Throughout the six months we have been working on this web site I have learned a multitude of things about communicating and computers, digital work, and animation, but most importantly the friendships I have shared with our partners overseas. Despite our differences, we collaborated wonderfully with both the girls at Gankushuin and the boys at Marist. I will always remember the wonderful communicating skills gained, the valuable computer work, and the independent learning style.
Finding common ground with high schoolers across the ocean is not as easy as it sounds, but we did. At first we had a hard time deciding the theme, and how to present it. Some wanted to do a virtual school, but others wanted to do a collaboration of festivals. The number of people supporting the idea on festivals outnumbered those cheering for the virtual school. Then we had to decide what holidays to display. We all had a hard time coming up with these holidays, but we agreed on three holidays unique to a country and five that all countries share. Through first an email list, and then the Virtual Classroom page, we shared our ideas, our discoveries, and working skills to create a collaborative work of art.
When I began this class, I knew how to get onto the Internet, send email, doodle, and type a paper. In this class I have learned so much more. I have learned to do animations, and hyper text, to layer pictures, and design objects or rooms. I really feel honored to be included in this class with my little skills, but I know now that I can do more because of this class.
I will always remember the freedom I felt in this class. In almost any other class the teacher will give you instructions and you will follow them. But in Virtual Classroom, it was as if the kids ran the class. We picked our topic, what we were going to do with our topic, and how to present it. We worked diligently every day on the project of our choice to include on the web site. I feel learning in this atmosphere has really benefited me in that I am more independent, and can work with others independently.
Working on the Virtual Classrooms enriched my view and take on things ever so much. By communicating with our partners across the ocean, using computers on our own, and working independently, we have created this magnificent web site that is the collaboration, hard work, and dedication of everyone on this team.
Clarie B.
When I first signed up for the virtual classroom class itself, I thought that building a web site would be simple. I was wrong. Though I have enjoyed this class, I still consider it to be hard work. I had no idea what a large undertaking it was to gather a team of junior-high students and build a (hopefully) award-winning web site.
Dennis O.
One of the biggest things I learned is that the most helpful way of communicating over the Internet is in real time... This way, if they have any questions about what you want them to do, you can ask them right there as opposed to replying to their e-mail and getting a response over a couple-day period.
Another thing, that I think is the key to any groups success is a multitude of shear knowledge and skills. You need some people who are great with graphics, but stink at writing, some are great at writing, but know nothing about the designing web-pages. When you have a lot of people with different skills, and you put them all together, you kind of combine to become one person, that is great at everything.
Steffan P.
I have learned many things from being in this Virtual Classroom project. I have learned how to do things with the computer that I probably never would have learned if it weren’t for this class. I have also learned about unique Australian and Japanese holidays as well as being more knowledgeable about holidays that I celebrate. One of the most difficult parts of this project was communicating with the students in the other countries. Some how, everything worked out.
I have learned so much about computers that I am even starting to amaze myself. I have learned how to make MIDI files from recording music into Music shop and the exporting it as a MIDI file. I also learned how to make graphics (GIFS) and how to animate them. I haven’t exactly mastered the art of HTML layers but I have and idea of how it works with all of the layers. Some of the things that we used on our web site are so amazing and I am very fortunate to know how to program things like that because I believe that it will benefit me later in life.
In addition to learning more about computers, I learned plenty about Australian and Japanese holidays as well as more information about holidays that I celebrate. For example, before this project, I had never known how the jack-o'-lantern came to be. I now know that and much more about Halloween. I had never heard of many of the Japanese festivals included on our web site before I started the project and now I know almost everything about them. Some Australian holidays/festivals I had heard of but didn’t know anything about them. If it weren’t for this project, I don’t think that I ever would have taken the time to find out these things.
Last, it was very difficult to try and create a web site with students that live 8,000 miles away but everything worked out. Before this class I didn’t know that you could have a video conference with someone who lived that far away but now I know that it is possible. I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in one and I think it is one of the neatest things I have been able to do and if I had the chance, I would do it again.
This class has been very beneficial to my knowledge of things I may or may not need for the rest of my life but as I see it now, it is a great experience that I would go through again, if I had the chance, if I could get as much out of it as I did this time.
Ashley FL.
Virtual Classroom has helped me communicate with others because with out this communication out site wouldn’t have worked. I have had to talk to many other students to find out what needs to be done and how I could help.
