I am happy to welcome Marsha Goren at the new Global Virtual Classroom (GVC) "Clubhouse" Project Director. For many years she and her students have participated in the Global Virtual Classroom Web Design "Contest" and has won several prizes for the best websites.
Marsha recently retired from the Ein Ganim Elementary School in Israel after 31 years of teaching. She will continue collaboration with the many educators who have become colleagues and friends at the award winning International "GlobalDreamers", and invite those participants to join the GVC Clubhouse. Teaching has always been her passion but her most rewarding experiences occurred when she discovered the power of the Internet. She recently wrote: "The kids and I learned about global collaboration and the sharing of knowledge with so many children and educators from around the world. My students advanced in so many areas, their English and technology skills improved beyond recognition."
When asked if she would like to bring her projects to GVC, Marsha said, "I'm proud to be able to participate in expanding the GVC around the world. The Clubhouse is not a competition, but a place for students to connect, collaborate, and communicate world wide."
Please welcome Marsha as a new member of our GVC team.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
New GVC Clubhouse Project Director
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
GVC Clubhouse: People Exchanging Perspectives
Cultural Exchanges with Schools in Canada - article featuring
the Italian/Canadian penpal exchange arranged through the GVC Clubhouse.
Click here for a PDF presentation of the project.
the Italian/Canadian penpal exchange arranged through the GVC Clubhouse.
Click here for a PDF presentation of the project.
Monday, June 20, 2011
GVC Winners in the News in India.
HINDUSTAN TIMES a leading Daily in New Delhi, the capital of India, congratulates St. Mark's on it's GVC website contest award. St. Mark's Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh, won two silver awards. In the primary division, their 7th grade partnered with 5th grade from Lincoln School, Oak Park, IL and Riverside School, Czech Republic. In the secondary division high school aged students from St. Marks, along with Students from Gymnazium #4, Gdynia, Poland and St. Paul's Lutheran School, Farmington, Missouri also won a silver award.
All winners sites can be viewed on the GVC website. Registration is now open for the 2011/2012 contest.
All winners sites can be viewed on the GVC website. Registration is now open for the 2011/2012 contest.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Students Give Back to the World Community!
Patch.com highlights Mann students' gift to Hephzibah and donation of their GVC prize money to the orphanage in Cote d'Ivoire. These students, very dedicated to "lacing up the digital divide" donated their $1000 first prize money to the orphanage for technology in their library.
In a similar move, teacher and students of Denmark Empowerment Charter School in Denmark, Wisconsin, USA, donated their first place $1000 prize money to Give Something Back International Foundation for the "build a school" in Haiti project.
In a similar move, teacher and students of Denmark Empowerment Charter School in Denmark, Wisconsin, USA, donated their first place $1000 prize money to Give Something Back International Foundation for the "build a school" in Haiti project.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
2010-2011 Global Virtual Classroom Award Winners
Dallas, Texas, May 2, 2011 – The Give Something Back International Foundation (GSBI) has announced the winners of the 2010/2011 Global Virtual Classroom Contest (GVC) -- a free online collaborative learning project that fosters creativity, cross cultural understanding, helping others and teaches IT and website design skills amongst students working together from around the world.
Sponsored by GSBI, the GVC program provides an opportunity for primary and secondary school students from different countries to work with and learn from students in other countries, as they collaboratively design a website on a topic of their choosing. Teams are comprised of either three primary or three secondary schools from different countries. A panel of international judges evaluates the final work and determines the winners.
In September 2010, AT&T* announced a $25,000 contribution to support the Global Virtual Classroom project.
With subjects that range from combating world hunger to bridging the digital divide, and from helping victims of natural disasters to exploring the creative world of music, sites from participating teams show the kind of creativity that can come from putting approximately 2100 students from 23 different countries together in a collaborative endeavor.
Their efforts were judged for content, presentation, collaboration, and a helping focus. The helping focus encourages students to also demonstrate achievement of a helpful objective such as personal, social and/or environmental responsibility or support for a worthy cause.
This year’s Grand Prize winner for the primary school category is the “Lacing up the Digital Divide” website created and built by students from Horace Mann School in Oak Park, Illinois, USA and the International Community School of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The website highlights the importance of bridging the digital divide with innovative approaches as to how to make a positive impact. The team also shares their efforts to support the Bingerville Orphanage in Côte d’Ivoire providing computers, Internet access, books and French website resources to enhance student learning in a very challenging environment.
The Second Place winner in the primary school category is the “The Art of Living” website designed by Abraham Lincoln School in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; Riverside School in Prague, Czech Republic; and St. Mark’s Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh in New Delhi, India.
