PROJECT HARMONY BRINGS ARMENIAN AND AMERICAN SCHOOLS TOGETHER ONLINE
Project Harmony facilitates a program in Armenia which puts computer labs and Internet access in schools. An additional component is partnership online collaborative projects with American schools.
(PRWEB) April 7, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Attention: Newsroom; Community/Features; Education; Technology
PROJECT HARMONY BRINGS ARMENIAN AND AMERICAN SCHOOLS TOGETHER ONLINE
Waitsfield, Vermont-April 5, 2002 -- Project Harmony is facilitating online collaborative projects between schools in the United States and schools in the Republic of Armenia as a part of the Armenia Connectivity 2000 Program (AC2K). The AC2K Program, made possible through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U. S. Department of State.
The Armenia Connectivity 2000 program seeks to empower Armenian educators and students by promoting civic education and cross-cultural understanding through the use of Internet technologies. Through establishing online computer labs, creating partnerships among schools and educators, and providing intensive technical and educational training, the AC2K Program facilitates the open exchange of ideas and the integration of Internet resources into Armenian classrooms and the global community. The AC2K Program has already connected over 60 schools and will have over 80 schools connected by the end of the 2001-2002 school year.
An essential component of the AC2K Program is the creation of a school network through online collaborative projects between Armenian and American students and educators. The AC2K Program currently has two American-Armenian collaborative projects to facilitate the creation of a school network.
The first project is the AC2K Online Collaborative Projects in which eighteen teams of Armenian and American educators are working on one of four projects. Project topics include an international import-export business simulation, an evaluation of cultural values within folk tales, holidays and superstitions, a model government project where students discuss the value of membership in international organizations, and a project that allows students to discuss art's role in culture.
The projects began in November 2001 when all American participants attended a two day orientation in Washington, D. C. Their Armenian counterparts had their orientation in December 2001 in Yerevan, Armenia.
The educator teams spent the month of January and February on the Project Harmony online workspace becoming acquainted and planning the next few months of collaboration. In February students participated in an online cultural orientation to their partner country and in March the project work began.
The AC2K American partners consist of eighteen U. S. Schools coming from twelve states: California, Florida (3), Georgia (2), Maine, Minnesota, New York (2), Oregon (2), South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia (2), Wisconsin. Included in the AC2K U. S. Partner Schools is the most ethnically diverse high school in California, one technology magnet school, a special education school, an English as a Second Language class, an international school, and the second largest wireless network in the United States, after Harvard University.
The second AC2K partnership project is the Network Competition, which is a second phase of online project work incorporating more Armenian and U. S. schools. Students are given the assignment to do research on the symbols of their state and country. Each school creates a symbol representing their school with a one-paragraph essay. All participating students vote on one U. S. and one Armenian symbol. Within this project students will discuss connections between symbols and specific characteristics and publish their writing and art on the Project Harmony AC2K website.
The Network Competition incorporates 37 additional U. S. Schools. The 20 additional states represented: Arizona, Arkansas, California (3), Florida (4), Illinois (2), Indiana (3), Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota (2), Missouri (3), New Jersey (2), North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon (2), Pennsylvania, Texas (4), Virginia (2), Washington.
Project Harmony's mission is to empower individuals to create healthier communities through international training and exchange programs. Project Harmony was founded in Vermont in 1985 as a grass-roots exchange organization for Soviet and American high schools. Today, Project Harmony has 20 offices world-wide and a staff of more than 100 employees. In it's 15-year history, Project Harmony has facilitated educational, professional, cultural and community based programs involving hundreds of families and individuals. Please visit our web site: www. projectharmony. org. The Armenia-specific web site is: www. projectharmony. org/am (http://www. projectharmony. org/am).
