Project information
| Status | Finalist |
| URL | Go to website |
| Category | Education Lifelong and informal learning |
| Country | Romania |
| Operational areas | Urban |
| Target groups | Children, Youth, Women, Men, Seniors |
| Fixed connection | Dialup, Cable |
| Access points | Home, School, Library, Cafe |
| Interact | Desktop Computer, Cellphone |
| Software License Types | Open Source |
Project location
Random images Challenge 2008
Knowing Me Is Knowing You (or KMIKY)
- Brief description
- This safe web-based collaborative project focused on cultural awareness and intercultural learning helps pupils from all over the world not only to learn about each other via the Internet and become well-informed global citizens but also to develop their sense of awareness of being part of a dynamic global community.
- Vision, Objectives and Goals
- When I (as an EFL teacher) created and initiated this project in October 2003 I thought I would use it just as a way to break the ordinary school life rhythm of my students (in the 7th grade A) and increase their motivation to learn English and develop their ICT skills. My plan was to start a cultural exchange via the Internet between my 7th graders and a partner class from another country. Only later when I saw the growing list of registered classes worldwide did I fully realize what a powerful tool the KMIKY project was in opening up the world to my students and creating a large educational community.Since October 2003 the project has grown from year to year. A lot of pupils from all over the world (including children with special needs) have submitted us their contributions (texts and photos/drawings related to the above mentioned activities) and thanks to them and their teachers we could create a global archive (of personal accounts about different cultures) that aims to increase cultural awareness and foster tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world.
- Transferability
- This project is highly trasferable. Any teacher (with a good command of ICT and a foreign language) together with four enthusiastic secondary school pupils (with basic computer skills and a good command of a foreign language) who are willing to spend one or two hours a day at school or at home working on the computer can create and coordinate such a project.
- Project summary
- This web-based collaborative project provides a safe web-based learning environment that celebrates cultural diversity and prepares pupils to be well-informed global citizens.Knowing Me Is Knowing You (KMIKY) is a good model for demonstrating how cultural diversity is brought into the classroom via the Internet. It also illustrates how new technologies help pupils break through communication and language barriers learning together by sharing. I believe that by taking part in the activities provided by the KMIKY project our pupils have started to understand and respect other cultures and their own and also to discover their neighbours and the worldwide community.Thanks to this project the participating pupils assisted by their teachers practise complex communication and computer skills demonstrating how cooperative learning can be part of their lives.The project website enables pupils worldwide (assisted by their teachers) to engage in the following cross-cultural activities: Not-to-Be-Missed Places Famous Stories Travel around the World Customs and Traditions Celebrations My Souvenir etc.Each activity provides teachers with practical guidance on helping learners to make the most of it.Several online interactive exercises have been designed to help pupils reinforce the information learned in the project.
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