In Third Place of the primary school category is “Education: Hope for the Future” website presented by John Muir School in San Diego, California, USA; Tainan Municipal Haidong Elementary School in Tainan City, Taiwan; and Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya.
The secondary school category’s Grand Prize winner is the “Food for All and All for Food” website presented by students at Philippine Science High School in Quezon City, Philippines; Rajini School in Bangkok, Thailand; and Denmark Empowerment Charter School in Denmark, Wisconsin USA. The website highlights ways to combat world hunger as well as highlights foods from their respective cultures and the influences on cuisine from around the world.
The Second Place winner for the secondary school category is the “Stay Connected!” website developed by St Mark’s Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh in New Delhi, India; St. Paul Lutheran School in Farmington, Missouri, USA; and Gimnazjum No 4 in Gdynia, Poland.
In Third Place of the secondary school category is the “Enter the Creative World of Music” website created by Gladesmore Community School in London, United Kingdom; Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; and Belvedere Middle School in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Certificates of participation are awarded to all students. Plaques and cash awards are presented to the schools of the winning teams. The Grand Prize award is $3,000 for the winning primary school team and $3,000 for the secondary school team. The second place award is $1,500 for each winning team and the third place award is $750 to each team. Special Merit awards are also presented for exceptional academic merit, for significant helping focus accomplishments, for creativity, and for the innovative use of multimedia. Merit award winners receive software from Tech4Learning.com.
JoAnn Patrick-Ezzell, the Chairman and one of the co-founders of the Give Something Back International Foundation said, “Beyond the impressive accomplishments of the website projects, we are so pleased that the teams found a myriad of ways to give back to their schools, their communities, and to others around the world in very meaningful ways. This years winners represent wonderful diversity from around the world. They are from: India, United Kingdom, Philippines, Kenya, Czech Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Poland, Taiwan, and Thailand and, in the U.S. from California, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and New York. I would also like to express our sincere appreciation to AT&T for their great support of the GVC over the years - their commitment to supporting education projects around the world is truly inspiring.”
To view the winning websites visit www.VirtualClassroom.org/win10.html. Online applications for the 2011/12 program are also available on the site.
Sponsored by GSBI, the GVC program provides an opportunity for primary and secondary school students from different countries to work with and learn from students in other countries, as they collaboratively design a website on a topic of their choosing. Teams are comprised of either three primary or three secondary schools from different countries. A panel of international judges evaluates the final work and determines the winners.
In September 2010, AT&T* announced a $25,000 contribution to support the Global Virtual Classroom project.
With subjects that range from combating world hunger to bridging the digital divide, and from helping victims of natural disasters to exploring the creative world of music, sites from participating teams show the kind of creativity that can come from putting approximately 2100 students from 23 different countries together in a collaborative endeavor.
Their efforts were judged for content, presentation, collaboration, and a helping focus. The helping focus encourages students to also demonstrate achievement of a helpful objective such as personal, social and/or environmental responsibility or support for a worthy cause.
This year’s Grand Prize winner for the primary school category is the “Lacing up the Digital Divide” website created and built by students from Horace Mann School in Oak Park, Illinois, USA and the International Community School of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The website highlights the importance of bridging the digital divide with innovative approaches as to how to make a positive impact. The team also shares their efforts to support the Bingerville Orphanage in Côte d’Ivoire providing computers, Internet access, books and French website resources to enhance student learning in a very challenging environment.
The Second Place winner in the primary school category is the “The Art of Living” website designed by Abraham Lincoln School in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; Riverside School in Prague, Czech Republic; and St. Mark’s Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh in New Delhi, India.
In Third Place of the primary school category is “Education: Hope for the Future” website presented by John Muir School in San Diego, California, USA; Tainan Municipal Haidong Elementary School in Tainan City, Taiwan; and Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya.
The secondary school category’s Grand Prize winner is the “Food for All and All for Food” website presented by students at Philippine Science High School in Quezon City, Philippines; Rajini School in Bangkok, Thailand; and Denmark Empowerment Charter School in Denmark, Wisconsin USA. The website highlights ways to combat world hunger as well as highlights foods from their respective cultures and the influences on cuisine from around the world.
The Second Place winner for the secondary school category is the “Stay Connected!” website developed by St Mark’s Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh in New Delhi, India; St. Paul Lutheran School in Farmington, Missouri, USA; and Gimnazjum No 4 in Gdynia, Poland.
In Third Place of the secondary school category is the “Enter the Creative World of Music” website created by Gladesmore Community School in London, United Kingdom; Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park, Illinois, USA; and Belvedere Middle School in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Certificates of participation are awarded to all students. Plaques and cash awards are presented to the schools of the winning teams. The Grand Prize award is $3,000 for the winning primary school team and $3,000 for the secondary school team. The second place award is $1,500 for each winning team and the third place award is $750 to each team. Special Merit awards are also presented for exceptional academic merit, for significant helping focus accomplishments, for creativity, and for the innovative use of multimedia. Merit award winners receive software from Tech4Learning.com.
