Linking Communities to Make a Difference

Fifth Annual I*EARN International Conference

Second Annual International Youth Summit

July 12-18 1998, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

 

Hosted by the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and the Hamilton County Board of Education

What happens when teachers and students come together from 46 countries, speaking more than 25 languages, representing hundreds of models for employing technology to reform and enhance education? From past experience, a world of difference.

Linking diverse communities through educational telecommunications allows us to involve youth in local development and the building of sustainable global community; Passing on to youth the skills they will need to embrace the 21st Century.

It was the goal of I*EARN and the Fifth Annual International Conference to build upon the strength of our community of youth and educators using telecommunications to make a difference. As in earlier I*EARN international conferences in Puerto Madryn, Argentina (1994), Melbourne, Australia (1995), Budapest, Hungary (1996), and Barcelona, Spain (1997), the Fifth Annual I*EARN International Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.A. will be a time of learning, exchanging, and building friendships and community worldwide. We warmly welcome you to join us.

The Conference Schedule is designed to provide participants as much interaction and sharing as possible.  The first part of the week will enable teachers from around the world to share how they are integrating project work into their classrooms/organizations.  The second half of the week is an opportunity to design new projects for the year ahead.

Keynoters challenged us and provided visions of the future in which interactive media can move education in new directions globally.

Workshops were provided by teachers and other educators from every continent.

Among the many partner organizations and institutions that were represented at this year's gathering, we would like to welcome The Peace Corps WorldWise Program, ThinkQuest, The World Bank, GLOBE, Sister Cities International, The American Museum of Natural History, The United Nations Department of Public Information, African Odyssey Interactive at ARTSEDGE John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Institute for Global Communications, The Center for Collaborative Research in Education, The Open Society Institute, The Russian Academy of Sciences, and The Ministry of Education in Argentina.


Conference Goals

Countries Represented at the Conference

Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Mozambique, Mongolia, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, USA.

Partial Listing of Workshops by Country

Argentina
1) Telecommunications in a school for blind students. Liliana Gerez Lopez.
2) My Homeland. Jesus Ruben Azor and Marcelo Gabriel Duran.
3) Interprisons Literary Exchange (An experience between schools in prisons and the use of telecommunications). Jorge Arturo and Pedro Borgatti.
4) Adolescent Experiences- Values, Customs, Conflict, Culture. Claudia M. Gaitan and Patricia Dambra.
5) Let's expand the I*EARN community. Viviana Vienni and Adela Bini.
6) Introduction to I*EARN. Rosy Aguila.
7) Gender Equity and Community and Values in a Collaborative Project: The First People's Project. Anusia Kaczorkiewicz.
8) Facilitators and Educational Institutions: a relationship to think about.  Diego Sola.
 
Australia
1) One Computer, One Telephone Line, yet Many Projects, Judy Barr.
2) Collaboration and Working beyond the Classroom. Joanne Tate.
3) The Teddy Bear Project. Muriel Wells.
4) Working in I*EARN through the I*EARN Conferences and Using an Off-line Newsreader. Virginia King and Bob Carter.
5) Fight Against Child Labour / Exploitation. Bob Carter.
6) Community and Values in a Collaborative Project: The First People's Project. Virginia King and Bob Carter.
7) Global Arts. Virginia King and Joanne Tate.
8) Arts Skills. Joanne Tate.
9) The Holocaust/Genocide Project: Bringing the "Heart" of I*EARN Together to Make a Difference. Joanne Tate, Aaron O'Shannessy, Briohney North.
 
Belarus
1) I*EARN-Making the First Steps in Belarus. Problems and Solutions. Valentina Suvorina, Svetlana Havanova.
 
Bulgaria
1) Make your presentation by WEB. Sylvia Kancheva.
2) A VISION - Global Anthology of Students Creative Writing. Lilly Kakaradova.
3) The Home Remedy Project or How to Get the Family Involved in School Life, The Mini-saga Project Finds out What Our Students Would Like to Share With Peers, and Special Places. Violeta Tsoneva.
 
China
1)From a Blackboard to a Whiteboard. Bai Feng Sun.
 
Croatia
1) Planet Friendship--The right way to use I*EARN resources. Oliver Marcetic.
 
Czech Republic
5) Environmental project: Vltava, H.O.P.E. Iva Bruhova, Radek Miracky, Eva Popov, Helena Kocanov.
6) Project Energy, Ecology, Economy. Ilona Kubonova, Stanislav Vacha, Petr Draslar.
 
