Our first exchange with Ararat students has already occurred in the form of a web page, entitled "Researching and Reporting on Family Treasures" that we created as an entire class. 

E-mail Introductions
Students from both countries have begun to exchange e-mail messages to introduce and describe themselves, and trade  information on how to approach planning, research and construction of a project about a family treasure.

Family Treasures: Links Between Past and Present

University of Calgary students did a "Family Treasures of the Past" project, which is related to the ICT Program of Studies, in December 2000 and January 2001. A description of the Family Treasures task is on the web. In brief, students chose a family treasure (i.e., photo, object, story, recipe, item of clothing, etc), and conducted research to discover the treasure's history by interviewing a grandparent or family member. Students also researched how the treasure represented a change from the past to the present.  We presented the results of our research both orally and visually (using a digital projector to show our powerpoint slides to the rest of the class). 

University of Calgary students learned a great deal about their history as individuals, each other as classmates, and about our diverse countries of origin. Students rediscovered the variety of cultures that are represented in Canadian society. We learned about conducting research using a range of sources, and also how to present our research findings using multimedia.  University of Calgary students will share some of what they learned with Year 7 students from Ararat, Victoria, to guide their research efforts as they embark on their own Family Treasures Heritage project. 

Web-Advice
University of Calgary students are learning how to create web
pages as a group. This collaborative project with Australian students gives the group an authentic reason to build a website in order to exchange knowledge with others.

Live Link-up - AGENDA!!
Students from Australia and Canada will connect in real time via video-teleconference on April 4/5th to celebrate and conclude the project.

Videoconference Photos

Student Feedback 
from Canada & from Australia
**

Snow Dump
Calgary, March 27th!!

We got a surprise snow fall last night and this morning that blanketed the city of Calgary in soft, mushy snow. The sun is shining brightly, and the snow should be melted by tomorrow. New photos will be taken tomorrow.

ABOVE - Faculty of Education Building

A View From the Courtyard to the East...