Do Not Miss the 2014 San Diego Film Festival (Sept 23-28)

I am a huge fan of the San Diego Film Festival, which runs from Sept 23-Sept 28.

I am always impressed with the quality and diversity of the films. 

 “Chelsea’s Light: A Brother’s Journey” was a powerful and emotional film shown in a red-carpet premiere last night in the Gaslamp’s Reading Theater as part of the San Diego Film Festival. I suggest that everyone add this film to your "must watch" list - especially parents.





Read more:

• 'Chelsea's Light' film kicks off SD Film Fest
• 'Chelsea's Light: A Brother's Journey' premieres at the San Diego Film Festival

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Grab your tickets for the Wednesday night 7:00pm showing of "Wild," starring Reese Witherspoon and her battle against heroin.

Connecting Youth Through Volunteerism - A Sampling of Amazing Projects from Escondido Charter High School

I spent an amazing day at Escondido Charter High School... with the students involved with the US-Russia CyberFair projects that connect youth through volunteerism.

I was totally blown away by their ambitious projects. Here are a few examples... and believe me, the descriptions barely due justice to their efforts.

International Education Documentary
I am creating a film about the positive things in American education. My goal is to bring American students closer to the rest of the world. My film is opposite of the film "Waiting For Superman." With my documentary, people will become aware of new types of education that bring an international perspective on the world.  This video documentary has been sponsored by the Energized Students Foundation. A Hollywood Film Crew has been sent to film what started out as a cultural differences film into a full blown International Documentary about education. This project highlights the flawed American education system and makes students and parents aware of other education opportunities in America and over seas.

We Can Help Phone App
My project is to create an iPhone/Android application that will contribute donations to Orphanages in Shanghai, China.  My community is an innovative group of students, who are working on a set of international projects in shanghai to better themselves in understanding International business and Entrepreneurship.

Smaller House, Better Home
My project is building a new homes in Escondido. The home models I am using are from the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon -  which is a competition that happens every 2 years. In this competition, universities from all over the world are challenged to build the most energy-efficient, cost-efficient home, that is both functional and attractive. My goal is to build the nicest home as cheaply as possible. I will be using the 2011 winner WaterShed by the University of Maryland.

Broadway Workshops
We are a group of high school students that are bringing the Broadway experience to other countries. We want to share the opportunities that we have been able to experience with those who do not have the same resources that we do. We will be traveling to China and performing short excepts from different Broadway musical at orphanages in China.

Connections Through Music
The name of my project is Musicakin. My project is an online community for musicians. It is basically a website that I will build. The website will offer an opportunity for any musician worldwide, regardless of age, skill, artist, hobbyist, location, etc., to connect with each other. Using my website, musicians will be able to collaborate, follow artists, make their own bands, share lessons, learn lessons, get together and jam with friends, and a few other things. There will also be a classified ad section where they could sell and/or buy equipment.

Learn More:
http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsncf/volunteerism/)

How to Teach Long Division - The Dance Craze Way

Meyer Levin School for Performing Arts Classes 622 and 624 perform a Gangnam Style parody teaching long division with decimals. This fabulous video was produced by my niece, Joelle Andres, and her students -- to remember the steps for long division with decimals! Also, thanks to Lee Tovitz Kessler for his help singing and recording, and Adam Berke for his sweet dance moves!

Join GlobalSchoolNet.org at http://www.globalschoolnet.org

Speak Up and Share Your Technology Vision!

Speak Up and Share Your Technology Vision!

GlobalSchoolNet-eLanguages-iPoPP are proud to partner with SIIA on the SIXTH annual and FIRST international version of the Vision K-20 survey!

Educators from around the world can use the 20 benchmarks in the Vision K-20 survey to evaluate their CURRENT implementation of technology and also CONTRIBUTE to the development of a COLLABORATIVE vision for the future with the “ideal implementation” section of the survey.

So, please, PLEASE take a brief 15 minutes to speak up -- and share YOUR technology vision!

*Survey participants will be able to download the FINAL report -- AND they will have a chance to win one of twenty $25 Amazon.com gift cards!

Take the survey: http://siia.net/visionk20/survey.asp

Seeking Collaborative Projects or Partners?

HILITES is brought to you by the Global SchoolNet Foundation and it is moderated BY teachers FOR teachers. HILITES is the OLDEST list of telecollaboration project announcements on the Internet (started in 1985 on the old FrEdMail Network).  We invite you to submit your own project announcement there. 

