Last update at http://inet.nttam.com : Tue May 9 12:27:57 1995 Title: Creating Global Learning Communities: I*EARN's Action-Based Projects Kristin Brown Program Coordinator, I*EARN 214 Hilt Road Hornbrook, CA 96044 E-mail: krbrown@igc.apc.org The Union of Concerned Scientists urgently warns us that, "No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished." In the face of such warnings, educators are asking how they will provide our world's youth with the skills, tools and mindset required to handle the enormous problems they will inherit in the 21st century. Educators in many parts of the world are locked in debate about alternatives for reforming educational systems our societies have outgrown. One promising direction for educational reform involves using the Internet with K-12 students to create global learning communities and develop more effective pedagogical practices. The use of educational telecommunications in the classroom clearly holds potential as both a communication tool and as a research tool for collaborative projects or activities. It is not immediately clear to educators, however, how to organize their classrooms to take advantage of this untapped potential Educational publications, as well as the general news media, speak constantly of the value of the "Information Superhighway" to K-12 education. Yet, when teachers and students avail themselves of Internet access and technology, they are at a loss to find direct classroom applications for the massive on-line information that is now on-line. In order to unleash the remarkable power of the Internet as a communicative and discovery tool, students must have a compelling reason for communicating with others and for searching out and analyzing new information. I*EARN presents a pedagogical model in which students cooperate with others in seeking solutions to common problems. Through action-based project work, I*EARN creates global learning communities in which collaborative critical inquiry and creative problem solving are highlighted. The purpose of I*EARN (the International Education and Resource Network) is to facilitate educational projects designed to empower young people (K-12) to make a meaningful contribution to the health and welfare of people and the planet. Students work collaboratively in different parts of the world through global networking. In this project students go beyond both simply being "pen-pals" and working on strictly academic work to use telecommunications in joint student projects designed to make a difference in the world as part of the educational process. The network is expanding to additional international sites daily and now includes about 500 schools in over 20 countries. I*EARN attempts to maintain a balance of schools inside and outside North America in order to insure intercultural diversity. Countries represented include: The US, Russia, China, Costa Rica, Israel, Australia, Korea, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, England, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa, West Bank, Brazil, Uruguay, Turkey and Spain. In addition, we are negotiating with organizations in Nicaragua, Egypt, Senegal, Singapore and Haiti. I*EARN projects generally utilize three forms of interaction: 1. video-speaker telephones (low-cost, using regular telephone lines, slow-scan, black & white); 2. electronic mail; and 3. on-line conferencing exchanges. Participants can join existing structured on-line projects or work with others internationally to create their own projects within the following subject areas of environment and science; arts and literature; social studies, economics, and politics; and interdisciplinary projects. Project facilitators provide on-line support for each project. Further, I*EARN uses extensive on-line conferencing as a means of creating "rooms" for project work. The contents of these rooms are shared automatically with all the international networks that are part of the Association for Progressive Computing, thus minimizing costs and maximizing involvement by students and teachers around the world. The Association for Progressive Computing APC is a confederation of computer networks concerned with peace, environmental, conflict resolution, health and public interest issues. It is composed of the sub- networks Alternex in Brazil, Chasque in Uruguay, Green Net based in London, Pegasus in Australia, NordNet in Sweden, ComLink in Germany, Ecuanex in Ecuador, GlasNet in Russia, IGC (itself comprised of PeaceNet, EcoNet, ConflictNet and LaborNet) in San Francisco, Nicarao in Nicaragua, and The Web in Ontario, Canada. Examples of recent student projects include: o "The Contemporary," a student-run international news magazine o "A Vision," an award-winning literary journal; o "Planetary Notions," an environmental newsletter; o "Liberty Bound" - a human rights newsletter o "ICARUS," an ozone measurement project and newsletter; o The Holocaust/Genocide Project & Newsletter o The Rainforest Project o Support for children in Bosnia and Somalia o Building wells for clean water in Nicaragua o The Family Project, A cross-cultural comparison to promote intergenerational learning. o YouthCaN: An international networking project to promote environmental action and sustainability These are just a few examples of the ways that teachers and students collaborate on humanitarian, multicultural, action-oriented telecommunications projects. Through student writing over electronic networks students' gain greater understanding of cross-cultural and interpersonal relations as well as greater awareness about seemingly distant social issues that in fact impact on their daily lives. Such opportunities for international collaboration also lead to direct action either in the form of local community-based service or international mutual assistance. In the following remarks, students and teachers comment on what they have learned from these opportunities for collaboration: "I*EARN helped me to learn to present us Chinese students to the world and come to understand better what is happening world wide and how people from other countries feel about it. This better perception of the world and its people will help me significantly in the future as I be work with people from different backgrounds. Actually, while in college right now I already feel myself better prepared than most students in facing a more diverse and international community." Zheng Zhou Dartmouth College "My experience in working with The Contemporary was important, yet I think I*EARN is more than just a place to work on projects. It has helped me to have a more open mind concerning issues of the world. It is a place where children can express their feelings and beliefs about issues that they are faced with every day. It promotes broad- minded thinking and helps break down cultural barriers. I*EARN is also an educational system, a resource, that students can utilize to learn about current events. Through I*EARN we are able to educate each other, and at the same time influence others. So, as I see it, I*EARN is an educational key, an opening of comunications between different worlds." Heather Bentley, Senior Cold Spring Harbor High School Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA "Our students (in School #1129 in Moscow, Russia) try to answer to all discussion question in The Contemporary. It is very useful for their adulting because some of the question we had never discussedbefore. And it make them to think not only as the students but as the people of the Earth." Alla Shushkovskaya, Principla School 1129, Moscow, Russia I*EARN's action-based projects take advantage of full Internet access. Our experience has shown that global learning networks have the potential for creating and sustaining the kinds of learning communities that will teach students to confront the social, cultural, economic and ecological challenges ahead.