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In this issue: Third
Annual BRIDGE Regional Conference a Success in Beirut, Lebanon; Egypt
youths stay active in iEARN projects; Jordan wraps up the LINC Exchange while presenting on BRIDGE at the Regional Conference; Morroco conducts 2 iEARN
workshops; Oman adds 26 new teachers; iEARN Pakistan creates and
lauches a new curriculum for teacher training; Nepal
works on plans for
an introductory workshop for the Ministry of Education; iEARN Indonesia
helps teachers victim of the Tsunami and offers empowerment workshops; India conducts orientation for
iEARN parents; iEARN Bangladesh invited to meet with G-8 Ambassadors
iEARN Lebanon hosts the 3rd Annual BRIDGE Regional Conference
On July 8 - 13 a
three-day
BRIDGE conference was held that included many interactive and thought
provoking workshops. The American Community School in Beirut
provided the venue as well as technology support for all
workshops. iEARN Lebanon's Country Coordinator, Eliane Metni,
along with a dedicated group of teachers and iEARN volunteers organized
and coordinated a successful conference that included committees
responsible for planning, cultural events, press coverage and youth
acitivities. Their efforts culminated into a dynamic conference
for 150 participants representing 15 countries: the USA, Egypt,
India, Jordan,
Lebanon,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Morocco,
Tunisia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Various teachers, as well as
students, conducted workshops ranging in subject from YouthCaN, to
integrating iEARN into curriculums, to specific iEARN related projects,
to the importance of project-based learning. To any outsider, the
amount of energy exhibited by all participants was inspiring. Not
only did teachers encourage each other professionally, but also
collaborated via workshops to teach each other ways to use iEARN to
connect youth and make a difference.
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Christopher W. Murray opened the conference on July 9th sharing:
"I
am delighted to be here today and want you to know how much the
Ambassador and I admire your effofts to promote cultural exchange and
dialogue. Your participation in the iEARN and BRIDGE programs promotes
discussion on issues vital to the establishment of a vibrant and
tolerant civil society in the Middle East and throughout the world...I
am proud that the U.S. Department of State, through a grant from the
Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs, funds this innovative
program...The growth of the iEARN program in Lebanon, in only five years, is a
testament to your energy, vision and commitment to education and
leaming. Additional U.S. Government funding for the BRIDGE Program
during the last three years has enabled students in the U.S. and Arab
and Muslim world to get to know each other better, to exchange ideas to
solve common problems and to hear diverse viewpoints on a broad range
of issues. The iEARN and BRIDGE programs encourage respect for
individual differences, acceptance of altemate viewpoints and an
appreciation for diversity...." For Mr. Murray's complete speech, click HERE.
 Another highlight of the conference was a mini youth summit where students presented a workshop entitled, "YouthCaN: Youth Communicating and Networking; Environment, Science and Technology." Students,
including one US YouthCaN student Nuria Peguero, had the opportunity to
discuss and exchange views on environmental issues and how to educate
and empower youth to make a difference in their own communities.
Socially, students participated in many activities and truly had a
memorable and rewarding experience. At closing ceremonies
various students performed a traditional Lebanese folk dance and
distributed a self-created and produced newsletter entiled,
"YouthPrints". YouthPrints featured conference events and
important news. Click HERE for a PDF version of YouthPrints.
Above
all, teachers and students left Beirut feeling the tremendous impact of
cross-cultural understanding and the positive effects of collaborative
learning using online projects. In the end, teachers were
motivated to continue their professional development using various
iEARN sources including forums, Online Courses and or iEARN's Learning
Circles. Teachers inspired teachers in the many ways to integrate
iEARN projects into their curriculums, while others shared how projects
have directly impacted their students. Youth inspired youth to
use internet dialogue to discuss and open channels of communication
about environmental, social and cultural issues. For more on the
3rd Annual BRIDGE Conference, please visit iEARN-Lebanon's website for recent press coverage.
iEARN
Egypt spent July busy with youth activities in addition to their
participation in both the BRIDGE Regional Conference and the
International Conference. Many students joined various iEARN
projects collaborating with US students and teachers. Working
with students from The Fisher Day School in Florida, youth discuss the
use of music to promote mutual understanding. In addition, the
Zhran Experimental Language school in Alexandria spent July working
with Jay Holmes of the American Museum of National History and YouthCaN
students sharing their Egyptian experiences with YouthCaN projects,
camp and conferences. Also this month, Country Coordinator Dalia
Khalil held discussions with Naheed Elyasi of The National Council on
Economic Exchange, regarding the possibilities for future collaboration
with iEARN Egypt in building K-12 materials for economic education.
