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| Newsletter of the CPAW (Computer Pals Across the World) Global Educational Network http://reach.ucf.edu/~cpaw/ 1.0 EDITORIAL This newsletter has been slightly delayed to coincide with International Education Week 2004. The following announcement is extracted from remarks by US Secretary of State, Colin Powell. "The fifth annual International Education Week will occur from November 15-19. International Education Week provides an opportunity to highlight the benefits of international education and exchange; to express appreciation for students and scholars who study and teach in countries other than their own; and to commend the millions of people who build and strengthen bridges of international understanding by organizing and participating in exchange programs. Educational exchange has immeasurably enriched our democracy, our culture, our economy, and our nation as a whole. We are fortunate to attract talented future leaders from around the world. International students and scholars benefit from engagement with our society and academic institutions and we benefit enormously from their interaction with our society as they help our citizens develop understanding and knowledge that enriches our lives, increases international cooperation, enhances our national security, and improves our economic competitiveness. Meeting the 21st century challenges that confront all countries requires an unprecedented degree of understanding and cooperation among nations and among leaders in every field. The professional partnerships and lifelong friendships that result from international education and exchange help build a foundation of understanding and lasting partnerships. These partnerships are important for a secure, prosperous future for the world as a whole." As the CPAW Global Educational Network celebrates its 21st year of service to educators, students and the world community we can continue to applaud those who give their voluntary service and expertise to make a better world. Dr. Malcolm Beazley AM
2.0 FROM THE PRESIDENT¡¦S DESK Dear Friends of CPAW We are living in an age when global communications have become instant. Each moment with a tap of our fingers, we are reaching across the world, onto the screens of those who speak many different languages, wearing different clothes, surrounded by different sounds and scents. At the same time we are seeing our messages evolve from small seeds into massive connections where a feint idea is networked into a project that has global impact. Such are the roots of CPAW! Now, more than ever, we need a forum where we can work towards productive projects that address the many issues that impact us all. We invite you to contribute your ideas and projects as we launch these challenges to our teachers, thinkers and learners from many cultures and countries. I am honored to be able to facilitate this and continue the wonderful work we have established in the past. Dr. Gillian Sluti Eriksson
3.0 PORTRAIT GALLERY Welcome New Web Manager A warm welcome is extended to Ms. Yushan (Sarah) Chiu, who is the new CPAW Web Manager. Ms Chiu comes to us from Taiwan. She writes: This is Sarah Chiu, the new Grad Assistant working for the office of Global-Multicultural and International Education at the University of Central Florida. I was born and grew up in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. My Chinese name is Yushan Chiu, so now you know that "Sarah" is my English name. I got my Bachelor's degree from Soochow University (located in Shi-Lin Taipei) in June 2003, and my major was Japanese Language and Culture. After that, I came to the US for Master's degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). All my friends asked me the same question, ¡§Why do you take "teaching English" program as your Master¡¦s Degree after 4 years Japanese language learning after all?¡¨ The reason is that, I got a part-time job as Children¡¦s English teacher when I was in my second year of the university, and that was the real trigger to pull me into TESOL area. I enjoy learning and teaching language, even if now I am studying "how to teach English". I am still an English second learner all the time! Once I dreamed about traveling around the world, but now, I've changed my mind. I hope that I can experience the diverse cultures through language teaching. I am also interested in dancing, especially Latin dance. During the years studying in the university, I¡¦d been participating in a Ballroom Dance Club for four years. It was amazing! To be honest, I am a 100% city gal. Just like the other girls, I shop for beauty, put on make-up, and these are what I called "natural"! 4.0 SPECIAL FEATURE Cultural Identities in Mondialogo Along with several other countries, the UNESCO held a forum in Barcelona, Spain, in celebration of cultural diversity, sustainable development, and conditions for peace, in an effort to react against the major conflicts occurring around the world. One of the activities of this event was the "Mondialogo, Intercultural Dialogue and Exchange" project, which was presented in order to inspire young people to appreciate the benefits of intercultural dialogues and to contribute to world peace through cultural exchanges. Mondialogo is an initiative which resulted from a partnership between UNESCO and DaimlerChrysler based on three pillars: the¡M"Mondialogo Engineering Award" for a new generation of engineers, the "Mondialogo School Contest" for school students from all parts of the world, and the "Mondialogo Internet Portal" combining all these activities. The organizers designed the contest and the award as a strategy to mobilize as many students as possible and to engage them in a motion for the peaceful coexistence among people. With that in mind, the "Mondialogo School Contest" invited 15 to 18 year-old school students to form project groups under the supervision of a teacher, in order to develop a joint work together with another partner school based on a dialogue involving intercultural topics. According to the contest rules, each group would have a partner from a different continent chosen by UNESCO. In this context, Colegio Pedro II, a traditional Brazilian public school, located in Rio de Janeiro, enrolled in the contest with ten students and three teachers. The "Bridges for Friendship" group from the Gymnasium Fr. Scarina in Minsk, Belarus, was chosen by UNESCO to be our partner. In spite of their differences, as soon as the "Humaita" and the "Bridges for Friendship" students met for the present project, they quickly became a team in every sense of the word.