Estonia
1) Special Places. Maris Kivistik.
 
Germany
1) The Transatlantic Classroom. Kerstin Otto.
 
Guatemala
1) Integrating marginalized groups into educational telecommunications (The Godchild Project). Karina Copen/USA (representing Guatemala, current country of residence).
 
Hungary
1) Does on-line work help students to develop their English? Hajnalka Vegh.
2) I*EARN for Youth Facing Challenges. Judit Lafferthon.
3) International Environmental I*EARN Camp In Hungary. Istvan Szabo
 
Israel
1)The Holocaust/Genocide Project: Bringing the "Heart" of I*EARN Together to Make a Difference. Gideon Goldstein
 
Japan
1) "Teleclass The World." Yoko Takagi.
2) The Home Remedy Project or How to Get the Family Involved in School Life and The Mini-saga Project Finds out What Our Students Would Like to Share With Peers . Akiko Fujimura.
 
Kazakhstan
1) Learning Circles: Teaching and learning Around the Globe. Svetlana Kalashnikova.
 
Kyrgyzstan
1) The Home Remedy Project or How to Get the Family Involved in School Life and The Mini-saga Project Finds out What Our Students Would Like to Share With Peers. Valentin V. Ladeyshicov.
 
Latvia
1) "An Insight into Latvia's I*EARN Land" / "National Projects in I*EARN Schools in Latvia - from Idea to Result." Talis Bercis, Velga Blaua.
2) Special Places. Ligija Kolosovska.
 
Lithuania
1) Participation of Baltic states in I*EARN projects. Natalija Kociene, Lina Ivanauskiene.
2) Possibility to Learn to Communicate, Collaborate and Work Together Among Students in the World via Internet. Gintare Tautkeviciene.
3) Democracy at School. Rima Tarbuniene.
4) Russian and Bilingual Projects of I*EARN. Yuri Romanenkov.
 
Mexico
1) Involving the Young Learner and the Community. Rafael Alvarez Martinez.
 
the Netherlands
1)From Individual ICT-Projects to Overall ICT-Integration in Education. Bob Hofman.
 
Poland
1) Co-ordination of ESL projects. Anna Grabowska.
 
Puerto Rico
1) Connecting Math to Our Lives. Enid Figueroa.
 
Romania
1) I*EARN Projects - A Better Motivation to Learn. Cornelia Platon, Petru Dumitru, Florin Serbu.
2) The Home Remedy Project or How to Get the Family Involved in School Life, The Mini-saga Project Finds out What Our Students Would Like to Share With Peers, and Special Places. Petru Dumitru.
3) Special Places. Preda Gratiela.
4) Connecting Math to Our Lives. Petru Dumitru.
5) Learning Circles: Teaching and learning Around the Globe. Cornelia Platon.
 
Russia
1) I*EARN Projects for Elementary School Students. Irina Baskakova.
2) Difficulties and Success of Educational Internet Projects. Larissa Melikhova.
3) Curriculum Integration of the I*EARN Project Work (experience of Russian schools). Natalia Uglava , Victor Minachin , Elizaveta Suklyshkina, Olga Anisimova , Irina Baskakova , Elena Stefanova.
4) I*EARN and Natural Sciences Telecommunication Projects as a Part of Natural Sciences and Mathematical Education. Elena Stefanova, Alexander Ivanov.
5) Communication in Russian. Russian and bilingual projects of I*EARN. Mikhail Avanessov, Larissa Melikhova.
6) I*EARN and National Languages. Vasily Bychkov.
7) Special Places. Elizaveta Suklyshkina, Natalia Uglava, Olga Anisimova, Irina Baskakova.
8) Collaboration and Working beyond the Classroom. Helen Davidova
9) The Holocaust/Genocide Project: Bringing the "Heart" of I*EARN Together to Make a Difference. Liza Suklyshkina, Nastia Zhilina, Victoria Popkova.
10) Global Art. Janika Ruusmaa, Marina Kosinova, Elena Rekichinskaya, Olga Novak.
 
Slovenia
1) Successful project implementations methodologies in the classroom. Mojca Spes, Alenka Kovsca.
2) Planet Friendship--The right way to use I*EARN resources. Branko Marcetic.
 
