IEngage Narrative Report

8/16/2019 IEngage Narrative Report

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/iengage-narrative-report 1/45

Chisinau, Moldova

May, 2016

PROJECT REPORT





I-ENGAGE

PROJECT REPORT

PROJECT PROFILE

Project Executive Summary

iEngage (Moldova—Ukraine—Georgia—Belarus Teacher Net-work) was one of the winners of the 2015 State Alumni Engage-ment Innovation Fund created by State Department in 2011 tosupport alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innova-tive solutions to global challenges. A team of alumni from Moldo-va, all experts in international education led by Daniela Munca

-

Aftenev (Muskie), Olga Morozan (Access Microscholarship) andCorina Ceban (SUSI) elaborated a project which was selectedfrom among 800 applications received from worldwide alumni.

The project informed, trained and empowered 35 English Lan-guage teachers from various regions of Moldova and 12 teacher -trainers from Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus who have extensiveprevious experience in international online collaborative projects,to work together online and partnership with American schoolsand universities using the Internet and other new communication

technologies while participating in various civic engagement initia-tives. Our goal was to enhance understanding of the importanceof international collaboration and civic activism in Moldovanschools and universities on a national level. The project empow-ered a regional network of socially active teachers and studentsready to reach out to their communities and learn from Americancolleagues while engaging in various community developmentprojects.

International project partners: iEARN (International Education andResource Network), VIF Learning (located in North Carolina) and

Youth Service America. The project combined face to face work-shops, virtual trainings and online collaboration. Each project par-ticipant implemented three to five international projects by the endof April, 2016.

Project Coordinator: Dr Daniela Munca- Aftenev

November 2

https://alumni.state.gov/aeif







I-ENGAGE

PROJECT BLOG

Project Executive Summary

This report presents the results of the iEngage Project after theimplementation of its first part covering July through November,2015.

Project Blog(http://iengagemoldova.weebly.com/)

All project activities, events and participant interaction are reflect-ed on the project blog, which has 6 sections: Introduction, Partici-pants Profiles, Trainers and Mentors, Collaboration (InternationalPartnerships), Assignments and Project Results.

November 2



Project Blog



iENGAGE TEAM





I-ENGAGE

PROJECT PARTNERS

iEARN is a non-profit organization made up of over 30,000 schools and youth organizations in

more than 140 countries. iEARN empowers teachers and young people to work together online

using the Internet and other new communications technologies. Over 2,000,000 students each

day are engaged in collaborative project work worldwide. One of iEngage Project goals was to

involve as many Moldovan educators and students as possible in various iEARN international

projects.

iEARN (International Education and Research Network)





EGOR DENISOV, High School № 11, Bendery

INA LUPAN, "Ion Creanga" High School from Cuizauca, Rezina

BOLDIȘOR MARIANA, Theoretical Lyceum “Onisifor Ghibu”,

Orhei

NADEJDA DERIVOLKOVA, Theoretical Lyceum " Ivan Vasov",Taraclia

DORINA VACARI, Gymnasium nr. 2, Drochia MARIANA CAZACU, Theoret cal Lyceum "A. Russo", Singerei RODICA TINERELU, Theoretical Lyceum "Constantin Stere",

Soroca

JECHIU OLESEA, Theoretical Lyceum from Zimbreni vill age,Ialoveni

INA PORUBIN, Theoretical Lyceum “ Lucian Blaga” , Iargara,Leova

DUMITRU GRUȘCA, High School "Alecsandri", Falesti NATALIA RAȚĂ, “B.P Hasdeu” Lyceum, Drochia

DARIA PROZOROVSCHI, Theoretical Lyceum “ Mihai Emines-cu”, Hincesti

ANGELA MARIAN, High School f rom Trușeni CAROLINA ANDRONIC, Academy of Economic Studies of Mol-

dova, Chisinau

SVETLANA PRODAN, National College of Trade, Chisinau

ALIONA BARBU, Theoretical Lyceum " Nicolae Balcescu" , Ci-orescu

VICTORIA CRACIUN, Gymnasium no.99, Truseni OXANA BUJOR, Theoretical Lyceum " Nicolae Balcescu" , Ci-

