Hello all,
Thank you for visiting our video presentation! I want to echo on Dr. Hamilton's introduction-- we are so proud of our IC4 community. A huge thanks to all our partners across the globe-- teacher leaders, peer facilitators, country coordinators, research team and most of all, our student learner participants!

We are also happy to share that the video was put together by two of our IC4 project alumni, Dante Schulz and Ishtiaque Mahdi (now third year university students) and another research team member, Julia Gibson (third year undergraduate student). We also give shout outs to Rina (IC4 member in Kenya) and Luiz (research team member and global meet-up facilitator) for lending their voices to the narration. We are grateful for their work on the video and continuing efforts in the IC4 community!

As key players in IC4 the last several years, we are also excited to share additional co-presenters the 2021 showcase: Shad Wachter and Israel Ramirez (teacher leaders from our sites in Pennsylvania and Nevada, respectively), Zachariah Mbasu (country coordinator for Kenya), and Dr. Seung Lee, Dr. Toby Tomlinson Baker, and Luiz Oliveira (Pepperdine research team members).

Please enjoy :) We welcome you to post comments/questions below. Feel free to also contact us at info@ic4.site (or visit our website, http://ic4.site).   Looking forward to engaging together!

Danielle,

 I admire your stewardship in the IC4 project, coordinating all the delicate facets, and keeping a tab on all the meet ups and events that have cumulatively led to the extra-ordinary outcomes, Your kind words to the team members demonstrate the leadership qualities, and ensures that every member appreciates their unique roles.

Keep the vision as you unleash the strategies!

I would like to thank Mr. Zach Mbasu for introducing IC4 to our library users at Kongoni Community Library, Kenya. This has transformed the participating students and it has made them work on projects one of them being development of our library website www.kongonilibrary.org. 

We are very proud that IC4 students in Kongoni have produced your website, and have built skills for creating digital media in the future.  I think one next step is for the students to show some of their peers in Las Vegas or Pittsburgh or elsewhere how they developed the site, and then to have their peers contribute to the next revision.  Does that seem possible?

Thank you Elphas for your feedback. I am glad that for the many months of school closures in Kenya, children from poor and remote Kongoni community still had access to learning through Kongoni library and IC4 club. The learning and growth that students at the library experienced was greatly enhanced and facilitated through their regular positive interactions with their peers from Colegio Bicentenario in Morelia, South Fayette and Spring Valley, taking in others’ ideas, feedback and viewpoints.

Thank you Eric for your comments on Kongoni IC4 students.  It is a good idea for them to share their knowledge with others on how they developed the website.  However, this will only be possible when they are back from school as they all attent different schools. 

Hi Amy, and thank you.  I think others may weigh in, but the global aspect changes the nature of the challenges that students bring and discuss in the virtual setting.  We have learned a great deal about rain forest challenges from students there, and we hope to engage in scientists and students there on a sensor-driven fire prevention initiative in the Pantanal, the world's largest rainforest, with the idea that the project could engender replications in the US, and especially in CA where fires are so devastating.  Similarly, students in Kenya might share water management issues that are unique to a sub-Saharan and low income country.  So the students are bringing unique and "this is my life" experience to their peers in other countries.  They do that from the relative comfort of their own country and culture while "stepping into" the culture of their colleagues.  So that is very rewarding to experience.

Beyond that, the global aspect builds a sense of curiosity and community.  We don't fully understand how deeply virtual communication can help meet our human need to explore and understand the world around us.  And when we do, especially through video interaction, we are in a better position to undo the mistrust and suspicion that has marked all of our cultures when geographic separation defined our differences.  Thank you for your question!

Hi Amy, just to further answer your questions, the projects are conducted in such a way that students take full responsibility of each and every step that leads to the success of their projects and the leaders just come in to facilitate communications amongst them.

Students willingly choose to collaborate with each other in a projects of their choice. Facilitators initiate communication to kickstart the collaboration and then follow up with the collaborators till the completion of their collaboration

For the case of language barrier, IC4 has translators who break the language barriers.

