Student Programs Spotlight for High School Activities and Projects Video Conference - Cicero NY - March 2007 Student Programs Spotlight for High School Activities and Projects Video Conference - Cicero NY - March 2007 
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| Video Conference - Cicero NY - March 2007 |
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NEW ON AATG.ORG - SPOTLIGHT ON HIGH SCHOOLS VIDEO CONFERENCE LIVE WITH CICERO-NORTH SYRACUSE HIGH SCHOOL AND ALBERT SCHWEITZER GYMNASIUM IN GUNDELFINGEN, GERMANY What began modestly 9 years ago as the "Hands Across the Ocean" project created by Dr. Mary Ann Niemczura, German teacher at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, with email, snail mail and video exchanges has now blossomed and celebrated its 6th annual video conference on March 15, 2007. Dr. Niemczura made the initial contact through a professional journal with Uli Basselli of the Gesamtschule Sulzbachtal in Dudweiler near Saarbruecken, Germany. The exchanges included student-generated videos as well as snail mail and email and subsequently for 5 years, a video conference. During the course of the project with the school in Dudweiler, Dr. Niemczura received an Idea Prize from the Koerber Foundation in Germany which included an all-expenses paid trip to Germany in 2002 at which time, she was able to meet Basselli and teach at the school for one day. When Basselli encountered technical difficulties making the video conference impossible with his school this year, Dr. Niemczura contacted a Colgate University professor who gave her the contact with Mrs. Marlise Kasper, an English teacher of the Albert Schweitzer Gymnasium in Gundelfingen, Germany which is located near Freiburg. Approximately 50 German 4-5 students from C-NS and 30 11th grade students and a few 5th graders from the Albert Schweitzer Gymnasium participated in the initial 2 hour video conference with questions and answers and songs in both English and German. Administrators from both countries including the Assistant Superintendent from the North Syracuse Schools, Steve Carr, and LOTE Director, Stanley Finkle spoke words of praise and encouragement for the project. C-NS students commented on the clarity of the picture and sound and were so grateful to be able to practice their language and go beyond book-learning. The German students traveled 10 min. from their school to the University of Freiburg. American students enjoyed the video conference facilities at BOCES on Thompson Road. School differences were also discussed, and the German students had the C-NS yearbook on hand which Dr. Niemczura sent prior to the conference. German school students learned that their school with its 800 students was about 1/3 the size of C-NS. The project plans to continue in the future with additional exchanges of email and snail mail. The current German 3R students at C-NS wait with anticipation until their turn comes next year to video conference live with Germany. Submitted by Mary Ann Niemczura, Cicero, NY MNiemczu@nscsd.org
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