The two groups decided to work on the cultural identity of their countries, showing how different people can be despite belonging to the same country and sharing the same culture. We Brazilians as well as our Byelorussian pals wished to establish the particular characteristics, which distinguish our nations from others who share the same geopolitical origins. Brazilians encompass distinctive characteristics besides those inherited from European, Asiatic and Arabian cultures, since there is also a merging of features handed down from the indigenous peoples who have long lived in Brazil, not to mention those belonging to the different African ethnicities originally brought to this country as slaves. Project Description The team prepared a CD-Rom presenting Brazil and Belarus. The idea was to illustrate the "several Brazils within Brazil", showing how different our 5 geographical regions are from one another, and also how Belarus has been building its identity since its independence from the Union of Soviet Republics in 1991. The partners worked out the presentation by exchanging the relevant information about their own countries. During the elaboration of the work, the students had the opportunity not only to exchange a lot of information about their history, culture, and habits, but also to share their feelings and emotions. The teams managed to enrich their knowledge by exchanging cultural data and values. By the end of the project, all participants from Brazil and Belarus learned to view people through new eyes, thereby also rediscovering themselves. Conclusion Last September, together with representatives of 48 other schools from the 5 continents, the supervisor and one selected student from both the "Humaita" and "Bridges for Friendship" groups respectively went to Barcelona to attend the ¡§Mondialolgo Symposium¡¨. Within a scope of 1466 school partners, Colegio Pedro II was the only South American school nominated among the 25 finalists. Since then the two groups have been carrying out an intensive dialogue on an ongoing basis. They hope to go on communicating with their partners from Belarus and others whom they met through this project. Also, in spite of the difficulties, they would really like to try an exchange between their countries. It would be wonderful to receive the Bielorussians in Rio de Janeiro or to see Brazilians in Minsk. Vanessa Marinho (CPAW Director for Brazil)
5.0 NEWS IN BRIEF SCULPTURE EXHIBITION CPAW Specialist in Visual
Arts, Professor Herb. Rosenberg¡¦s latest display is entitled, BLACK
CLOUD OVER AMERICA. It is a sculpture that is three meters high and
three meters long fabricated in black aluminum. It symbolizes the
massive polarization of social concerns in the United States. Created
to allow the viewer to experience the work by walking under it as
well as looking at it, the impact generates a powerful realization
that there are massive problems hanging over the American Landscape.
It will be on view for one year in McLevy Park in Bridgeport, AUSTRIAN COMPUTER LEADER VISITS AUSTRALIA Professor Hermann Maurer, Dean of the Faculty of Computer Sciences at Graz University of Technology in Austria, recently visited the Australian Catholic University (Signadou Campus) in Canberra, Australia, as the Guest Speaker at the launch of the Graduate Diploma in Education. He was hosted by, Associate Professor Catherine McLoughlin, Head of the Faculty of Education. Professor Maurer¡¦s address was entitled: "Globalization, Information Technology and Regionalization". He explained that globalization is not only supported by information technology and computer networks but that globalization starts to extend more and more from material products to immaterial objects. Because of this the interdependency of people and institutions is increasing steadily, bringing with it both advantages but also real and potential disadvantages. Many of the ideas he exposed are in detail in his book "Xperts: The Paranet". Complimentary copies of the book were given to those who attended the launch. DANISH DIRECTOR ENJOYS AUSTRALIAN CULTURE CPAW Director for Denmark and expert on Virtual Communities, Associate Professor Seth Chailklin, from The Danish University of Education and his wife and colleague Professor Mariane Hedegaard, from The University of Copenhagen, visited Australia in July where they presented at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales. It was their first visit to Australia. Among their many activities was a visit to the Sydney Opera House for the finals of the Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia (SIPCA). NEW JERSEY STUDENTS ARE WELL CONNECTED Students at West Dover School and all over the Toms River Regional School District are able to access the Internet from every classroom. The school system is an IP (Internet Provider). VOD (Video On Demand) is one system utilized by Toms River and other districts in the area. Teachers may choose a video from thousands of choices. They order it the day before they want to use it. Over night the VOD machine electronically sends the video to the server in the school so that it is available whenever the teacher pulls it up on the classroom computer. We are able to display it on the computer screen, a projector, or the classroom television. Classrooms involve themselves in several projects using the computer. This being a presidential election year in the United States lends itself to utilizing several web sites for the election. Teachers utilize this in many ways. One teacher is having the sixth graders develop a research project. They will present two fictitious names for candidates and present the actual issues of the two major political parties without naming the parties, just the issues. This will be presented to the lower grade students who will vote according to the issues, not the specific candidates' actual names or parties. Other projects incorporate Journey North, which is an environmental online project about migration. Classes use a web catalogue for books and Grolier on line. Some classes track hurricanes, research folk tales and investigate the state of NJ on line. Each year we have an author visit complete with a month long fanfare about the author and the gooks genre. Research for that event is done online, as well. During the Iditarod students plot the course and keep up with events using the Internet. This is only a glimpse of what is being done at our school. Claire Devine ¡V CPAW Director for Seniors and Principal of West Dover Elementary School (New Jersey, USA).