South Africa
1) Information Communications Technolgy: South African Experiences. Possible presenters: Yorke Rodda, Philemon Kotsokoane, Lorraine Sekete
 
Spain
1) The 'Observatori Solidaritat' Sara Vilar.
2) Open class: approach to an integrated education. Cristfol Jimnez and Ramon Barlam.
3) Lacenet: a successful local project (or how a Pre-Roman character allows our schools to participate in the 21st Century). Toni Casserras.
4) Virtual English-a web based English course, or web pages vs textbooks. Núria Brichs.
5) Basic Suport for Cooperative Work (BSCW) Software. Nica Dalmau.
6) Building a Global Voice for Youth. Elena Noguera.
 
Uganda
1) Telecommunications in Educational Reform. (Case Study: Uganda) Simon Peter Okello.
 
USA
1) Experiences of Teachers and Students in the Global Thinking Project---Georgia/Russia Exchange Project, 1995 - 1998. Jack Hassard and Sara Crim.
2) The History, Philosophy and Future of I*EARN. Peter Copen.
3) Schools and the Changing World of the WWW. Millard Clements.
4) Building a Global Voice for Youth. Benjamin Quinto.
5) In Dreams Begin Responsibilities: Inspiring Utopian Visions in Cyberspace. R.W. Burniske.
6) A Case Study of the I*EARN Experience. Joanne Bodin.
7) Finding & Evaluating Internet Resources. David F. Warlick.
8) The Holocaust/Genocide Project: Bringing the "Heart" of I*EARN Together to Make a Difference. Honey Kern and Christopher Lewis.
9) Involving the Young Learner and the Community. Patti Purcell McLain, Kristin Brown.
10) Community and Values in a Collaborative Project: The First People's Project. Bob Smith.
11) I*EARN for Youth Facing Challenges. Andrea Kimmich-Keyser.
12) Connecting Math to Our Lives. Kristin Brown.
13) Learning Circles: Teaching and learning Around the Globe. Christine Forkner, Margaret Riel.
14) Introduction to I*EARN. Ed Gragert.
15) Schools De-mining Schools. Abou Farmanfarmaian
16) Youth CaN Environmental Action Project. Jay Holmes, Susan Jacobson, Jason Gerber, Free Mondesire, Charlotte Villamil.
17) Global Art. Ann Rowson, Gary LaTurner, Rowena Gerber, Jane McLane, Peter Copen, Kristi Rennebohm-Franz.
18) Teaching and Learning in the Digital Revolution. Sonny Magana.
19) Panel Discussion on the Importance of Organizational Collaborations. David Potter, Sister Cities International, Maureen Jarrard, World Wise Schools - Peace Corps, Michael Hales, GLOBE.
20) History, Hearteache and Hope: On-Line Conferencing Systems and I*EARN. Andy Alm.
21) ARTSEDGE: The National Arts & Education Information Network - Our African Odyssey Interactive Site (resources regarding Africa and the diaspora) and Other Resources. Lynne B. Clement and Scott Stoner.
22) Team-Problem Solving Make-A-Difference Projects: Global Warming. Jim Wallace.
 
Argentina/USA
1) Introduction to I*EARN. Rosy Aguila (Argentina) and Ed Gragert (USA).
 
Australia/Russia/USA
1) Global Art. Joanne Tate,Virginia King (Australia) Janika Ruusmaa, Marina Kosinova, Elena Rekichinskaya,Olga Novak (Russia) Ann Rowson, Gary LaTurner, Rowena Gerber, Jane McLane, Peter Copen, Kristi Rennebohm-Franz (USA)
 
Croatia/Slovenia
1) Planet Friendship--The right way to use I*EARN resources. Branko Marcetic (Slovenia) and Oliver Marcetic (Croatia).
 
Israel/USA/Australia/Russia
1) The Holocaust/Genocide Project: Bringing the "Heart" of I*EARN Together to Make a Difference. Honey Kern, Christopher Lewis (USA) Gideon Goldstein (Israel) Joanne Tate, Aaron O'Shannessy, Briohney North (Australia) Liza Suklyshkina and students, Nastia Zhilina and Victoria Popkova (Russia).
 
Lithuania/Russia
1) Communication in Russian. Russian and bilingual projects of I*EARN. Yuri Romanenkov (Lithuania) Larissa Melikhova, Mikhail Avanessov (Russia).
 
Mexico/USA
1) Involving the Young Learner and the Community. Rafael Alvarez Martinez (Mexico) Patti Purcell McLain, Kristin Brown (USA).
 
