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We would like to build a global online community for children "e-village", where children from around the world learn happily together. Our goal is to grow children's global perspective through participating in e-village projects.
What is e-village?
e-village is an online community for children around the world, where various cultures meet. In e-village, we respect and share the diversity and similarities of the marvellous world in which we live. We treasure spirits of "respect, sharing, creation". e-village will be improved and updated by participants' creative ideas and suggestions.
About e-village
1. Open to anyone who is interested in education Students, teachers, classes, families, and individuals can participate in e-village.
2. Easy to join for children whose mother tongue is not English They can share contributions easily because lots of drawings, pictures, photographs, movies, or sound are used in the contributions.
3. Easy to add a page to the e-village website Even children can create a page easily on the website by using Online Page Creator system.
What educational results are expected?
1. Students learn how to "explore, express, exchange" through participating in e-village projects. They also learn how to use IT as a tool of communication through creating pages on the e-village website.
2. Students realize the uniqueness of their own community, differences and similarities of life-styles, the diversity of the world, and global values of cultures through sharing various contributions.
3. Students learn how to collaborate with students from other countries, and learn to think globally and to act locally.
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e-village projects 2003
e-village coordinators plan projects reflecting students' ideas. Innovative ideas suggested by participants are welcome. The coordinators manage the e-village website.
* Earth Calendar 2003
This project is to record and share happenings in everyday life. Studies of the diversity and similarities of our natural and cultural world are reported with photographs and simple text.
* Exploring the Community Project
This project is to research what students explore and find in their own community. Students realize the uniqueness of their own community through researches. They also learn differences and similarities of life-styles, and global values through sharing other contributions.
* Tree Project
Let's make friends with trees! Aims of this project are to pay attention to environment through researching trees in the community, to have an interest in trees in the community through artwork and creative writing, and to understand nature and culture concerning trees of other countries through sharing activities by students from other countries.
* Then and Now Project
This project is to compare students' life today with that of their grandparents and elders. Students interview their grandparents and elders about a topic, and report the story using text, pictures, photographs, or sound. There are two topics --- treatment of common illnesses, and school.
* Water Project
A host class sends a Water Mission to classes around the world, and ask students to tell the Water Mission about the water situation in their country. The students upload their reports to the e-village website and share them with other students. Students from 8 countries are participating in the project.
* Travel Buddy Project Two groups send a soft toy - "travel buddy" to each other. Students learn the partner country's cultures through the travel buddy.
* Picture Dictionary Project
Students compare familiar words in their own language, English, and other country's language(s) through pictures. At present students from Denmark, Italy, and Japan are participating in the project.
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Previous achievements
1998 The Polygon Project --- participants from 26 countries, non-verbal communication exchanges, Special Project Prize awarded by Childnet International 1999
1999 Earth Calendar Online --- Online Page Creator system, the 2nd prize awarded to a reseach paper on the project by Matsushita Audio Vidual Education Foundation
2000 Goodbye 20th Century, Hello 21st Century --- global learning projects under 20 topics
2001 ‾ 2002 Earth In Motion --- participants from 20 countries, the 1st prize of The eLearning Awards 2001 (Sun Microsystems Prize) awarded by European Schoolnet
August 2001 --- establish a global online community for children "e-village"
2002 --- granted for building e-village by International Communication Fund
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e-village staff
* advisors
KITANO Hideo, The chairman of the board of directors at Japan Environmental Education Forum, Japan Judith Bennett, Environmental Education Coordinator, Australia Lynne Ralph, Freelance Web Designer, New Zealand KOUMOTO Yoko, Teacher at Iwanashi Junior High School, Japan
* coordinators
Jonathan Yorck, Kindergarten teacher at Punahou School, Hawaii TORIGOE Genshi, e-village director, Teacher at Kamo Elementary School, Japan Lone Nielsen, Teacher at Hornbaek School, Denmark Jan Harrmann, Teacher at GGS Ruppichteroth, Germany IWANO Hiromasa, Teacher at Kohoku Elementary School, Japan TORIGOE Yuko, LABO tutor
* office TORIGOE Yuko |