• Post an announcement to HILITES
• Browse recent archives

We don't post questions, announcements, requests for pen pals or sister classes or any other messages which do not support a concrete, multi-lateral learning project that engages students in more than one classroom. We will post surveys and requests for information only if they include activities, products, or outcomes which can also benefit contributing classes.
Because we do so much of the filtering for you, you can feel confident that you're getting the best selection of projects listed anywhere, which means that you won't have to wade through hundreds of extraneous messages to find the project announcements you're looking for.
You can:

• Read about the GSN Hilites List 
• You can click on "Join This List" at the bottom of that page.
• OR you can subscribe to HILITES by sending email to
  gsn-hilites-list-subscribe@topica.com.
  You will receive an email confirmation to validate your subscription.All you have to do is REPLY TO that email message.
• Browse HILITES archives from 2002 to the present
• Browse HILITES archives from 1995 to 1999 (Find interesting project examples in this archive of collaborative learning projects.
• Learn how to post your own project to the Projects Registry (and to HILITES).

All projects are posted at the GSN Projects Registry
at http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsh/pr/
 

Diplomacy" 2012 International Web Project Competition for Middle and High School Students

January 16, 2012 - The US Department of State and the GlobalSchoolNet.org announce the 2012 "Doors to Diplomacy" award competition, recognizing the student-created Global SchoolNet Web projects from around the globe that best teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. 


To qualify, middle school and high school students will work in small teams with teacher-coaches. Projects must be completed by March 15, 2012, and winners will be announced in May 2012. Every team that enters a project will receive a special "Doors to Diplomacy" certificate recognizing their achievement. Each student member of the two winning teams – one American and one international – will also receive a $2,000 scholarship and the winning coaches’ schools will each receive a $500 cash award.

For a complete description of the competition and information about eligibility and judging criteria, please visit http://globalschoolnet.org/gsndoors/.

Are you seeking collaborative projects or partners?

Are you seeking collaborative projects or partners?

Global SchoolNet's Projects Registry (PR) is the oldest (1995) online clearinghouse for teacher-conducted global learning projects. The PR contains more than 3,000 annotated listings and is searchable by date, age level, geographic location, collaboration type, technology tools or keyword. Many projects are aligned with the 21 Century Learning Skills matrix, the ICT Literacy Maps, especially in Science, Geography and English and International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) NETS Standards for Students. The Project Registry is a central place for educators to find global partners and to new announce projects.

Learn more at: http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsnpr/

Diplomacy: Diplomacy and Deterrence in Singapore

This excellent student-produced video was created for the Doors to Diplomacy competition. Learn more about this project at: http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsndoors/narrative_view.cfm?pID=6727



The student writes, 

"Without participating in the Doors to Diplomacy programme I would not have gained the deeper understanding of international politics and the principles of international interaction. The process has given me opportunities to express my opinions and perspective on global issues, and has in turn contributed to experience outside normal academic curriculum. It has developed the breadth of my perspective and to the depth of my analysis of sources, while allowing all of us in the team to learn to rely on each other and make use of each others skills. It is very much similar to the gains of being in a committed CCA competition, except for me it has a greater degree of comfort, freedom and expression. The ups and downs I experienced through the journey were directed at my personal faults, such as being incapable of plotting milestones and framing a long-term effort for the team, and I wish to work on these in the near future. The experience will follow with me through the next lap of my learning journey."

What's Your App? Finding Real Solutions with Today's Applications

Gail Lovely Yvonne Marie Andres, Hall Davidson, Steve Dembo, Wesley Fryer, Carol Teitelman and David Warlick share their solutions for real classroom challenges and the apps that help to meet those challenges.  If you missed our session at ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia, you may want to check out the apps that our panel showcased.  http://anappforthat.yolasite.com/
You can also watch a playback of the session at http://goo.gl/VmJFI

Certificate of Appreciatiion signed by Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton!

Today we received a certificate of appreciation signed by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton... for Global SchoolNet's work with Doors to Diplomacy.... and a very nice letter from Janice Clark at the State Department. .¸¸.★¸¸.☆

The U. S. Department of State sponsors the "Doors to Diplomacy" educational challenge - to encourage middle school and high school students around the world to produce web projects that teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Each student team member of the winning "Doors to Diplomacy" Award team receives a $2,000 scholarship, and the winning coaches' schools each receive a $500 cash award. Additional prizes may be provided by sponsors. Learn More

Radio Interview: Content-Driven Collaboration is Essential

Technological and communications breakthroughs are creating great disruption for the culture of learning.  Through programs like the International CyberFair and the Doors to Diplomacy competitions, youth and educators from 40 countries are making a serious effort to tackle everything from international adoptions, to saving our oceans, to promoting cultural diplomacy with the Muslim world.