PROJECT HARMONY CONTACT:
Katy Pearce, Program Coordinator
Project Harmony
Phone: 802-496-4545
Email: katy@projectharmony. org
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Participants in AC2K Online Collaborative Partnership Projects:
Tresa Wilson, Madrid-Waddington Central School, Madrid-Waddington, NY + Anoush Khachikyan, Ashtarak School #1 Dawn Statz, Wisconsin Heights MS, Mazomanie, WI + Irene Barseghyan, Talin School #2 Pete Sienkiewicz, Mount Vernon HS, Alexandria, VA + Manya Matevosyan, Goris School #3 Karolyne Lucero & Chris Angell, St. Edward's School, Vero Beach, FL + Narine Aivazyan, Yerevan School #172 Alicia Lawhorn, E. L. Wright MS, Columbia, SC + Tigran Kocharyan, Vanadzor School #1 Bryant Baird, Northwest MS, Salt Lake City, UT + Armen Iskhanyan, Jermuk School #2 Gohar Atamian, QSCD-P752Q, Jamaica, NY + Shakey Kirajyan, Yerevan School for Visually Disabled Dan Snyder, PineCrest School, Ft. Lauderdale, FL + Zhanna Sukiasyan, Yerevan Shirakatsi School (Gifted) Joye Otto, Valley Catholic HS, Beaverton, OR + Angela Movsesyan, Echmiadzin School #2 Tracy Hinson, A. J. Ferrell MS of Technology, Tampa, FL + Angela Arzumanyan, Nor Hajen School #2 Regine Haardoerfer & Dorothy Connor, Atlanta International School, Atlanta, GA + Sophya Martirosyan, Akhuryan School #1 Steve Egyhazi, Humboldt Senior HS, Saint Paul, MN + Aram Hovsepyan, Vayk School #2 Lisa Cronin-Comeau, Skowhegan Area HS, Skowhegan, ME + Silvard Revazyan, Koghb School #2 Mariana Cordon, Crawford HS, San Diego, CA + Melania Alaverdyan, Yerevan School #51 Heather Cole, Falls Church HS, Falls Church, VA + Rufa Mkrtchyan, Abovyan School #10 Gene Solomon, Cleveland HS, Portland, OR + Anahit Stepanyan, Sissian School #2 Patricia Smith, Florence HS, Florence, TX + Karine Khandanyan, Gavar School #9 Dianne Crossman & Barbara Warren, J. E. Richards MS, Lawrenceville, GA + Robert Grigoryan, Metsamor School #1
Network Competition Additional Participating Schools:
Carson Middle School, Tucson, AZ; Christopher Wilkinson grades 6-8 Drew Central, Monticello, AR; Mike Duncan grades 7-12 Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, CA; John Mitchell grades 9-12 Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, Moraga, CA; Ellen Georgi grades 7-8 Central Elementary School, San Diego, CA; Mary Anne Moeller grades K-4 Cocoa High School, Cocoa, FL; Betty Payne-Craig grades 10-12 Millennium Middle School, Sanford, FL; Rosemary Shaw grades 6-8 Gulf Middle School, Cape Coral, FL; James Spieth grades 6-8 Hillsborough High School, Tampa, FL; Darcy Vetro Ravndal grades 9-12 Alexis Junior High, Alexis, IL; Brooke Rayborn grades 6-8 North High School, Downers Grove, IL; Martha Merilos grade 11-12 Mooresville High School, Mooresville, IN; Tricia Ferguson grades 9-12 Clay Junior High School, Carmel, IN; Sally Davidson grades 6-8 Wawasee Middle School, Syracuse, IN; Peggy Cook grades 6-8 Chinquapin Middle School, Baltimore, MD; D. Holly grades 6-8 Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME; Mike Towle & Steve Koelker grade 7 Cass Technical High School, Detroit, MI; Karen Kachadurian grades 9-12 Richfield High School, Richfield, MN; Mike Harris grades 9-12 Valley View Middle School, Edina, MN; Melisa Zenner grades 6-9 St. Matthais the Apostle, St. Louis, MO; Rebecca Willhoft grades K-8 West Junior High School, Columbia, MO; Chris Fischer grade 9 Garden Schools, Ava, MO; Brian Burton grades 1-8 Emerson Jr.-Sr. High School, Emerson, NJ; Gregory Gerard White grades 7-12 Sacred Heart School, Mount Holly, NJ; Ronald Maniglia grades K-8 Green Hope High School, Morrisville, NC; Kathleen Benningfield grade 10 Solomon Schechter Day School, Shaker Heights, OH; Terry Tetelman grades K-8 Kenneth Cooper Middle School, Oklahoma City, OK; Sybil Connolly grades 6-8 West Linn High School, West Linn, OR; Rick Reynolds grade 9 Stayton High School, Stayton, OR; Rachel Krieger grades 9-12 Upper Perkiomen High School, Pennsburg, PA; Debra Congdon grades 9-12 International School of the Americas, San Antonio, TX; Pamela Valentine & Karen Butcher grades 9-12 Lake Dallas High School, Dallas, TX; Brian Waterman grade 11 Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano, TX; Teresa Reeves grades K-12 Stony Point High School, Round Rock, TX; Donna Ryan grades 9-11 Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology, Petersburg, VA; E. L. Roane grades 9-12 gifted Chandler Middle School, Richmond, VA; Sarah Boyd grade 6 Bellevue High School, Bellevue, WA; Jeremy Best grades 10-12
Other press coverage:
Http://www. kdhnews. com/learning_florence2.html (http://www. kdhnews. com/learning_florence2.html)
ARMENIA:
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey, north of Iran
Area (comparative): slightly smaller than Maryland
Population: 3,336,100 (July 2001 est.)
Ethnic groups: Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989) note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from Armenia
Religions: Armenian Christian Orthodox 94%
Languages: Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Literacy: total population: 99%
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Armenia
Conventional short form: Armenia
Local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun
Local short form: Hayastan
Former: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic
Government type: Republic
Capital: Yerevan
Economy overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2000. Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small - and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia's severe trade imbalance, importing three times its exports, has been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic restructuring of the economy, and foreign direct investment.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.)
GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) ($250 per month)
Population below poverty line: 45% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1998 est.) note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998
Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, gem cutting, jewelry manufacturing, software development, brandy
Telephones (main lines in use): 568,000 (1997)
Telephones (mobile cellular): 6,220 (1997)
Internet users: 30,000 (2000)
Disputes: Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided
