From dreyes@igc.apc.org Tue Feb 28 09:45:47 1995
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 14:45:00 -0800
From: Daniel Reyes <dreyes@igc.apc.org>
To: dsevic1@peg.apc.org
Subject: Welcome to I*EARN
Cc: bcoppinger@peg.apc.orgTo: The Honourable Mr. Don Hayward
From: Ana Maria Sobrino - Primary teacher
Marcela Urcola - English teacher (primary and secondary)
Mariela Williams - Mathematics teacher (secondary)
Paula Perez - Music teacher and I*EARN Secretary
Rosy Aguila - English teacher (Post Secondary) I*EARN Foreign language CoordinatorThe use of telecommunications is the resource that makes the communication of all the students of the world possible, achieving a cultural and spiritual enrichment.
We firmly believe that by having access to this tool and the ensuing possibility of communicating with teachers around the world we can share ideas for a better develpment of the curriculum.
Telecommunications applied to education permit a deeper knowledge and contact with other cultures, our students come to realize that at the other end there are people who live, think, feel ... just as they themselves do, the news from other countries get to them in a different way, why? Because they "know" people there, they have friends there and this makes them aware of things they had never thought about before.
They realize that what happens in another part of the world can affect them, because it affects people, people whom they have discovered are "real", it affects humanity, they are learning that we do not live just in Argentina but in a world which is a global community. This is a great change of attitude.
The students learn to work collaboratively, they look at their own actions, compare, evaluate. They come to value their own proposals as much as the others', improving their self esteem, self confidence and responsibility in learning that other people get interested in what they are doing and that by sharing their work they all benefit with the results.
They assume that they are different and complementary, learning that they CAN as long as they THINK and ACT properly. They learn to look up information, to reflect and to use their mental and creative abilities.
We, teachers, must always bear in mind that we are just facilitators in this task of helping our students grow, the students are the center of this work.
We consider that I*EARN is one of the best means to achieve whatever project work a teacher would like to do with her/his students.
Warm regards,
I*EARN Teachers from the Argentina Center