East-West School of International Studies

Teachers Teaching Teachers #240 - A crisis that will be resolved or a crisis out of control? Stories from Japan - 3.23.11

On this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, we talk with a couple of teachers in Japan to get a local perspective on the disaster there. The other guests agreed to come on the show in the hallways of the East-West School of International Studies (EWSIS) in Flushing, Queens, where Paul Allison teaches English.

After inviting his principal, the founding principal of East-West, Ben Sherman onto this episode of TTT, Paul asked Ben who he knows in Japan who we could invite into the conversation. Ben immediately thought of Alan Bergman "a guy that I went to grad school with in Tokyo." Alan who teaches at a university in Tokyo, in turn, put us in touch with Eric Bossieux, providing us with this introduction:

Eric is originally from Louisiana. His father was a pilot with Japan Airlines, so Eric went to international high school in Yokohama and to Sophia University in Tokyo. He does consulting and translation work, and he has done translations for TEPCO (the company that runs the reactor in Fukushima) of their operating manuals for hydroelectric and nuclear power plants.

Rounding out this list of guests are two seniors from EWSIS, Martha and Christian.

This was the middle of three podcasts that we done so far with teachers in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. Our first conversation took place the week before: Teachers Teaching Teachers #239 - Bringing the crises in Japan into our classes: Dave Mammen, Kim Cofino, and Scott Lo -03.16.11. Last week, on April 6th, we spoke again with Eric Bossieux and Kim Cofino. Look for that conversation in the upcoming TTT #242.

We plan to continue to talk about these issues, questions, assessments of the situation, and ways we can help. What can we learn and teach now and in the future about the Great Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011?

On this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, we talk with a couple of teachers in Japan to get a local perspective on the disaster there. The other guests agreed to come398px-US_Navy_110315-N-5503T-756_A_Japanese_search_and_rescue_team_searches_the_rubble_near_a_high-rise_building_in_Wakuya%2C_Japan on the show in the hallways of the East-West School of International Studies (East-West) in Flushing, Queens, where Paul Allison teaches English. 

After inviting his principal, the founding principal of East-West, Ben Sherman onto this episode of TTT, Paul asked Ben who he knows in Japan who we could invite into the conversation. Ben immediately thought of Alan Bergman "a guy that I went to grad school with in Tokyo." Alan who teaches at a university in Tokyo, in turn, put us in touch with Eric Bossieux, providing us with this introduction:

Eric is originally from Louisiana. His father was a pilot with Japan Airlines, so Eric went to international high school in Yokohama and to Sophia University in Tokyo. He does consulting and translation work, and he has done translations for TEPCO (the company that runs the reactor in Fukushima) of their operating manuals for hydroelectric and nuclear power plants.

Rounding out this list of guests are two students, seniors from East-West, Martha and Christian.

This is the middle of three webcasts/podcasts that we've done so far with teachers (and we hope others) in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11. Our first conversation took place the week before: Teachers Teaching Teachers #239 - Bringing the crises in Japan into our classes: Dave Mammen, Kim Cofino, and Scott Lo -03.16.11. Last week, on April 6th, we spoke again with Eric Bossieux and Kim Cofino. Look for that conversation in the upcoming TTT #242.

We plan to continue to talk about these issues, questions, assessments of the situation, and ways we can help. What can we learn and teach now and in the future about the Great Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011?

(Image from U.S. Navy on Wikipedia)

Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.

Teachers Teaching Teachers #182 - A student-centered follow up: More on games, YouTube, Twitter, and Research - 01.13.10

On this week’s Teachers Teaching Teachers, we had some follow-up’s, and some room for new voices. Paul Allison invited several of his students from the East-West School of International Studies in Flushing, NY onto the show to explain more about gaming. These students were listening and in the chat room on TTT#181 the week before when we talked about gaming in schools with other teachers, researchers, and consultants. The student had asked for a student-centered follow up. Listen to find out where gaming is in their lives.

