Kidlink
sm focuses on empowering youth with free
educational programs. To help them get friends, and build inter-personal
networks with peers around the world. To train them in the art of growing
up, and living, without imposing adult views, religious or political points
of view on them.
 The process starts
by letting groups of kids discuss basic questions about life. To guide them
to knowledge about themselves, their place, rights, friends, families, and
roots.
The questions are provided
by the free, multi-lingual
Who-Am-I? educational
program. These sample questions are from the
"Resolving
disputes" lesson:
-
What causes disputes among people? Are misunderstandings more likely to lead
to trouble?
-
What if the friends you hang out with want to do something you don't? What
do you choose - go with your friends or do "things" your own way?
-
Which side do you choose if there is a conflict between your friends and
your family? Why do you choose like this?
-
How do you resolve disputes? Do you try to avoid people you disagree with?
Do you find that listening carefully for what the other person really wants
and needs can help?
At first, the discussion takes place face-to-face in a classroom or
some other meeting place. When the group has reached some kind of consensus,
they share conclusions and views with
other youth through the Internet. To receive questions and feedback from
peers. Each of these connections is essentially more human than technical.
They link kids together more than their machines, and can lead anywhere.
When confronted with
an audience of prospective friends in other places, the kids want to write
and read. To explain and defend ideas on how to resolve disputes, to
present themselves. They demand information and knowledge to realize personal
goals.
Important Side-Effects
To the Fulni-ô community,
Who-Am-I? is a means to increase its children's knowledge
and appreciation of their village, people, language, culture, values, the
way their society works, and history. Also, it is a means to communicate
such knowledge to outsiders using local students and individual kids as agents.
Children will be asked
to collect, document, and publish elements of their Fulni-ô community's
culture and beliefs that may be about to get lost. Future participants will
use these publications as learning material. When published in
Yaathê, it helps protect this language from external pressure.
To Fulni-ô teachers, the process creates interesting opportunities.
Who-Am-I? helps them
enhance classroom instruction
within their curriculum, it be writing, research, social studies, history,
geography, foreign languages, economics, mathematics, science, the arts,
current awareness, personal development, Internet networking, or information
and communications technology skills. It gives otherwise "boring" classroom
tasks meaning for students.
Also, it tends to increase
cooperation, make classroom relationships more positive (may lead to decreased
violence), and make students more focused.
Proposed Plan
| 1 |
|
Provide Internet access to kids and
youth
Use existing 10 ProInfo (MEC) computers. Increase capacity gradually to 21
computers (one for staff only, 20 for students/kids). |
|
|
|
| 2 |
|
Translate
Who-Am-I? into
Yaathê
Lesson plans; Infrastructure information (How to use the
Kidlink network); Workshop for teachers
|
| 3 |
|
Train teacher and adult coaches
How to use
Who-Am-I? in classroom and the InfoTaba KHouse
|
| 4 |
|
Introduce
Who-Am-I? to students
|
| 5 |
|
Publish student and street
kid contributions
To build new contents in their language, to support discussions with
peers in other cultures, to exchange ideas and best practices.
|
| 6 |
|
Translate and start I
have
a
dream
To start a process that will hopefully lead to the creation
of new jobs in the Fulni-ô village. |
Project Organization
 |
Fulni-ô project manager and facilitator |
Sonia Sette, Department of Technology in Education, the City of Recife,
Brazil |
|
Steering committee |
Odd de Presno,
Kidlink Executive Director, Norway. |
|
Training, consultation, infrastructure |
Kidlink and the City of
Recife. |
Partner relations
Important sustainable benefits is expected to be realized by working with
and through the educational department of the City of Recife. They have worked
with
Kidlink contents
for years, and have recently expressed intent to open 64 KHouses serving
the city's public schools.
We expect continued
access to the ProjInfo computer lab at the Fulni-ô village. KHouse
opening hours will be weekdays between 07:30 - 14:30.
Time line
| Year 1 |
|
Translations of
Who-Am-I? into Yaathê;
Acquire 5 additional computers.
Open online conferences in their language;
Recruit/train online moderators in these languages;
300 kids/week by year-end.
Audit (August) |
| Year 2 |
|
Translate I
have
a
dream.
Acquire 6 additional computers.
400 kids/week by year-end |
| Year 3 |
|
Full operation. Evaluation/planning (May).
500 kids/week by year-end |
Measuring results
Results to be measured by number of student
contributions in the form of submitted messages and posted webpages with
relevant contents.
Next page:
Enhanced learning with
Who-Am-I?
Detailed plan
Back to the Fulni-o
Home Page
Web version maintained by
Odd de
Presno.
Updated August 6, 2001.
Copyright
® 2001 Kidlink
All rights reserved.
 |