Below is a link to my radio interview with Judyth Piazza,  host of the American Perspective radio program and the CEO of theSOP, in which we discuss the benefits, challenges and the future promise of international collaborative learning -- for individuals, communities and humanity.

http://thesop.org/story/20110625/judyth-piazza-chats-with-dr-yvonne-marie-andres-global-schoolnets-executive-director-cofounder-and-visionary.html

Do you know of examples of collaborative learning in your community that go BEYOND traditional education (e.g. business, economic, government, health, environment, public safety, culture and historic preservation)? If so, please share them!

Dr. Yvonne Marie Andres, President and Founder
http://www.GlobalSchoolNet.org

Connecting at ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia!

If you are attending ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia, I invite you to connect with me:

• Sunday,  6/26 at 7:00pm, Global Gallery to learn about iPoPP International Projects or Partners

• Monday, 6/27 at 11:00am, SIGOL Annual Meeting

• Monday, 6/27 at 12:45pm, Educational Activism: How Would Superman Use Social Media Tools? 

• Tuesday, 6/28 at 2:00pm, What's Your App? Finding Real Solutions with Today's Applications

ShowMe Mini-Tutorial iPad App - Beta Version

Last night I installed the beta version of an iPad app called ShowMe, which allows you to create and share mini-tutorials. 

ShowMe was easy to use and it does have the potential to be a very cool collaboration tool. Using my chihuahua as a test subject, it took me less than two minutes to create my first tutorial, which I called I Met Wanda Star Chihuahua

In the beta version, the application's functionality is very limited. The most annoying missing feature is the non-ability to include typed text.  I would also like to be able to edit the sound feature. 

View I Met Wanda Star Chihuahua

For more details, read another ShowMe review at Langwitches

Then, try it out and tell me what you think!

Become an iPad Video Blogging Travel Buddy

At Global SchoolNet we are all about content-driven collaboration. So, this summer we invite you to become an interactive travel buddy of Janice Friesen, world traveler and educator extraordinaire. Janice will be exploring the globe and using her iPad to share her experiences through video and images.  Learn more about becoming Janice's travel buddy at
http://world-everyday.blogspot.com/

2011 Doors to Diplomacy Award Winners

The Department of State is pleased to announce the selection of two winning websites for its 2011 Doors to Diplomacy Award, which is co-sponsored by Global SchoolNet. The awards recognize the web projects that best teach young people about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Participants, ranging in age from 11 to 18, included 341 student teams from 30 countries.
The winning sites are:

• International Adoptions and Diplomacy, http://www.wix.com/dufn50216/dtd-international-adoptions. This site was built by a team from Shanghai Community International School in Shanghai, China. Their web project shows how adoptions between different countries can help to strengthen the diplomatic bonds between them.
   

• Cultural Diplomacy with the Muslim World, http://www.wix.com/adas920/cdiplomacy. This site, built by a team from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro, New Jersey, explores the role that culture plays in international diplomacy.

Each student member of the two winning Doors to Diplomacy Award teams will receive a $2,000 scholarship. In addition, the winning coaches will each receive a $500 cash award. Judging was performed by student peers and educational professionals, with the final selections made by a team of Department of State judges from the Bureaus of Public Affairs and Educational and Cultural Affairs. The winning sites will be linked from the Department of State's youth site at http://www.future.state.gov.

Special recognition goes to team coaches Russell Townsend and April Ross, teachers from Sioux Falls New Technology High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who coached 25 of the teams in their first-time participation in the contest. They'll receive an award of $1,000 for their exceptional effort to involve so many students in Doors to Diplomacy.

Global SchoolNet, http://www.globalschoolnet.org, is a non-profit, Internet-based education program. The Doors to Diplomacy Award was specially created for CyberFair, a contest that encourages students and educators to join together to build high-quality, educational websites on a variety of topics. These website entries will be available on the web as learning tools to millions of people around the globe.

Further detail on the Doors to Diplomacy projects is at http://globalschoolhouse.org/doors

WorldFuture 2011 (Moving from Vision to Action) Share YOUR insights now!

Join our conversation about "Creating the Preferable Future Through International Collaborative Learning." What examples of collaborative learning BEYOND traditional education (e.g. business, economic, government, health, environment, public safety, culture and historic preservation ) have you found to be successful in your own communities?

This important online discussion forum is associated with the World Future Society and it will be active for the next 4 weeks.

Please add your comments at http://www.wfs.org/forums/worldfuture-2011-conference-forum/international-collaborative-learning