orescu ANGELA MAZNIC, Theoretical Lyceum "Al.I.Cuza", Chisinau

VIORICA ARNAUT, Theoretical Lyceum “Stefan cel Mare,”Taraclia, Causeni,

ELENA LOZOVANU, Theoretical Lyceum “Spiru Haret”, Chis-inau

TATIANA DRĂGAN, Theoretical Lyceum "Mihai Eminescu",Floresti

INGA CHIOSA , “Spiru Haret” Lyceum, Chisinau

IORDACHE XENIA, Primary School “Grigore Vieru”, Ștefan-

Vodă

MARIA CUCU, Theoretical Lyceum “Ion Sir-bu”, Mascauti, Criuleni

VICTORIA COMERZAN, Theoretical Lyceum"Mihai Eminescu" ,Floresti

GALINA RUSU, Theoretical Lyceum " Nicolae Balcescu" , Ci-orescu village

COZONAC VIOLETA, PITL " Ion Creanga" , Cuizauca, Rezina NATALIA SCHIN, Theoretical Lyceum, Balatina village, Glodeni

district MARIAN RODICA, “B. Cazacu” High School, Nisporeni RENATA BUZULEAC, Balatina Theoretical Lyceum

ANGELA GABUREAC, Theoretical Lyceum Budești

Project Participants



On July 7th, 12 international teacher—trainer—mentors from Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia travelled toChisinau to participate in the iEngage launching event, which gathered all 35 project participants and 5local project trainers. The regional experts moderated 12 workshops on various issues related to inter-national collaboration and online project based teaching and learning. Moldovan teachers from variousregions of the country had the opportunity to learn from most successful international projects moderat-ed by their colleagues from Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and US:

Natalia Cherednichenko (Ukraine) : Web 2.0 tools in the civic iEARN projects: experiencesand examples

Pavle Tvaliashvili (Georgia): From beginner to master teacher in iEARN/AYV—reflection on 15years of experience

Inesa Zubrylina (Belarus): Creating a personal teacher educational environment throughiEARN projects

Tetyana Sporynina (Ukraine) : Usage of design technologies in online projects

Maryna Korniienko (Belarus): Participating in the Global Teenager Project

Maia Tkemaladze (Georgia): Adobe Youth Voices as a tool for Engli sh teachers Natallia Belazarovich (Belarus): iEARN projects and collaboration: new educational opportu-

nities

Mzia Gagnidze (Georgia): IEARN as an instrument for teachers and students from rural areas

Ketka Svetlana (Ukraine) : Organization and facilitation of iEARN projects in schools

Zoya Rodionova: iEARN Learning Circles Project steps

iEngage Launching Event — International Conference



IMPRESSIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS

The conference was a great opportunity to meet new people: nice foreign men

tors and English teachers from different districts of Moldova. It was well-

organized and exciting. We had the chance to learn more about a lot of inter-

esting projects and experience of those who have participated in iEARN activity

for many years. I'm sure that the experience they shared will help us in our fu-rure project implementation. URSU MARIANA

Thank you very much to all organisers, especially to Mrs Daniela Munca-

Aftenev, to all foreign mentors, who have shared their experience with us. We

will use all this new information in our future project implementation.iEARN pro

jects will help to develop teachers and students competences.This project give

us the opportunity to have a connection with English teachers from different

districts from our country and with teachers and students from other countries.I

was a great pleasure to be present at this event. LUCHIAN NINA

Dear I-Engage Team Moldova

By this I would like to express my gratitude and say thank you for the opportuni

ty of getting informed of various online community projects for youth develop-

ment, trained in implementing online project based teaching and learning using

online tools, for being engaged in collaborative international online community

development project and also for the chance of connecting to the I-EARN Co

munity worldwide. I am looking forward to more practice and challenges. See

you online. CAROLINA ANDRONIC

It was a great pleasure for me to take part in this conference. All was wonder-

ful: the atmosphere, the entourage, good organizers, open mentors desirers to

share to us all the ideas they have already practiced, and participants desirers

to learn new teaching tactics in order to have success in their career. Thank

you and see you at the next assignment! ANGELA GABUREAC

The conference was very interesting and well-planned.We had the possibility to

know about the experience of the foreign mentors who have applied in i-

EARN.I liked how the mentors presented their experience and at the same time

we were informed how to avoid the mistakes that they had met in their activity.

BOLDISOR MARIANA

i-Engage Conference to me was a new window to the partnership world... lots

of project ideas that Moldovan teachers could become part of in order to cover

the topics from EFL curriculum, and engage students in an international collab-orative work. Thank you for this opportunity! SVETLANA PRODAN

Due to this project I got a lot of motivation to work with my students and I am

able to motivate them too in learning and discovering the opportunities offered

by studying English. Great thanks to Moldovan and foreign iEngage mentors!!!