And if that’s not enough, this week's podcast also includes George Haines, a 6th grade teacher back on the show to talk about a Twitter project he was about to launch. George was on TTT in August: Teachers Teaching Teachers #165 - 08.26.09 - Meet Lisa Dick and George Haines: Talking about research and diigo George has written us recently to say that he hasn’t given up on “video and self-directed learning via youtube."

On this week’s Teachers Teaching Teachers, we had some follow-up’s, and some room for new voices. Paul Allison invited several of his students from the East-West School of International Studies in Flushing, NY onto the show to explain more about gaming. These students were listening and in the chat room on TTT#181 the week before when we talked about gaming in schools with other teachers, researchers, and consultants. The student had asked for a student-centered follow up. Listen to find out where gaming is in their lives.

And stay tuned every Wednesday evening this Spring as Paul and Susan Ettenheim and other students learn about bringing gaming into their curriculum this coming semester. If you know of a gamer, please invite him or her to join us as well! We’d love to include other students via Skype!

And if that’s not enough, this week's podcast also includes George Haines, a 6th grade teacher back on the show to talk about a Twitter project he was about to launch. George was on TTT in August: Teachers Teaching Teachers #165 - 08.26.09 - Meet Lisa Dick and George Haines: Talking about research and diigo George has written us recently to say that he hasn’t given up on “video and self-directed learning via youtube."

I haven’t scrapped that platform yet, but I decided to try to use Twitter for self-directed learning first. It is so much more nimble of a platform, I figured it would allow for a more fluid discussion and more immediate feedback and clarification.I saw that you have a youthvoices account on twitter and I just started following it. My kids are almost ready to start tweeting out their questions and connecting to other kids as part of this “KidSourcing” project. My kids are 6th graders, but I have invited any classes in the ballpark to connect with my kids. We are connecting to kids in Tanzania (http://epicchangeblog.org/2009/10/21/the-twitterkids-of-tanzania/) and I am working out the involvement with schools in Peru, Brazil, China and a couple here in the old U.S. of A. I don’t know how neatly our project meshes with what you are trying to accomplish with Youth Voices, but I figured I would reach out and gauge  your interest in connecting.Here is the basic outline for the project: The idea is to have kids search for answers from the crowd of kids with no help from the adults (aside from monitoring and guiding offline).

The idea is to seek answers to “why” questions as opposed to “What” questions. For example, a question that a kid can simply Google like “when did the civil war start?” is a bad one, but a question like “WHY did the civil war start?” is a good one. Questions that start discussions, lead to independent research and sharing links fit the bill. The idea would be to keep it loose and low impact- not a heavily dependent collaboration. I will probably tell my kids to post a new question each week and I will probably give them an arbitrary number of questions from other kids to help answer.

For the first month we will work in depth on the project, then I hope to make it part of the routine when they come to the lab, meaning they login and check twitter for 5-10 minutes before we launch into whatever other projects we are doing at the time. video and self-directed learning via youtube.I haven’t scrapped that platform yet, but I decided to try to use Twitter for self-directed learning first. It is so much more nimble of a platform, I figured it would allow for a more fluid discussion and more immediate feedback and clarification.I saw that you have a Youth Voices account on twitter and I just started following it. My kids are almost ready to start tweeting out their questions and connecting to other kids as part of this “KidSourcing” project. My kids are 6th graders, but I have invited any classes in the ballpark to connect with my kids. We are connecting to kids in Tanzania (http://epicchangeblog.org/2009/10/21/the-twitterkids-of-tanzania/) and I am working out the involvement with schools in Peru, Brazil, China and a couple here in the old U.S. of A. I don’t know how neatly our project meshes with what you are trying to accomplish with youthvoices, but I figured I would reach out and gauge  your interest in connecting.

Click Read more to see a transcript of a chat that was happening during the webcast.

Teachers Teaching Teachers #179 - Radio Rookies Finding Where Their Passions Make Good Stories - 12.16.09

In this Teachers Teaching Teachers podcast, we will welcome five students from the East-West School of International Studies and two radio producers, Sanda Htyte and Ann Heppermann. We wanted to learn more about the kinds of passionate, intelligent, well-researched radio programs that we hear on WNYC’s Radio Rookies.

