Much sympathy for your problems. No time to elaborate though, sorry.
If you have the opportunity to do some work with computers, you
should know about the kidlink project. I find it a wonderful support
for a (admittedly fairly alternative) course for 7th graders. Better
than a long discourse, I append a copy of the latest report from
kidlink. Best wishes.
... ooo
(o o) o| |
----oOO--(_)---------------------------------------------------------
Alain Pirotte, Prof. Computer Science e-mail: pirotte@info.ucl.ac.be
University of Louvain phone: 32-10-47 8380
IAG fax: 32-10-47 8324
1 Place des Doyens
B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
---------------------------------------------------------------------
===========
>From @cc1.kuleuven.ac.be:owner-kidlink@VM1.NODAK.EDU Thu Jun 2 16:58:26 1994
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 1994 16:01:53 +0200
From: Odd de Presno <presno@grida.no>
Subject: the kids-95 newsletter #1
To: Multiple recipients of list KIDLINK <KIDLINK%NDSUVM1.bitnet@cc1.kuleuven.ac.be>
The KIDS-95 Newsletter
Global Networking for Youth 10-15
*********************************
Issue Number 1. June 2, 1994
IN THIS ISSUE
=============
1. "I would write to all presidents in the world"
2. KIDCAFE is not just KIDCAFE any more!
3. "Shelter under the sun" in KIDFORUM
4. "Random Act of Kindness"
5. KIDLINK's Fourth Birthday Celebration
6. News about the KIDLINK IRC
7. Searching on the KIDLINK Gopher
8. KIDART and KIDFORUM join forces
9. Around KIDLINK
10 New Documents and Files
11 KIDS-95
Note:
-----
Throughout this newsletter, references are made to various KIDLINK archive
files. An index of files, as well as instructions about how to get them,
are given in the section "New Documents and Files" below.
1. "I would write to all presidents in the world"
=================================================
The goal of KIDS-95 is to involve as many 10-to-15-year-old youth as
possible in a GLOBAL dialog continuing until May 6th 1995. On May 7th,
1995, we will start the KIDS-96 project.
All participating children are required to answer these questions:
1) Who am I?
2) What do I want to be when I grow up?
3) How do I want the world to be better when I grow up?
4) What can I do now to make this happen?
KIDLINK has received answers to these questions from over 23,000 kids
living in 60 countries around the world.
Here are some recent responses:
** From Uruguay **
(1) Me llamo Juan Pablo Aguilera, tengo 10 an~os y me gusta jugar a PADDLE
y al FUTBOL. Vivo en Montevideo - Uruguay, voy al Colegio Nacional Jose'
Pedro Varela.
(2) Cuando sea grande me gustari'a ser jugador de PADDLE profesional, en
PRIMERA categori'a. Quiero tener una familia no muy numerosa y si' muy
feliz.
(3) El mundo cuando sea grande me gustari'a que sea limpio y mejor.
(4) Podri'a colaborar con las Instituciones que colaboran con el medio
ambiente.
** From South Africa **
(1) My name is Mahlasti Movundlela. I live in South Africa, in a town named
Pieterburg. I'm 14 years old. I'm in std 6. I go to St Andrews College in
Grahamstown. My hobbies are playing rugby,cricket,basketball and soccer. I
also like to read novels. Shaq O'Neal is my favourite basketball player.
(2) I want to be a doctor when I grow up and I'm planning to be a proffeser
after that.
(3) I think peace is what we need and I hope we live peacefully in the
future.I think we can only achieve this by communicating with one another.
(4) I want to be involved in one political parties so I can try and make
peace in our country.
** From Stockholm, Sweden **
(1) My name is Felipe Barra. I ccome from Chile and live in a little
village south of Stockholm. I'm thirteen. I like aeroplanes and plying the
violin. My school is Botkyrka Friskola. I speak swedish,spanish and
english.
(2) A pilot and a computer expert becouse i,m very fascinated by these
things.
(3) I am not sure ,but talking to each other is a good thing.
(4) I would send a letter to all the presidents in the world asking them to
comunicate more often.