6. 0 NOTICES ATTENTION USA COMPUTER PALS Mr. Richard Cortell, USA Director is keen to make a database of all USA members. It would be appreciated if you would contact him at the following address: mailto:rcortell@warwick.net
A new anthology of poems inspired by the rose is being produced. If you would like to contribute, please e-mail your poem to the Editor: mbeazley@mail.usyd.edu.au ASK AN EXPERT Do not forget that CPAW has a Board of Academic Advisors. These volunteer experts are ready to answer your questions. The subject areas range from criminology to musicology and beyond. Visit the CPAW website for further information. 2004 INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' WEEK SHOWCASE Highlights from this year's CPAW International
Writers' Week can be viewed at: SCHOOL LIBRARIES ONLINE CPAW Director for Iceland,
Dr Anne Clyde, is the Web Manager for the "School Libraries Online"
website. Librarians, teachers and students will find this a very valuable
resource. Visit it at: YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA ¡V YOUR CHANCE TO PUBLISH The CCQ (cultural Centre Queanbeyan) with the valued support of the Greater Queanbeyan City Council, is inviting young playwrights, 23 years or younger, to submit a one-act play for publication in their second book of "Plays by Young Australian Playwrights". The play must be an original work not previously published. A panel of judges headed by Timothy Daly will select plays for publication. The only prize for the selected plays will be the opportunity to have the plays published and promoted around Australia. For further information contact Mr. Gunner Isaacson (CPAW Film and Television Specialist) care of the Editor or at the following address: Cultural Centre Queanbeyan, PO Box 912, QUEANBEYAN, NSW, 2620.
7. 0 PIONEERS' FORUM COMPUTERS MAKING HISTORY Mr. Gyozo Kovacs, CPAW Director for Hungary has initiated a museum of the History of Informatics in Hungary, which highlights the pioneering work done in computing. Following his appointment as Head of the Hungarian John von Neumann Computer Society in 1975, Mr. Kovacs decided, to store all the old computers in Hungary. After his declaration, the Computer Society received storage space and he started to collect the old computers. A number of them were given to the National Technical Museum, but the majorities were stored in the Society¡¦s stores. They formed a Foundation at the end of the eighties and now this foundation collects officially, the old computers, as well as several, other, old technical equipment, too. Mr. Kovacs has also prepared several exhibitions in Budapest and other parts of Hungary as well as other countries to show the developments in computers in Hungary. For further details and photographs visit the Archives on the CPAW website.
8. 0 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS RUN SWIM TELESPORTS ¡V
YOUR CHANCE TO BE INVOLVED School students use digital identities and digital scoring to earn a world ranking to enjoy the self esteem of being a world athlete, regardless of location, ability, time or funds available. The home page gives a sample achievement certificate for which schools across the world can give donations to counter these very serious health problems. At the same time encourage real world computer education and friendship. All I ask is your agreement to this event to help the hard work needed to win this challenge to help world well being. As CPAW Telesports' Consultant, my aim is to use technology to counter the world problem of obesity and diabetes through digital transmitting, processing and ready accessing of rankings and relevant information on a world scale. For further information contact Mr. Wilbur Wright OAM (CPAW Telesports Expert) at: willburwright@attglobal.net
CPAW (Computer Pals Across
the World) Global Educational Network "Serving Educators, Students
and the Community since 1983" All material in this newsletter is copyright. |
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