The thing that makes Virtual Classroom better than other classes is that it is far more challenging. It is more challenging because we are not given straight forward directions, it was up to us to find out what needed to be done and how we could help. And when we weren’t sure we could just ask our teacher and she would help out with finishing it. I have also learned the most useful skills in this class, and plan to put them to good use.
Luke K.
This method of learning is extremely effective. It teaches us how to communicate better with other people. It was also more effective than text book learning or lectures would have been to teach us, because we had to completely understand the information to be able to create the site. I also learned more about public relations, because I went through with trying to get a permit, obtaining it, and following through with it. I learned a lot about local government trying to do this.
This contest has taught me a lot during the time we have been working on it. It taught me about Japanese and Australian holidays and tradition, more about American holidays. I wish that all of my classes could be taught like this so I learned more.
Katy H
I like VC because I can turn my thoughts into digital life.
Jimmy G.
I had a lot of fun and I learned about different countries. I also liked the before-school video conferences; it is fun to talk face-to-face to other countries, or at least get as close as possible.
Frank W.
I thought it would be a little hard to talk to people in other countries, but I realized it wasn’t. With the technology we have now, you could talk to anyone. I learned to have respect with my peers inside and outside of the classroom. I also think that I have gained friends with these people in other countries. Collaborating with them on ideas and pictures, I think that this site will be great. All the people doing Virtual Classroom are very talented. Especially the ones from other countries. Working with the people from other countries was special because I have never been to countries extremely far away from here.
Brittany J.
When posting messages, you have to make sure the person you’re talking to understands you and doesn’t misinterpret what you say. Also, if you know what you’re doing you can set up a live video conference.
This class is better than a normal classroom. You get to teach yourselves and your friends. Also, you get to meet new people from over seas. The best thing is that you learn a little bit of everything and you get to use your talents.Matt C.
This has also helped me collaborate more with other students. It has helped me be more relaxed about E-mailing because, before this, I would have never E-mailed somebody. Now I know I'm capable of doing long term projects with somebody I have never even meet.
I like the way the this class is taught, because we are the teachers. We as a group have made such a excellent website that we couldn’t have done as well if this class was different. By not severing us from our individuality we were able to create something of such beauty.
Colin B.
Since I have been working in this class and working with people in Australia and Japan I have found information about celebrations that I have never heard of. This was way more fun than looking in a social studies book.
This has been a very good experience for me I have learned how to communicate with people in a different way. Instead of just talking to somebody next to you, or talking to somebody on he phone , I have learned to talk to somebody far, far away. Sometimes it was hard because people would say that they would do something and it was never done. If somebody said that who was next to you, you could yell at them or tell the teacher, but since they were far away you just had to remind them of what they said they were going to do.
To me this was a fun and educated project. It was fun because we weren’t really in a class room that was led by a teacher, and it was educational because, I learned a lot about peoples' cultures, and I learned a lot about those people who live outside the United States.
Brittney M.
What really helped me was my knowledge of Japanese. Though, I’m not taking private Japanese anymore (due to weather), I used to take lessons every Friday. This helped me understand the Japanese people a lot better. My beginner Japanese skills were able to have VERY simple conversations (“how are you doing?”). This helped us establish ground with each other. I also understood a lot of their culture. I have done many studies on the culture and I understood a lot of their customs and slang.
Carl M.
I learned a lot more about cooperation and that working together in virtual classroom could make he experience all the better. The fact that I can rely on my friends to do some of the work as well as me. I thought that Virtual Classroom was a fun experience and helped me in many ways. Whether cooperatively or digitally, I had fun.
Peter B.
In this class I have learned a lot more than I could ever think. I have learned to learn from others besides the teacher. People thousands of miles away. I have learned it is hard to collaborate with people far, far away... They might read something a different way and you could lose a whole week trying to fix something messed up over a misunderstanding.
Masin O.
I learned that there are different holidays in Japan and Australia that have the same concept as some holidays in the U.S.A., such as Halloween and Setsuban, and Anzac Day and Memorial Day. I feel a lot better using the Internet and e- mail.
I like this class because it is an interesting class. You get to talk to and communicate with people from different countries. We also get to work with programs on computers like the Internet. We also have to make decisions for our selves. We are a lot more independent with the way we work.