Australia/Argentina/USA
1) Community and Values in a Collaborative Project: The First People's Project. Virginia King, Bob Carter (Australia) Anusia Kaczorkiewicz (Argentina) Bob Smith (USA).
 
Hungary/USA
1) I*EARN for Youth Facing Challenges. Judit Lafferthon (Hungary) Andrea Kimmich-Keyser (USA).
 
Kazakhstan/Romania/USA
1) Learning Circles: Teaching and learning Around the Globe. Svetlana Kalashnikova (Kazakhstan) Cornelia Platon (Romania) Christine Forkner, Margaret Riel (USA).
 
Puerto Rico/Romania/USA
1) Connecting Math to Our Lives. Kristin Brown (USA) Enid Figueroa (Puerto Rico) and Petru Dumitru (Romania).
 
Romania/Bulgaria/Kyrgystan/Japan
1) The Home Remedy Project or How to Get the Family Involved in School Life. Petru Dumitru (Romania) Violeta Tsoneva (Bulgaria) Valentin V. Ladeyshicov (Kyrgyzstan) Akiko Fujimura (Japan).
2) The Mini-saga Project Finds out What Our Students Would Like to Share With Peers. Violeta Tsoneva (Bulgaria) Petru Dumitru (Romania) Valentin V. Ladeyshicov (Kyrgyzstan) Akiko Fujimura (Japan).
 
Russia/Latvia/Bulgaria/Romania/Estonia
1) Special Places. Elizaveta Suklyshkina (Russia), Natalia Uglava (Russia) Olga Anisimova (Russia), Irina Baskakova (Russia), Violeta Tsoneva (Bulgaria), Preda Gratiela (Romania), Petru Dumitru (Romania) and Maris Kivistik (Estonia). 
 
Spain/USA
1) Building a Global Voice for Youth. Elena Noguera (Spain) and Benjamin Quinto (USA).
 
 

Keynote Presenters (partial list)

Jennifer Acevedo-Barga. A bilingual native of Bogota, Colombia, Ms. Acevedo-Barga has been involved in global networking projects for two years at her school in Pullman, Washington and has helped initiate a new project called Children of the World.  She thinks it is important for people to learn and understand many languages.  As an educator, she is a leader with ideas and actions that always communicate gentleness, kindness, and compassion.  Jennifer's hope for the world is that people can always help and care with kindness for each other because that will make the world  a better place.

Terry Fletcher.  Mr. Fletcher has been involved with I*EARN projects for the past two years and helped launch the Children of the World project.  As an educator and citizen who cares deeply about protecting our global environment, he has visited water habitats in Zuni, New Mexico and the Boston Common, as well as in his home town of Pullman, Washington.  He is a leader in taking action on behalf of people and all animals and plants.  His hope for the world is that everything  be fair for everyone and for everyone to not have to fight for any reason.

Ted Kahn - President and Founder, DesignWorlds for Learning, Inc.   Fellow, George Lucas Educational Foundation, California.  Dr. Kahn has dedicated most of his professional life to using technology to leverage creativity, collaboration and knowledge creation activities of students, teachers, and workers to enable new kinds of lifelong learning communities.  He has extensive experience in development of computer-mediated environments for learners of all ages.He is a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

Herbert Kohl - Senior Fellow at The Open Society Institute, New York.  Dr. Kohl has taught every grade from kindergarten to graduate school, and has written more than forty books, including 36 Children,  The Open Classroom, I Won't Learn from You, Should We Burn Babar?, and The Discipline of Hope.

Briohney North.  At St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School in Warragul, Victoria, Australia.  Ms. North has been an active participant in the Holocaust-Genocide Project and other projects in I*EARN, bringing an international and cross-cultural experience to her on-line work.

Seymour Papert, Professor of Media Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Laboratory.  Dr. Papert is renowned for his work in education and technology, and holds the Lego Chair for Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab,  is co-founder of the "Artificial Intelligence and Media Laboratories, and the inventor of the LOGO computer language.  Dr. Papert is also the author of Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas, The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer, and The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap.

Leinz Vales - Based in Brooklyn, New York, USA, Mr. Vales has extensive school-based experience with international education through the organization Global Kids and its "Global Action Project (GAP)," which enables youth to produce videotapes on issues affecting youth.  He will be in Croatia with GAP later this summer.  His on-line project work has been in the area of youth powerment and feels that the Internet is a tool to pull together the young leaders of today as one.