** From West Siberia, Russia **
(1) My full name is Oksana Gebuadze.I'm 14 years old. I'm in the 8-th form
of the private school "Revival". I'm from Russia and live in Omsk. I'm
interested in different computers and the English language. My hobbies are
photography and reading, my favorite sports are tennis and swimming.
(2) First of all I'like to get a good higher education. Of course my dream
is to study in the USA. As for my future profession I want to became a
businessman and wirer in Russia.
(3) I wish to live in the world without wars. I'm anxious about the
questions of nationality and the problems connected with this in the world.
I'm also anxious about out environment and ecology.
(4) I think that in order to gain my object I must study very hard and have
a good knowledge.
2. KIDCAFE is not just KIDCAFE any more!
========================================
If you did not already know, KIDCAFE is now five forums. The original
KIDCAFE is still there, and its main language is English. In addition,
we have
KIDCAFEP - for discussions in Portuguese language
KIDCAFES - for discussions in Spanish
KIDCAFEJ - for discussions in Japanese
KIDCAFEN - for discussions in Scandinavian languages like Icelandic,
Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, and Danish.
Eduardo Tornaria, who is coordinating the Spanish language activities from
Montevideo, Uruguay, reports that "Se han recibido muchos mensajes de
nin~os de Guatemala, Espan~a, Rusia, Argentina, Uruguay y Estados Unidos."
We experience the same in the other special language forums. Kids join in
from countries, where the given language is not generally spoken. For
example, the following message came from the Moscow Children Computer Club
in Russia:
Subject: ! Hola, amigos! Hi, folks! Moscow, Russia here!
Yo soy una chica rusa, vivo en Moscu y a mi me gusta logica y las
computadoras. Yo quero tener correspondencia en espanol y ingles con
alguien. quien puede comprender mis pensamientos y a quien le gusta
leer, pensar y estudiar lenguas extranjeras (ruso, espanol, ingles o
aleman). ! Hasta la vista, amigos!
Masha Temchina
Do you remember the very popular KIDFORUM Travel topic? It is now the focus
of attention in KIDCAFEP under the name "Viagem Virtual." By the end of
May, it had participants from Portugal, Brazil, and the United States. The
Scandinavians are planning a similar treat for later this year.
Finally, our English language KIDCAFE. Here are a few glimpses from the
action:
The new guidelines we recently adopted for this forum have expanded the
possibilities for kinds of messages in KIDCAFE. On Friday, April 22, Beth
Lowenfeld from Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada used the new QUERY: category to
post this message:
Hi, we are 2 students from Christmas Park Elementary School.
We want to know what is you favorite chocolate bar. We will
be posting the results soon so please answer quickly. My
favorite chocolate bar is Wonderbar.
Soon the first answer came from Binalong, NSW, Australia:
My name is Rebecca Arundel, and I live in Australia my favourite
chocolate bars are CHERRY RIPE, MARS and SNICKERS. Do you have
these in Canada?
Lots more answers arrived soon after, including surveys from classes in
Stafford, Texas and Lexington, Massachusetts, USA.
Not every one had a favorite chocolate bar. Bridget Sumser from San
Francisco, USA said "I hate choclate!" Soon she got this reply: "this is
Kerry Mulligan from Boston Mass and everyone I am with wants to know why
you hate chocolate. Are you crazy?!!!!"
The QUERY: and ABOUT: categories in KIDCAFE are intended to promote
discussions among groups of kids. Teachers should find that these
categories enable their students to participate in KIDCAFE without the
burden of individual messages for each student in the class. Teachers can
also coordinate their activities so that they will be sure that the
messages will be answered.
KIDCAFE continues to be the place for students to form keypal friendships.
The new guidelines make it easier for kids to find their messages by
requiring the subject line to contain to and from addresses like the front
of a regular mail envelope. For instance, Masha and Kaitlyn exchange
messages with this subject line: KEYPALS: Kaitlyn Dodds (Iowa) :: Masha
Latuhina (Russia). Masha said:
I live in Chelyabinsk with about 1000000 people. But I like more
nature - wood, lake. There are many lakes on Ural. Here I have
classes in classic piano music, jazz improvisation and
choreography.
