IOC 2006 Online Learning supporting international collaborative literature project

Speaking with the Israeli students has taught me a lot about another culture. I feel that the girls in Israel have also enjoyed talking with us and learning about us as well. I have never used an online forum and it was a cool experience to be able to communicate with people using a different type of medium. I feel I have learned more about Israeli culture by reading the stories and talking to the girls. This project has helped me understand and appreciate technology. - Patrick Martinez (LCC)

When students are used to sitting in class and listening to the teacher talk, getting out of the class and learning through computers and research adds some spice to the learning of English…. - Adina Ginsburg (NC)

To begin to explain what I have gained from this culture sharing project, would be like trying to teach a blind man to read!
I gained so much from this project. Besides the fact that I learned about Canada, and about teens on the other side of the world, I have learned to be proud to be an Israeli, and to be proud of living in Israel. I hope to be able to recall this memory in years to come.
- Leora Fredman (NC)

The International Collaborative Literature Project was a great learning experience....The moodle website allowed us to communicate with Israel using new technology. It was fast and easy to use. It was a good way to learn about the culture and the events that occur in Israel. Communicating with the girls at Neveh Channah School was a rewarding experience, especially with the tragic shooting that occurred near their school. Using moodle, we were able to talk to the girls and see how they felt after the shooting. Some girls even knew people who were killed. Furthermore, we shared different short stories with each. This gave us a chance to learn about literature in other countries. Overall, this was a great project and should be implemented again. - Chris Hajaly (LCC)

The collaborative project with the Canadians was a good experience. It was a differentand interesting way of learning. We don't have many opportunities during school to talk to people from other places in the world, to get the chance to know them. -Hila (Rabin)

I really enjoyed this project. It was a great learning experience. Using moodle facilitated the communication with the girls from Israel. I believe both schools benefited from this experience. We got to learn much about the Israeli culture in addition to them learning about ours. Being able to communicate with them on a regular basis enabled us to discuss the stories in more depth at a quicker pace. The time difference was never a factor because we were able to post our responses and they were able to respond at their own time. In all, this project has enriched my knowledge in the Israeli culture as well as my own. - Lesley Schouela (LCC)

This exchange program has taught me so much, it didn’t teach me like we usually learn in the classroom; it taught me about life.

I learned about Israel and how it isn’t so different than Canada. When we wrote to each other introducing ourselves everyone had similar hobbies. When LCC students wrote to the Neveh Channa students about the shootings everyone was so nice and sincere, it brought out their true selves.

What I learned most throughout this whole project was that we live very similar lives with similar problems. We compared our stories The Name and The Hockey Sweater and on both sides we were able to relate to each other. Maybe the subject was different but the whole idea of it all was just so similar. They may live in a different society, but we are all so alike.This program changed my life and how I think about our world.

Moodle facilitated this whole project. We were all working in the same area, so we were able to browse all around in every forum. We were able to access interviews and readings of the stories very easily, we didn’t have to download anything, and it was just simple. Anyone could use it. It was also a very private area. No one was a random outsider; it was our class and their class with notes from teachers and that is it.

Overall, this was a great experience and a great learning experience. - Kelly Mathers (LCC)

I learnt many new things while conducting this project. Besides learning more about a different culture, I also learnt new technological skills. I now am able to create a website on dreamweaver, and communicate over the internet with other ways besides email. I also really enjoyed conducting this project. It was interesting to communicate with people our age in a different society. I also enjoyed writing reflections on a short story that I actually liked to read. - Zachary Schneiderman (LCC)

2006 Illinois Online Conference for Teaching and Learning Feb. 15-17 2006 Online Learning Supporting The International Collaborative Literature Project Israel-Canada partnership in online collaborative learning
HOME LCC Moodle LMS IPNCL Tools used Timeline Students' feedback Teachers' Feedback Design of projects Multimedia showcase LCC ICLP 2006 NC-LCC ICLP 2004-2005 Lower Canada College Neveh Channah Rabin High School	Students' Feedback Here are some of the responses of the students to the collaborative projects: Speaking with the Israeli students has taught me a lot about another culture. I feel that the girls in Israel have also enjoyed talking with us and learning about us as well. I have never used an online forum and it was a cool experience to be able to communicate with people using a different type of medium. I feel I have learned more about Israeli culture by reading the stories and talking to the girls. This project has helped me understand and appreciate technology. - Patrick Martinez (LCC) When students are used to sitting in class and listening to the teacher talk, getting out of the class and learning through computers and research adds some spice to the learning of English…. - Adina Ginsburg (NC) To begin to explain what I have gained from this culture sharing project, would be like trying to teach a blind man to read! I gained so much from this project. Besides the fact that I learned about Canada, and about teens on the other side of the world, I have learned to be proud to be an Israeli, and to be proud of living in Israel. I hope to be able to recall this memory in years to come. - Leora Fredman (NC) The International Collaborative Literature Project was a great learning experience....The moodle website allowed us to communicate with Israel using new technology. It was fast and easy to use. It was a good way to learn about the culture and the events that occur in Israel. Communicating with the girls at Neveh Channah School was a rewarding experience, especially with the tragic shooting that occurred near their school. Using moodle, we were able to talk to the girls and see how they felt after the shooting. Some girls even knew people who were killed. Furthermore, we shared different short stories with each. This gave us a chance to learn about literature in other countries. Overall, this was a great project and should be implemented again. - Chris Hajaly (LCC) The collaborative project with the Canadians was a good experience. It was a differentand interesting way of learning. We don't have many opportunities during school to talk to people from other places in the world, to get the chance to know them. -Hila (Rabin) I really enjoyed this project. It was a great learning experience. Using moodle facilitated the communication with the girls from Israel. I believe both schools benefited from this experience. We got to learn much about the Israeli culture in addition to them learning about ours. Being able to communicate with them on a regular basis enabled us to discuss the stories in more depth at a quicker pace. The time difference was never a factor because we were able to post our responses and they were able to respond at their own time. In all, this project has enriched my knowledge in the Israeli culture as well as my own. - Lesley Schouela (LCC) This exchange program has taught me so much, it didn’t teach me like we usually learn in the classroom; it taught me about life. I learned about Israel and how it isn’t so different than Canada. When we wrote to each other introducing ourselves everyone had similar hobbies. When LCC students wrote to the Neveh Channa students about the shootings everyone was so nice and sincere, it brought out their true selves. What I learned most throughout this whole project was that we live very similar lives with similar problems. We compared our stories The Name and The Hockey Sweater and on both sides we were able to relate to each other. Maybe the subject was different but the whole idea of it all was just so similar. They may live in a different society, but we are all so alike.This program changed my life and how I think about our world. Moodle facilitated this whole project. We were all working in the same area, so we were able to browse all around in every forum. We were able to access interviews and readings of the stories very easily, we didn’t have to download anything, and it was just simple. Anyone could use it. It was also a very private area. No one was a random outsider; it was our class and their class with notes from teachers and that is it. Overall, this was a great experience and a great learning experience. - Kelly Mathers (LCC) I learnt many new things while conducting this project. Besides learning more about a different culture, I also learnt new technological skills. I now am able to create a website on dreamweaver, and communicate over the internet with other ways besides email. I also really enjoyed conducting this project. It was interesting to communicate with people our age in a different society. I also enjoyed writing reflections on a short story that I actually liked to read. - Zachary Schneiderman (LCC)