CM January 5, 1996. Vol. 2, Number 12

International Internet KIDFORUM Project

KIDFORUM is an opportunity for students to share and compare their work internationally. The latest topic is "Blue Print Earth." Read on for details!

The new KIDFORUM topic will start on January 1st and will last till February 29th 1996 and we hope that you will join it with your kids.

KIDFORUM BLUE PRINT EARTH

PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

MODERATORS:

Indu Varma : ivarma@nbnet.nb.ca
Tor Arne Richvoldsen : richvold@grida.no

Grade Levels: K-12
Subject Areas: Science, Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies, & Art

INTRODUCTION

Objective:

The main objective of "Blue Print Earth" is to provide an exciting opportunity that would allow our students to enhance their creative talents and use their imagination to design gadgets, invent articles, and picture social or political scenarios which will make planet Earth a better place to live for our future generations.

Specific Objectives:

  1. Develop an awareness of the various problems that Earth inhabitants are faced with today, e.g. destruction of ozone layer, effects of chemical sprays, various environmental hazards, areas plagued by constant earth quakes or volcanic activity etc.

  2. Promote critical thinking and problem solving abilities among our students by involving them in generating some hypothetical answers to the perceived problems -- solutions that would make the Earth a better place to live.

  3. Enhance creativity and imagination of the students by involving them in designing and inventing gadgets or items to solve the problems observed.

  4. Develop communication, and inter-personal skills by marketing the designed products.

Format:

Those who have subscribed to Kidforum throughout the world will be able to participate in "Blue Print Earth."
  1. A dialogue among students about the most serious problems facing our planet will take place in the first three weeks. Students from each school will post their prioritized list of serious problems facing the Earth today on the Kidforum list.

    During the whole project groups of students are challenged to write an essay. The topic for the essay is closely linked to tha name of this project. Your heading is to be : GAIA... ( which means earth ) The essay can be published whenever it is finished -- during this project, but must be ready and sent to the Kidforum list before Feb. 20.

    We hope to be able to send a diploma to the group(s) of students writing the "best" essay(s)... So start writing...

  2. During the fourth week a discussion about some of the possible solutions will take place between the participating schools. This is intended to be a brain storming activity to generate a wide assortment of possibilities.

  3. Following the dialogue of the first four weeks resulting in a listing of the problems and brain storming for solutions, the students will require two weeks to engineer or develop some products that they believe will provide possible solutions to the problems.

    During the sixth week of the project the students will be back on-line to describe their creations, e.g. a new type of helmet which will absorb UV rays, a chewing gum that has fluoride in it, or a new type of inter-locking brick used in construction to make buildings earth quake safe etc..

    They may post drawings or digitized pictures of their creations on the network (uuencoded gifs) in order to start marketing their inventions.

  4. The seventh week will be an auction week, and the students will have the opportunity to buy and sell their creations. The schools will be able to spend their fictitious $10,000.00 to buy the gadgets that they believe would provide the most useful, workable, and practical solutions. They will also have the opportunity to market their own products using advertising, cartoons, brochures, or other strategies.

    The set up will be similar to an auction where bids are placed on objects, except the product will not be sold to the highest bidder. Instead the product accumulating the highest totals of all the bids will be declared the winner. In a way this is an evaluation done by peers where by the product attaining the highest total of bids will be the judged to be the best by the participants.

  5. We are scheduled for IRC : Jan. 24th and Febr. 21st
    We plan to have real time chats. Kids will be able to discuss the environmental problems, to exchange their views and to find positive solutions to environmental issues.
If you are not yet familiar with KIDLINK IRC, please read KIDLINK IRCWHAT file.

TIME LINE:

MODERATORS:

Moderators for the topic will be:

Indu Varma from Canada - email: ivarma@nbnet.nc.ca
Tor Arne Richvoldsen from Norway - email: richvold@grida.no

Please feel free to ask them questions regarding the topic.

PARTICIPATION:

If you intend to participate in the topic, than we advise you:

  1. To subscribe to KIDFORUM list to receive all messages. You do this by sending message:

    subscribe KIDFORUM "first name second name"

    to:

    LISTSERV@Vm1.NoDak.edu

  2. To subscribe to KIDFORUM-COORD list to be able to discuss the topic among moderator and participating teachers

  3. To send the below registration form to the topic moderators:

    Indu Varma
    Tor Arne Richvoldsen

REGISTRATION FORM FOR BLUEPRINT EARTH

Topic: BLUEPRINT EARTH -- from January 1st - February 29th, 1996

Name of school:_________________________________



Postal address:_________________________________



School phone number:____________________________



School fax number:______________________________



School WWW-homepage:  __________________________(if any)



City, Country:___________________________________



Contact teacher: ________________________________



E-mail address: _________________________________


Approx. number of participating students:________


Approx. age of students: ________________________


Date: ___________________________________________
Mail registration to:

Indu Varma
ivarma@nbnet.nb.ca
Marshview Middle School
P.O. Box 970
Sackville, N.B., E0A 3C0
Tel. (506) 364-4086 (work)
Fax. (506) 364-4096 / 4095

Tor Arne Richvoldsen
richvold@grida.no
Eydehavn school
P.O BOX 100
N4810 Eydehavn, Norway
Tel. +47 37030370
Fax. +47 37031744

WELCOME TO KIDFORUM'S NEW PROJECT, BLUE PRINT EARTH

Please note: In order to take part in any Kidlink activity students have to answer the four Kidlink questions :
  1. Who am I?
  2. What do I want to be when I grow up?
  3. How do I want the world to be better when I grow up?
  4. What can I do now to make this happen?

and send the answers ( RESPONSE ) to RESPONSE@Vm1.NoDak.edu

Questions about KIDFORUM activities should be send to:

KIDFORUM manager Alenka Makuc: makuc@public1.noprmd.mail.si
KIDFORUM assistant Marisa Lucena: mwlucena@ax.apc.org

Alenka Makuc
KIDLINK KIDFORUM manager
PTT High School, Celjska 16
61000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
makuc@public1.noprmd.mail.si
http://stenar.arnes.si/guest/scptt1/alenka.html

Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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