And Amy, Ms Mukabana's response, in addition to its accuracy, comes from an individual who began facilitating online sessions with professional deftness and insight when she was still a teenager.  Now close to finishing intense mathematics studies at Pwani University in Kenya, she represents the future of her country and east Africa.  We are truly fortunate to have crossed paths with her.

Amy,

The responses by Eric, Ateamate and others are precise. Collaboration by students is also digitally enabled, which affords the team members opportunities to improve digital literacy skills besides the inherent learning of concepts relevant to the projects. My son joined the team recently and I observed with awe how he was striving to use Google to translate simple texts to Portuguese. My assessment of this is that the IC4 members are also learning social skills like empathy and are living the spirit of global citizenship. 
You may have also noted that the video is among the few with multiple language options under CC

Dear Amy, Mr Ogwel is a long-time colleague who helps to lead professional development in STEM fields for the Kenyan Ministry of Education with a pan-African charge.  

Ateng', I think we need now to find ways to formalize this model and imagination to find a next step - so asking you to think with us or us to think with you.  One thing that recurs is a move to more live problem solving with problems that local or national governments or NGOs are seeking to solve.  Needs more thinking.  We have a couple of examples, but need to find points of entry for the student teams.

Hi! I'm Toby a copresenter and researcher for IC4. When students join a meetup, we stress the importance of student to student interaction. First, the students get to know each other through a brief warm-up activity or activity discussion. Later, they often agree on a topic that they are passionate about such as the environment. Our California students lived near a marina and experienced life near ocean pollution. When the Finnish students learned of this need, they were eager to collaborate with the U.S. site! The best part part was when the U.S. students began learning to speak Finnish to chat with their new friends!

Hello.  I'm Shad, a co-presenter and one of the facilitators for the South Fayette site just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Students who participate in IC4 at South Fayette are typically invited by Mr. Mannarino (our site's co-facilitator) or referred to us by teachers based upon their interest in STEAM, programming, or multimedia production. As students are on-boarded, they receive training in the use of Sway (a Microsoft presentation tool), Slack, and video production. Their first project is to introduce themselves to the community by recording a video and putting it into a Sway.  Then they share this video to Slack and respond to one another.  We also scaffold the projects.  Students start at level 1 completing a project independently or with someone from their own site. They post the project to Slack for asynchronous feedback, then share the project live on a global meetup for synchronous critique.  A level 2 project is one that is created with participants from other sites.  The collaboration occurs both asynchronously on Slack and synchronously on Zoom meetings.  Level 1 and level 2 projects typically involve more facilitation from the site leaders to set up meetings, encourage collaboration, and provide resources.  However at the 3rd level, students take on the responsibilities of making the initial connection, staying in contact throughout the project, setting goals, and presenting the final project in a global meetup. 

As far as preparing students for engaging with others in a global meetup, we have been forced to hold our meetups virtually this year due to the pandemic, so many students are familiar with video conferencing etiquette. In the past, we would review this with our students prior to the meetups.  Additionally, during the calls, our facilitators are incredible at leading online discussions and encouraging participation and dialogue from the participants.  

Shad, very thorough explanation of some of the mechanics of how the meetups and collaborations unfold.

To chime in further on the excellent responses from Toby and Shad, we also try to have a pre-meeting with any new students to help them feel comfortable with people they are meeting for the first time in a virtual space. Pre-pandemic, becoming familiar with and troubleshooting through the video conference technology was important to the onboarding process.  Of course now, many U.S. students are more familiar with connecting via Zoom (which we have been using since early 2018), though the pre-session is still helpful to encourage them to get into the mindset of breaking from the typical classroom experience, and see IC4 as a community learning space where student voice is encouraged and valued. 

Dear Ateng',

Your ability to help form and develop the IC4 vision over the years has made a profound difference for all of us.  Thank you for your work with teachers in Kenya, east Africa, and beyond.  Especially including a 30 year old country in southwest Africa where you sent me not long ago.  :)

We are very happy about the CC this year.  Is it accurate to your viewing?  Hope we can connect in person this year and definitely develop strategic improvements.  Thank you.

Eric,

You always have the words to amplify my little role in the movement. I have accepted to live with the consequences!

