Developing Literacy Through Computer Supported Projects

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It takes many classrooms to make a global
community
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Why Online Communities?"Children develop
language through interaction...they learn to talk
by talking to someone who responds
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they must therefore learn to write by writing to
someone who responds.
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It will perhaps be possible for us to create
classroom communities within school
communities...in which writing matters because
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it's done for real reasons by real writers who
ache with caring for real response.
(Reflections by Mem Fox, 1993)
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iEARN Goals

• To facilitate teacher-directed, student
  collaborative on-line project work
• To create global, national, and local support
  structures to sustain project work
• To demonstrate that on-line education can enhance
  learning and improve the quality of life on the
  planet

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iEARN Experience

• 12 years linking schools for project work in both
  northern and southern hemispheres (started in
  1988)
• Structures and projects in over 80 countries
• Collaboration with governments, NGOs,
  foundations, educational agencies, companies, etc.

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iEARN Provides

• a safe and structured environment for children to
  communicate
• a known audience for writing and reading for a
  purpose
• an opportunity to apply knowledge in
  service-learning projects
• an inclusive and culturally diverse community of
  supportive educators

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Keys to Interactive On-line Project Success

• teacher and student driven
• interactivity, not passivity
• honor local teaching learning styles
• adaptability to new technologies
• teacher training and support
• collaboration with others

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Collaborative Project Work

• Curriculum areas
• Science, environment, math
• Social studies, economics
• Literature, creative writing
• Language skills acquisition

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Civic Education in iEARN
The interdisciplinary nature of on-line
collaborative project work empowers students to
be pro-active in their communities in issues of
gender, human rights, ethnic differences,
conflict resolution and environmental
preservation. By creating the habit of getting
involved in issues that are relevant to them,
youth will hopefully be better equipped for
future civic participation.
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Civic Education and Language

• "Literacy is about empowering people...to write
  and read about their world...to use literacy to
  be shapers of their world with a sense of hope."
  (Paulo Freire, 1994)

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The Foreign Language Teaching area is without
doubt one that gets more benefits using the
Internet in the classroom.

• Lets explore some reasons why this happens

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The current approach to Foreign Language (FL)
teaching

• Since the 1970s psychologists and linguists have
  placed emphasis on interpersonal relationships,
  the nature of communication and the interactive
  process of language.
• As a result, the language teaching profession has
  responded with methods that emphasize
  communicative competence, and that stress group
  work, interaction and cooperative learning.

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Language for Communication

• In the past two decades interest in FL teaching
  has been in communicative language teaching
  (CLT). This focus has centered on speaking and
  listening skills in real life situations, on
  writing for specific communicative purposes, and
  on reading authentic texts.

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Why use Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) in my FL classroom?

• There are three main reasons
• To create a richer environment for learners.
• To give my students the chance to interact in
  real communication.
• To provide my class with real audiences instead
  of simulated situations.

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What does iEARN add to my EFL class?

• Working with iEARN, teachers and students join an
  inclusive and culturally diverse community of
  teachers and students around the world.
• iEARN provides a safe environment where kids can
  interact
• iEARN provides a known audience for reading,
  writing and talking.

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How can I work with iEARN in my EFL class to
enhance communication?

• The model iEARN uses is theme-based, project
  based collaboration.
• The students get involved in specific
  collaborative projects that include at least two
  classes anywhere in the world.

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Model Projects using iEARN in different levels

• Level 1 (elementary)
• The Teddy Bear Project Project
• Level 2 (pre-intermediate)
• Descriptive writing in publications
• Producing and describing artwork
• Level 3 (intermediate to advanced)
• Reading and contributing to publications (Laws
  of Life, Lewin, Child Labour)

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The Teddy Bear and Cleft Buddy Project
(elementary level) www.iearn.org.au/tbear
Schools around the world are given partners to
send a Teddy Bear to. When the bear arrives
students send weekly e-mail diary messages to
the bears home describing its adventures. The
Cleft Buddy Teddy Bear Project gives students an
opportunity to exchange stuffed animals that
symbolically represent a child born with a cleft
lip and palate. Using information posted on the
web, teachers develop activities with their
classes encouraging awareness and sensitivity to
children born with cleft lips and palates.
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Descriptive writing and generating artwork and
describing pictures (pre-intermediate level)

• Me and my Pet
• The First Peoples Project (Global Art)
• Local Birds
• Beauty of the Beasts
• Side by Side
• Folk Tales

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Reading contributing to publications(intermedia
te and advanced levels)

• Reading task example
• Students read articles from projects and report
  to the rest of the class about it.

• Writing task example
• Students write and use peer editing techniques to
  review and proof essays before posting.
• Respond with written comments to other students
  essays.

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Sample Projects(intermediate and advanced levels)

• Laws of Life Essay Students write about their
  personal values in life. www.iearn.org/projects/la
  ws.html
• Lewin A global anthology of creative writing.
  www.iearn.org.au/lewin

• Fight Against Child Labour Project Youth
  collaborating and researching and awareness
  raising on the issues of child labour and
  exploitation. www.iearn.org.au/clp

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Two final benefits when working with IEARN
projects

• Interdisciplinary nature of projects
• The FL teacher works closely in collaboration
  with teachers from other areas.

• The input of students who have advanced knowledge
  of the FL
• Club of Translators team of students who help
  with the translation of IEARN projects to
  facilitate other teachers participation. (First
  Peoples web page)

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IEARN

• E-mail iearn_at_us.iearn.org
• http//www.iearn.org
• 475 Riverside Drive, 540,
• New York, NY 10115, USA
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]