New people - new ideas and impressions !!! The Conference was very enlight-

ening and pleasant!!! VIORICA ARNAUT



On September 26, 2015, 35 iEngage participants from various regions of Moldova attended the

first project workshop in Chisnau to learn about the opportunities offered by international online

project based instruction. iEngage trainers Olga Morozan, Corina Ceban and Daniela Munca-

Aftenev moderated several sessions on how to use iEARN forums, how to find internationalpartners through the iEARN network, how to plan and implement a successful online project

and how to use all the iEngage project resources in an efficient manner. Ludmila Bilevschi,

Alumni and Speakers Programs Specialist at US Embassy to Moldova, attended the event.

iEngage Workshop



SAMPLE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

IMPLEMENTED

BY iENGAGE EDUCATORS

Cozonac Violeta , Learning Circles Global Issues: Environ- ment , 9th grade (10 students)

Luchian Nina, Holiday Card Exchange, 8th grade (10-12 stu-

dents)

Craciun Victoria, Talking Kites Around the World , 6th grade,

(10 students)

Iordache Xenia, Global Issues: Education, 11th and 12th

grade (9 students)

Jechiu Olesea, One Day in Life, 11th grade (4 students)

Prozorovschi Daria, Our Storybook , 7th and 9th grade (3 stu-

dents)

Arnaut Viorica, My Hero, 11th grade (10 students)

Bogoeva Elena, Learning Circles: Places and Perspectives,

8th grade (10 students)

Chiosa Inga, Learning Circles, Computer Chronicles, 7th

grade (15 students)

Gabureac Angela, Teddy Bear Project , 3rd grade (10 stu-

dents)

Vacari Dorina, Early People Symbols Project , 5th-6th grade

(10 students)



Tatiana Dragan is our first educator who has from her experience as a member of the

iEngage Project with her colleagues from "Mihai Eminescu", Floresti.

"I'm very pleased to announce that the workshop ''PBL- an efficient way of XXI century in Edu-

cation, Improvement and Assessment'' has launched on November 19. The 18 high school

teachers from the regions that have attended the event had the opportunity to get acknowl-

edged what is iEARN and the effectiveness of project based instruction. My students and I

were very glad to share our impressions and small experience in iEarn projects. Thay also

were were proud to show their class survey in My Hero project and post their opinions on the

school blog. I hope this training inspired and motivated the teachers to get involved and join theiEARN community. I also would like to express my gratitude for your wonderful ideas and for-

warded materials." Tatiana Dragan

iEngage teachers share with their colleagues from variousregions of Moldova



SAMPLE iENGAGE BLOGS CREATED BY

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS



iENGAGE REFLECTION IN THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS



iENGAGE participants’ activity on the international forums





iENGAGE—International Partnerships

Rața Natalia, ”B.P. Hasdeu”Theoretical Lyceum from

Drochia

“One Day in the Life”

Uzbekistan, Russia, Georgia, Tai- wan,

United States (Middleton HighSchool )

Grusca Dumitru, “ Vasile Alecsandri” Theo-retical Lyceum from Scum-

pia Falesti

“Holiday Card Ex-

change”

Taiwan (Kuochang Junior HighSchool)

Russia (Zykovskaya School)Taiwan (Chih-Ping Senior High

School)

Slovenia (OŠ Dravlje High School) Belarus (Secondary School №15

Pinsk)

Holland (Canisius School)

Gabureac Angela,

Theoretical Lyceum Bud-

esti

“Computer Chroni-cles“

“Middle School Learn-ing Circle 1”

India (Kolkata, West Bengal)USA (Longmont, Colorado)

Belarus (Brest Region)

Slovenia (Pragersko, Maribor ) Pakistan (Karachi, Sindh)

USA (Mendham, New Jersey)

Cozonac Violeta

Theoretical Lyceum ”IonCreangă”, Rezina, Cuizauca

“Holiday Card Ex-change”

Taiwan ( Taichung Municipal Dong -Bian Elementary School)

Tunisia ( Pioneer Prep. School , Mo-nastir)

Belarus ( Gymnasium Nr 6, Minsk)Pakistan (Beaconhouse SchoolSystem Qasdimabad Hyderabad)Canada (W.H.Day Elementary

School, Bradford)

Victoria Comerzan

Theoretical Lyceum “MihaiEminescu” Floresti

“My Hero” Ukraine, Egypt, Belarus





On March 12, 2016, almost 100 Moldovan iEngage teachers and students who created most in-

spiring media production as part of various international projects, such as ”My hero”, ”One Day in

Life” and ”Learning Circles”, participated in the ”iEngage Moldova National Student Media Confer-ence”. Over 80 video projects were submitted to the selection committee, which voted for

the best media projects. Video projects authors were invited to Chisinau to receive diplomas and

prizes. The projects were posted on the iEARN international forums, so that educators and stu-

dents from other countries could write feedback to Moldovan youth.

