iEARN-USA News Archive, click HERE.
iEARN PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
iEARN Project Success Stories Through Video:
A new video is now available to download on the iEARN-USA site
entitled, "Using iEARN Projects to Teach a Foreign Language." The
short video was filmed and captured by Alex Andreev, a former intern
for iEARN USA and graduate student of Teachers College, Columbia
University. Alex spent hours in and out of the office producing
this video, with the utmost commitment to share project success stories
with others in the iEARN family and especially for educators interested
in how project-based learning works in the classroom. 11 other
videos are available to download, all highlighting various project work
throughout iEARN including YouthCaN, BRIDGE, The Teddy Bear Project,
Moving Voices and much more. Please visit our Project Video page or the Project Description Page for a general listing of iEARN projects.
Water Habitat Project:
Kathy Law, iEARN member since 2001, is working wonders with her
students in the Water Habitat Project. The project encourages
participants around the world to study their local water habitat as an
environmental science project. During the project, students use the
online project forum to share observations and data, to learn about
connections among water habitats worldwide, and support one another’s
efforts towards restoring and maintaining local to global water habitat
environments. The project is co-facilitated by Kathy,
Kristi Rennebohm Franz and Eldon Franz. The project has brought
together students from the USA, Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Lebanon and
New Zealand. Here's an excerpt sharing what Kathy's students - from
Orca Elementary School in Seattle, WA - have done with the project: |
In this Issue:
- Project success stories through video
- Water Habitat Project
- Pakistan student shares his work with USA peers
(2) Teacher & Student Spotlight
- Youths from Hixson, TN awarded 2006 Kurshan Scholarship
- NYC teacher shares her personal story about iEARN
- Washington, DC teacher receives 2006 Technolgy Teacher of the Year Award
- Seattle, WA: teacher's article published for iEARN work in elementary school
(3) Professional Development
- Resource List
- Tsunami Collaboration: Science teachers needed
- Project opportunity with Taiwan
|
 (Forum Entry - April 1, 2006) "Yesterday
was an important day at Orca. Since November, we have been raising
salmon at our school in a tank. We tested the tankwater. The temperature
was 8.9 Celsius. The pH was 6.69. The disolved oxygen was 12.8. We were
very excited because we knew that we would release the fish to Lake
Washington. In the morning we got on
busses to go to Seward Park (a place at the lake)...I also took the scientific data
from the lake. The lake was 11.5 Celsius, had a pH of 7.816 and
disolved oxygen of 12.8. We hope the changes in pH and temperature are
not to shocking for the little fish! After we released the fish, we
took a walk around the park and looked at some of the native plants.
Elizabeth Neuman saw an Eagle! We saw many different water birds..."
Also in April, the Orca Elementary School received the Earth Heros
Award. Kathy shared,"I am now even more committed to sharing
iEARN with other teachers and helping my students become better world
citizens." For more about the Water Habitat Project, click HERE.
 Pakistan Student Shares Poem in LEWIN: A student from Sanjan Nagar Trust Girls High
School in Lahore, Pakistan shared their poem online on the LEWIN Project, an anthology of student writing:
|
I stands for the interest of students in iEARN
E stands for the excitement of working on iEARN
A stands for the add discussion in iEARN
R stands for the responses of students
N stands for the nothing boring
For more on this project, click HERE.
|
P stands for the poems written by students
R stands for the remote sharing
O stands for the original feelings we share
J stands for the jotting down ideas
E stands for the entry for everyone
C stands for the creative writings on iEARN
T stands for the talking about educational issues
|
The poem was posted
online for various students to read, including students from the USA.
iEARN TEACHER & STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
 iEARN youth awarded Kurshan Scholarship:
Middle school students, Elizabeth and Katelyn Clark twins from Hixson,
TN, were recently awarded the 2006 Kurshan Scholarship. The
scholarship is made possible by the generosity of the Kurshan Family -
longtime supporters of iEARN and members of the iEARN-USA board.
It awards a middle or high school student $1,500 towards travel and
conference fees to the 2006 iEARN International Conference and Youth
Summit in the Netherlands. Every year teachers, organizations and youth
from around the globe gather to celebrate iEARN project work, conduct
presentations, find new project partners, learn new teaching techniques
and get to know others from around the globe. As active iEARNers,
both Elizabeth and Katelyn have worked on projects such as Learning
Circles and Life Cycle of a Tire. Their teacher, Christine
Hockert, shared "[they will be] great ambassadors for iEARN USA".
In her application, Elizabeth wrote, "This once in a lifetime
opportunity will allow me to experience the cultures of another country
and use the knowledge I have learned from the iEARN projects."
Both girls plan to fundraise to make up the difference in travel costs
through bake sales, babysitting, car washes and selling homemade
bracelets and necklaces. Congratulations to Elizabeth and Katelyn!