JoAnn Patrick-Ezzell, the Chairman and one of the co-founders of the Give Something Back International Foundation said, “Beyond the impressive accomplishments of the website projects, we are so pleased that the teams found a myriad of ways to give back to their schools, their communities, and to others around the world in very meaningful ways. This years winners represent wonderful diversity from around the world. They are from: India, United Kingdom, Philippines, Kenya, Czech Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Poland, Taiwan, and Thailand and, in the U.S. from California, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and New York. I would also like to express our sincere appreciation to AT&T for their great support of the GVC over the years - their commitment to supporting education projects around the world is truly inspiring.”
To view the winning websites visit www.VirtualClassroom.org/win10.html. Online applications for the 2011/12 program are also available on the site.
Monday, April 18, 2011
GVC Students in the News
Students at Horace Mann elementary school make and sell lanyards to help "lace up the Digital Divide". Read about their entrepreneurial efforts to bring the orphanage into the 21st century.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Alliance formed between GSBI, GVC and SSCA
Sarasota Sister Cities Association has formed an alliance with Give Something Back International Foundation and the Global Virtual Classroom. Andrew Ezzell, president of GSBI, wrote an article for
the Sarasota Sister Cities Newsletter. The page excerpt can be read here.
The mission of Sarasota Sister Cities Assn. Inc. (SSCA) is to foster international relationships between Sarasota and cities that have similar interests by creating exchanges in areas of culture, education, tourism, business and government. SSCA's objective is to develop respect, understanding and cooperation through citizen diplomacy. To accomplish this mission we develop relationships with people in cities that have cultural, education, tourism and business environments similar to Sarasota's. Working outside the realm of government, but with its support, we encourage and facilitate cultural and education exchanges, business opportunities and increased tourism. [quote from SSCA website]
the Sarasota Sister Cities Newsletter. The page excerpt can be read here.
The mission of Sarasota Sister Cities Assn. Inc. (SSCA) is to foster international relationships between Sarasota and cities that have similar interests by creating exchanges in areas of culture, education, tourism, business and government. SSCA's objective is to develop respect, understanding and cooperation through citizen diplomacy. To accomplish this mission we develop relationships with people in cities that have cultural, education, tourism and business environments similar to Sarasota's. Working outside the realm of government, but with its support, we encourage and facilitate cultural and education exchanges, business opportunities and increased tourism. [quote from SSCA website]
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Give Something Back International - Haiti program
Message from GSBI president and founder, Andrew Ezzell:
I wanted to let you know about a program we are sponsoring for the benefit of the children of Haiti that were devastated by the earthquake one year ago this month. The Give Something Back International Foundations, the sponsor of the GVC program, has decided to sponsor the education of 100 poor K-12 grade children from Haiti as well as build a 6 classroom school in a poor rural area during 2011.
If you are looking for a community service project or if you know of anyone that would be interested in volunteering to assist us in the building of this school, please direct them to the following link on our website: www.gsbi.org/haiti-project.html. If you or any of your colleagues are looking for an opportunity to assist by making a donation or helping with the fund raising events, we and the children of Haiti would be most grateful and appreciative. We guarantee that 100% of the funds raised will go to benefit the children of Haiti.
Needless to say, this effort on our part is unrelated to the Global Virtual Classroom program and is not a requirement of participation in the GVC program.
I wanted to let you know about a program we are sponsoring for the benefit of the children of Haiti that were devastated by the earthquake one year ago this month. The Give Something Back International Foundations, the sponsor of the GVC program, has decided to sponsor the education of 100 poor K-12 grade children from Haiti as well as build a 6 classroom school in a poor rural area during 2011.
If you are looking for a community service project or if you know of anyone that would be interested in volunteering to assist us in the building of this school, please direct them to the following link on our website: www.gsbi.org/haiti-project.html. If you or any of your colleagues are looking for an opportunity to assist by making a donation or helping with the fund raising events, we and the children of Haiti would be most grateful and appreciative. We guarantee that 100% of the funds raised will go to benefit the children of Haiti.
Needless to say, this effort on our part is unrelated to the Global Virtual Classroom program and is not a requirement of participation in the GVC program.
Friday, January 7, 2011
GVC program: special study opportunity
Island Village Middle School has included the Global Virtual Classroom program in its Tuesday/Thursday special opportunities classes. As you read through the page note both the Core Curriculum and the Special Opportunities sections to see how this school organizes student learning.
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