Olesea Jechiu, Zimbreni

"The iEngage National Student Media Conference was a fruitful occasion to get out of our educa

tional routine and enjoy collaboration, acquisition, partnership and perseverance. My students and

I came back home with feelings of self -confidence and fulfillment. We had the chance to see othe

partners' works and value it as well, as it helps to estimate our own level of achievement and in

volvement. We shared impressions, discussed with our e- pals, had a wonderful time together and

most important charged our batteries. We are definitely eager to take part in such kind of projects

and events in the nearest future."

iENGAGE YOUTH VOICES CONFERENCE





iENGAGE YOUTH VOICES CONFERENCE





In March, 2016, iEngage educators gathered their forces to involve over 1000 students of all agesin the celebration of the Global Youth Service Day initiative. The Global Youth Service Network isa coalition of local, state, national, and international organizations committed to engaging children

and youth as leaders through volunteering, community service, service-learning, national serviceand voting/civic engagement. The following schools joined our cross country celebration:

"Lucian Blaga" Lyceum, Iargara

"Mihai Eminescu" Lyceum, Soroca

”Gura Căinarului” Gymnasium, Florești

”Bănești Gymnasium”, Telenesti

"Mihai Eminescu" Lyceum, Ungheni

"Vasile Alecsandri" Theoretical Lyceum, Călărași

”Evrika” Lyceum , Rîbnița

,,Gura Cainarului'' Gymnazium, Gura Cainarului

”Gh.V.Madan” Gymnasium no.99, Trușeni

”Petru Movilă” Lyceum, Chisinău

”Sergey Rudenko Lyceum, Vulcanești

American Language Center, Chișinău

"A.Russo" High School, Bălți, Sîngerei

"V. Alecsandri" Theoretical Lyceum, Scumpia, Fălești

"Mihai Eminescu" Lyceum, Hîncești

Balatina Theoretical Lyceum

"B.P. Hasdeu" High School, Drochia

”Vasile Alecsandri” Lyceum, Bălți

"Mihai Eminescu" Lyceum, Florești

Gymnasium no.2, Drochia

”Boris Dînga” Lyceum, Criuleni

”Ivan Ivazov” Lyceum,Taraclia

Teoretical Liceum ”Evrika”, Rîbnița

Theoretical Lyceum "Alecu Russo", Sîngerei

"Mihai Eminescu" School, Cantemir

"Dimitrie. Cantemir" Lyceum,Edineț "Gaudeamus" Theoretical Lyceum, Dondușeni

"Mihai Eminescu" Lyceum, Edineț

Theoretical Lyceum”Dimitrie Cantemir, Cantemir

“D.Cantemir” Lyceum, Edinet

“M.Eminescu” Lyceum, Edinet

Youth center “Salve!”, Edinet

iENGAGE GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE CONFERENCE





iENGAGE GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY EVENTS





On May 15, 35 iEngage educators and their students attended the “Global Youth Service Day

Conference” in Chisinau. They presented the most successful international initiatives and shared

best practices regarding community service learning. The event was attended by our specia

guests: Ela Mikhelson, Public Affairs Coordinator, US Embassy and Ray West, President of Mol

dova World Children’s Fund . Six outstanding iEARN projects were presented by five

iEngage teachers: Tatiana Birzoi (”Children’s Rights”), Daria Prozorovschi („Holiday Card

Exchange”,„Our Story Book), Elena Bogoeva (”Teddy Bear”), Natalia Rața, ( “My Hero”).






As a result of the collaboration with our strategic partner, North Carolina—Moldova Liaison Office, represented by Lora Sinigur, Administrative Assistant, iEngage teachers and s tudentsreceived teaching materials, such as textbooks and posters, shipped over to Moldova via a mili

tary cargo in March, 2016. Ray West , President of Moldova World Children’s Fund and IrinaRusanovschi , President of “Phoenix” NGO, attended the event on behalf of North Carolina—Moldova Liaison Office to hand in the textbooks to our teachers in person. Our educatorsposted pictures with the textbooks received at the event on our iEngage Facebook Group.











iENGAGE FACEBOOK GROUP





Students from Iargara participated in My City and Me Learning Circle 1 (Middle/HighSchool) Project together with their peers from other participating countries: Belarus - Lyceum under Gomel State Engineering Institute, Moldova -“Liceul Teoretic Onisifor Ghibu”, Theoretycal Lyceum "Mihai Eminescu", Floresti, High School "Ion Creanga" Balti, Gymnasium nr.99Gh.V.Madan" Kishinev, Russia School 1129 Moscow, Secondary School #3 of Taksimo, Buryatia,Russia, Franklin Township School,Quakertown, NJ, United States. They have chosen the pro

ject plan proposed by Olga Prokhorenco and her students and they created a project on the topic: Food in the city. First they did research and after that they created a presentation presentingthe food that they consume, places where they go and of course they shared some recipes of ounational food.