History is important but the future is an obligation. For IC4 and similar initiatives, I imagine the future to be empowering generations who empower others to unleash their potentials to diagnose and solve problems in the society as well as build resilient systems. A team of confident, values-driven and ever learning.

Am looking forward to reconnecting this year by God’s Grace

 

I just want to chime in, thank you for your ongoing support to Dr. Hamilton's projects, but especially this IC4 project community.  You are ever so true to your support with action give your son's involvement in IC4, and we have been thrilled to have his presence at global meet-ups.  We appreciate you spreading the word about this work, and being so encouraging to our team!  

Hello George, and thank you for the question.  This is an informal science education program that represents diverse interests of students from various countries.  The projects originate from the students and their teacher facilitators.  Interest-driven Creator / IDCTheory has been developing over the past few years as a means to explain and give shape to cultivating student interest in devising challenges or projects they pursue (not a fair summary of the theory, but perhaps ok for now.)  In the spirit of IDC, we have had students express interest in creating musical instruments based on their research in how instruments are formed and then using waste materials from construction sites.  Thank you for your kind words :)

Julie, we are so fortunate to have your video skills, intelligence, and creative mind in our project.  You are a big help to us for the meet-ups, and your energy is so positive to have on the team.  Many thanks for your contributions to the IC4 community!

Hi Ateamate,

Thank you so much for offering all of your excellent facilitation skills in service of IC4! In particular, I really appreciate the time you have spent with my students. We have all learned so much from you about leading group conversations and ensuring everyone's participation so their voices and ideas can be heard.

With much gratitude,

Kelsey

 

Agreed, Ateamate has become a cornerstone for IC4, sharing her time, facilitation skills and STEM expertise to the project (especially when it comes to math!).  I can't believe you are already at the end of your undergraduate experience.  Thank you for your many years of dedication and support to building this community.  We are so proud of you.

Oh, and many thanks to Ateamate (and Denis, another long-time IC4 facilitator in Kenya) for their assistance with reviewing our Swahili subtitles  :)

Kelsey, I think one thing that is novel in engaging Chapman is the shift in emphasis to larger challenges at the undergraduate level than the ones that we see with the secondary students.  I am trying to spin this into a more prominent feature in the next phase.  Perhaps for offline discussion, but I think this is the next generation of these kinds of collaborations.

Eric, yes absolutely! There are many exciting possibilities for the future of these collaborations. I look forward to discussing this in greater detail.

Lili, we are very honored to have you in the IC4.  I appreciate your observations about learning English, and it is music to read words like "IC4 has been an amazing journey for me."  Thank you :)

Lili, you are a great asset to out IC4 project. Thank you for your committment and your global  participation. I look forward to collaborating with you and keep learning from you. Thank you! 

Thank you so much for posting, Lili.  What a wonderfully rich reflection.  It's amazing for others to hear directly from our students about their experiences in the IC4 project community firsthand.  We are so grateful for your participation in meet-ups, and excited to see your projects (especially the medical-themed python project you are working on :)  We'll see you soon!

Hiii Lili :) it has been a pleasure to contribute a project with you, even though not in same state or school, it was nice communicating through slack. 

Hi Evelyne, been in a team with you and also present is a pleasured, even of the distance we made o really good job it was a very good job 

Florencia, excited to see you now shifting into and adding to the coding strand.  Thank you.
Florencia, emocionada de verte ahora cambiando y agregando a la cadena de codificación. Gracias.

I appreciated seeing the exchanges between our participants above with Lili, Evelyne and Florencia.  You are incredible young women that demonstrate the bright future we have through collaboration and exchange in STEM.  

Mr. Ramirez, your drive and enthusiasm for IC4 is inspiring. You are our cheerleader, motivational coach, and ambassador for getting the word out to anyone you encounter about the incredible work our students get to do in collaborating together across boundaries at such a young age. I see how your students build off your enthusiasm and encouragement.  The support we have from you and Jackie to growing and making IC4 the best it can be for all students is incredible, and your personal dedication is beyond words.  We are honored and blessed to have you on our teacher/site leader team, and co-presenting with us this year.  