And how big is Montrose? Maybe do you live on the farm? You pets
is fine! Do you like music and country music?
Kaitlyn replied:
I loved your letter! Did you say there are 1000000 people in your
city? I live in a town. There is only a little over a thousand
people in our town. . . . Yes, I do kind of live on a farm, even
if there are some neighbors nearby. I say that because of the
sheep. Yes, I do like music, but my favorite is rock or jazz. I
like oldies too. What's your favorite country music?
The big-city girl from Russia found common interests with a small-town girl
in the midwestern USA.
3. KIDFORUM's "Shelter under the sun"
=====================================
KIDFORUM is set up to promote exchanges between classroom groups of
students on topics related to the KIDLINK themes (the four KIDLINK
questions). Through this forum, it is easier for teachers to have whole
classes participate in KIDLINK.
"Shelter under the sun" was the last KIDFORUM topic during KIDS-94. It
lasted until May 12th. The kids focused on two separate issues:
Architecture and Eclipse. The latter was prompted by the May 10th 1994
eclipse that could be viewed in several parts of the world.
The moderator for the architecture part was Sister Dianne Mollica from
Somerville, New Jersey, USA. She reports that about 100 students sent
descriptions of architectural styles in their areas. About 120 students
wrote about original designs, other students negotiated for alterations
and reduced prices, and there where several real estate closings.
Several students created GIF graphics of house designs, architecture, and
some of the space designs. About 320 students participated in the 18
surveys that were sent to Kidforum, from USA, Germany, Finland, Slovenia,
Italy and Norway.
On the 10th of May, there was an IRC chat about the eclipse. Jim Kuhl,
science teacher at Central Square Middle School in upstate New York (USA),
was the moderator. After the event, he wrote:
"My class had a great time sharing their impressions of the eclipse with
those who stopped by. As we discussed the IRC afterwards, many students
were surprised to find out that everyone did not experience the eclipse
at the same time and that some of the people who joined us would not see
the eclipse at all.
The eclipse IRC added yet another layer of understanding of this event
for many of my students. Thanks again!!"
4. Random Act of Kindness
=========================
The current KIDFORUM topic is called Random Act of Kindness, and the
moderator is Madeleine Friedman from Davie, Florida USA. She describes the
topic plan in these words:
1. The students are to discuss the idea of a "random act of kindness"
(an act of kindness that is unsolicited and that is performed at the
spur of the moment and without any expectation of reward).
2. The students are then to gather and record stories of "random acts
of kindness" by (a) recounting stories they have heard locally; (b)
interviewing parents and other respected adults to uncover these
stories; or (c) interviewing their peers -- or even recounting their own
impulsive acts of kindness toward other human beings.
3. Finally, the students are to share their stories on the KIDLINK network.
They also respond to each others' stories, thereby encouraging an
optimistic dialogue of hope and caring among all participants.
There has been a lot of interest in this topic. The coordinators therefore
expect a lot of participation although many schools have holidays at this
time of the year.
The letters have started to come in. This is what David Maduff from Chicago
Junior School (USA) wrote in his entry:
I saw Charles put the Cox dorm table together
so the dorm did not have to do it and have more time.
5. KIDLINK's Fourth Birthday Celebration
========================================
Wow! What an experience!
The purpose of the Celebration is to bring the children closer to each
other on our "Birthday", to play with modern communication technologies (to
learn), and to tell the other kids out there about our projects. We sure
achieved that!
With 73 pre-registered sites signed up and others joining in along the way,
well over 3,100 youth age 10-15 from 18 countries took part in this year's
annual celebration on May 5-7, 1994.
"People are more like us than I thought they were," an 11 year old boy from
Prescott Arizona USA told his teacher after the event.
The Danes invited old KIDLINK friends from Protvino, Russia. Young Kirill
Lugovsky promptly sent the following to KIDCAFE under the subject title:
"About: KIDLINK & Hobbits."
Dear Kidlinkers
and to whom it may concirn.
