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 Thoughts from participating educators
Highlights:
"What a marvelous opportunity that all started from signing up for ePals one
day when my students wanted to "talk to the world." We are!" American educator
"Meeting our Armenian contacts in Austin that have become our FRIENDS, getting to know students on a personal level that is not possible in a classroom setting, LEARNING more about myself, my world, how to use the computer that I love a lot, but with which I am so very limited, feeling enabled to DO SOMETHING in order to be a part of the solution, not at part of the problem, meeting and being inspired by other people from all over the US and Armenia, being inspired to continue with such work." American Educator
"Students seeing their class work posted on the web and sharing their work with family members through the Internet." American Educator
"Overall it was a wonderful experience that I would not trade for the world. It even inspired me to want and visit Armenia some day." American Educator
"It is a new way of teaching and of finding information for our students and teachers. It is a possibility to discover the world and to find out how we are different, but in the same time how we are the same." Armenian Educator
"We have [the] opportunity [to] exchange ideas create a work plan and implement the project we have selected. This project helped us with information and communication." Armenian Educator
"The highlights of this project were the communication of educators, students' ability of considering their own culture and comparing with another, researching the history of traditions on the Internet and in the library, exchanging ideas and materials, illustrating the values of Armenian and American culture, implementing our project and comparing the results." Armenian Educator
"I expected for the program to be high quality and a stretching experience and it was." American Educator
Technology:
"...I can now see how I could use this idea in other situations in my teaching. It helped me to learn to use the computer in a real way. Before I only had had general miniclasses that introduced the use of the computer in theory... This project helped me to learn and use the computer in a meaningful way." American Educator
"I do all my class work using the web. We do not use textbooks. PH embraced our philosophy by delivering all their information via the web." American Educator
"Project Harmony did a great job both theoretically and practically. Our students now know how to make use of the computer (and me too and I am grateful to you my dear friends) which is one of the wonders of the 21st century." Armenian Educator
On online conferencing: "It was fun! I enjoy contacting others and the encouraging words from others. It made me feel like I was not alone. It was a great way for PH to disseminate information." American Educator
On online conferencing: "It was an essential planning resource, and provided a place for students to exchange anecdotal information about themselves. Whenever I had a difficulty with something, I was able to quickly post a message, and within 24 hours, there was usually a response from someone who had key information. It was nice to have everything in one place other than a personal e-mail address. It kept things from getting too confusing." American Educator
Reaching Out:
"Even though only eleven girls worked on the project, I feel that most of the students in the school were aware of the project." American Educator
"I believe what helped our group the most was that we were in a less formal setting than a classroom and that the students had chosen to work on the project. We bonded together with the idea that it was better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness, just think: what a bright world this would be if everyone lit just one little candle, and even a small pebble cause rippling effects. Our field trips to Austin to be with the Armenian community strongly impacted all of us. Our Armenian contacts were so good to us! They treated us well. We felt a real warmth and encouragement from them!" American Educator
"The seal project was a great way to involve the whole school in the project, providing American students with the opportunity to collaborate across grade levels." American Educator
Global Perspectives:
"Projects like these are invaluable. Among other things they broaden a students concept of the world and anything that does this is a good thing. I continue to enjoy my association with Project Harmony." American Educator
"I think the international collaboration is a very effective way to help young people learn about the world around them in a connected and valuable way. AC2K provided me with an opportunity to connect my students with students from another culture."American Educator
"It surpassed my expectations. It was great for my students and I to have the opportunity to participate in a global project. The experience took my students from the classroom to another part of the world that they didn't know. I always try to make local and national connections, so it was great to have the opportunity to also make international real life connections." American Educator
"This was an incredible extra-curricular activity for the students to communicate with the native speakers. It was not only a cultural exchange program but it was also a good lesson for the improvement of their foreign language. They themselves got to know the country, the language of which they study for many years. And after all they got their own opinion of the country and the language itself as well." Armenian Educator
"The greatest motivation for the Armenian students was the idea that they were going to get acquainted with their contemporaries in the US." Armenian Educator
Meeting Classroom Needs:
"Entwining the PH program into activities already planned made it possible. I used the curriculum for my daily class, to meet a Title III grant, to meet our District's New York State Shared Learning Objectives requirement, and as part of Project Harmony." American Educator
"For my students the off line classroom discussions were very interesting too." Armenian Educator
Thoughts from participating students:
"At the beginning of the project I heard that the Armenians were really smart people and I had a hard time understanding why they needed our help after weeks of research I got to know more about why they needed our help." - American age 14
"I learned that they [the Armenian students] were just as interested in us as we were them." - American age 17
"I enjoyed talking to the students through the web page asking and answering questions made me think about the similarities and differences between our cultures." - American age 18
Students were asked if you could teach an Armenian one thing about America, what would you choose and answered: "I would teach them about our U.S. spirit especially about 9-11. Our spirit really came out when the World Trade Centers went down. I think that almost every Americans spirit was shown." - age 16 and "How America is not homogenous at all, yet there is much togetherness at a time of national conflict/crisis." - American age 17
When asked to share one lesson about Armenia with his or her friends, what would she or he tell them: "That they [Armenians] are a very educated people. The wealth of a country does not determine the intelligence of a country as a whole." - American age 16
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