Thank you, Dr. Espino! It takes a great team to accomplish great things. It is a team effort! I'm so proud of all our students. Each week, they are so dedicated to teach one another and to learn from each other. They help us put the dots together so we can understand better how they work in this virtual learning environment. Also, thanks to Jackie for bringing new ideas to our weelky meetings.

Agreed, Dr. Baker.  Well put :)  We treasure seeing these exchanges and can't take for granted when we have students from 2, 3 or 4 countries together in one call, with shared interest in learning and exchange. Their dedication to come week after week is inspiring, and we're grateful to witness it.  And our hope, continue to write insights to share this with others.

Hi Zach, thanks for introducing IC4 to students. It's great as they work in group.

This is very encouraging and captivating. Keep up the good work.

I echo on Sarah's comment. Thank you Zack for providing an opportunity to our students from Mexico to participate and present their math project in the Virtual Math Camps in Kenya. I know you and I agree that we have a such a great Kenya-Mexico-USA team collaborating in IC4.

Sara, thank you so much for watching the video and for your encouraging comment. The students are the most important part of IC4, they always inspire curiosity and interests of STEM topics among themselves and spark the desire for learning and knowing in even in the adult introducers.

Zach, thank you for your thoughtful post above re: seeing students interact in this setting. I'm also amazed that since this an activity outside the classroom, the students come together voluntarily and I am so grateful for their continued motivation and interest to stay involved.  We normally take some weeks off during the year from meet-ups, but with the pandemic last year, we ended up continually meeting as we became a landing place for students who didn't have access to virtual learning experiences.  I'm glad IC4 could be that space for students.

Amy wrote:

"In a world that often seems to be falling apart, to witness young people across cultures, nations, and languages collaborating in this way is truly beautiful."

 

Sigh.  Thank you.  Nourishing encouragement, and is just what we are fortunate to be able to do. Thank you again.

Thank you for your feedback, Ms. Limbeck! I agree with you. It would be great to see other departments join in this great collaboration. I look forward to collaborating with you in your classroom to implement global collaboration among your math students. 

If there are ways that we can help you plan, Mario, or ways that you think we can improve or think differently, please let us know.  May I ask where you teach now?  Thank you!

I'll echo on that comment, Marlo.  Feel free to contact us as well-- if you send a note to info@ic4.site, it'll direct to both Eric and myself.  I will say from my experiences in setting up sites, having interested and invested administration (e.g. principal, headmaster), teachers and students are all needed to get off the ground and on the path to a good sustained collabrative effort. Starting small and then scaling is a great approach. It can take time and effort, but it's worth it! :)

Thank you for your question and for your interest in our project! We have mostly used codes that we have obtained from the data through grounded analysis. We have refined the codebook a few times over the course of the project to better represent the data, which has required reviewing our initial coding and recoding the data. We have also applied existing coding schemes for specific analyses (for example the UNESCO Future Competences Framework).

One of the key challenges in our coding is the amount of time required. For each dataset, we have at least two members of the research team individually code the data then come together for a process of social moderation — a description of our coding can be found in papers we have published and presented, which can be found on the IC4 website under the Publications tab (https://ic4.site/research). We are also engaged in research to find ways to automate the coding. You will see some papers around this topic as well. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or would like more information.

Prof Jahan, we should try some parallel algae experiments with students in different climates in this network :)  I imagine it could be quite compelling if we could actually pull it off.  Let us know if that is something that might be worth pursuing, and thank you.

Hi Kristin, This is a great question! Students get into the program through a recruiting process. We invite students to participate doing global collaboration STEM projects in our IC4 community. Most of the time, when students find out that they will be working together with students from different continents, students do not hesitate to be part of IC4. Students enjoy meeting and learning about other cultures, and other languages. Usually, the recruiting process begins at the start of the school year. However, in our case here in Las Vegas, NV., we are always inviting students to join us throughout the school year. This year, our students will be collaborating till the end of July, 2021.

