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To: All K-12 Teachers From: Jan Wee (for Margaret Riel) Please share with your teaching staff! Thanks, Jan Wee, LMC Director ************************************************************************************************** Subj: Learning Circles move to a new home ANNOUNCEMENT: LEARNING CIRCLES FIND NEW HOME ON THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND RESOURCE NETWORK (I*EARN) _______________ ______________ | ___________ | | ____________ | | | | | | | | | | | 0 0 | | | | 0 0 | | | | - | | | | - | | | | \___/ | | | | \___/ | | | |___________| | | |___________| | |_______________| |_______________| _|__|/ \|_|_....TELE-COLLABORATION..._|________|_ / ********** \ / ********** \ / ************ \ / ************ \ -------------------- -------------------- I*EARN - Youth Making a Difference in the World Through Telecommunications Learning Circles are a model of cross-classroom collaboration originally developed on the AT&T Learning Network. Learning Circles will be a new option offered to teachers and students by I*EARN beginning in Fall of 95. Through a grant from AT&T Foundation, I*EARN will transform the original AT&T Learning Network curriculum guides into a hypertext Learning Circle Guide that make it available on the World Wide Web for universal access. *** Bringing the I*EARN and **** *** Learning Network Communities together **** I*EARN is an international educational network which has a strong focus on, and commitment to address social and environmental issues from local, national and global perspectives. Through I*EARN students and teachers work collaboratively on curriculum-based projects that make a meaningful difference in the world. It seeks to prepare students with broader international awareness and skills needed in an interdependent world of the 21st century. Similarly, Learning Circle interaction increases student and teacher awareness of regional and cultural perspectives on a range of issues. But more important, working in Learning Circles helps students and teachers learn how to work with people at a distance. It promotes a sense of respect and cooperation among people with different views, values and concerns. This form of international tele-collaboration is the work place of the future. The technology will change but the value of learning to work across cultural, lingual and geographic boundaries will remain. Curriculum-based collaborative education has always been one of the goals of I*EARN. Therefore, I*EARN is very happy to have Learning Circles as one of the options that they offer to its growing community. -->>> Learning Circle Structure ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ o A changing, small group (8-10 classrooms) for each session: Teachers and students are connected to a new set of classrooms each session. These network connections make it possible to cross social, cultural and linguistic categories to form a team-teaching and learning environment. It is the meeting of new teachers and learning from them that provides the teachers as well as the students a rich learning environment o Highly interactive: These small groups are not places to lurk. Joining a Learning Circle is a commitment to be part of a learning community. All members play a critical role and the goal is to provide a supportive environment so each school will find the interactions rewarding. o Theme-based Project-learning with content from the schools: One of the most exciting aspects of Learning Circles is that teacher are involved in learning along with their students. It is not a case of "outside" expertise delivered to teachers but instead it is a network designed to help share the expertise of talented teachers from around the world. The tele-collaboration among the teams of teachers provides on-going in-service for everyone involved. o International Participation: The more teachers and students work with people from different places the more they learn about themselves. While the motivation to participate in Learning Circles is often to learn about others, the result is often a deeper understanding of oneself in contrast to others. There will be two 14 week sessions (September-December and February to May). A shorter Classroom Connection Session will be added as soon as the 14 week sessions are well established. Eventually all of the current Learning Circle themes (and some new ones) will be available. However for this first session, there may be a limited number of themes. At the minimum there will be: Computer Chronicles - Journalism (Writing) Places and Perspectives - History and Geography (projects) OPPORTUNITIES ON I*EARN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | I*EARN | | * World-Wide Contacts of Educators in over 20 countries | | * Access to a range of on-going network Projects | | * Full Internet Access for those that do not already have it | | * Access from Internet accounts via telnet | | * Membership in a community of teachers and students | | who know that they can "Make a Difference" in their world | | | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The work of building a global community is costly. But, as a non-profit organization, I*EARN is able to receive income from fund raising and grants, keeping costs to schools to a minimum. Schools are also asked to help support global tele-collaboration by paying a membership fee. For more information on joining I*EARN: For written information and/or an application and any specific questions, contact the I*EARN staff at: I*EARN International Secretariat 345 Kear Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Tel: 914/962-5864 iearn@iearn.org * For general information on I*EARN, send an e-mail message to: iearn-info@iearn.org * For those of you with gopher or WWW access, please feel free to take a look at the on-line information on I*EARN: gopher gopher.iearn.org 7008 URL: gopher://gopher.iearn.org:7008/1 http://www.igc.apc.iearn/ Permission to reposted granted. Contact Margaret Riel for more information: mriel@attmail.com or mriel@weber.ucsd.edu posted by Jan Wee (member of LM_Net) Jan Wee, Library Media Director Internet: WSALEM@UWLAX.EDU West Salem Middle School Bitnet: WSALEM@UWLAX.BITNET 450 North Mark Street Phone: (608) 786-2090 (sch) West Salem, WI 54669 Phone: (608) 786-2767 (home)