iEARN in Action, February 8, 2005

TSUNAMI RELIEF EFFORTS - UPDATE! 
iEARN has created a special bank account to receive funds donated for Tsunami relief. See http://www.iearn.org/tsunami_relief.html for details. Additionally, a new Operation H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) Project page and Forum have been established to connect schools who need help in times of crisis with other schools around the world who want to help and build long-term relationships with them. Recent updates:

From Cornelia Platon, iEARN-Romania Coordinator - "I would like to inform you that I have managed today to transfer $2400 to the iEARN-Earthquake account number, and I am very proud to tell you that this money was collected by my students within the campaign I launched in my little town 'From our hearts to the children of Asia,' and I invite you to read about this action at http://www.iearn.dej.ro/en_apel_asia.html "

From students in the USA: "Dear Staff of iEARN, Every year we, Ben, Eli, and I [Koji] have a joint birthday party and ask our friends to donate some money to our choice of charity instead of gifts. This year we wanted to donate to the children affected by the tsunami and chose iEARN-Earthquake fund. Enclosed are checks we received from our classmates to donate to the iEARN-Earthquake fund. We raised $1025 and were so proud of the outcome. Thank you for doing wonderful projects to connect all children, youth and adults in the world."

From Eliane Metni, iEARN-Lebanon Coordinator - A team of students in Lebanon designed and prepared a 2005 iEARN Calendar/Planner to raise funds for the iEARN Relief Fund - to date, over $3000 has been raised in their sale.

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"I chose iEARN projects because I like chatting with people in other countries and sharing information with them. Talking about the history of my country. Also iEARN respects the Islamic manners as my teacher said, they are the cooperation, the good deeds, the good dealing with the other people. So it's interesting & useful. iEARN is including very useful projects like fighting against drugs,the women rights in Islam countries, animals are our friends, cycling and my hero.." - Sarah Hosny, Egypt

LAST CHANCE TO ENROLL for FEBRUARY 2005 iEARN ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES. Nine week interactive online courses begin February 21 - April 25th, 2005. Course listings and information on each course are available at http://www.iearn.org/professional/index.html. Early enrollment is recommended, as courses fill up quickly.

iEARN COMES TO AUSTRIA! Sparked by an interest in the Art Miles Mural Project, educators in Vienna, Austria have launched a new iEARN-Austria program.  Want to work in German?  Want to work with Austrian schools? Contact Maria Bader. To check it out, click here. Welcome Maria, and thanks for bringing Austrian students into collaborative project work!

Join Us! iEARN Projects, Seeking Contacts, Contributions and Collaborators

**DOWNLOAD THE NEW iEARN 2004-2005 PROJECT BOOK!  See http://www.iearn.org/projects/projectbook.html (available in Arabic, English, French, and Slovenian), or for a full listing of iEARN projects, see: http://www.iearn.org/projects/

A DAY IN YOUR LIFE PROJECT INTRODUCES NEW DIGITAL PHOTO EXCHANGE FORUM. Students digitally photograph their daily routines, such as mealtimes, getting to school, after-school jobs, home life, family traditions, etc, and write a paragraph or two to accompany each photograph, explaining the photograph's contents and rationale. The digital photos and captions will be exchanged by email, and, provided proper permissions are obtained from any people identifiable in the photos, may be included in a web gallery. Contact Viviana Cuello in Argentina and Chris Baer, USA . Forum: One Day - A Day in the Life Project.

POST MESSAGES (IN FRENCH OR ENGLISH) TO CITIZENS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO ON EVE OF ELECTIONS. This summer, citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be able to vote in the first free, democratic election in their country in 40 years. What message do you have for them on the eve of this historic event? Congolese youth want to hear what you think about electoral processes, the impact of democratic elections on a country's future and on that of its citizens, and what the role of youth is in the political process. This call for participation will contribute to the iEARN forum "Central Africa Collaboration," where countries in francophone Africa (primarily Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Cameroon) meet to discuss issues of concern to the region. They are currently discussing issues related to peace-building and the upcoming (June 2005) elections in DRC, where a series of international and civil conflicts have deteriorated conditions for citizens over the last several decades. You may participate in English or French in the forum iEARN-CAC. (English contributions will be translated into French by project participants). For more information, contact Xavier Ndona in the DRC or Sarah Lucas in France. For more about the project, see here.

CLASSROOMS SEEKING PARTNERS FOR TEDDY BEAR PROJECT. Paired classes send each other a Teddy Bear or other soft toy by airmail. When it arrives the bear writes home a diary message by email at least once a week describing its adventures, the places it has been, as well as the things it has seen and done. Visit http://foro.iearn.org/iearnforums/teddybear/ to find partners who are currently awaiting matches.

JOIN IN DISCUSSION OF GOREE ISLAND (SENEGAL) AS PART OF TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE PROJECT. Caryn Stedman in the USA writes, "Mrs. Nelson Kauffman's class is doing a reflection and discussion on Goree Island (Senegal) and my class has begun to post their reflections on the book about the French Slave Ship "The Diligent." Please encourage your students to join our students (ages 14-17) in the "Traditions and Cultures" forum under "The Diligent": or the "Goree Island" threads! They are so anxious to share! Thanks! Hope to see you there!"  To learn more about the project, click here.

