Collaboration is Education

If you are having problems finding articles that are aimed at teachers interested in using technology in the classroom then a visit to these sites will help you source some great reading material.

www.thejournal.com

Why We Need to Teach 21st Century Skills to our students
http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23244_2

Multimedia and Internet@Schools
www.mmischools.com
Social Networking and Your Library OPAC!
http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=13955

http://www.newsweek.com

Doing research is great but entering into this world and actually finding what you are searching for comes with much frustration and much joy because I have found that often the pieces of really valuable stuff are found by accident – at least for me – searching for articles online or resources is time consuming and demands real skill – I have great respect for librarians and with the her holding my hand I was feeling rather confident but when left to my own devices I did I found that it was really a very hit and miss affair -actually mainly a miss… but then I had some lucky accidents which have provided really great articles. I also find that going to good websites like Edutopia have provided me with some of the best links to resources that suit my needs.

I often hear of Canadian schools getting involved in some form of outreach – this is a truly wonderful idea and these projects can have a huge impact on rural communities. But often the schools in Canada need to be more aware of some of the scam artists out there – a website with great pictures is easy to create. Some of this great projects under scrutiny show up as being nothing short of a scam – projects which are misguided or worse…. with some of these groups the students and schools hard earned cash goes mostly towards sustaining the non profit machines and only a very small amount gets to the community project.

As educators I beg of you to verify where the funds you raise are going to. Check out the credentials of the group and look at their financial records. Question the administrative costs involved.
With a little effort you and your students can become aware and so make a difference to the lives of others in countries less privileged. Ensure that your dollars get to the people who need it.

Bulungula and the gardening project is a project that is low budget but the impact is huge.
Your students could make a world of difference to Xhosa students living in this remote village in South Africa. Get involved with really good people who are making a difference.

Visit the website of the Gardening Project

The children in Mount Currie are keen to learn about other First Nation Communities in Canada and in other parts of the wold. Kika7 is a First Nation doll and she is travelling around British Columbia gathering information to bring back to the children at Xit’olacw Community School. Our school is one of the oldest Band operated schools and can be found up in Mount Currie.
Visit the Kika7 website

I am in two minds about the direction I should take.
On the one hand, I would like to continue working and developing the last field study work that I did. This involved setting up a website on which the travels of Kika7, a First Nation doll is tracked and schools that she visits report back and we post their input.
My interest is in finding ways to get rural communities to start developing connections. I am interested in developing communication as well as a cultural exchange among First Nation schools. How can this sharing enrich the First Nation students understanding of other communities and traditions

Then on the other hand I am travelling a lot doing outreach work for JUMP math – a non profit organisation that believes that all children can do mathematics. We are working on developing online PD and are putting together videos snippets of best practice lessons so that teachers in remote areas can access and use these.
My interest is in developing a way to support teachers in these communities and to link them up through video conferencing and blogs.
What would help teachers be more effective in class. Is it links to good websites, online material,videos or monthly meetings for online support – how can I develop a community of learners in remote regions?

Every year Volvo, Sweden, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme launches one of the best environmental competitions for students aged between 13 and 16 years of age.
The aim is to get students to look to the environmental problems in their own communities and to work out a strategy to respond and to work on solutions to solve or improve these issues.

I was fortunate to be able to travel with two teams to Sweden to represent South Africa in 2002 and Canada in 2004.The experience was incredible. The meeting of the winning young environmentalists from around the globe is the real prize here although the winning teams do go home with a cheque of $10 000 to use on the project.

When students are working on real problems in their own communities a new level of research becomes evident. The work is of a high standard and relies on problem solving and high level thinking. The use of computers, research on the internet and access to expert environmental scientists take the projects to new levels. Film making and presentations using storytelling and documentaries is very powerful and students thrive on the challenges of finding ways to showcase the environmental issues in the community.
It is my experience that adults tend to pay attention to environmental problems when students are voicing their concerns and thoughts – students seem able to pose thorny questions that many adults fear to ask.

The use of technology is often used in only one way for these students – they use computer programs to teach them how to read or to react to certain stimuli.
These programs cost schools and governments thousands of dollars and I question the price tags. Thank your lucky stars if you live in Canada – in the rest of the world parents get no financial help and these programs are out of the question.

I think we are short changing these students by not exposing them to a rich creative environment where they are taught the skills of digital photography and film making. Give them a digital camera to use. Teach them photography and let them play and discover the wonders of capturing images and seeing the results printed or put into a Power Point slide show. The power of showing off their work is immense on their confidence and on their standing in the school community.

I have done a field study this year and it involves a First Nation doll, Kika7 traveling around to Band schools.
I need to connect the young students living on reserve and I want to use computers and digital cameras to do this.

My daughter attended a course at the Gulf Island Film and Television School during the summer of her Grade 11 year .
I can truly say that this event was a highlight of her education in Canada.

It all came about because the school district cancelled the video production course that she had set her heart on doing in Grade 12. I was so disgusted by this that I was determined to find a place that could meet the needs of a student fascinated by film making. An article in the Vancouver Sun about G.I.F.T.S caught my eye and I was able to get her a place to attend a week long workshop.

The time she has spent there was magical, exhausting and profoundly life changing.
The secret is that the teachers involved here have the unique ability to challenge and develop creativity beyond anything students believe is possible. In a week they share a glimpse of what can be, if you are dedicated, work hard and harness your creativity into film making.
Hearing the feedback from my own daughter and the people she met that week so impressed me that that I set about mailing all my contacts so that more students could get this incredible opportunity – we sent students and teachers from Xit’olacw Community school to attend the First Nations Program. Every person involved returned with the same story – they came back changed forever by the exposure of the power of film and story telling. They had been shown a snippet of what is possible when a team works together to tell a story.
If you are interested,the students work of 2007 can be viewed at

http://www.giftsfilms.com/eyelens.cfm

Place your vote for your favorite film.
The film receiving the most votes will be awarded the People’s Choice Award!

IEARN is an excellent site to visit if you are interested in linking up with excellent projects around the world.
The IEARN conference will be taking place in Canada in 2010.