Kristin, thanks for your visit to our page and to add on to Israel's answer, the students can participate for as long as they wish.  Initially, we ran by the U.S. academic year (taking a break June - August), but since some of our paricipating countries go to school by calendar year (e.g. January - November), the last two years we have actually be running the program straight through, with new students joining around Sept/Oct and then Jan/Feb, which correspond with the beginning of the academic school years of our different sites, as Israel mentions.  August is usually the month we are a little more quiet, as it tends to be a "holiday" month for all students.  

Marcia, you have always led in making science accessible and understandable to all.  It is great to see the project you are leading as one more effort in a lifetime of global science education leadership without peer.  Thank you for your next generation contribution.  And thank you for kind words on our effort :)

Thanks Griffin! We appreciate your creativity, passion and commitment, especially in helping other students from all over the world expand their knowledge and develop their skills in Python programming. You are definitely well on your way to becoming the comp sci professor you aspire to be!

Agreed!  Griffin, we are so grateful for your participation in IC4 and all the skills, expertise and experience you have and are inspired by the ideas and energy you bring to the group, especially with computer programming.  Your desire to help others and collaborate is at the heart of our community, and we are excited to have you moving us forward.  Also-- we're pretty sure you're going to be inventing some pretty cool innovations that many of us here will be seeing in the future, and we'll be humbled to say we knew you when... 

That was me-"include more pictures!" ! I'm a visual learner, Dean. I can't help it!! (lol). 

IC4 is so lucky to have you share Dean! 

Hey! Remember when we did our favorite foods and we had to guess which food list was yours?!! 

So glad you join!

You are going to change the world, Dean!

 

 

Dean, thanks for your comments and involvement with IC4!  Your presence at meet-ups brings a smile to our face as you are always willing to speak up, helping to build trust with other students in the group.  We hope to continue seeing you around :)

Thank you for your thoughtful reflection! I agree with you that a big part of the IC4 community is students inspiring other students to be creative and to pursue their own STEM projects. We are all helping one another become better thinkers and creators!

Cailee, thank you for these notes.  If you are able sometime, we would love to hear about ways that you might see the experience improving.  Please give that some thought.  I like the way you already have a vision for learning STEM to help improve the lives and learning of others in the future :)

Agreed, Cailee thank you for sharing about your experience and seeing the impact of working together across physical boundaries.  Excited to have you continue with us :)

Thank you for reflecting so thoughtfully on the showcase as a whole!  I know the organizing team behind the scenes (especially the wonderful folks at TERC, like Joni, Kathryn, Kim) works very hard to optimize the experience for all audiences, from the researchers, educators, participants, to our friends and family.  I was inspired by a request from our partners in Brazil to include Portuguese subtitles, and from there set to see what other subtitles we could include; thankful for our partners and team members who helped me review the different languages we currently have. 

To the theme, it's interesting because our project was probably best suited to sustain through any challenges brought on by the pandemic since our community is virtual in nature-- and as you mentioned, we did see that IC4 could be a place for students could come together for something "normal" amidst all the changes their schools were needing to adapt to. 

As always, we are so grateful to have your support to our project efforts over the years!

Hi Miyun, You bring up a great point that alumni continue to be involved with IC4. As a people person, I really appreciate how IC4 has fostered many connections. I have been a researcher with IC4 for almost three years and I have seen the students begin when they are 12 and 13 years old and now they are in high school and college. The learners will tell you that they love being a part of IC4 because they make lifelong friends that are not in their school classes. They learn new languages too. But the students really feel as if they have contributed and made a lasting impact. That is why they join-to actually change the world-And they do!!  (And they have a lot of fun too!)

Great to see your reflections in the lone star state, Alice.  I agree that Covid definitely made IC4 more chalenging since students could not work in schools.  I m very hopeful that in the coming year we can have more strenuous involvement from the most populous country in Africa.  :)

Hi Maria Cecelia your video was awesome! Thanks for doing that for IC4!

These sentiments are compelling and important for us to understand, Maria Cecilia.  IC4 is so fortunate to have involvement from partners in Brazil and you in particular.  I never really thought about the emotional benefit of IC4 to students during the pandemic, and your comment is adding to my ways of this about this project.  Thank you.