The autumn of 2015 was very intensive for the students of 8B class form from “Petru Movila” Lyceum, Chisinau. We decided to join the “Places and Perspectives” Learning Circle because gave the students the opportunity for getting engaged in studying their own surroundings and exploring some common topics; for developing their geographical and historical outlooks; for promoting their intercultural understanding. Eight teams from Belarus, Russia, Moldova, Pakistanand Iran participated in the Circle having suggested an idea for a project. We had to submit ideasfor “Dogs, dogs”, “Money Matters”, “Space Exploration”, “Our School”, “Global Opportunities”

“Sport Centers”, “Cuisine”, “Monuments and Memorials” projects. The participation was highly interactive. It was sometimes a challenge but we met it and realized that we liked it. We scouredmagazines, journals, different sites looking for the information we needed. It was a real examination of our abilities to collaborate, to be responsible. And it also checked up our digital skills. Taking into account the ideas of our peers from different countries we created “To Extend Our Memories By Monuments” project which was published on the Finished Project Website at iEARNLearning Circle Website. This semester seven students from 8B class form are participating in“My Hero” Project. Now they are occupied with creating their presentations trying to understandwho can be named a hero, what qualities a person should have to become a hero, who the heroes of our time are and if everybody needs a hero. And what about Superheroes like SupermanSpiderman, Darth Vader? We hear about them more often than about people with amazing abili

ties or about people who risk their lives to save others. Very soon we will learn their point of viewI would like to mention two more projects our lyceum is taking part in. The first is “Teddy Bear Ex

change” Project. The students of 6V class form have exchanged teddy bears with students fromBeacon Primary School from Karachi, Pakistan. It is difficult to describe the time when we werewaiting for the parcels coming to their destinations. Now Moldovan Bear Stefan and PakistanBear Jugnoo regularly send their messages through Edmodo networking application sharing information and impressions on their staying in Pakistan and Moldova. I believe that the participation in the project will help to develop friendly relations among young people, to encourage themto learn and work co-operatively and collaboratively using telecommunications, to strengthen universal world peace and, of course, to develop such competences as digital and communication inforeign languages.

SAMPLE iENGAGE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Ina Porubin engages students from “Lucian Blaga” Lyceum in ”My City andMe” International Project

Elena Bogoeva involved students from “Petru Movila” Lyceum in Chisinau inseveral international iEARN projects



We would like to share our i-EARN experience that we lived and enjoyed together with ourpeers from the countries we collaborated with. The first project we were involved in

was

”Holiday Cards Exchange”. My pupils from the IVth form enjoyed it very much. We madetogether Christmas cards to send to our partners from Pakistan, Taiwan, Taiwan (R.O.C.) - 2schools, Canada, USA and Belarus. In our cards we included information about our country,our traditions and holidays. But the most interesting part of the project for my students waswhen they started to receive the letters with the cards from our international partners. Theybegan every school day by asking me or our school administration if there were new lettersfor them. If you could see their eyes full of curiosity every time we opened a new letter... andfinding information about a new and unknown country for them that became closer thanks tothis project. Now they are waiting forward to next year to participate at this project again. Itwas also a good practice of English and a real life example where they can use their foreignlanguage knowledge. Another project we participated at was ”Computer Chronicles”wherewere included the pupils from the VIIIth and IXth forms. Our partners in this project were pu-pils from Howrah India; Soligorsk Belarus; Budești Moldova; Baranovichi, Brest Region, Bela-rus and Mendham, New Jersey, USA. Every participant at the project proposed for the othersa topic to be studied in a certain period of time and after that to present a report on the it usingthe web tool the students like the best. In this way our pupils studied and presented reportsabout a lot of interesting topics as: Books our Eternal Companion, No to Computer Addiction!,