For more information about the 2006 International Conference and Youth
Summit please visit the iEARN Netherlands site.
US Teacher Shares A Personal Project Experience:
This year one of iEARN-USA's goals is to capture and share teachers'
and students' success stories using online projects. Last month
Lynn Rosen, an iEARN members since 2004, sent us a short letter sharing
her feelings about iEARN and how project work as impacted her
life. Lynn is an iEARN project facilitator for three projects,
with one of her most memorable collaborations with Pakistan. With
Lynn's permission, we'd like to share her reflection with you:
 ...Due
to poor internet in my building most of my teachers haven't experienced
the iEARN that I know and love. When I first joined iEARN I only
worried about the $100 cost. I never realized that it is not what I
paid, but what I earned from the experience. Recently I met my
cofacilitator, Farah Kamal [iEARN Pakistan] at Celebrate 13. It
was a phenomenal experience. We spent the day and part of the night
together. iEARN has enriched my life. It has given me global
understanding and certainly broadened my teaching perspective. My
children have posted on "Lewin," "A Picture Tells a Thousand Words," as
well as "Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger." iEarn has shown me that the
world has no boundaries if we don't form them. There is no racism,
hatred or bias in iEARN. We only see love for one another and open
hearts...I just love my part in this organization. It makes me feel
energized...
Lynn is a primary school teacher at P.S. 135 in Brooklyn, New York.
 US BRIDGE Master Trainer Awarded 2006 Technology Teacher of the Year:
In March, Holly Briel - a high school teacher from Caesar Rodney High
School in Camden, Delaware - received the 2006 Technology Teacher of
the Year award for her work and participation in iEARN and use of
technology in the classroom. This includes the use of LCD and
laptop features, online educational video, Windows Movie Maker and more
much. The award was bestowed to her by Delaware's Lt. Governor
and Director of Delaware's Center for Educational Technology.
Holly is a 2005 BRIDGE Master Trainer, who has also attended the 2004
BRIDGE Regional Conference and the 2005 iEARN International Conference
in Dakar, Senegal. On April 5th, Holly joined State
representatives at the Technology Gala in Dover, DE where she exhibited
her iEARN work, demonstrated video, and also shared students' learning
experiences. (Pictured left: Holly with Delaware's Lt. Govenor
receiving award). To learn more about BRIDGE, click HERE.
Teacher Gets Published:
This May, Seattle, Washington's school district will publish an article
written by Jennifer Geist. Jennifer, a language teacher, recently
worked with the Coe Elementary in expanding their curriculum to include
international collaborative projects. In her article entitled,
"Coe Elementary: An International School In It's Own Right," Jennifer
shares the role iEARN has had in strengthening Coe's global
awareness. "The “Teddy Bear Project is just one of several
international project collaborations going on at Coe this year. With
the help of iEARN (International Education and Resource Network), many
teachers at Coe are integrating online project work into their reading,
writing and math curriculums. Kevin Crozier’s class is doing all three
at once! Through the “Laws of Life Project”, students exchange essays
with a class in Bogota, Columbia." Please click HERE to read more.
 National Educational Computing Conference [NECC], July 4-7:
Please join iEARN US in San Diego, CA for the 2006 NECC
Conference. Several iEARN teachers will facilitate workshops
focusing on effectively integrating project based learning in the
classroom. For example, a workshop entitled, "International View
on an Intentional Future: Integrated Projects that Motivate" will
explore a model classroom of the future where students collect data on
location and collaborate with global peers using online and face to
face means. For more about the conference or to read iEARN
specific workshops, please click HERE.
Click HERE for non-iEARN Grants and Resources
Connect Your Students to Taiwan: Vivian
Lin, an English teacher at the Taipei Municipal Zhong Zheng Senior High
Schoool is looking for US 10th graders to collaborate on cross-cultural
blog with Zhong Zheng 10th grade students. The project will run
from October 2006 to January 2007. and enables students to connect
online. This interaction will help Taiwanese students
communicate in English and improve their English proficiency,
while US students can learn the Taiwanese language and culture.
Email Vivian for details: linyufan@pchome.com.tw
 US Science Teachers Needed:
The Young Scientists Tsunami Collaboration is a project which focuses
on the science of tsunamis, including the role of science and
technology in disaster relief, preparedness efforts and examinations of
the effects of tsunamis on the environment. Involving students from the
affected region and countries around the world, the project aims to
strengthen the scientific and technological capabilities of youth
involved while promoting cooperation in areas of mutual interest for
peaceful purposes.
iEARN-USA is currently recruiting interested US high school science
teachers to work on this project. This project may be factored into
science and geography classes or be implemented as an after school
& community program. If interested and for more information,
please contact Christine Habib. Funded by the United States Oceans Bureau of the US Department of State. The project will run based on the Learning Circle approach to online collaborative learning. It will begin in early September and run for ten weeks. |