It's been 3 years that Protvino takes part in the global project
called Kidlink, and though we can't participate in it this year becaurse
of the Russia's economical problems, we still consider ourselves as
kidlinkers.
Many students have got involved in the project and some of them were
very active, and got about 300 e-mails, we had contacts in different
countries- in Norway, in Denmark and Florida, and everywhere we was
welcomed and friendly responsed.
We live in Russia,- in a small town Protvino, but now we're staying
here; in Denmark- for few days, and writening from here. So we can see a
difference from Russia here. I think that this difference is the fact,
that everybody is most kindly and less hungry. So I think that it's fine
to be a citizen in Denmark. Now we can look at all the years of our
participating on Kidlink project from a fourth Kidlink's birthday and see
the result --- It is a great, global project, that makes people more
kindly, and I think it's more like a hobbit.
* * *
So what is about me - I like it. It's cool project, I can get a
pleasure and knowledge semoltaniously -- chat with Kidlink very much. !
Kirill Lugovsky
Some of the highest quality communication during the celebration takes place
via email on various KIDLINK lists and directly between sites.
The reports from the sites are now coming in. So far, over over half of the
sites have reported on their activities. The index for the post-event
reports is in the file KIDPLAN SITE94RP. The pre-event planning file index
is in the KIDPLAN SITE94DX file.
6. The KIDLINK IRC
==================
The KIDLINK IRC is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting network. It allows
kids all over the world to "talk" to one another in real-time.
Our private chatting network has undergone a substantial upgrade since the
last newsletter. In preparation for the KIDS-94 Annual Celebration, new
servers were added, KIDLINK IRCHELP files were updated, and fine tuning of
the system was effected. A complete description of the network can be
found in the KIDLINK IRCHELP1 file.
Some recent enhancements are the newly refurbished KidBot and a new feature
to the on-line KIDLINK IRC Help Service:
* An earlier version of KidBot was used during the KIDS-93 Celebration and
was successful enough that it was revived and upgraded slightly for the
KIDS-94 Celebration. The jury is still out on how we want to use this
"language police" thing and post-celebration discussions in KIDPLAN will
help determine the future uses of KidBot, if any.
* The on-line KIDLINK IRC Help Service (available on KIDLINK IRC by typing
/msg help help) has been enhanced to provide a new service. Any KIDLINK IRC
user can now use the KIDLINK IRC Help Service to order ANY file from the
KIDLINK archives. This is done without ever leaving IRC. The full
instructions can be obtained on KIDLINK IRC by typing:
/msg help send
7. Searching on the KIDLINK Gopher
===================================
The Gopher is a subject-oriented menu system that allows for easy access to
key KIDLINK information, such as guidelines, art and music files. It is a
finding and fetching capability in one tool. (Access information is given
in the "New Documents and Files" section below.)
Those interested in finding out more about KIDLINK via the KIDLINK Gopher
now have a new tool to use. Two search engines have been added to the
Gopher. They can be found as menu choices on the top menu.
Users can search both the menu titles and the actual file contents.
Searching the menu titles is pretty fast, while the full text search can
take up to five minutes since it searches all the resident files for the
search term.
The search term you give is not case sensitive. You can search for 'russia'
and it will also find 'Russia.' However, it will NOT find anything if
searching for 'Russia or France' as it will only look for the EXACT string
of characters that you input. Unless the words 'Russia or France' appear in
a menu or file in that exact order, it will likely not give you the desired
results.
Think about your search terms to ensure they are generic enough to get
results (i.e. 'Russia' will find 'Russia' and 'Russian') but not so generic
as to cause an impossibly huge menu to be generated (i.e. 'kids' which will
match just about every file on the system!).
Since the feature was made available, over 2,200 searches have been done.
In addition, there has been a continual increase in Gopher use with a
record setting 43,240 events recorded in April 1994.
Specific instructions for using the new search tool can be found in the
KIDLINK GOPHER1 file. Comprehensive reports on all the activity at the
KIDLINK Gopher are available from the "Research, Reports, Papers, and
Newsletters" menu.