 At
the BRIDGE Regional Conference, Egypt sent a delegation consisting of
five teachers, a representative from the Ministry of Education, two
iEARN Egypt staff, and a youth alum of iEARN - Nadine Hadad.
Nadine presented on iEARN's My Hero Project, while other participants
conducted workshops on their experiences with iEARN projects. One
teacher, Shaimaa Abdel Fattah, presented a session entitled, "An
Experience that Made A Difference", sharing views about the school's
positive experience integrating iEARN projects. Another
presentation focused on the BRIDGE Physical Exchange Program, where
a US delegation from The Metropolitan Learning Center, in Connecticut, visited
Egypt for a three-week exchange in March. iEARN Egypt
also attended the International Conference held in Dakar, Senegal due
to a grant given to them by the American Embassy in Cairo. During
the conference, all 10 participants presented workshops on their unique
experiences with iEARN project work.
As
iEARN Jordan continues to grow stronger, it's efforts have paid off
during the recent LINC Exchange that began on July 25th and ends this
August. This experience helped both iEARN staff and schools to
familarize themselves on exchange plannning and coordinating as the
BRIDGE III short-term exchange for Jordan will begin this Fall.
Mohammad Jarrah, Jordan's Country Coordinator, is currently working
with other iEARN staff in recruiting, interviewing and selecting
eligible youth to participate in this government funded program.
Also
this month, iEARN Jordan participated in both the BRIDGE Regional
Conference and the International Conference. During the Regional
Conference Mr. Jarrah and Tuhamie Dawwas, a Jordan teacher, presented a
workshop entitled "Developing a Training Kit for iEARN Jordan".
The presentation shared information about how Jordan coordinators and
teachers prepare and develop training materials in compliance with the
Ministry of Education. Such a workshop is beneficial for other
growing iEARN offices as each confronts their own path towards
buillding and securing a funding and support. Other presentations
included a workshop on BRIDGE Exchanges and one on "Water Harvesting"
which focused on the effects of water in the environment (presented by
Hani Tashman, De La Salle School). At the International
Conference, Mr. Jarrah welcomed the partcipation of Khitam Al-Utaibi,
Head of Division-for The Education Reform for Knowledge Economy (ERFKE)
Component for the Ministry of Education. Ms. Al-Utaibi presented
a detailed and informative workshop highlighting the importance of
technology in education and the strategic plans the Ministry plans to
take to provide teachers with professional development opportunties, with
organizations such as iEARN-Jordan.
Morocco
conducted two workshops in July adding three new schools and 60 new
teachers! Congratulations! The workshops introduced iEARN
projects and methods of implementation and were presented by several
iEARN  teachers
including Morocco's Country Coordinator, Mourad Benali. Also in
July, iEARN-USA staff members - while visiting Morocco for a few days -
visited the US Embassy and met with senior officials to discuss the
successful training mEARN conducted for over 16 middle school teachers
in June. The Embassy echoed their support for iEARN trainings and
professional development for Moroccan teachers, and discussed the
coming BRIDGE IV Regional Conference to be held in Morocco.
Officials, Mr. Terry White (Public Affairs Officer), Mr. John Sccaco
(Regional English Language Officer-North Africa) and Ms. Dominique
Benbrahim (Cultural Affairs Specialist) met with the iEARN Team.
 OMAN: This
July, Oman successfully sent five teachers to the Third Annual BRIDGE
Conference in Beirut, two of which were female teachers. After a
wonderful experience of workshops and meeting fellow iEARN teachers
from the 15 participating countries, Oman definitely shared iEARN when
they returned home. As a result, Oman welcomed 26 new teachers to
their family!
 July 31, 2005: iEARN
Pakistan designed and launched a series of curriculum specific teacher
training programs for use at day-long workshops. All topics in
the curriculum are supported with resource packs to ensure teachers
effectively integrate iEARN projects into their curriculums.
