The first component of the program included the use of a weblog which allowed students, workshop trainers and Project Harmony staff to work as an online community for several months before attending the intensive workshop in Vermont. Because the goals of the workshop were so ambitious, and the workshop itself was so short, the content of the pre-workshop online activities was very important. Through various online web assignments students were not only able to get to know each other, but were also able to explore a topic of social concern in their home countries and think creatively about how the issue can be addressed in their own developing democracies. Over the course of three months, trainers and Project Harmony staff worked with participants in four groups to discover how they could address a problem in their community using technology.

What is a Weblog?

A weblog is a database-driven website that allows editors to change the look and feel of the site from any computer with Internet access. As program participants, trainers and staff were working from various locations, the weblog was an ideal tool. Weblogs also have a unique discussion feature that allows members to post and read threaded messages. This feature provided workshop participants with the opportunity to exchange ideas prior to meeting each other face-to-face. The workshop weblog was set up by trainer Hector Vila and Project Harmony webmaster Olga Gornavaya, and was hosted by Middlebury College.

The Assignments

The pre-workshop online activities included four assignments. The first was to begin building a community among participants, trainers and staff. This goal was achieved through the "Knowledge Tree" exercise, which asked all participants to describe themselves and their home community. An online community immediately emerged, with participants exchanging email addresses, forging bonds, and discovering similarities between each other. The second assignment, "Research an Organization", asked each student to investigate US organizations that worked on their issue of social concern. The third assignment "Delving Deeper into Your Projects", asked students to think more in depth about their project and consider how their issue can fit into the format of a Digital Story. The final assignment "Extending the Logic" asked students to delve even deeper by considering the message of their story and their connection to it.