The emergence of different and effective modes of electronic communication
is rapidly expanding our possibilities for dialogue, collaboration
and learning, offering the chance to break down barriers of time,
space and circumstance but also the walls that have kept knowledge
out of the reach of many. Technologies which were once mainly
conceived of as aids to economic growth, business and research
are now being offered to a wide spectrum and number of people,
particularly in the field of education and learning. This has
led to the establishment of distinct services, in the form of
Internet sites or e-mail-connected classrooms and other learning
communities, which aim to address learning issues and seek to
develop ways of stimulating learning among people of different
ages. These services have achieved a particular relevance, in
and outside the school, in creating environments for innovative
learning practice, assisting teachers and in accompanying individual
learners in the quest for dialogue and the sharing of ideas beyond
their own families, regions or country.
A global internet classroom starts with one group of students
asking a question to another group of students living in another
part of the world. Their dialogue and exchange through internet
is then passed onto another classroom in a further school. Results
of dialogues or joint classroom projects are posted onto the web
and the process continues. An Internet user, unlike the person
watching television or radio, has the benefit of being able to
respond directly to information. It is this interaction that characterises
the Internet and gives it a unique opportunity for opening up
learning. It has given many children worldwide the chance to discover
culturally diverse opinions and develop a global dimension to
their work. These channels of communication are still very much
in their infancy but the movements they are creating are changing
notions of both teaching and learning.
Rather than attempting to present an exhaustive list of these
cases, following is a short overview of some of the most interesting
sites and experiences attempting to address children's
concerns and encourage thought in and outside the school.
The web site Voices of youth (http://www.unicef.org/voy/)
was developed by UNICEF to create an appropriate environment for
children and adolescents to take part in discussions on current
global issues and concerns. The site is, therefore, interactive.
Youths from around the world are encouraged to speak up and are
asked to discuss how the world could become a better place where
the rights of each and everyone, particularly children, are exercised
- that is, the right to live in peace, to have a decent shelter,
to be healthy and well-nourished, to have clean water, play, go
to school, and be protected from violence, abuse and exploitation.
Electronic discussion on this site has enabled thousands to interact,
adding their opinions to others from around the world. The site
stresses to young people: >Remember
that your voice is strongest when it is joined by the voices of
other young people around the world. The greater the number of
those who take part in Voices of Youth, the louder the voices
are". Children's
opinions are shared on-line with many adults who consult the site
for research or who use the links and information presented. Write-ups
on events, selections of key opinions and the documents are contained
on the site and updated regularly. The site is also a chance for
UNICEF to keep in touch with adolescents'
opinions, stress the notions of dialogue and concertation in their
work and see what trends and ideas are emanating from children
from diverse backgrounds and countries The site is divided into
three main fora:
The meeting place: in this forum children think about and
give their opinions on current global issues, particularly in
the light of how they affect children worldwide. Internet users
are asked to see in which ways they themselves can take action
in their community in favour of children. Again each response
is shared with others using the forum.
The learning place: here a series of interactive global
learning projects are carried out by learning groups, schools
or volunteer groups. Most of these projects are still being defined
but already children can join in interactive play situations such
as completing a puzzle.
The teachers' place
is a further forum where teachers and others can find and share
useful material for their pupils. It has documents, connections
to other sites and areas for joint action.
In each of these three fora there is the chance to discuss and
respond to others. For example, in the meeting place, the user
is confronted with several choices - "The
Girl Child", "Children's
Rights", "Children
and War" and "Cities
and Children". Each
of these sub-sections contains information on the subject and
asks questions for answer in the response boxes.
Some examples of what children have said to one another. Here in the Children and War section:
Luciano, from Argentina:
Young people must read a lot and study different opinions and cultures to be open-minded when they grow up, and in that way, respect all human beings and realise that the only solution in conflicts is to talk. Long life to peace in the world. Luciano from Argentina says hi to you all.
Maya, from Japan:
Hi Luciano, I agree with you. Us, young people don't
know much about war in our countries. We tend to think it doesn't
have much to do with us. Especially in my country. Few of us try
and read and learn about war. But I think we should be taught
about it as one of the subjects required at school Without knowing
absolutely anything, we don't
know how to think, or how to look up about it. I first became
interested in finding books and things when I learnt about war
in our own country, in the history lesson. But we were taught
nothing about war in the world now. We aren't
taught how the children feel, what is being done in their country,
and how they are suffering. My love to everyone in the world.
Maya.
