TEACHER REFLECTIONS AND QUOTES
On the iEARN Global Community: "Wow, to be iEARNER is the most wonderful thing that happened to me as a teacher. To be able to communicate with teachers and students from all [around] the globe and be able to share with them your experiences whether the bad or the good... iEARN is the perfect example of how the world became a small village.." Asmaa Al Beriki, iEARN Teacher from Oman.
"iEARN has been my stairway to knowledge.It offers me opportunities to meet international colleagues. The many projects are creative and fabulous. I welcome you to my favorite place...." Lynn Rosen, iEARN Teacher from Brooklyn, New York.
"...My experience has helped me to grow as an iEARN master teacher and project facilitator but more importantly my STUDENTS have grown as global communicators because of those experiences..." Larry Frates, iEARN Teacher and Project Facilitator for the Eye to Eye Project.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Learning Circles Project: This past year has been our most active in the history of iEARN Learning Circles. For 13 years the Learning Circles project has provided a structured process for iEARN teachers to easily get involved in collaborative project work. The recent 2007 January to May session involved 68 schools in 9 Circles. There were over 1750 messages exchanged and 34 different schools published finished projects that featured student work. We even initiated a very popular new Circle that is a collaborative effort between the My Hero Project and Learning Circles. Next year looks like it will be even more exciting. In September of 2007 Learning Circles will be conducting major research to make our project even more exciting for students and teachers to use.
To learn more about this project, click HERE or visit the project website.
To register and join the project for 2007-2008 school year, please contact Barry Kramer, Project Facilitator.
Educational Network Launches Innovative River Program Linking Classes in US, Nepal, India and Bangladesh: New YorkiEARN, in partnership with Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) at Stevens Institute of Technology and the WaterKeeper Alliance announces the launch of our Four Rivers, One World Project. This program promotes
active and responsible citizenship through international environmental
science collaboration among science teachers and their students in
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the United States. “We are looking for |
(1) Project Spotlight
- Learning Circles
- Four Rivers, One World
- Back to School Project Ideas
- iEARN Launches Hindi Language Program
- Goldman Sachs Foundation
- Conference in Istabul, Turkey
(6) iEARN Events/News
- 2008 NECC Conference
- iEARN Program Pilot in Ohio
- iEARN Idaho School Receives Grant
- iEARN Launches CATALYST Program
- Youth Reflects On Conference Experience
- New Website: Be the Change: Upstanders for Human Rights
Want to learn more about iEARN projects, membership and collaboration? Or wish to submit your iEARN success stories or project news, please contact Christine Robinson |
 science teachers in the metropolitan New York City area to participate in this exciting project,” noted Ms. Tina Habib, Director of Government Programs at iEARN-USA. “iEARN-USA will select, prepare and send nine US educators and CIESE trainers to the three south Asian countries in two visits in the Fall of 2007 and Fall of 2008 to help develop ongoing, collaborative science and community action projects in each country. It will feature river excursions with “hands-on” water analysis, community service projects, professional mentoring and networking, videoconferences, and workshop presentations.” iEARN in the other three countries will recruit 12 educators to travel to New York in April 2008 for a two-week training program, which will include participation in the annual YouthCaN conference, sponsored by iEARN and American Museum of Natural History. In addition, the exchange visit will include a responsible advocacy workshop by the WaterKeeper Alliance program and a four-day Hudson River water-testing and analysis program at CIESE in Hoboken, New Jersey. Each participating teacher will receive a scientific water-testing kit as part of the project for use in their classrooms upon completion of the training. For more, download press release HERE.
Back to School Project Ideas: Not sure which iEARN project to join this school year? Here are a few suggestions - just click on the link to view a project description: My Name, A Vision, YouthCaN, Folk Tales, and Laws of Life. For a complete listing of iEARN collaborative projects, click HERE.
iEARN Launches Hindi Language Program: New
York—The Edison School District in New Jersey announced today a
partnership with the International Education and Resource Network
(iEARN) to enhance its existing language programs to include Hindi as
an option for students in the district. The partnership enables NJ
students and teachers to utilize the iEARN Internet-based network’s 20
years of experience in online education to create collaborative spaces
and methodologies for language learning and cross-cultural interchange
with native Hindi speakers in India. For more, dowload press release HERE.
 REGISTER NOW FOR THE NEXT SESSION OF iEARN ONLINE COURSES (Starting October 15th, 2007): An iEARN 9-week online course will help you integrate international collaborative project-based learning into your classroom and fulfill your curriculum standards. You will learn how to connect your classrooms with their peers around the world. This is a great chance to become an active member of the global learning community and learn new skills for online collaboration. Global Connections Exchange Program (GCEP) Scholarship opportunity available for Secondary School Teachers from the following Countries: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Israeli-Arab, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Syria, UAE, United States and Uzbekistan. For more information send an email to online courses.
FOR CALIFORNIA EDUCATORS: iEARN next online courses start October 15th, 2007. Through Cal State San Marcos iEARN's online courses are eligible for 2 units of Extension Credit, at an additional cost of $166 per course. Extension Credit appears on official transcripts and are generally honored by school districts as evidence of professional advancement for salary increases on the pay scale. Credits are not degree applicable. Registration for credit must be completed through Extended Studies department. Click HERE or write to onlinepd@us.iearn.org for more information and early registration.
