iEARN in Action, June 7, 2007

"I myself feel really lucky because I can be part of this global family. Though this is only my third year in iEARN, I've found that this is a secure and inspiring network. I have learnt a lot of wonderful things, especially related to education, from wonderful people. I believe that iEARN will always sustain and stand out in making this world a better place to live...in iEARN, I found my strength and confidence to act out. I hope iEARN will inspire more and more people and a better world will soon come true." -- Ira Fasa, iEARN-Indonesia

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SPECIAL FORUM:
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Dear Friends,

Join the iEARN in the 21st Century Discussion from May 2 to June 18, 2007. iEARN participants can join via the web http://foro.iearn.org/iearnforums/future or offline newsreader apc.iearn.future, or register to receive messages posted to your email address by emailing subscribe@us.iearn.org and requesting to be added to iearn-future@lists.iearn.org. The participation of everyone in the discussion is crucial for the success of the process; each and every one of us is part of iEARN's future!

Waiting to hear from you,
Bob C and Eliane
Facilitators,
iEARN in the 21st Century
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Seeking Partners: iEARN Projects!
1. Call for projects for 2007-2008 iEARN Project Book.
2. International Literature Collaborative Learning Project.
3. Class in USA seeking partners for study of revolutions and civil wars.

Resources, Contests, Websites and Announcements!
4. iEARN colleagues in Argentina, Botswana, and Macedonia featured in
Edutopia's Global Six.
5. Edutopia invites reader comments.
6. New YouthCaN 2007 Video.
7. Study released on impact of iEARN's founding project in 1988: New York
State-Moscow School Telecommunications Project.

Upcoming Events!
8. 14th Annual iEARN International Conference and Youth Summit, Cairo, Egypt, July 21-26.

Recent Events!
9. Second National MEARN (iEARN-Macedonia) Conference, May 25-27, 2007.

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Seeking Partners: iEARN Projects
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1. DO YOU WANT YOUR iEARN PROJECT INCLUDED IN THE 2007-2008 iEARN PROJECT BOOK? If you are currently facilitating an iEARN project, or are planning a new iEARN project, and would like to have it included in the 2007-2008 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 25th. If yours is a new project, idea, please note that all new projects must indicate that they have an initial group of participants (#11 below) before being considered for publication. To find partners for your project, please share your project idea in the Teachers Forum, or, for students, the Youth Forum. In addition, you are welcome to share your new project idea in the iEARN News Flash newsletter by sending a brief description to newsflash@us.iearn.org.

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iEARN 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 for the 2007-2008 school year:
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):

PLEASE RETURN PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS TO projectbook@us.iearn.org.
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2. INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE COLLABORATIVE LEARNING PROJECT. http://www.education.gov.il/ipncl. Coordinated by the Israel Ministry of Education, Pedagogical Secretariat. The main idea of the project is to study literature together in English. Coordinator Reuven Werber writes, - Here in Israel, the project is meant for students studying literature as their subject of concentration. English teachers help in formulating the communication. The idea of the project is to study, in both our countries, two stories (or poems): a Hebrew one that is translated into your language and one written in your language that has been translated into Hebrew. ContactReuven Werber in Israel.

3. CLASS IN UNITED STATES SEEKS PARTNERS FOR STUDY OF REVOLUTIONS AND CIVIL WARS. I would like to compare various countries histories on Revolutions and Civil Wars. We study the American Revolution in the Fall (2007) and the American Civil War in the Spring (2008). I am not sure of the details yet, but I would like to find commonalities and differences between the U.S. experience and other countries experiences. I thought it would be a great way to get global and cover the curriculum at the same time. Please let me know if you would be interested in further discussing this project idea. Andrea Perrin.

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Check it Out! Resources, Contests, Websites, Announcements.
(This includes resources that are not part of iEARN)
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4. CONGRATULATIONS TO iEARN COLLEAGUES FEATURES IN THE EDUTOPIA GLOBAL SIX! Congratulations to Rosy Aquila (Argentina -- Pioneer in teaching teachers to use the Internet for online, collaborative projects throughout Argentina), Tommy Hamaluba (Botswana -- Founder of the grassroots Eradication of Malaria Project, in which his students educate themselves about malaria and teach their communities in Botswana about prevention.) and Jove Jankulovski (Macedonia -- Builder of bridges between Macedonian and Albanian youth, whose countries have been at odds, using the Internet as a tool to foster collaboration and understanding). Read about them at http://www.edutopia.org/daring-dozen-2007 (Use the related links on the right.)

5. EDUTOPIA INVITES READER COMMENTS! The George Lucas Educational Foundation's magazine about education innovation and reform, invites reader voices and comments for its next issue. See responses to previous topics at http://www.edutopia.org/sageadvice. The question for the next issue is "Your students are growing up in a world immersed in high tech. You (most likely) didn't. How do you relate?" Send your 25- to 100-word replies, and/or suggestions for future questions. Deadline is June 8, 2007. Please include your name, title, affiliation, and location. Responses may be edited for length and clarity.

6. NEW STUDENT-PRODUCED YOUTHCAN VIDEO OF 2007 EVENT AT AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IN NEW YORK CITY, USA. See here.

7. STUDY RELEASED ON IMPACT OF iEARN's FOUNDING PROJECT IN 1988. A team of graduate students at New York University (NYU) in the USA has released a report - The New York State; Moscow Schools Telecommunications Project -- The Founding Project of iEARN. A Comparative Program Analysis of New York Schools and their Interactions with their Russian and Chinese Counterparts. This study serves as an assessment of the NYS-MSTP, to evaluate the impact of the program on teachers, students and administrators during the years 1988-1993. See here for full report (published May, 2007). More evaluations on iEARN can be found here.

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Upcoming Events
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8. iEARN-EGYPT TO HOST 14TH ANNUAL iEARN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND 11TH YOUTH SUMMIT, JULY 21 - 26, 2007 IN CAIRO. The theme of the conference is: Connecting Cultures and Respecting Differences: A Global Dialogue for Development and Sustainability. This theme will serve as an umbrella for iEARN projects and other sub-themes such as: professional development, new educational developments, new developments in ICT, iEARN initiatives and management, global dialogue and rural development. The conference is expected to attract 1000 participants. Parallel to the educators' conference, there will be an international youth summit with a focus on Leadership and Youth Empowerment. Check out the new conference website, designed by iEARN-Egypt students and alumni: http://www.iearn2007.net. General inquiries: <info@iearnegypt.org> & <dalia@iearnegypt.org>. Conference registration & call for paper: <iearn2007@yahoo.com> & <info@iearnegypt.org>. Deadline for workshop
submissions has been extended until April 25, 2007. Conference and Youth
Summit registration is open from July 1, 2006 - June 30 2007.

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Recent Events
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9. MEARN (iEARN-Morroco) ORGANIZED SECOND NATIONAL CONFERENCE, MAY 25-27, 2007. The event gathered more than 100 participants from all regions of the country. The forum was organized in partnership with the regional academy for education and training of Meknes Tafilalt, with the theme, "ICTs integration of the field of training and learning."

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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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