iEARN in Action, June 14, 2006

iEARN MOURNS THE LOSS OF TALIS BERCIS, iEARN-LATVIA COUNTRY COORDINATOR!

From Cheryl Morgan (iEARN-UK), Daniel Kakinda (iEARN-Uganda), Bob Carter (iEARN-Australia), iEARN Executive Council (EC): "It is our sad and sombre duty to inform you that Talis Bercis, Coordinator of iEARN Latvia, has passed away. Talis died of a malarial infection he contracted in April. Talis is known to many of us for his long and active service of teachers and students in iEARN. He was a member of the iEARN Secretariat and a major motivator of iEARN in Europe."

"It is a tragedy for his family and friends and a big loss for Latvia. There is nobody around able to substitute him. This is just to explain: last year he agreed to be in charge of eTwinning and organized a lot of events to promote the project in Latvia. When we were together in Austria at eTwinning conference, he as always was a leader of our team, the same as at Microsoft's Forum for Innovative Teachers (his profile was published at http://www.innovativeteachers.org/e-europe.htm ). He also kept together all the people who started working in iEARN years ago and this year contacted each of us in connection with the annual report we made together listing all the activities that are going on in the country in iEARN schools. We were planning to organize a reunion in June to celebrate 10-year anniversary of iEARN in Latvia and we are still stuck to the idea, sadly without him. We called Talis our minister of foreign affairs as he had a special talent to communicate with people, to involve them in different projects and activities and to find the way to everybody's heart. I guess it is impossible to over evaluate what he has done for education, teachers and students and we, his colleagues and friends, can't stop thinking about the terrible accident that took him away from us. I believe that many people in iEARN community not only in Latvia but also in other countries will remember him with love and warm feelings."

- Ligija Kolosovska, iEARN-Latvia

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Special Announcements!
1. iEARN Annual World Conference and Youth Summit, Netherlands, July 3-7, 2006.

Seeking Partners: iEARN Projects!
2. Submit your projects to the 2006-2007 iEARN Project Book
3. Check out the 2006, Session 1 Learning Circle publications and sign up now for Session 2!
4. School in the USA seeking partners.
5. NEGAI (OUR WISH) becoming world's largest song.
6. News from the Mamea Group in Iran.

Resources, Contests, Websites and Announcements!
7. Call for submissions for after-school Literacy and Learning Guide.
8. "Talking Kites" Project featured in Italian newspaper.
9. Congratulations to Mostafa Nejati, Iran, new Youth Representative on the iEARN Assembly.
10. iEARN-Canada Schools awarded National Technology Innovation Awards.
11. iEARN-USA teams up with National Geographic Society for My Wonderful World Campaign.

Upcoming Events!
12. Knowledge for Global Classrooms 2006 International Summer Institute.
13. iEARN Annual World Conference and Youth Summit.
14. iEARN at NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) in San Diego, USA.
15. iEARN-Asia and Pacific to hold first regional conference.
16. Role of ICT in Bridge-Building and Social Inclusion Conference.
17. Australian Computers in Education Conference.

Recent Events!
18. iEARN-Nepal introduces students to iEARN at back-to-school workshops.
19. iEARN Pakistan Hold Workshops Focusing on Special Need Schools:
20. Lebanese Youth Paint Murals for the 2006 iEARN International Conference
21. Second Online Party of iTHINK Project.
22. iEARN Morocco Holds Their First National ICT in Education Forum.
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Special Announcements
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1. iEARN ANNUAL WORLD CONFERENCE AND YOUTH SUMMIT IN ENSCHEDE, NETHERLANDS, JULY 3-7, 2006! CONFERENCE NEWS >> Countdown to July 3rd.

Only 18 days to the start of the 13th iEARN World Conference in Enschede Netherlands. The Conference committee is happy to announce that already 300 participants and 120 Youth Summit participants have registered for the conference. Largest delegation till now is from the USA. Together these participants already have submitted 130 workshop proposals, indicating that 'A Learning World’ is the right motto indeed.

In the spotlight -- The start of the conference is really approaching now. The Conference Committee is working at full speed. Please visit the website, we are constantly adding pieces of the program.

We are all looking forward to having you here in the Netherlands.

Two new forums have been created for discussions of the 2006 iEARN Conference and Youth Summit:

2006 iEARN Conference Discussion
2006 iEARN Youth Summit

July 3-7 2006, be there!

