and society. At the same time, life is a wonderful mystery where each individual's journey can change at the blink of an eye; having the right perspective at each point of our individual journey is a skill developed through experience. Having perspective can be as simple as feeling happy or feeling sad everyday you wake up in the morning.
 * ** What __really__ makes up your identity? **

Out of the 7 billion people in the world, I am insignificant, but I have the potential, as does every other individual, to make a difference. With dedication, hard work, and the right opportunity, I could make a difference through the progress I make by living out the pursuit of my passion. The scope of my significance can be local, international, or global and sometimes this can be by choice or by coincidence.
 * ** What __really__ makes up your sense of place? **

I bring my experience from volunteering, business, education, culture, and my life and my personality. I have traveled to across the entire United States (the entire east coast and across from North Carolina to California), Canada, Hong Kong, Bahamas, and China. Every cultural experience has helped shaped my view on the great diversity among cultures and has added a higher appreciation for cultures different from here in the states. With the skills I have, any opportunity that I can share my abilities with others is an opportunity I take with honor. Helping others is part of the benefit of teaching and I enjoy it very much.
 * ** What roles do your identity and sense of place play when you work with others in a group project? **

I speak 3 different languages: English (native), Chinese (fluent), Spanish (intermediate). I have good friends who each speak a different language listed previously and I have found that learning different languages is like a gateway into a culture. My brief travel across countries also gives me perspectives that I can share with others regarding travel and cultural differences as well.
 * ** What are the qualities that you bring to the GLIP conversation that will help you make a contribution to your global group? **

One of the local problems is the rising rate of obesity. Obesity is a global but more dominant in the United States. I one of my other classes we are dealing with Web-based instruction or online learning similar to distance education classes; our goal is to create a free, public tool to help others understand the basics of nutrition and how to make healthier, long-term, lifestyle changes with the new information they learn.
 * ** What is one local problem (where you live) that you believe needs to be addressed? Suggest some steps could you take to try to solve it? **

Leadership, charisma, experience, vision, and various other skills are all qualities useful in solving a complex problem. In general, the longer a problem has existed, the longer and harder it will be to fix or remove it. Patience and determination to fixing the cause is a must. If there is one thing you should remember about me, it is that I am very open minded and non-judgmental. I always welcome new ideas and open communication
 * ** Finally, some problems have been around for a long time. What qualities do you think a person must have to step up and try to solve them? **

Phase II: Sense of Place

Upload image (s) here: media type="flickr" key="77126700@N04" ARG0="&lang=en-us&format=rss_200" width="519" height="446" =This is Raleigh, North Carolina. Starting from the left picture, Raleigh has a beautiful distinct four season weather. We generally have about 3 months of each season (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter). Next you can see our geographical location in the country and then in world. North Carolina is also a diverse geographical state with mountains, Piedmont, and a gorgeous coastal region. Last but not least, NC State is the school where I am pursuing my masters degree.=

Use these questions to help you determine which picture shows someone else why your “place” is so special to you.
 * Does a scenic picture represent the beauty you believe that your town has?
 * Does a picture of a group of people represent and show a warmth and friendliness that your town has?
 * Does a statue or building convey the feeling of history that makes your place important and unique?
 * Is there a cultural event that represents the values of your home location?

What are your initial thoughts about how your image addresses the questions above? Later, you will be working with the members of your group to create a travel package that includes visits to each group member's home location (see Phase II)

Phase III: Identify Local Issue:


 * What is your local issue?**

According to an article in USAToday, global rates have doubled since 1980. The obesity pandemic is even worse here in the United States, with nearly one-third of all Americans either overweight or obese as of 2011. Understanding the basics of nutrition is key to a healthy lifestyle, and unfortunately, there is not always consistent, accurate information available. The information that is available has a tendency to be very science-oriented and takes some education to decipher. Additionally, the typical American office worker lives a primarily sedentary lifestyle. Eating in the office poses significant challenges as adult workers balance deadlines, time restraints and workplace social dynamics when determining breakfast, snack, and lunchtime meal choices. This often results in a reliance on fast food or convenience items to fuel workers through the day.




 * What can you do to be address the issue?**

Our Team is relying on Weebly, Testmoz and Voki to develop learner activities and quizzes for each of our WBI modules. The most innovative tool we are using is ClassTools.net, used to develop short interactive games at the end of each module to reinforce a combination of learning from goal one and goal two. For example, participants will master a timed game dividing food groups into the corresponding nutritional value or caloric content to demonstrate they understand the relationship between calories and food intake. These types of games will be aimed at mastery through repetition.


 * What is the global impact of your local issue?**

Obesity is on the rise globally. If we can get this program to work here, it may be applicable to others around the world.

Add these thoughts to your Group's Discussion Forum on Local Issues