iEARN in Action, September 15, 2004

REGISTER NOW FOR iEARN'S 9-WEEK ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES - REGISTRATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 23. Courses run: October 4 - December 5. Each subject-specific course includes 20 teachers from around the world. After the 9 weeks, you will have begun working on a project which fits into your teaching schedule and meets your local/state/national standards.The courses are now approved by several US states/cities, namely New York City, Delaware, and Rhode Island for teacher professional development credentials. For more information, and to enroll, see http://www.iearn.org/professional/online.html.

* For information about iEARN Spanish online courses, see http://www.telar.org.

Join Us! Seeking Contacts, Contributions and Collaborators

NEW iEARN 2004-2005 PROJECT BOOK IS READY!  See
http://www.iearn.org/projects/projectbook.html to download a copy.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE NEXT SESSION OF LEARNING CIRCLES - REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 15!  Learning Circles are a wonderful opportunity to work in a smaller circle of iEARN teachers committed to working on one another's projects. Learning circles are appropriate for every subject area and grade level, so register early and get on board! Placements forms are due September 15th and can be found here. Circles begin the last week of September. For more information, visit http://www.iearn.org/circles

IT'S WORTH READING! PROJECT. Write book reviews of the books you've read and would like to recommend to others!  Facilitated by Sobia Alam and Afshan Haneef Khan in Pakistan. Join in the Literacy Forum.

WHAT IS YOUR SYMBOL? PROJECT. Share the symbols you'd choose to represent your values, priorities and qualities. What kind of flower, machine, bird, etc would you? Facilitated by Vijaya Padma Modali in India. Join in the What Is Your Symbol Forum.

PEARL WORLD YOUTH NEWS SERVICE PROJECT. The Daniel Pearl Foundation is partnering with iEARN to set up a web-based global news service by and for secondary school students. We are looking for schools to serve as the Managing Editor and five section Editors for this project, especially those with prior experience in student journalism. We are also seeking assistance with the development of a "PEARL Reporter" certification process, which would allow students from all iEARN schools to contribute articles to the news service after being accredited. Interested?  Contact Anindita Dutta Roy, iEARN-USA.

INTERESTED IN DEBATE? Hulan Unenbat in Kazakhstan writes, "I've been in iEARN since 1999. Today we are opening a debate center in Almaty. I was just thinking if any of you are interested in debating, you could join us. Then we could all organise an international debate tournament and even make it an iEARN project If any of you are interested or want more info email me."

TIME MACHINE PROJECT. Students embark on an imaginary trip in a time machine, where they are taken to another time and another place. Interested in partnering with Ora Baumgarten of the Sieff and Marks School in Jerusalem, Israel on this new project? For more information, see http://ziv.jerusalem.k12.il/engtime.html

GREAT FEMALE INVENTORS. Interested in helping to start a new project about female inventors? Contact Isabel Teixeira in Brazil.

NEW iEARN FORUM FOR PROJECTS COMMEMORATING THE UN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, 2004. TRADITIONS AND CULTURES FORUM: Two new projects will share this forum:

1) Appreciation of our Culture and Traditions: "Understanding our connected past, to build on a united future" Project.  A project inviting students to research the history of people who came to their country, the legacy they left and the impact on their population today. Contact Gia Gaspard Taylor, iEARN Coordinator in Trinidad and Tobago.

2) Breaking the Silence: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Project. Students in the Americas, Africa and Europe will join together in a serious examination of the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (TST) to increase awareness, to study its causes and its consequences which include the immense contributions made by Africa to the social, cultural and economic development of the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe, and to help eliminate modern forms of slavery and racism. Contact: Yvette Santiesteban, Wendy Nelson-Kaufman, William Jaeger, Caryn Stedman in the US.

Check it out! Resources, Web Sites and Postings (including resources that are not part of iEARN)

SUBMIT EVENTS TO THE 2004 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK (NOVEMBER 15-19) EVENTS DATABASE. To view and submit events, go to http://exchanges.state.gov/iew/events.htm.

ENTER YOUR iEARN PROJECT WORK IN CHILDNET ACADEMY PROGRAMME!  Children's charity Childnet International will soon launch its global Childnet Academy programme for 2005 which it runs in partnership with Cable & Wireless. The Academy competition is for young people 18 years and under who have developed online projects or have a new idea which will benefit other young people around the world. Children and young people can enter individually or as a school project. Winners of the 2005 Academy will win a trip for two to Jamaica to participate in the Academy week programme and prize money from a £30K fund. For further information please visit http://www.childnetacademy.org.

INFOLAC WEB PRIZE FOR BEST EDUCATION PORTALS IN LATIN AMERICA. The winner of the US $4,000 award will be announced in January 2005. Other awards will be given for the second place ($2,000) and for the third place ($1,000). In addition, a special prize($1,000) will be given to the best web page for training instructors. Deadline for applications is October 15, 2004. For more information, see the web site here.

INTERNATIONAL DEBATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION (IDEA) ANNOUNCES MINI-GRANTS FOR PARTICIPANTS WORLDWIDE TO HOST PUBLIC DEBATES, PANELS AND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS TO PROMOTE DISCUSSION ON US FOREIGN POLICY. This international effort is backed by a nonpartisan coalition of groups including the United Nations Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institute and the Open Society Institute. From September 13th - October 15th, hundreds of student and community groups across the world will be holding discussions focusing on U.S. foreign policy. To qualify for a mini-grant of $250, an organizer must commit to hosting an event that will involve 50 or more participants. To qualify for a mini-grant of $500, an organizer must commit to hosting an event that will involve 100 or more participants. For more information, see http://www.idebate.org/thepeoplespeak/index.asp

SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP (ASCD JOURNAL) FEATURES iEARN. As part of the theme of "Teaching for Meaning," the journal includes an article by Stone Wiske "Using Technology to Dig for Meaning."  Her article features Kristi Rennebohm Franz's classroom work with the iEARN Water Habitat Project as example of the TfU element of "Collaborative Communities."  See http://www.ascd.org/

Coming Soon! Upcoming Events and Projects!

SEND GREETINGS TO WASHINGTON STATE, USA INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SUMMIT ("BUILDING GLOBAL RELATIONSHIPS") TO BE HELD OCTOBER 27, 2004. The conference morning plenary session will open with video greetings and comments to the summit participants from iEARN Country Coordinators and includes a panel presentation by iEARN teachers in Washington State who are part of the "Connecting Classroom Communities in the World" Professional Development Project. For more information, including registration go to: http://internationaledwa.org/summit.htm. We invite our global iEARN community to send greetings, introduce yourselves, & share your international education experiences with the Summit Participants by email. For more information contact Kristi Rennebohm Franz, iEARN Teacher Professional Development Project Director.

12TH ANNUAL iEARN CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN JULY, 2005 IN DAKAR, SENEGAL. Watch http://www.iearn.org for more information.