The KIDLINK site (http://www.kidlink.org/) and its joint project KIDPROJ
Founded in 1990, KIDLINK attempts to facilitate communication on the Web for students aged 10 to 15 around the world. It describes itself as "a world where kids can join together and talk". To subscribe students, generally aged 10 to 15, have to answer 4 basic questions for example: "How do I want the world to improve?" and "What can I do now to make this happen?" 37,000 children from 71 countries have subscribed to this particular project which is also available in various languages from Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, French and Portuguese. One example of a girl's reply from Brazil typifies this project. In Portuguese she describes why she has joined thousands of children to create a more just world : "My name is Gabriela. I am 14. I want to be a doctor. I don't want there to be any more thieves or bloodshed in the world. To make this happen I will educate my family and friends to respect others". Other school pupils in different countries also collaborate on the website on year-long curriculum projects in which information and resources are shared in a similar fashion.
KIDPROJ is a forum enabling teachers and youth group leaders
to provide projects for children through the KIDLINK network.
KIDPROJ was set up for the exchange, among schools and youth groups,
of curriculum based activities and other projects of an educational
or informative nature. The site has a particularly interesting
subject which reveals its global character. Called "How
people live", it seeks
to compare and share experiences of children from different countries.
Children can describe how they live and discover the differences
or similarities of their way of life with others. If children
take part in this programme in schools, the teacher is asked to
help with vocabulary and steer the subjects towards dialogue.
The programme is written in a variety of languages and children
can provide their own translation for others.
TERC (http://www.terc.edu/aboutterc/aboutterc.html/)
is a non-profit research and development organisation dedicated
to improving mathematics and/or science learning and teaching.
Founded in 1965, it has accompanied various technological inventions
over the last few decades. In 1986, it established the NGS Kids
Network to share scientifc discoveries and data and brought about
the successful participation and collaboration of 4,000 classrooms
around the globe. Today, its web site is a source of information
for thousands and thousands of Internet users from the world over.
Specific TERC projects can be accessed through the site. There
a total of 44 projects under construction on the web. These are
for example: Ecology Curriculum, Research on Science Teaching
and Learning in Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Classrooms
and South African Teacher Enhancement. TERC also produces monographs,
teacher guides and research papers which are available by writing
to the organisation or can, in part, be accessed through the web.
The site is also a forum for discussion.
SchoolNet Services (http://www.schoolnet.ca/info/services.html/)
is a global network to give students and particularly teachers
access to services and resources. These range from information
on teaching methodologies, the latest pedagogical findings to
specific questions of introducing computers into the classroom.
The site is an educational resource which hopes to answer many
of the concerns teachers are asking themselves worldwide. It provides
on-line support, training, presentations and design for software
and system administration. Its global character means that it
has developed a link called "Nouvelles
de la francophonie"
which enables French speakers to connect to other sites and discover
information in their language.
The Globe Programme (http://www.globe.gov/ghome/invite.html/)
is a worldwide network of students, teachers and scientists working
together to study and preserve the environment. On-line students
gather data from their environments near their schools, in their
countries and report their research back to the project through
Internet. Scientists use the data in their own research and provide
students with feedback to enrich their work. Each day, particular
images of subjects are posted on to the site to allow students
to visualise environmental issues. The project has established
agreements between countries to retrieve and study scientific
data. It has 55 countries with 4,000 members co-operating, from
Argentina to Tanzania.
Intercultural E-mail Classroom Connections (http://www.stolaf.edu/network/iecc/)
provides worldwide e-mail connections for children and college
students. Individual students can request a pen-pal from a specific
country or whole classrooms can link up to work on joint research
projects. This site also contains an extensive list of other current
international e-mail projects and the possibility for teachers
to announce or request help with specific classroom projects that
involve e-mail, internationally and cross-culturally. One
project to connect teachers holds 29,555 subscribers for 47 different
countries. It holds discussions on topics of direct relevance
to teachers such as integration of e-mail into classrooms, success
stories in learning with technology and updates in pedagogy.
Rescue Mission : Planet Earth (http://www. worldweb.com/ASBA.Spectrum/old1/rescue.html/)
is a collaborative effort between 4 United Nations Agencies (UNEP,
UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO). It supports and encourages young people
to discuss how to deal with environmental issues in their local
communities. It takes as its basis Agenda 21, the action plan
adopted at the World Summit held in Rio, and has developed a set
of indicators for young people to use in monitoring progress on
the implementation of environmental laws and policies.
Further sites, based in various countries but connecting the planet
in cyberspace, are being developed regularly. This movement is
still in its infancy but new developments such as global sites
in languages other than English show that communication between
learners is effective and is increasing. These developments are
actively being discussed within the UN system, NGOs and research
institutes. Examples and references can be found with the Learning
without Frontiers at UNESCO (http://www.education.unesco.org/lwf/).