Newsletter Issue

Growing Pains

by Timothy Falconer, Waveplace president

To say that the last few months at Waveplace have been busy strains the very definition of the word. Aside from finishing our first pilot and helping our second through some very tough times (see below), I've been traveling the US, fundraising for our Saint Vincent and Immokalee pilots this summer. We're also laying the foundation for as many as thirty courses with 600 laptops next fall.

More than this, we've completely revamped our Squeaky Tales courseware, half of which was unveiled yesterday to a select group of "beta" reviewers. What you see on the website under Tutorials is the "alpha" courseware we used in St John. Our beta courseware is a vast improvement, which we'll be testing out this summer. After the pilots, we hope to take the courseware and create a professional textbook and DVD series.

Before that's possible, we need to raise more money, as we're now reaching the end of our startup funding. With months left to finish our pilots, courseware, and film, we're short on funds. If ever there was a time to click donate to help, this is it. Each dollar we receive will allow us to improve our courseware and documentary.

Waveplace has been a roller-coaster ride, no doubt, but we're getting closer and closer to realizing our vision, that of engaging the children of the world to take ownership of their own education, so that they may excel in jobs that don't yet exist, so that they may someday solve the problems of the future.

What Waveplace Means to the Virgin Islands

by Senator Louis Patrick Hill, 27th Legislature of the USVI

Upon viewing the final projects implemented during the Waveplace Pilot among fourth-graders at the Guy Benjamin Elementary School on St. John, I concluded that the project has enormous potential for Virgin Islands students.

I also came away deeply gratified that the non-profit entity, Waveplace Foundation, had selected the Virgin Islands as a viable location to introduce a pilot program calculated to stimulate learning among children (particularly those outside of the continental United States), with emphasis on the development of language skills, the very bedrock of acquiring an education.

The Waveplace Project, utilizing the XO computer and Etoys instruction, has tremendous potential for impacting our struggling Virgin Islands educational system. There is a contradiction for children who "Live in Paradise" as their ability to receive a first-rate education is often fraught with difficulties. The geographic challenges of an island community prevent students from taking advantage of educational opportunities available to students on the mainland. What is at stake for Virgin Islands students is the opportunity to avail themselves of cutting edge education technology on par with any other jurisdiction, utilizing the One Laptop Per Child and the Etoys instruction. This flexible technology will propel the students into a new world of exploration and creativity, the control of the educational environment in the very hands of the student. It will provide a massive change in the method of student instruction, allowing both appropriate and self-directed lessons, collaboratively developed by student and teacher.

In receiving a free laptop, Virgin Islands children participated with unbridled enthusiasm as instructors familiarized each student with the technological wonders of the instrument. The children worked diligently with their teachers as they learned to not only tell their stories but graphically design them, complete with animation. As these stories were projected on a large screen, each child came forward in a "show and tell" presentation. . . and each took part in editing each other's work, contributing suggestions on how best to improve verbiage and animation.

The ramifications of this technique to stimulate an interest in learning are awesome; it will expand the horizons of Virgin Islands children in directions unique to the potential of each child.

News From Our Partner in Haiti

by Amanda Adams, Mercy & Sharing

During the most recent period of rioting and civil unrest in Haiti, we at Mercy & Sharing were forced into "emergency mode" to keep the precious children in our care safe. A bright spot for us was the more than 160 Haitians we employ in our operations in Haiti. Some of these amazing people courageously risked their lives to navigate around mass riots and burning barricades to deliver food, supplies and life saving medicine to our orphanages, schools, feeding centers, clinic and abandoned baby unit where we care for abused, neglected and abandoned children. Some of the workers were even stranded at the Mercy & Sharing facilities, unable to get home due to the extreme danger of the situation in the streets -- leaving their own children and families alone during this very dangerous time. Without these dedicated workers, our children could literally have starved or died from a medical condition. The situation was critical, with some of the worst rioting we've seen in the 15 years we've been in Haiti.