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Seeking Partners: iEARN Projects
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2. ATTENTION iEARN PROJECT FACILITATORS!!! If you are currently facilitating an iEARN project, or are planning a new project, and would like to have it included in the 2006-2007 iEARN Project Description Book, please complete the project template below and send it to projectbook@us.iearn.org as soon as possible, but no later than the FINAL DEADLINE of August 20th. For copies of the 2005-2006 version of the book, see
http://www.iearn.org/projects/projectbook.html
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NEW PROJECT TEMPLATE
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1.Name of Project:
2.Brief one-sentence description of project:
3.Full description of project:
4.Age/level of project participants:
5.Timetable/project Schedule:
6.Possible project/classroom activities:
7.Expected outcomes/products:
8.Project contribution to others and the planet:
9.Project language(s):
10.Curriculum/subject area:
11.Names/email of initial participating groups:
12.Name of facilitator(s):
13.Email of facilitator(s):
14.iEARN Forum/Newsgroup where it will take place or is taking place (or leave blank and one will be assigned):
15.WWW page of project (not required):

ONCE COMPLETED, PLEASE RETURN TO projectbook@us.iearn.org.
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3. CHECK OUT THE 2006, SESSION 1 LEARNING CIRCLE PUBLICATIONS! All of the projects can be downloaded or viewed from a Finished Project Page. The next session of Learning Circles will be September 25, 2006 - January 7, 2007. (16 weeks with a 2-week break in December). Learning Circle Placement forms are due on September 15, 2006.

4. SCHOOL IN THE USA SEEKING PARTNERS. A School in Dallas, Texas U.S.A. is seeking schools around the globe to collaborate on iEARN Projects including: Fables Project (grade 3 or 4), Beauty of the Beast Project (grade 4, 5 or 6), My School Your School (grade 2 or 3). We also need schools around the globe to collaborate on projects at the Middle School level on various topics. Contact Susan Hopper. The projects will begin in September 2006.

5. NEGAI (OUR WISH) BECOMING THE WORLD'S LARGEST SONG! This song was made by junior high school students in Hiroshima in 2002, and sung by iEARNers from 12 countries in Japan at the 10th iEARN conference in 2003. We are now promoting 3 activities.

1. To collect translations of this song. we have collected 31 translations. http://www.jearn.jp/2003conference/negai/worldnegaie.html.

2. We have collected everybody's wish from the world and have connected them to the original 4 verses. We have connected more than 500 verses!! (503 verses!) I am proud this may be the world longest song!! http://www2.jearn.jp/fs/1023/ourwish/index.html.

3. We have 140 NEGAI mailing List members from 37 countries! Why don't you join our project? We will spread peace through this song! We are going to join the World Peace Forum in Vancouver, Canada from June 23-28 2006." From Suwako Nagata, Japan.

6. NEWS FROM THE MAMEA GROUP IN IRAN. Second International iPEACE Painting Award: http://ict-club.schoolnet.ir/ippa or contact "Poetry 4 Peace: http://ict-club.schoolnet.ir/p4p. Sixth issue of the Love Voice Online Bimonthly Magazine: http://ict-club.schoolnet.ir/LoveVoice/apr2006/

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Check it Out! Resources, Contests, Websites, Announcements.
(This includes resources that are not part of iEARN)
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7. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! Partnership for Afterschool Education (PASE) seeking submissions for a printed publication: the "Culture of Literacy & Learning Guide." Please send your literacy-linked activities, resource referrals, success stories and helpful hints. All submissions will be considered for inclusion and distributed FREE to educators. Include your full contact information and any necessary information to allow for full "credits" to be given. Phase 1 Deadline: June 30, 2006. Submissions and inquiries can be sent to emi@pasesetter.org

8. ARMENIAN PARTICIPATION IN "TALKING KITES ALL OVER THE WORLD" PROJECT FEATURED IN ITALIAN NEWSPAPER, "MATERA." More than one thousand Armenian students, under the Armenia School Connectivity Program, participated in this worldwide project. For more information click here.

9. CONGRATULATIONS TO MOSTAFA NEJATI, IRAN, NEWLY ELECTED YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE ON THE iEARN ASSEMBLY. Mostafa Nejati, from Iran has been selected as the iEARN Youth Representative for the next two years. He's announced his plans and strategy to connect youth worldwide. To know about his plans, check here. You may contact Mostafa Nejati, the iEARN Youth Representative directly at youthrep@iearn.org.

10. iEARN-CANADA SCHOOLS, JOYCE PUBLIC SCHOOL, URSULA FRANKLIN ACADEMY, AND SPRINGBANK MIDDLE SCHOOL, AWARDED NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AWARDS FROM THE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Click here for more info.

