Students master several skills needed in using the new technologies. The cultural exchange broadens their knowledge of the world. In Russia, drawing is a compulsory subject in the primary and part of secondary school. Regardless of whether a child can really draw pictures or not, they are expected to show certain skills. When a child's work continuously gets a low grade, what usually happens is that later they never wish to draw and are sure they cannot do it.
Some children have their own images of how pictures can be done.
Naturally there are children who simply like the lessons of drawing and do what is required without any difficulty. An Internet-project, on the other hand, gives any child an opportunity to express themselves in any way they like. When children learn that they are to make self-portraits, or in fact any other pictures, and that there are no restrictions as to style, materials used, or their own vision of the world at large, they become very creative indeed. The constant exchange of artwork while working, and the growing understanding that students from other countries may have the same problems, or may be vastly different, all help enormously to booster a child's self-confidence. Holding Hands is the project that catches one's heart.