Domestically, Mercy & Sharing was able to acquire more than 100 tons of food aid for Haiti. And, in just over two years, Mercy & Sharing has sent more than 230 tons of food and aid -- this is more than most countries (Brazil 18 tons). This brings the Mercy & Sharing donation total to over $3.31 million in food and aid, and $2.35 million in financial aid to Haiti -- that's almost $6 million dollars in total aid! The food and aid generated by Mercy & Sharing is almost 23% of what the United Nations has been able to generate in their world wide effort.

With the worst of the rioting now over and the streets somewhat calm, we have cleaned up and are back in business full swing. We are even expanding our feeding programs to help 1,300 more hungry children. Without support from friends and partner organizations, we wouldn't be able to do this -- Thank You. For more information on Mercy & Sharing, please visit haitichildren.com or call us at 1-877-424-8454.

Reflections On The St John Pilot

By Mary Burks, Fourth Grade Teacher at GBS

The pilot at Guy Benjamin School in St. John has come to a close. At its inception, all persons involved understood that we were delving into new technological territory. There were some initial roadblocks due mostly to some hardware problems that were resolved. The students were excitable, malleable, and productive. Some picked up the skills step-by-step as they were introduced. Others holistically delved, experimented and learned through risk-taking. Yet others became experts at gaining the attention of the teachers and mentors for special "how-to" tips.

Four students were selected as winners at the end of the pilot. Liana won for the best overall story using Etoys, incorporating story, art, and animation into one smooth piece. Her story was 17 pages long and included every skill that had been taught in the pilot. She illustrated her story, proofread and edited her text continually, and used holders for special animations. Tracy won for the best story. She wrote a very lengthy tale about a lonely mango that one day became a beautiful tree. A'Feyah won for the artwork she drew in a story about her dog that waits for her every day after school, wagging its tail. Vanessa, best scripting, wrote a pirate tale with wonderful animations of her pirate finding a treasure chest.

While involved in the pilot, I doubt even the authors knew just where their stories were heading. The projects were in a constant state of change, from art to story line to animations to, well, starting all over again. As the children learned skills in Etoys they massaged their projects to include the best ways to incorporate the new things they were trying out. The project wasn't about a story. The project was about creating a story out of all the cool stuff they were learning how to do.

Students, teachers, and mentors learned much. In the end, I stand in awe of the progress the students made, the levels of collaboration they achieved, the final projects they produced, and the camaraderie they grew to feel for each other. Staying after school until 5:00 was no small commitment on their part. The students never failed to impress me with their adaptability. The final projects were all awesome. In a word, the pilot at Guy Benjamin School was successful.

Fighting the Fear

by Crissi Corbin, 4th grade teacher in Easton PA

When I first started teaching, just eight short years ago, teachers were given the ability to make and create their own curriculum. As a new teacher I was constantly seeking out new tools to help me educate my students. I had to be creative and make tools to use. Since then, the pendulum has swung the other way. We are now forced to use specific curriculum products. Now I feel my hands are tied much of the year with having to force my students who are below level to use materials that were well above them. It's not the materials that are negative but the manner in which we are forced to use them.

I recently read a book titled Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith. In his first chapter he talks about Kohlberg's Six Levels of Moral Development. He talks about how many classrooms are directed by the lowest level of moral development, which is doing it because you fear the wrath of authority. I feel that not only are classrooms being directed by fear but many school districts as well. District administrators are pushing for scores to be higher so that they are not taken over by the state or loosing much needed funding. Teachers are in a panic to make sure their students meet the standards.

For the first three quarters of the year my class was busily cramming for the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment). It has just been in the last month that I have broken from the curriculum restraints and decided to do what I feel is good teaching, such as having my students read a chapter book for a change, which has now turned many students back onto reading rather than away from reading. Because of this, I feel like I having an impact on my students for the first time this year.

To be good teachers, we must fight this fear of not measuring up. We must remember the real goal of our profession, that of reaching and engaging our students in a personal, immeasurable, way.