Thank you.  Well, we need to save the planet, and yes, we share your hope and confidence in next generation STEM collaborators.  :)

Kellie, well said.  The multicultural learning is substantial.  We are hopeful that next generation versions of this project get more traction with local projects, and we are working in that direction.  Your kind words are appreciated.

Hi Nicanory, nice to see you here!

As a teacher in ordinary circumstances, you are always faced with an incredibly difficult challenge of meeting the needs of learners with a range of abilities and learning levels. I am sure this a global phenomenon! It has been exciting to see you use IC4 club to address this problem by providing an opportunity for personalized learning experiences. Your students are always working on interesting topics that cut across multiple subject areas and projects that caters for their needs. Just recently, I really liked their idea of using an 80 watts bulb, an Arduino as a control motherboard and a temperature sensor to construct a simple incubator to hatch eggs. I am looking forward to your students completing this project.

Thanks for supporting students from Kongoni community Nic!

Thomas thank you for your awesome comments.

You are right IC4 students choose a topic that interests them, they then decide on their own what they want the audience to learn from the topic. They then research more about the topic using the internet and accessing resources from portals in the process growing their internet skills like: how to identify relevant content, key words that might identify the content, how they might use the internet to find content about their topics and how they reference a website from which the information originates. After they have completed working on their topic, they have an opportunity to share what they have created with others during a meetup where they receive feedback.

Ogalo thank you for watching our video and I love your comment about collaboration and creating digitally.

 

IC4 students have been collaborating meaningfully with others and it often occurred best within a cycle them generating and improving on their projects. It all begins when they start planning about what the problem they want to solve and how they are going to solve it, then they discuss the problems synchronously through virtual meetups or asynchronously through slack channels, emails, review and make comments/give feedback on google docs. They do ask their peers to check their work and slides if elements they agreed on are missing or if they would like to change specific aspects of their topic. When it comes to sharing, they take turns to explain their project and answer any questions raised by their peers might have.

 

Kindly please get in touch on zmbasu@gmail.com

Nancy, this of course is encouraging and nurturing to hear.  Thank you for sharing these sentiments.  If you get a chance and see this, please let us know where you study and if you think that there is room for this kind of project with more undergraduate emphasis.

Thank you Sabastian for taking the time to watch our IC4 video! It is exciting when as an adult I learn from the brilliant young minds with deep knowledge about topics in STEM.

At the beginning of the project, I was always surprised that students can teach teachers too but now, I like the excitement of not knowing what I will face when I turn up to an IC4 virtual meetup every Saturday. A few weeks ago, I learned about different applications of nanotechnology in medicine from an IC4 student during her presentation. It was eye opening! Learning from students now is a way for me to deepen my practice as an educator, renew myself and negotiate the complexity of teaching and learning.

Thank you for the encouragement.

Thank you, Jose! We appreciate your kind words and are also hopeful for positive future impact!

I agree with you Diana!

Thank you, Estelle. We appreciate your support. Wishing much success to you and your students.

Ms Hughes, thank you for viewing the video and for sharing these sentiments.  We definitely are trying to expand the intercultural competences of our participants. Trying to learn, for example, from colleagues who work in international schools :)

Dr. Teague, thank you for your wonderful observation. I fully agree that students in the IC4 community serve as the "More Knowledgeable Other" to other students as well as the adults! I definitely have learned so much from our students. Just a reminder that learning is never a one-way street -- that we all have something to share and contribute to those around us (including virtually!)

Thank you, Seung Lee! 

Thank you for engaging with the video and supporting the work of IC4, Emmanuel! We appreciate your kind words and wish you the very best on your educational journey.

Thank you for sharing your experience, Florencia! We're so happy to hear about how you've been able to further develop various communications skills through your participation in IC4. We learn a lot from you and your peers as well. Thank you for being a part of our community!

Hi Florecia, thank you for your great collaboration in IC4. You are a great asset to our IC4 team. Keep up the work!

We are delighted to have you as a part of the IC4 family, Juan! It is exciting to hear about your growth throughout your time in the program. Keep up the great work! 

Juan, thank you for giving us the opportunity to collaborate with you too. It is a reciplrocal feeling. We have learned so much from you as well. We are looking forward to collaborating with you. Great job, Juan!