APPLY FOR THE ENO PROGRAMME 2005-06. Teach and learn about the environment in a global web school! We will choose approximately 200 new schools (English only) to become members for school year 2005 -2006. The deadline for applications is March 31 2005. Official ENO schools will be announced on April 2005 in the ENO website.Click here to Apply. For more information, see http://eno.joensuu.fi or http://www.iearn.org/projects/enoproject.html.

Check it out! Resources, Contests, Web Sites and Announcements (This includes resources that are not part of iEARN)

SEATTLE TIMES NEWSPAPER IN THE USA FEATURES STORY ABOUT iEARN CLASSROOM. January 15, 2005 - "Bellevue students forge ties with Mideast schools," by Cara Solomon. Read this story about students at Stevenson Elementary School here.

CALL FOR PAPERS - ACADEMIC EXCHANGE EXTRA. A MONTHLY PEER-REVIEWED ON-LINE FORUM. Extra presents ideas, research methods, and pedagogical theories leading to effective instruction and learning regardless of level, subject or context. Send electronic submissions to Elizabeth Haller, Kent State University, USA. http://asstudents.unco.edu/students/AE-Extra/index.html.

CONGRATULATIONS to Samuel Odofin in Ghana (Biotechnology Issues), Maryam Behnoudi in Iran (Mathematic Virtual Learning Circle) http://math.schoolnet.ir/, and Alisher Navoi School in Uzbekistan ("Me Against Terrorism") and all the other schools worldwide recognized in the Cable and Wireless Childnet Awards. See http://www.childnetacademy.org/winners.

SPRING DAY IN EUROPE. A website through which schools learn about European Union developments and incorporate them into the curriculum. http://futurum2005.eun.org.

WEBBING THE ISLANDS PROJECT. In April, 2005, a major cultural festival in Tasmania, Australia, 'Ten Days on the Island' will bring together island performers from around the world to perform throughout the island of Tasmania. http://www.tendaysontheisland.com. During 2004, representatives from all education systems in Tasmania met to plan communications projects to coincide with the festival and involve students from each of the countries represented at the festival. We are now seeking schools from around the world, specifically from island communities, who would like to work with our schools here in Tasmania, Australia.  A web site has been set up  to facilitate these student contacts. http://webbingtheislands.com.

Coming Soon! Upcoming Events and Projects!

WOMEN AS GLOBAL LEADERS: EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION, MARCH 14-16, 2005. Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  http://www.zuglobaleaders.org.

YouthCaN 2005 ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD ON APRIL 11, 2005. Every year, YouthCaN collaborates with organizations around the world to put together conferences at which youth exchange their ideas, findings, and knowledge about the environment. The conferences include students from local schools, as well as video conferencing with students in other locations. If you would like to participate or join in any of the events, please contact youthcan@us.iearn.org. iEARN-USA (American Museum of Natural History, New York City) and iEARN-Lebanon (American Community School) are already planning to host gatherings. See http://www.youthcanworld.org for details and to get involved! Students have chosen the theme for this year's conference to be "Species becoming endangered due to human abuse."

GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY (GYSD), APRIL 15-17, 2005. On Global Youth Service Day, millions of young people in countries everywhere highlight and carry out thousands of community improvement projects. iEARN-USA is on the International Coordinating Committee of GYSD. See http://www.gysd.net for more information on how to participate. Additionally, discussions are underway about in the iEARN Teachers Forum, Discussion Thread: Global Youth Service Day.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE LEARNING PROCESS FOR POSITIVE THINKING DEVELOPMENT, APRIL 18, 2005. Venue: Secondary School"Pejo Javorov", Bulgaria.  Contacts, Co-organizers: Educational authorities - Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Plovdvi University, "Paisii Hilendarski", Sofia University, Department for teacher's qualification services.

12TH ANNUAL iEARN CONFERENCE - JULY 17-24 2005 IN DAKAR, SENEGAL. Conference info. The conference will be held at the Ngor Hotel. Want to present a workshop proposal at the conference? send an e-mail message to: workshopregistration@us.iearn.org and a workshop application will be sent to you automatically. Want to register to participate in the conference? Send a message to: confregistration@us.iearn.org. Watch http://www.iearn.org for more information, or login to the 2005 Senegal Conference Discussion Forum. Youth are encouraged to join in the new 2005 Youth Summit Forum to help organizers in planning the youth summit.

Recent Events!

iEARN TAIWAN YOUTH WINTER CAMP HELD ON JANUARY 29-30. About 50 students from grade 5 to 11 participated in this camp with iEARN Taiwan teachers' facilitation. Its purpose: knowledge about iEARN Youth CaN, IT skills improvement, collaboration practice, and actions for making a difference in our environment. Youth CaN hiking was conducted in the mountain area called "Mountain Shou" in Kaohsiung City. iEARN Taiwan Youths conducted natural exploration along the path. See http://taiwaniearn.org.tw.