This fall six of Paul Allison’s students at the East-West School of International Studies worked with Sanda Htyte and Ann Heppermann to produce radio programs (with images) for the Mapping Main Street project. This was the “Short Wave” program with WNYC’s Radio Rookies. All of these students (and one more from East-West) are now working on individual programs with Radio Rookies.

In this podcast, you'll learn more about creating projects for students that are personally meaningful and of interest to others. Learn how public radio producers help young people create high-quality audio documentaries. Enjoy this podcast about Radio Rookies and Mapping Main Street.

In this Teachers Teaching Teachers podcast, we welcome five students from the East-West School of International Studies and two radio producers, Sanda Htyte and Ann Heppermann. We wanted to learn more about the kinds of passionate, intelligent, well-researched radio programs that we hear on WNYC’s Radio Rookies.

This fall six of Paul Allison’s students at the East-West School of International Studies worked with Sanda Htyte and Ann Heppermann to produce radio programs (with images) for the Mapping Main Street project. This was the “Short Wave” program with WNYC’s Radio Rookies. All of these students (and one more from East-West) are now working on individual programs with Radio Rookies.

Radio Rookies Short Wave Mapping Main Street
Short Wave rookies embark on a mapping project to tell stories related to the Main Street in Queens, NY, as part of an ambitious project to map all the Main Streets in the United States. In the fall of 2009 the rookies collaborated with the mappingmainstreet.org project in a 5-week long intensive workshop, hosted by the Queens Teens program at the Queens Museum of Art. The students worked in groups reporting, taking photos, developing their stories, and above all working as a team to tell stories ranging from the cultural conversations of Main Street to steamed buns. View and listen here.

In this podcast, you'll learn more about creating projects for students that are personally meaningful and of interest to others. Learn how public radio producers help young people create high-quality audio documentaries. Enjoy this podcast about Radio Rookies and Mapping Main Street.

 

 

Click Read more to see a transcript of a chat that was happening during the webcast.

 

Teachers Teaching Teachers #152 - 05.20.09 - Girls Rule (Part 1 of 2): Gator Radio Network

Matt Montagne has been working this school year with his students on the Gator Radio Experience


Broadcasting live on the Castilleja Gator Radio Network! Broadcast dates: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.

This is the first of two shows we've done recently that featured young high school women. On this podcast, we feature the students who have been doing a webcast, Gator Radio Network. TTT#153 features three glib teenage feminists who have begun to make their voices be heard on a group blog, "Womens Glib."

Matt has invited a couple of his students from the Castilleja School involved with this this broadcasting project to join us on Teachers Teaching Teachers this week.

Paul Allison invited a couple of his students from the East-West School of International Studies and who publish on Youth Voices to meet Matt’s broadcasters.

Come learn with us!!

This is the first of two shows we've done recently that featured young high school women. On this podcast, we feature the students who have been doing a webcast, Gator Radio Network. TTT#153 features three glib teenage feminists who have begun to make their voices be heard on a group blog, "Womens Glib."

Occasionally I (Paul Allison) blink back a tear and remember the work we used to do with Lee Baber. Recently, I listened to these podcasts from two years ago:

Our SpaceCasts were filled with wild moments in search of meaning, but they were about connection and knowing other young people living in different places. This work supplemented our other work with blogs and wikis, images and text… with a warmth and humanness that I miss.

How can we re-start webcasting with students?

Matt Montagne has been working this school year with his students on the Gator Radio Experience


Broadcasting live on the Castilleja Gator Radio Network! Broadcast dates: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.

Matt has invited a couple of his students from the Castilleja School involved with this this broadcasting project to join us on Teachers Teaching Teachers this week.

Paul invited a couple of his students from the East-West School of International Studies and who publish on Youth Voices to meet Matt’s broadcasters.

Come learn with us!!

If you’ve ever did webcasting or podcasting with your students (or with Lee)… please join us. Tell us your stories of success and struggle with this medium. What makes it happen? Why does it fade? How do we get it back?

Click Read more to see a transcript of a chat that was happening during the webcast.

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