Collaborative projects have already helped students dispel some of the myths about life in other countries. One favorite cultural exchange project has students in different countries interviewing one another about their everyday lives. They then share answers, some of them surprising. The project teaches kids how to use the Internet as a research tool, while exercising their critical thinking. Teachers have found that students become more engaged when they can connect with real people in real places.
Children enjoy having email pals across the world.
The Alliance will use its cluster approach to wire remote regions of Africa, in Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. In the Americas, the Alliance is targeting less-developed regions of Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Mexico. In the Middle East, the group hopes to connect Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. But as McGinnis points out, access to technology does not automatically lead to better schools, better learning, or a better understanding of life beyond a country's border. But you present kids with an opportunity to talk to kids at the other side of the world, and they jump at the chance.