Hi Noemi! Thank you for sharing your experience with IC4! We're very grateful to have you with us. It is wonderful to hear about how being in the program has enhanced your communication skills and provided you an opportunity to engage with peers from around the globe. We value your contributions and look forward to continuing our connection with you next year!

Noemi, you are truly an amazing student. Your work ethic is impressive. Glad to know that this opportunity to do global collaboration in IC4  has given you chance to learn about other cultures and to enhance communication skills. We look forward to collaborating with you and to keep learning from your STEM presentastions. Keep up the good work!

Hi Evelyne! Thank you for sharing your IC4 experience. Isn't it wonderful to make friends from all over the world? It sounds like you've been able to learn so many great programs through various projects. I'm in graduate school and still have so much to learn about Python! You are steps ahead of me!! :) We hope to see you in person as well once it is safe to do so.

I agree with you Evelyne, thank you Noemi for inviting Evlyne to IC4. It's admirable to see how committed you are to IC4. You are the kind of student that will step forward to collaborate with your teammates without hesitating to do so. This is a great teamwork quality that you naturally possess. Great work!

Allan, loved your video, and yes, we would be interested in discussing ways to connect and try a pilot.  I am at eric.hamilton@pepperdine.edu.  On travel just now, but I also have your email and perhaps we can talk next week.  Thank you!

Cyrus, I agree with you! It is great to witness how our students enhance self-confidence when collaborating with their peers in IC4. It makes me so happy to hear from our students that this project is a great opportunity for them to keep improving communication skills, and to keep sharing their knowledge. IC4 is great because we have great students that want to change the world for a better place! Thank you for your collaboration.

It is really impressive how all of the Saturday learners have emerged a excellent speakers and presenters! 

 

Ian, que bien dicho! Estoy muy de acuerdo contigo con tu mensaje. Nosotros tambien estamos muy orgullosos de ti. A tus 14 anos, ya diste tu primera conferencia internacional. Felicidades! A travez de los meses de tu colaboracion con IC4 has mejorado tu nivel de Ingles, y aparte, has demostrado que eres un buen lider. Te felicitamos y esperamos seguir aprendiendo de ti. En hora buena!

Hi Luisa,

I hope your exam goes very well. I am happy to hear that working in teams has become much easier since you joined the team. Keep up the good work. See you at the next meetup!

The diversity in language here is a perfect example of the uniqueness of the IC4 project. Everyone is welcomed, and the team does its best to accommodate the students with facilitators such as Israel, who are multilingual. You are the best, Israel.  

Alan, there is so much we can learn from each other and these innovative tools and ideas and bridging gaps for educators and learners at all levels. I am glad to see that you are doing similar work at a higher level. 

One of the very best days in the life of IC4 was when you and Arquimedes and your team came on board.  We have learned so much from watching you and learning from you through all, especially in and through the pandemic.  We hope to continue and deepen this connection, with great gratitude.

She is a star and a future leader of Brazil.  We are exceedingly proud to know her and to learn from her.  And we are exceedingly fortunate to know Ana Paula.  Thank you!

Thank you for your support! Without your support we could not accomplish greatness! 

Israel, pass sincere regards to grandma Alzira for believing in the precious granddaughter

Ana Lúcia, thank you for these good words.  We do not often hear from parents in this forum, and it is very pleasing to hear from you.  Please let us know ways you think we can improve the experience of the students in IC4, and thank you again.

 

IC4 global collaboration begins at home with family. We are grateful for your unconditional support. I've always said that without parent's support, we could not come together to do global collaboration in IC4 and learn from each other. Again, thank you for all your support at home. 

Israel.

You remain an iconic figure in IC4 and a mentor to many. You are among the few who translated Prof. Hamilton’s dreams into reality, when such visions were never ever imagined within the academia. Your belief in the possibilities has borne fruits to the expanding global IC4 community.

Isn’t it gratifying to learn from a parent Ana Lúcia Sgobbi? IC4 is providing supportive systems for learning continuity. It emphasizes parental responsibility in learning without any mandate and will be game changer to remedy lost opportunities through extended school closures, if embraced.

