PB Wiki has made some changes recently and updated their service. Cool widgets like YackPacks let you install a walkie – talkie right on your wiki, you can also embed YouTube videos, insert a calendar and a Bubbleshare slideshow. So the next time you are thinking about a form of representation for a project, it is definitely something useful that you could consider.

Eddie responded to Darren’s post.

Johnny wrote to Dustin and Josh.

Victoria wrote to Ashley H.

Mary thanked Ashley M.

Mia wrote to April.

Emmy talked about April.

M.V. talked about Derek’s post.

Michael wrote a tribute to Randy.

and finally…

Tina appreciated Shyla’s answers.

A good introduction to the topic and clean well recorded audio.

Good job boys. Looking forward to hearing what else you have to say.

After our live Skype call on Monday with the kids in Virginia and the kids in Cartegena, she has posted an mp3 file that we can download and listen to, a recording of this call.

You can find it here to listen to.

On the wiki for this project, a few people have placed ideas for projects. What are you interested in doing? Look at the questions that have been placed on the wiki already. What do you want to do? Do have questions? What about ideas for a form of representation? If you have an idea, put it in the wiki and see what grows out of it. On the other hand, if you see something there you are interested in, place your name beside it and get in touch with the other student(s) to let them know you want to work together.

Time to be resposnsible for your learning, use the power of your network and see what we can grow out of all of these brains!

The purpose of this project is to have teenagers from different locations around the globe exchange their thoughts and perceptions of what their lives are like. By viewing, reading, and listening to the perspectives of others from around the globe, they will gain a greater perception of the similarities and differences of people’s lives around the world. This is not an international project where kids learn about the holidays, foods, etc, of another nation. We want to dig deeper, to have you dig, read, write, etc. We want you to explore issues, and work intensely to gain a clearer understanding of concerns that people have in a global world.

In this project you will choose an issue that you feel is important to your life and future, develop your understanding of it, and your understanding of international opinion about it, produce a poetic digital representation of your understanding, and finally share and discuss your experiences with others.

We’ll be working with grade seven and eight students from three other schools who are doing versions of this same project. One school is in Malaysia, another in the United States, and the third is another international school in Columbia!

The central questions, the ones your project answers, are:

* What are the central issues and concerns that people my age, in international communities, have about their lives, about their futures, or about the issues that are facing the world?
* How do I relate to these issues?
* How are these issues similar and different from other people my age in different places around the world?
* What is it like to be ____ (your age) in ____________ (an international community)

Your assignment is to produce a digital representation of your understanding of these issues. By digital, I mean that it has to be able to be put up on the internet. You could make a video that we would post to your blog for other students to watch. You might make a podcast – an mp3 file. You could create a photo essay – a collection of photographs and poems. Your creativity is the limit.

Along the way, you will create a network of people whose ideas will support the development of your understanding of your issue. These will be students from our school, the schools we are working with, and the general public.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Like the saying, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. It’s time to take that first step, which is to introduce yourself on your blog. Other students will use your introduction to connect with people who share similar interests.

Here are some ideas to help get your introduction going:

Who are you? How old are you? What’s your life like living in where you live? What issues are you interested in? You are introducing yourself to the group of students in other countries who will be working on this project with you.

Here is the wiki where we will start putting our heads together with the kids from the other schools. Any first questions about how people live in other countries? Put them on the wiki!

They have placed a direct link in the podcast notes for the show to all of your blogs.

Once again I say to you: you have an audience. People are reading and thinking about what you are writing about. Use your space wisely and responsibly.

As well, I’ve recently gotten an email from a teacher in Thessaloniki Greece. He has several of his students blogging and they are looking for comments. Their blogs can be found here.

I’ve added these links to the side bar as well.

1.) Is blogging different from “regular” writing that happens on paper? If you think it is different, describe how. If it is not different, why not? How is it the same as writing on paper?

2.) The second question I have for you concentrates on your personal learning network. We will be getting ready next week for another PLN conference. So my question for you to get you thinking about this is: what is the advantage of having a PLN filled with blogs that are mostly selected by you? How can it make learning different? Is it OK that we are all reading different things and learning different things? Are classrooms supposed to be about everyone learning the same thing?