8. KIDART and KIDFORUM join forces
==================================
The KIDFORUM topic on architecture and astronomy provided a rich
opportunity for students to submit artworks. Sr. Dianne Mollica's students
at the Immaculate Conception School in Somerville, New Jersey, USA sent one
group of architectural drawings (files KIDART SNJ01 to KIDART SNJ11) and
another group of astronomical illustrations (files KIDART SNJ12 to KIDART
SNJ34).
Steve Croker's students at the Sandford Primary School (UK) took us back to
ancient architecture with drawings of Worlebury by Nick Threasher and
Stonhenge by Thomas Johns. These are files KIDART SUK01 and KIDART SUK02.
During the KIDLINK Celebration, two of the early contributors to the KIDART
Gallery from Protvino, Russia were honored guests of the KIDLINKers in
Copenhagen, Denmark. This made it possible to add two of their more recent
works to the collection: Blaahaj by Denis Pchelkin and Protva River by
Kirill Lugovsky. These are files KIDART PVN01 and KIDART PVN02.
For those of you who have not figured out how old Odd de Presno is, you can
find out by looking at the birthday card drawn for him by Ida Berg Meyer in
Copenhagen, Denmark. (File KIDART CDK07)
9. Around KIDLINK
=================
Long-time KIDLINKer Knut Braatane (Norway) has been appointed moderator of
KIDPLAN. He can be reached at <kbraatane@BBB.NO>. Sonia Fernandez of
Montevideo, Uruguay, has been appointed temporary moderator of KIDCAFES,
our Spanish language KIDCAFE. Her address is <varelaks@varela.edu.uy>.
The following message recently appeared in KIDLEADR:
Date: Wed, 4 May 1994
From: John Gwinn
Subject: Re: HELP ME!
Dear town councilmen & women,
My name is John Gwinn and I live in Vancouver, Washington state. I
go to Alki middle school and I'm twelve years of age.
I think you should get KIDlink because it gives your kids friends
across the world.
I have a keypal in Greece. The girl who's doing KIDlink with me has
keypals in Germany, Iceland, and Argentina.
It's educational and fun! It enhances children's learning!
If students ask "How does the Health Plan in the U.S. differ from
ours?" Tell them, "Why don't you use KIDlink to find out?"
That's just a minor taste of what KIDlink can be used for.
10 New Documents and Files
==========================
Important: If you are new to KIDLINK, then you must start by reading the
file KIDLINK GENERAL!
The following is a selection of some new or updated files now available by
e-mail from our archives:
KIDLINK MASTER KIDLINK Document Descriptions. It tells you how
to get the most _important_ files.
KIDLINK GENERAL What is KIDS-95? A *must* for all participants!
KIDLINK TIPS Practical tips about using KIDLINK
KIDLINK SPONSORS KIDLINK SPONSORS
KIDLINK QUESTION The four questions explained
KIDLINK WIZARD KIDLINK People to ask for help
KIDLINK SOCIETY KIDLINK Organization Overview
KIDLINK KIDSHOW How to get a copy of KIDSHOW (version 3.0)
KIDLINK NATIONS Countries in KIDLINK
KIDLINK FLAGS The national flags of the countries participating in
KIDLINK. Self-display file for MS-DOS, with an
upgrade feature to put the current flags into KIDSHOW.
KIDLINK OSLO-94 KIDLINK presentation May 1994
KIDLINK MATRIX2 Article about KIDLINK in Matrix News
KIDLINK BIBLIOGR KIDLINK bibliography
KIDLINK CONTACTS People to contact about KIDS-95
KIDLINK TRANSLAT Request for translation help
KIDLINK NEWS494 KIDS-94 Newsletter #4
In Spanish:
KIDLINK GENERALS Que es KIDLINK / KIDS-95?
