Comeback Nation: Why the U.S. Economy Is Much Stronger Than You Think - The Atlantic

Comeback Nation: Why the U.S. Economy Is Much Stronger Than You Think - The Atlantic
America's performance should be measured against the current competition, not against the records it set in the 1990s or 2000s. All the big emerging markets are slowing....
Reading this should brighten every American's day!!
Read and comment.

Sample of Epal letters for the global learning project

Set of students SAES to ODV and reply from ODV student

Email student letter dated 10/17/08

Dear Ekene,

My name is Jacob R. I go to St. Anthony Elementary School in eighth grade. I live in Long Beach, California. I like to play all kinds of sports, like basketball, football, and baseball. But my favorite sport is soccer ball. The climate of Long Beach most of the time is 80 degrees. The area here is partly hilly. There is only one part here in Long Beach that has a hill. It is called Signal Hill.

To stay cool I use an item around me to fan myself, or I use an electrical fan. In the fall the city is very windy, sometimes it is actually hard to walk. This is not the time of year that it rains. It rains only in the night because it is not the rainy season. I live in a city. I live close to an ocean in which the whole city swims during the summer. The ocean is called the Pacific Ocean. The soil in this is area is not very good for making vegetables or fruit. The crops many people grow in their backyards are lemon trees, orange trees, and apple trees. I do not live in a farming village, but there are a few kinds of fruits that are ripe this time of year. Those fruits are mangoes, nectarines, and apples. We buy these in the store. It is always harvest time for different kinds of fruits. I am excited to meet a new friend and I hope to talk to you again.

Alex G. is out today. He is very nice, but does not like to show it. I am sure he would be glad to meet you Ekene. He is a very funny person.

Sincerely,

Jacob and Alex

Answer from ODV student

Email student letter dated 10/30/08

Dear Jacob and Alex,

Am happy to hear from you concerning your sports activities, I like playing all kinds of sports like jumping, running. But my best is soccer. Climate changes in your country are not like ours, here it rains both day and night, and there is also sunny weather at times. We are supposed to see signs to usher in dry season by now. I am a Christian, what of you?

At rainy season we do not use fan because the weather is a little bit cool. The rainy seasons occur between May to November. This year it rains a lot. You will not believe that we are still in rainy season now, but only at night. Which means the rain is about to go. I enjoy dry season. This is when we play games.

Also we stay at the city since I was born; I have not been to my village before. But where we stay at the city, the land is a very flat land.

Thanks,

Ekene

Here is a photo of students listening and learning from a visiting professional, Dr. Lee Rother, a Media Expert. He visited the Owerri Digital Village in March, 2006

Global learning experience

Oct. 10, 2007
Today I spoke with the director of the program of Youth for Technology Foundation called Owerri Digital Village in Nigeria. As a graduate student in a Master of Education program focusing on educational technology, I have a global learning project for a set of American students to exchange emails with Nigerian students, who are part of the Owerri Digital Village (ODV). After an intial proposal that was shared by email, the director has agreed to speak with the teacher at ODV and give us a definite number of Nigerian students who can participate.

You can learn more about YTF and ODV on this website: http://www.youthfortechnology.org/

Each week there will be a set of emial sent from the American students to the Nigerian students and then a return set to the American students. The project is to last about eight weeks with a summary and exchange of new ideas learned about each other. The main idea is to foster cultural exchange on a personal level.

I will give updates of progress on this project and the things learned in the process.

Any one can comment of what they think global learning is and how it will improve the education of the students participating in this project.