March 2008 — eLearning

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Finding Their Voice

by Judith V. Boettcher

Virtual UN To Hold Water Summit

WHILE CARA COFFINA and her social studies program at New York City's Special Education District 75 were gaining recognition for the district's flourishing online debate program, Coffina was busy planning and developing a new web-based project: "Global Connections: Virtual UN Global Water Summit."

After months of planning, the project was launched in late 2007 with a workshop for teachers. The project engages students in the exploration of global water issues. The first task for the 23 participating classes was to develop a website that provided a class profile, including information on their schools' nearest bodies of water, so that all the participating classes could get to know the other students and their communities. As the project rolls out, it is connecting District 75 students with students in nine classrooms around the world, in countries such as Nigeria, Bulgaria, Sweden, India, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Panama.

To draw students into the project, Coffina and the other program planners found a key resource in a UN Works project, in partnership with MTV, that features hip-hop megastar Jay-Z. In the documentary The Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life, the students can follow the rapper around the globe and watch as he explores water issues in daily lives of people worldwide. One segment shows Jay-Z as he walks with villagers in South Africa up and down steep hills just to get drinking water.

The Global Water Summit has six cycles, each lasting two to three weeks. The cycles include specific missions for the students, such as determining where their drinking water comes from, where their wastewater goes, and how much water they use daily. The students post the results of their research, along with pictures, to a special online community created by LearningTimes. As part of their mission to find where their water comes from, for example, the students are asked to post pictures of themselves next to their water source. The online water summit in early May closes the project's final week, with each team presenting a proposed solution to the issue it researched.

Coffina says the debating experience encourages students to discover their own ideas, to consider what they really believe. In the process, they discover that they can be competent, thoughtful individuals, surprising themselves, their teachers, and their parents as they develop collaborative and debating skills. As a result of the project, Coffina says, "we're seeing increased confidence, a willingness to work collaboratively with teammates, the ability to work independently, and improved social skills, all of which are particularly critical for our students." Finkelstein adds, "The authentic world audience that includes debate judges gives [students] a reason to perform at their best.