KIDLINK TIPSS Consejos Practicos para u. KIDLINK
KIDLINK NEWS494S NOTICIAS DE KIDS-94 - Numero 4
In Scandinavian:
KIDLINK GENERALN Hva er KIDLINK/KIDS-95
KIDLINK NEWS494N KIDS-94 Nyhedsbrev #4 (Dansk)
In Japanese:
KIDLINK GENERALJ Kidlink General (Japanese)
To retrieve files from the list above, send an electronic mail message to
LISTSERV@VM1.NODAK.EDU (or LISTSERV@NDSUVM1 on BITNET). The TEXT portion of
your message should include the GET command for the file(s) you want to
receive. It will look like this:
GET KIDLINK GENERAL
GET KIDLINK MASTER
The files are also available through KIDLINK's Gopher:
gopher kids.ccit.duq.edu 70
-or-
telnet 165.190.8.35 login: gopher
Browse through the menus to find the information below, stored by subject.
If you only have email access to the Internet, it is still possible to use
the gopher. The KIDLINK GOPHER2 file describes an easy way to use Gopher
via email.
A number of new art creations has been made available through the KIDART
archive, the KIDLINK Gallery of Computer Art. The library contains over 140
files. For a list of current offerings, send a message to the LISTSERV
containing the following line:
INDEX KIDART
These pictures are also available from the KIDLINK Gopher.
11. KIDS-95
===========
is a project run by a non-profit organization called the KIDLINK Society.
Most of the dialog between the kids is based on electronic mail.
KIDLINK is impartial as to what methods are being used to solve the
problems of the world today. KIDLINK does not promote specific solutions
to problems or political points-of-view.
While the KIDLINK mailing list is an announcement service, the various
coordinator forums (KIDLEADR, KIDLEADP, KIDLEADJ, KIDLEADS, KIDLEADN),
KIDPROJ, and KIDPLAN are meeting places for teachers, parents and other
persons involved with the KIDS-95 project.
KIDS-95 operates the following forums for 10 - 15 year old youngsters:
RESPONSE - where the children send their personal introductions
(their responses to the four introductory questions),
KIDCAFE - where they can 'talk' about anything they like,
KIDCAFEP - Portuguese language KIDCAFE
KIDCAFEJ - Japanese language KIDCAFE
KIDCAFEN - Scandinavian language KIDCAFE
KIDCAFES - Spanish language KIDCAFE
KIDFORUM - for exchanges between classroom groups of students.
To join KIDLINK through the Internet, send the command SUB KIDLINK Your
Name to LISTSERV@vm1.NoDak.EDU. (Replace "Your Name" with your real
name.) Put the command in the BODY of the text.
Our discussion forums are also available through conferencing system and
mail exploders around the world. Write us for more information.
All forums are open for everybody, but only kids between 10 - 15 may write
messages in KIDCAFE, KIDCAFEP, KIDCAFEJ, KIDCAFEN, KIDCAFES, and KIDFORUM.
A 130+ picture slide show about KIDS-95 is available (for MS-DOS computers
with VGA color display). To get a copy, send a for-mated 1.4MB diskette, an
envelope carrying your return address, plus US$10.00 to KIDLINK, 4815
Saltrod, Norway.
You can also retrieve the slide show by Anonymous FTP. For details, send a
message to the LISTSERV containing the command: GET KIDLINK KIDSHOW
The KIDS-95 newsletter is an information bulletin for teachers, parents,
participants, sponsors, mediators, promoters, and others. Suggestions
and contributions are invited.
The newsletters are distributed through the KIDNEWS mailing list, the
KIDLINK announcement service, and the KIDLINK Gopher.
Subscribe to KIDNEWS by sending email to the LISTSERV with the command
"SUB KIDNEWS Your-full-name" in the text of your mail. (Please use your
real name instead of "Your-full-name".)
Editor/Project director: Odd de Presno
Mail address: Saltrod, Norway (Europe).
Fax: +47 370 27111
Internet Email address: opresno@extern.uio.no
If you want to help out with KIDS-95, or participate, contact the editor,
or write to
You can also contact one of our local contact persons around the world for
information about how to join and more. For a list of contact persons,
retrieve the file KIDLINK CONTACTS.
KIDS-95 has local representatives in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil,
Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand,
Norway, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenija, South Africa, Thailand,
Thailand, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the United States.
Finally, you can also write to
KIDLINK, 4815 Saltrod, Norway
or just sign up ...
--- end ---