A Healthy Life Style, Songs in Our Life, Crossword Puzzle, Additive Story, Video Games, Holi-days Around the World. My pupils enjoyed very much this project and the topics that theystudied as they were very well chosen and actual for the teenagers. Now we continue ouriEARN collaboration in two new projects: ” Daffodils & Tulips”and ”My Hero”. The pupils fromthe VIth form planted the tulips and daffodils bulbs inside their classroom as it was snow out-side when the project started and since then they study day by day the temperature of the soiland of the air in the room where the plants are in order to see how does

the temperature influ-

ence the growth of the flowers. Now they are waiting for blooming time. At ”My He-ro” Elementary School project the pupils from the IVth form got already acquainted with theirproject partners and also we shared with them our class survey and a beautiful movieabout our country and our town. They appreciated them very much. Our next task is to regis-ter every pupil on the My Hero blog page. My students are waiting forward to chat with chil-dren from other countries. They find this project very attractive. The iEARN experience is avery beneficial one for us and due to it I, as a teacher, succeeded to make my lessons moreattractive, more interesting and more ”waited” by pupils. We plan to continue our online col-laboration in different iEARN projects next year too. GREAT THANKS TO iEARN FORBRINGING DIVERSITY AND INTERACTIVITY IN OUR ENGLISH CLASSES!!!

Daria Prozorovschi teaches her students the value of tolerance with the"Talking Kites around the World" iEARN Project

The second iEARN project a group of students from Theoretical Lyceum “Mihai Eminescu”participated in was the "Talking Kites Around the World”. It is dedicated to celebrating peace,co-existence, tolerance, and acceptance of the "other". Students created and flew kites as asymbol of cultural and social dialog, as a symbol of bridge that must be established betweenpeople, communities, nations and countries. We also had lessons dedicated to peace and dis-cussed about tolerance and integration. We learned how to celebrate our differences and

share our

similarities.

Dorina Vacari and her students from Drochia join four international iEARNprojects: ”Computer Chronicles”, ”My Hero”, ”Daffodils and Tulips” and

”Holiday Cards Exchange”



Analyzing different offers we have chosen to participate in One Day in the Life Project. It is avery simple but in the same time a very engaging project. Through this project my students col-laborated with pupils from Russia, Uzbekistan and Taiwan. They created Power Point presen-tations about one day in their life. They shared them with their peers from abroad and werevery surprised to see that they have a lot in common with other pupils. The most interestingfact is that after the end of this project we didn’t stop collaborating with one of the countries.Taiwan school proposed to have cultural package exchange and we even decided to Skype inorder to find more about each other. The Affiliated High School of Normal University (HSNU) - the name of our school partners, studied about Moldova and we, of course, studiedabout Taiwan. I hope that our collaboration will continue and it will bring only benefits to our

students. Another project that had a great impact on my students was MY HERO Learning Cir-cles Project. Workings on this project, pupils have learnt about heroes from other countries andthey have also understood who their heroes are. They have written essays and creat-ed video presentations. Their videos participated in iEARN Moldova National Student MediaConference and won the first and second prize in the nomination “My Hero” video project.Those of my students who didn’t participate in this project got interested and wanted to tell theworld about their heroes too. That is why this term we have engaged again in MY HEROLearning Circle Project and started collaborating with pupils from Algeria, Sierra Leone, Russiaand Moldova. I am sure that this project will make my students be more creative, sensible andtheir communicative skills will greatly improve.

Being a part of iEngage Project was a challenge, a motivational tool and a pleasure all the wayof its implementation. Students from my school have taken part in three international, educa-tional I-Earn projects: "One day in the life", "Holiday Card Exchange" and "My hero: LearningCircles Project" that is still being implemented. It was a great occasion to prove that English isactual and a must-have of our times. It was definitely a new experince for our school communi-ty that instilled our interest to bring the education and learning outside the English classroom.

About 14 willing students from the 5th and the 6th grades were involved in the "Holiday CardExchange" project. We had schools from 6 countries as partners: the USA, Romania, Bielarus,Russia, Packistan and Taiwan (two schools). Through our group ( nr.24) from the Project Fo-rum I could get in touch with some of our partners, namely from Romania and Bielarus. As farwe have received postcards from Russia, the USA and Taiwan. We are still waiting for the oth-ers, but the pupils are very pleased with the feed-back. Six enthusiastic girls from the 11th formtook part in the "One day in the life project" and have found out what an e-pal means and howconnection can be maintained through a forum, in spite of the huge distance between them.Here are some thoughts that express Maria Oleacu's oppinion about the impact of the project:

SAMPLE iENGAGE INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Students from the “B.P Hasdeu” Lyceum in Drochia join ”One Day in the Life”and ”My Hero” international projects

Olesea Jechiu brings international projects to Theoretical Lyceum fromZimbreni



"I have always wanted to pass over my fears and discover a different world and i think that i -

Engage came in the right time. I opened my soul to the world and met wonderful people thatbecame close friends and thanks to them i set new goals, new dreams and I'm very happy toknow them and speak daily in English. I learnt and heard new ideas and visions and discov-ered different parts of the world, I'm content to remember and keep in touch with I -Earnfriends. I think we did a great work, motivated others and changed maybe a bit the world."