Washington State Educators: Professional development opportunity for WA educators on Saturday, November 17th. The three-hour workshop will be held at the University of Washington, Seattle and facilitated by Jennifer Geist, and iEARN Teacher and part of BRIDGES for Understanding. Participants will be introduced to iEARN global collaborative projects, how to select a project for students, find a partner, create a project plan and more. For more information, download the PDF flyer HERE.
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General Announcements
The Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education 2007 Call for Applications: The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society are seeking applications for the 2007 Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education. The prize program was created in 2003 to raise awareness of the growing importance of international knowledge and skills for U.S. students and annually awards prizes totaling $150,000 in five different categories. We are pleased to announce that this year we are expanding our State category to also include the 100 largest school districts.
Applications for the elementary/middle school, high school, district/state, and media/technology prizes are due Monday, December 3, 2007. For more information and to access the online application, please click HERE for details and more information.
International Chain of Awareness Conference: iEARN Turkey will be hosting a conference on March 14-16, 2008 in Istanbul. The conference will focus on Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Educators, and students between the ages of 14-18, are encourage to attend. Students can apply and submit projects in the following categories: gender inequality, ecological loss, poverty and hunger, child mortality, water loss and water issues, global warming, and education. Students will present their project work and as a group create a global plan of action.
For more information, please contact Ayse Yavuz.
iEARN EVENTS/NEWS
Ohio Department of Education Announces iEARN Partnership: "...grade levels between fourth and eighth grade are invited to apply for grants to participate in a pilot program to implement Web-based international collaborative learning projects in Ohio classrooms. Selected schools will receive professional development, school-wide access to the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), and small stipends to be used for travel expenses to two workshops and to purchase supplies and equipment related to the implementation of iEARN-based projects..." Click HERE to read more on Ohio's Dept. of Education website.
 NECC 2008 Conference Call for Proposals: With a successful 2007 NECC conference behind us, planning has begun for the 2008 conference to be held in June in San Antonio, TX. Together, iEARN teachers and staff conducted several workshops and we hope to replicate this and more for 2008. NECC is a wonderful opportunity to share your students' work with fellow educators. It not only provides teachers with a stage to showcase their use of technology in the classroom, but also provides a venue to highlight their best practices using iEARN online collaborative projects and tools.
We encourage teachers to submit proposals early. If you plan to submit and present your student showcases, or plan to simply attend the conference, or would like be part of an iEARN presentation please contact Diane Midness - Professional Development Coordinator. We're happy to assist you with any questions when submitting your proposal.
For more NECC details and how to submit, please click HERE.
Sandspoint Charter School Receives Grant to Work with iEARN: Sandspoint Charter School in Sandspoint, ID is one of 51 schools receiving a grant from Panhandle Alliance for Education to work on various educational projects and programs. "This year's grant requests were solid ideas for classroom investments," said PAFE grants committee chairman Don Robson. "They demonstrate once again the creativity and dedication of teachers in the Lake Pend Oreille School District...." Sandspoint was granted $2,500 to work on projects that will "increase student exposure to alternative energy options" and also allow the school to join and participate in iEARN, "an international team teaching organization". To read more about the PAFE grants, click HERE.
 Govtech.com features iEARN's new Progam - CATALYST: "How can students help communities prepare for natural disasters like Katrina and recent floods in Pakistan? How can they play a role in school rehabilitation and consoling peers whose lives have been impacted? These are just two of the questions that students in the U.S., Pakistan and Uzbekistan will address in a new technology-based digital animation exchange and training program. The International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), in partnership with AnimAction and the Red Stick International Animation Festival last week announced the launch of their Community CATALYST Program. This program will help youth in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and the U.S. make a meaningful contribution to their communities through the use of Internet-based interaction to create and share animated public service announcements on the topic of natural disaster preparedness...." Click HERE to read more.
Scholarship Recipient Reflects on Egypt Conference Experience: This past July, students from around the global gathered to participate in the iEARN's Annual International Conference in Cairo, Egypt. A youth summit was held providing the opportunity for students to attend workshops, conduct their own presentations, and foster friendships with other iEARN students. One such student from Morocoo, Israe, and recipient of a Global Connections Exchange Program youth scholarship, shared reflections of her experiences during the conference:
"What I have learned/ developed: Cultural understanding and open mindness, punctuality, efficiency, problem solving, decision making, communication skills, English Skills, and cooperation. What I liked: learning interesting things from different people, meeting new and different people, and making new friendships, the help and efficacy of young Egyptian organizers..."
 New Website: “Be The Change: Upstander for Human Rights” Official Launch Date: October 9, 2007! Explore Facing History and Ourselves’ newest interactive website, “Be the Change: Upstanders for Human Rights”. The website profiles the stories of five extraordinary men and women who have made a positive difference in the world. Designed for middle and high school students, and created with the help of student interviewers, “Be the Change” looks at the influences, inspirations and motivations that led the five /upstanders /to take action on behalf of others. By taking the journey through the website, students connect with a growing global network of their peers who care about creating a more just world. Download a PDF for more information.
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