Project profile — School Twinning - Ottawa-Carleton District School Board


 

Overview 

CA-3-S065623017
$29,715
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (CA-CRA_ACR-2119249233)
2011-07-21 - 2013-05-14
Closed
Global Affairs Canada
YFMInternaAssistPartnershp&Programing Br

Country / region 

• Canada (50.00%)
• Antigua and Barbuda (50.00%)

Sector 

• Education policy and administrative management:
Education policy and administrative management (11110) (20.00%)
Teacher training (11130) (10.00%)
• Basic Education: Primary education (11220) (20.00%)
• Unallocated/ Unspecified: Promotion of development awareness (99820) (50.00%)

Policy marker 

• Gender equality (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

Description 

This project twins Summit Alternative School in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with Antigua Grammar School in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. Using Summit Alternative School’s technological capacity, students create an online forum with Antigua Grammar School. Together, the students explore the differences and similarities between life in Canada and life in Antigua and Barbuda. They focus on factors such as food, nutrition, healthy lifestyles (including sports and culture), and media. Drawing upon their experiences, students share what they learned using tools such as blogs, podcasts, and social media in order to develop international connections and a sense of community. This project is part of a two-year pilot initiative designed to engage Canadian and developing-country teachers and students in joint learning projects. The International School Twinning Initiative (ISTI) aims to provide an enriched interactive learning environment to benefit both Canadian and developing-country classrooms. Through the ISTI, Canadian students and teachers gain greater insight into international development, a greater appreciation of their role as global citizens, and an enhanced ability to communicate international development issues. The ISTI is part of the Global Citizens Program, which seeks to raise awareness and increase knowledge of international development and provide opportunities for youth to participate in international development.

Expected results 

N/A

Results achieved 

Results achieved as of the end of the project (August 2013) include: 523 students and their teachers (329 Canadians, 68 Jamaicans, 30 Grenadians, 26 Antiguans and 104 Malians) experienced 280 "real-time" exchanges (totalling 76 hours) with people living in other countries. They learned from each other, shared experiences, and gained a greater appreciation of their role as global citizens and the importance of creating links and networks with people in other countries. The students and teachers developed a greater interest and engagement in global issues and a better understanding of international development. The students and teachers also gained pedagogical and technological skills by familiarizing themselves with information technology tools (such as video conferencing, video making, blogging, and email) and social media platforms (such as Google+, YouTube, and Show Me), which were integrated into the lesson plans. By means of an online survey, 86% of students said their understanding of international development issues increased over the course of the project. Before their participation in the International School Twinning Initiative, only 13% of students had communicated or exchanged with someone from another country.

Budget and spending 


Original budget $0
Planned disbursement $0
Transactions
Transaction Date Type Value
14-05-2013 Disbursement $5,370
03-07-2013 Disbursement $1,215
Country percentages by sector
Type of finance Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Collaboration type Bilateral
Type of aid Project-type interventions
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