11. iEARN-USA TEAMS UP WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY FOR MY WONDERFUL WORLD CAMPAIGN. An initiative that aims to encourage geographic learning in schools, at home and in local communities. Visit http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/

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Upcoming Events
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12. KNOWLEDGE FOR GLOBAL CLASSROOMS 2006 INTERNATIONAL SUMMER INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, USA, JUNE 18-23. Theme: People, Places, and Patterns: Teaching World Geographies & Cultures. See here or contact: Jamie McGowan.

13. JOIN US AT THE 2006 iEARN ANNUAL WORLD CONFERENCE AND YOUTH SUMMIT IN ENSCHEDE, NETHERLANDS, JULY 3-7! http://www.iearn2006.nl/ See top of News Flash for details..

14. iEARN AT NECC (NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING CONFERENCE) IN SAN DIEGO, USA, JULY 4-7. iEARN-USA and Orillas will be hosting many sessions, as well as the NECC International Reception on July 4. Presenters from Australia, Canada, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, and Trinidad and Tobago will join by video conference from the iEARN Annual Conference in Enschede, The Netherlands. A list of iEARN events at the conference can be found here.

15. iEARN-ASIA AND PACIFIC TO HOLD FIRST REGIONAL CONFERENCE, AUGUST 1-3, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EMERGING SCIENCE AND INNOVATION. Theme: "How to Initiate Collaborative Interactive Learning in iEARN-Asia." 20 countries in Asia Pacific will be represented. For more info click here.

16. FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE ROLE OF ICT IN BRIDGE-BUILDING AND SOCIAL INCLUSION CONFERENCE, NORTHERN IRELAND, SEPTEMBER 10-16. Further details here.

17. AUSTRALIAN COMPUTERS IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE (ACEC), CAIRNS, FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND, OCTOBER 2-4. Organised by iEARN Australia and the Asia Education Foundation. If any iEARN members are interested in attending or presenting, contact iEARN Australia iearnoz@iearn.org.au. For details, see http://www.acec2006.info

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Recent Events
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18. iEARN NEPAL INTRODUCES STUDENTS TO iEARN. Workshops were conducted on how to use online project forums and share project work online. Participants include students from Nobel Academy, Donbosco High School, St. Xavier's School, Valley View School, Pathshala Nepal and Mahan Siddhartha School. http://www.iearn.org.np/

19. iEARN-PAKISTAN HOLDS WORKSHOPS FOCUSING ON SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOLS. On May 3, 2006 iEARN Pakistan's Farah Kamal facilitated a workshop focusing on special needs schools. The workshop included 15 teachers from six different schools from the Sindh Province. http://www.iearnpk.org/

20. LEBANESE YOUTH PAINT MURALS FOR 2006 iEARN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. On May 13, 2006, 51 students from eight iEARN schools in Lebanon joined to paint 4 murals at the Al Ahlieh School. The murals will travel all the way to the Netherlands for inclusion in the 2006 iEARN International Conference as part of this year's Youth Summit. http://www.iearnlb.org/

21. SECOND ONLINE PARTY OF iTHINK PROJECT. Friday, May 26th, 2006 at 3:30 P.M. GMT. Participants from Pakistan, Iran, India, and Egypt who were all members of the iEARN iTHINK Project participated in this online meeting and discussed about the greatest treasure of iEARN. Most of them considered the friendship, trust and love among iEARNers as the greatest treasure of iEARN. For more information about this meeting check http://foro.iearn.org/.1dec7696/

22. iEARN-MOROCCO HOLDS ITS FIRST NATIONAL ICT IN EDUCATION FORUM. On May 26-28, 70 teachers from 20 different schools in Morocco participated in an advanced iEARN Workshop. This workshop marked iEARN Morocco's first national meeting in the El Jadida City. http://www.mearn.org/

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For Reference
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TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE NEWSFLASH: Send your announcement (2-3 lines) to newsflash@us.iearn.org.
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iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) is a global non-profit network that empowers teachers and students to undertake projects designed to make a meaningful contribution to the health and welfare of the planet and its people. Started in 1988, iEARN is currently active in over 120 countries, with 1,000,000 students participating as part of their education. iEARN-International: http://www.iearn.org

Download the 2005-2006 iEARN Project Book: http://www.iearn.org/projects/projectbook.html (available in Arabic, English, French, and Japanese) or for a full listing of iEARN projects, see: http://www.iearn.org/projects/
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