Students from “V. Alecsandri” Lyceum in Scumpia, Falesti participated in the TEDDY BEARPROJECT. We decided to participate in this project because it aims to foster tolerance andunderstanding of cultures.The project has started in December 2015. 12 students from thesecond grade were involved in the project. Our partner in the project is the MezhdurechenskSecondary School.from Russia, Republic of Komi with the 5th form students. On the iearnforum the classes had presented themselves, and shared some photos. An white Teddy Bearfrom Moldova was sent to our Russian partner with some small presents that represented ourcountry. The Russian Teddy Bear Mr. Brown arrived in Scumpia during the Christmas holi-days and the bear began to send home diary messages by email or through the iEARN TeddyBear Forum once a month. The bear visited the school and the school yard. Then took partan the English lessons during the January month. During the English lessons the studentshas learn a lot of interesting facts about Republic of Komi, its traditions, students hobbies andholidays. The project isin continues development until the end of may when will say farewell tothe bear.

When I found out about the iEARN Collaboration Centre, I became very curious and decid-ed to join this educational resource network without hesitation. I really don't regret this, be-cause of the variety of online educational projects it offers on the international level. Join-ing iEARN, we joined a community of colleagues around the world who share the vision thatcollaborative global projects using telecommunications can enhance and reform education. Iwas glad to involve my students to take part in a couple of iEARN Projects which encouragethem to become global citizens since iEARN tackle important global issues and seek for defi-nite solutions from the youth part across the globe. Furthermore, it may be a strong basis forstudents in communicative skills and in improving their English language skills as they engagein cross-cultural dialogue with their peers from different parts of the world. They can also getvaluable insights into various cultures. We have registered for the following iEARN Projects:My Hero Project and One Day in My Life. Inviting my students to participate in "My Hero" Pro-

ject, convinced me how useful it was, because it helped to develop the abilities of writing a

coherent text in English, applying their knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, arranging atext and images on the page, reading and recording a text using the digital tools, learned howto formulate and express their opinions, both orally and in writing, took photos, created a mov-ie, selecting the suitable images; learned how to use a blog. All these activities contributed tothe development of linguistic, communicative, cultural, interdisciplinary, civic and methodologi-cal (digital) skills, increasing students’ imagination, creativity and critical thinking. Involving mystudents in the Project "One Day in the Life" they received the chance to exchange photo-graphs/images describing days in their lives, and then make cross-cultural comparisons.

Dumitru Grușca teaches his students the value of tolerance and under-standing of other cultures through the ”Teddy Bear” Project

Mariana Gorbuli discovers efficient teaching strategies by joining twoiEARN projects: "My Hero" and "One Day in the Life"

http://www.iearn.org/

http://www.iearn.org/



PARTICIPANTS FEEDBACK

“iEngage was a great experience for me and my pupils. They had the possibility to

collaborate with pupils from abroad, they had the opportunity to create video projects which were highly appreciated by other teachers and Peace Corps volunteers.

I noticed that some of my students who had some problems in expressing them-

selves, in communicating in a foreign language, participating in this project got con-

fidence and became better in some things. Being engaged in iEARN projects was

really very interesting and motivating for my students. We recently received a cultur-

al package from Taiwan, from a school which was our partner in One Day in the Life

project. I understood that the busier I am the better I feel. I realized that we can

learn with the world and not only about the world. I am going to motivate my stu-

dents and continue my activity on iEARN. I can’t imagine any more my lessonswithout some extra activities. Waiting for new projects!”

Natalia Rața, Theoretical Lyceum ” B.P.Hasdeu”, Drochia

“Thank you to iEngage for the great experience I've acquired. I have a class thatwelcomed all the new ideas and even asked me: What is the next Project we willtake part in? Thanks to you, we created and use our own website. I, as a teacher,use it to inform my students about new activities: like new projects, new tasks and

they use it to accomplish the requirements developing their English skills. Our site isa new connection between us. Also, there we keep all our collections of didacticmaterials. We had fun studying English this year, in an entertaining way. Your ideasare the best lessons for us, English language teachers.“

Angela Gabureac, Theoretical Lyceum “Budești”

“For me iEngage was a great challenge - I have a lot of lessons per week and I wasalso involved in another project, so I am proud and glad at the same time that Imanaged to fulfill all the tasks and that I learned a lot of new online tools. For sure,

the things we learned during the project can be implemented and used in accord-ance with our curricula and this thing we will better realize next year. My studentsfeel special because they participated in a new project and now can use variousonline tools, they are iEARN members and communicate in English and collaboratewith people from other countries. We had a wonderful school year!!! We are glad wecan say “we did it and we could do it”!!!