Pakistan has planned for day-long training workshops as part of the
iEARN BRIDGE Program for partner schools. Workshops will focus on
various iEARN projects ranging in subject matter and theme - with the
goal to help teachers enhance their lessons while enriching the
classroom experience for their students. This innovative
curriculum hopes to provide teachers with sound information and tools
to effectively integrate project based learning. Another goal is
to provide teachers with hands-on experience to help them formulate new teaching techniques and ideas for their classrooms.
Curriculum areas covered in the series include: Creative Arts, Writing
and Language Arts, Social Studies, Research and Current Affairs and
Service Learning. Country Coordinator, Farah Kamal, has shared
the curriculum to all BRIDGE countries to add to their professionl
development resources available for their teachers.
iEARN
Nepal has been requested to conduct an introductory workshop to
Education Journalist and the Ministry of Education. This is a
fantastic step as Nepal builds their iEARN base and outreach to
teachers, schools and students. Also this July, Computer
Education for Schools [CES], an organization aimed to encourage
computer education in schools, has voiced interest in collaborating
with iEARN Nepal. This possible partnership will enable iEARN
Nepal to share projects and teacher resources to schools within the CES
network.
Indonesia made great
strides in July with two successful workshops for teachers that took
place in Aceh. The workshops aimed to empower teachers who fell
victim to the Tsunami of 2004. Trainings concentrated on
empowering teachers as they continue to push foward in educating youth
in the midst of post-Tsunami redevelopment and reconstruction. On July
19th, the first workshop took place with the Madania School.
After a complete one-day training in how to join a discussion forum,
introduction to iEARN Online Projects and how to use and navigate a
computer - 30 new teachers joined the iEARN family. Each
particpant was given an iEARN Handbook and materials for various
projects.
 The second workshop took place on July 22-24 in Banda Aceh. Country
Coordinator Hasnah Gasim conducted and
faciliated the workshop with the help of Suparno (iEARN Coordinator in
Jakarta) and Hari Prasetyp (iEARN Indonesia Website Manager) - both
science teachers. 15 teachers were trained representing three
different schools. Each school selected five teachers comprising
of three science teachers, one computer teacher and one English
teacher. Schools represented include SMA Negeri 3, SMA Negeri 7
and SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh - a public school. In addition, all
three schools will be involved in a learning circle with schools in the
USA, Malaysia and Thailand. This workshop mirrors the first in
terms of topics discussed, but also focused on the benefits of
collaborative learning, how to join a Learning Circle, and included an open discussion on the Tsunami and how it has effected their individual communities and schools. (Pictures
above show Indonesia teachers participating in iEARN workhops focusing
on team building skills, empowerment and leadership)
As
a result, iEARN Indonesia brought support to many teachers who not only
wish to pursue online collaborative learning, but also desire to
benefit from professional development opportunties and resources.
Congratulations!!
At the end of July, iEARN India
conducted an orientation for students' parents. The presentation
included basic iEARN information as well as a detailed overview of the
BRIDGE Program, as selected students are expected to participate in a
BRIDGE short-term exchange this Fall 2005. India also conducted
an introductory workshop for 32 participants from 10 different
schools. Country Coordinator Sunita Bhagwat facilitated the
workshop as well as the orientation for parents. Also this month,
iEARN India was featured in a local paper covering the Third Annual
BRIDGE Conference in Beirut, Lebanon. Representing India was
Priya Arun Daware, Rohan Madan Valvekar, Sayali Devidas Bhalerao and
Suman Pundalika Shenoy. Click HERE for a PDF view of the featured
article.
In addition to
adding 12 new teachers this July, Country Coordinator Golam Hiru has
been invited to meet with G8 Ambassadors and heads officials of
Multinational Aid Agencies. This is a great honor for Bangladesh
as G8 countries discuss issues such as poverty and the
environment. On July 30, 2005 Ms. Christine Wallich, Country
Director of World Bank Bangladesh, spoke to G8 Ambassadors calling for
increased and better aid, debt cancellation and trade justice.
iEARN Bangladesh in honored and looks forward a their meeting.
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