iEARN-USA - The International Education and Resource Network

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Holiday Card Exchange Project

Judy Barr, an educator in Australia, is in her fourth year facilitating the Holiday Card Exchange Project. It started as an email exchange between a small group of teachers in 2005 and went so well she made it an iEARN project in 2006. Each year, students (K-12) create holiday cards and then send them to other students around the world.

"US and Canadian students describe Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations while students in Pakistan and other Muslim countries teach their partners about Eid traditions," explains Judy. Many of the teachers who participated have become friends and continued to collaborate throughout the year.

The size and enthusiasm for the project has continued to grow - last year there were 23 groups among 35 countries. One school in Suriname even made the local news. As Judy tells us, "The news reporter showed the students making cards for their partners and taking the parcels to the post office. The television crew were as excited as the students waiting for the cards to arrive from their international partners."

If you would like to participate in the Holiday Card Exchange Project this year, please contact Judy directly at: judybarr@iearn.org.au

One Day in the Life Project

As part of the One Day in the Life Project, a special “OneDay” event will be held on Tuesday, November 10th. On this day, students around the world will document parts of an ordinary day using photography, writing, and/or other media. Students are encouraged to document any part of a regular day- eating breakfast, going to school, doing chores, etc. Then they can post their work in the project forum and comment on postings of others.

At least nineteen countries have confirmed that their students will participate so far. It’s going to be a lot of fun so please join us and help make the day a great success! For more information, please contact Chris Baer at: cbaer@mvyps.org

RECENT EVENTS

National Security Language Initiative - Youth

South Korea

In July, 37 U.S. high school students embarked on an exchange to South Korea for a 6-week intensive language study. Students traveled on full-scholarships funded by the U.S. State Department under a new program called National Security Language Initiative - Youth. The program -- in its pilot year for high schoolers -- sent about 500 U.S. students to different countries around the world to study 7 critical languages -- Arabic, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Turkish and Farsi.

Of the 37 stuents, 20 went on exchange for the summer; 10 for the semester; and 7 for the entire year. All students live with a host family and studied Korean at Seoul National University. For more information on the program, or if you have students interested in applying for the 2010-2011 exchange, please visit: www.nsliforyouth.com.

iEARN Annual International Conference and Youth Summit
Ifrane, Morocco

This year the iEARN Annual Conference and Youth Summit was held at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. Representatives from 53 different countries participated in this year's conference whose theme was Innovative Technologies and Cross Cultural Dialogue For Quality Education.

The conference consisted of teacher training workshops, cultural activities, and a youth summit meeting. Three of our US members also participated in the preceding GCE Master Trainer's Workshop. They each made wonderful contributions and established lasting relationships. Here is what they had to say about their experience:

“The conference’s talks and workshops were excellent. But the truly inspiring parts of this conference were the chance conversations and friendships made with colleagues from every corner of the world during lunches, breaks, and unscheduled time.”
--Chris Baer, Martha’s Vineyard Regional HS, Oak Bluffs, MA

“The iEARN conference in Morocco was a one of a kind opportunity for networking with other iEARN international members. I also benefitted by meeting three of the participants of the My Identity, Your Identity Project who I had worked with the previous year. This strengthened our relationships and gave us time to reflect on and plan our project as well as recruit new participants.”
--Nicolle Boujaber-Diederichs, Cypress Creek High School, Orlando Florida

“The ideas and technology that I brought back for use of my students was refreshing and I am excited about participating in many new projects with my newfound family at iEARN. I am looking forward to reuniting with everyone next year in Barrie, Canada.”
--Terri Tye, Medina City School District, Medina, OH

OPPORTUNITIES

Last chance to register for iEARN Online Courses!

Courses run from September 28 to November 29 and bring together educators from around the world to communicate and plan how to integrate standards-based iEARN projects into various curriculum areas. The enrollment deadline is Sunday, September 20th. We advise you to enroll as soon as possible because there are only 25 places available per course. To learn more and register now go to: http://www.iearn.org/professional/online.html.

Doris Duke Scholarships Available!

Interested in taking an online course but don't have the funds? Thanks to support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA) we are offering scholarships for online courses. If you would like to download the application, click here: iEARN Scholarship Application

New! iEARN Professional Development Webinars

iEARN-USA is announcing an exciting new Professional Development opportunity for its members and prospective members. We will use Elluminate to conduct webinars to present interactive workshops through the Internet designed to help teachers get started and effectively use iEARN projects in their classrooms. Our next webinar is scheduled for September 16th from 5pm - 6:30pm. To learn more and/or register go to: http://us.iearn.org/professional_development/pd_workshops/webinars.php

Fulbright Teacher Scholarships

iEARN-USA is partnering with the Academy for Education and the US State Department on the 2010-11 Fulbright Teacher Classroom Exchange and Distinguished Awards in Teaching Programs.

The Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program provides opportunities for K-12 teachers to participate in direct one-to-one classroom exchanges with colleagues from other countries for a semester or academic year. To see this year's list of participating countries and download an application, go to: www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org. The deadline for applying to the Fulbright Teacher Classroom Exchange program is October 15, 2009.

The Distinguished Award program offers fellowships to highly accomplished teachers to receive a grant to study at a university, conduct research, teach classes and workshops, and develop a capstone project pertaining to their field of study during their semester overseas. To see this year's list of participating countries and download an application, go to: www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org. The deadline for applying to the Distinguished Awards program is January 15, 2010.

iEARN-USA is a member of iEARN (International Education and Resource Network), the world's largest K-12 non-profit global network that enables young people to use the Internet and other new technologies to engage in collaborative educational projects that both enhance learning and make a difference in the world. To learn more about iEARN USA click HERE.

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