Costiş Maria, “Băneşti” Gymnasium, Teleneşti



“The most important thing that I have learned as an iEngage participant: how to usedifferent online tools in my teaching practice. I enjoyed the most to analyze differentinternational projects and I thought how to use them during my classes. During theimplementation of these projects, I learned new online tools, I made new friends indifferent countries around the world. All of them will be useful during my classes ,soI could plan and do my lesson more interactive next year. ”

Porubin Ina, Lyceum”Lucin Blaga”, Iargara

“I am realy very lucky to have been selected, as an iEngage project participant, to-gether with many other teachers from our country and be instructed how to use dif-ferent online tools and platforms while teaching and transforming our classes inmore animated, more interesting and more useful learning environments. It was myfirst experience in collaboration with other schools and even other countries.iEngage helped me a lot to change the way of teaching; students now look at Eng-

lish classes with more interest and with a bigger desire to study, to know and tomake online projects. Looking forward for upcoming projects! ”

Gorbuli Mariana,Theoretical Lyceum ” A. Russo”, Singerei

“iEngage definitely changed my perspective on teaching in a Digital Age. I have dis-covered so many interesting tools to operate with during the lessons and most im-portantly I realized the value and importance of project-based learning which is agreat strategy to help students become 21st Century learners and future leaders.

The students greatly enjoyed being part of various international projects where theycould apply the newly acquired digital and problem-solving skills, as well as sharetheir experience and exchange knowledge with their global peers, consequently to-gether they tried to work out solutions for different global issues. Bringing interna-tional dimension and collaboration into our classroom resulted in meaningful andvaluable outcomes. The students realized that they can make a real difference inthis world and help others across the globe through distant learning and coopera-tion. A really motivational and driving force for them was, undoubtedly, the recogni-tion of their joint efforts and valuable contributions by means of an InternationalCertificate all the students got at the end of each Project. They are looking forwardto participating in other global projects where they could excel and showcase their

talents and deep concerns about the world.”

Tatiana Bîrzoi, American Language Center, Chisinau



PARTICIPANTS FEEDBACK

“Getting out of your comfort zone means to fight your fears and grow. This is what

iEngage represented for my students and me. As a participant, I’ve learned a lot ofuseful things, but the three most considerable ones are: finding out a different wayfor motivating my students, improving my teaching experience by learning how touse on-line tools and getting in touch with teachers and pupils all around the world. The activity that we enjoyed the most was to design the final product (messages,videos, postcards) for each project we took part in. The impact of being a part of theproject was definitely a positive and a stimulative one, as we succeeded to bringEnglish language outside the borders of the class and prove that school and life isone part of the other. As a result, my students got curious about further experiencesalike. And that is due to the feeling of self -confidence and pleasure they had as aresult of participating. International projects represent an attractive experience that

we would like to live again, that is why we are looking forward to being part of themnext year. ”

Olesea Jechiu,Theoretical Lyceum from Zimbreni, Ialoveni

“It was my first experience in participating in international projects. I am glad that Iand my students were a part of the “World English Community”. As a participant Ihave learned to be more organized, more active and more responsible.Procrastination was a quality that prevented me to achieve the end of the project

successfully , but I discovered new things related to collaboration and the support ofother members. I participated in 3 international projects. The students enjoyed verymuch “Holiday Card Exchange”. At the beginning we all were afraid, but by the endthe students remained satisfied about the work they have done. It was unusual forthem to write comments and to receive feedback. It is useful for me and my pupilsto participate in international projects because we enrich and develop ourcommunicative skills in English. Great thanks to our country coordinators who haveopened new horizons and guided us throughout his amazing project !!!

Viorica Arnaut, Theoretical Lyceum “ Stefan cel Mare si Sfint”, Causeni

“Challenge, Motivation, Opportunity, Desire, Projects, Eager Students—words thatcan describe the iEngage project. We were very lucky to take part in the project,together with many other Moldovan teachers. International projects implemented inour school gave the chance to students to develop their speaking and writing skillsto a higher level and learn new online tools. The world of projects is waiting for usand we are waiting for new challenges.”

Grușca Dumitru, Th. L. “V. Alecsandri”,Scumpia, Fălești



Documents

IEngage Narrative Report