Terry C.
I also learned some very important skills from this class. I learned that people are imperfect; you often need to give them time. I learned how to work with people better and pull my fair share, and that if you organize something well it will go faster.
Ashley Fi.
I dealt with computer glitches like the computer freezing as I was finishing a final product. I learned how to collaborate ideas with team members so that no idea would go to waste if it was actually good material. I learned more easily here and about computers because it wasn’t just lecture and commands; it was trying new things and working with others to get a job finished.
Eric D.
Over the course of Virtual Classroom, I learned many things about working with computers as well as working with other people. At first it was very hard to communicate with people 8,000 miles away, but after I got the hang of the forums, I could get my point across. I learned a lot about programs such as Flash, Gif Builder and Adobe PhotoShop. I spent a lot of time doing the tutorials, but at the end, my hard work paid off.
I felt that the teaching system was really fun and I learned a lot by volunteering for groups and taking things at my own pace. Although we did a lot of work after school I enjoyed having little or no homework out of school. I would rather do work on the computer, or stay after school than have homework. I really enjoyed Virtual Classroom and I hope to do it next year.
Matt T
What has appeared to be the best, easiest, and most fun way for me to learn the objectives that the class requires, is the independent way of working. I dislike, actually, I hate the rote assignments that do nothing to further my educational and academic prowess. In my mind, there is nothing worse than busywork, given to keep our parents satisfied.
Robert B.
Our class was taught by way of verbal communication with each other. The teacher didn’t play a big part in instructing. I don’t favor the way we were taught, it might take a while to get used to, or maybe I won’t at all. I felt sort of lost and uninstructed
Irene W.
We had to figure out how to communicate how we felt with out facial expression or hand motions.
Ken L.
Most important of all, I think, I learned how to get through to members of a team through a different, more challenging form of communication. When you talk to someone through a computer (and the recipient lives 8,000 miles away) it is very easy to hurt somebody or get signals crossed. I think this skill I have improved through the Virtual Classroom program will be a very valuable asset for the rest of my life.
Luke W.
While in Virtual classroom I was able to have two live conversations with Japan and Australia. If I was never in Virtual classroom I would have never had the chance to chat with someone more than eight thousand miles away.
Some people might think of Virtual Classroom as a fun class where you get to have fun on a computer, but I think of it as a great learning experience where you can learn about different cultures.
Kris W. M.
What a wonderful experience it has been working on VC-03. I have learned many new skills and traits. I have taken part in a class I will never forget. This was a completely new style of learning to me. Some of the new skills I have learned are communication and collaboration.
If I had not participated in this class I would never know about Flash 4 and all other web design tools. This class has exposed me to the wide variety of diverse material upon the web. Most importantly, I learned flash. This was an a program I had never even heard of. If I had not learned it, I would have been way behind other site developers with old fashion HTML.
Another thing that I felt was present in VC was collaboration. Almost immediately after joining VC-03 I found how difficult it was to talk to Australia and Japan. I found it was difficult to express new and advanced ideas with someone thousands and thousands of miles away. I soon developed techniques that helped me talk to the other countries.
This has been an amazing learning experience for me. I never had experienced such an independent and free teaching method. I believe I have learned more in this classroom and on the Internet on the past few months than I ever had learned before.Tony G.
I have learned many things during this project. The first thing I learned was the truth behind jack-o'-lanterns, and I also learned the history of Australia day. Another thing that I learned was how to be a collaborative worker. I also learned to cooperate with my peers. The final thing I learned was responsibility to do my work and routine by checking the message board.
Lionel M.
I have needed to talk with people that can’t see me and it’s now easier to talk with people.
I now have the ability to use many computers. Many people have helped me thru the problems a computer can bring. I would really like classes to be like this because it teaches many important ideals. I would not like for all classes to compete like we have been, but it is still a fun way to learn.
Tim C.
I learned to work as a team and improvise on other peoples’ ideas.
Danny F.
This whole thing has inspired me to create my own website; I hope mine will be as good as the one that we’ve all created.
Gabe P.
I’ve become more responsible for doing things because there wasn’t a teacher telling me everything to do. I enjoyed the time I spent working on this project and I’m glad I was able to be a team member. I’m glad that I was in this class because I have learned important values in life that aren’t easy to come by.
Tom B.