Thanks Ana for being a model parent

Ateng',

Your words give me a lot of motivation and inspiration, they are received with great humility. Thank you very much for your collaboration during all these years and for continuing to share your mental and social intelligence to continue growing in this global collaboration project. You are also a person who has greatly influenced the academic development of IC4 for many years. It is a pleasure to continue collaborating with you my dear friend. Thank you!

mmmm.... well, video is amazing because of the participants (well, and the IC4 students and alums who produced the video).  We are so fortunate you have come into the IC4 network, Luiza, and thank you for your kind words.

Luiza, your award-winning Amazon video is so awesome! Please make more videos!

 

Luiza, é uma alegria ter você em nossa comunidade IC4. Somos muito gratos por sua energia e talentos! Obrigado por ser um membro tão dedicado, juntando-se a nós semana após semana. Aprendi muito com você, inclusive sobre a história da erva-mate. We are proud of your award-winning video about preservation of the Amazon!

I think you were in the first group of activities managing robotics, and of course we are all learning more about how to work across cultures. Thank you.

Luiza wrote:

I started to participate in the IC4 meetings at the end of last year, and I already feel that I have evolved a lot both in English and in different knowledge about robotics, science, engineering and different cultures. Talking to people from different parts of the world is really cool! I feel honored to be in that group.

Luiza,

Artificial Intelligence is becoming the foundation of the next global economies. You are on the right trajectory with engagement on robotics

Eric, thanks for the translation 

Danielle,

If this is what you wrote in response to Luiza, then am learning 

Luiza, it's a joy to have you in our IC4 community. We are very grateful for your energy and talents! Thank you for being such a dedicated member, joining us week after week. I learned a lot from you, including about the history of yerba mate. We are proud of your award-winning video about preservation of the Amazon!

The Amazon is a great source of biodiversity and a strategic resource in mitigating climate change. The efforts to conserve it are laudable, keep up the awareness beyond the borders of Brazil through the IC4 Community

Well said, Liege.  

Drew, we are so grateful to have your participation in the IC4 project :)  We enjoyed getting to test out your game, it was so fun and looking forward to seeing it evolve.  You've already dived in in collaboration with students in the US, Mexico and soon to be UAE.  Looking forward to the projects you continue to work on!

Danielle, 

You are hinting at UAE joining, amazing! 
For Drew, coding trains habits of mind. I admire how experienced coders never panic even when others are alarmed. They’re able and to discern solutions to complex issues once given some data. IC4 provides you with a space to also develop people skills, and appreciate multidisciplinary aspect to innovation 

Matheus,

You’ve characterized the experience so well. Brazil brings a rich perspective to the interactions, and I believe students from other countries have questions for your teams. Is the soccer prowess hereditary or it’s the environment? Your physics background should inspire many learners in IC4 who are allergic to the subject

Luiz, Matheus and Vitor thank you very much for all the support you have provided to our Brazilian students. Your participation is very important, not only for the translation of the language, but also the collaboration and involvement in the projects. I am also very grateful for the entire IC4 team, Dr. Eric, Danielle, Seung, Israel, Zach, Ateng, Ateamate, Toby, Shad and all the other global leaders, IC4 really fills me with pride and hope for the future of education.

Stephanie,

Thanks for being part of the IC4 team. Am sure you might be having fellow graduate students who miss such opportunities. The project and the Video showcase is a great contribution of Early Career Researchers and also inducts you to service to humanity 

Matheus made a very compelling and knowledgeable presentation of race cars that appears in the video. We began to dream the same dream he has to race cars in Brazil.  He will probably reach the dream before we do :)

Translation below: 
Good morning to all. The video was very good, I liked that the members both from abroad and from Brazil, I noticed that one of the projects I did with my colleagues appeared, as few know how to drive race cars is my dream🏎️🏎️🏎️🚥 Sabendo and knowing that the sport could end I couldn't stay still, keep on commenting guys, give me a like👍👍👍, share with everyone that you can and that this pandemic will end as soon as possible so that we can explore the world again, find our friends, with God's help we can do it.

Eric,
Thanks for revealing the message from Matheus, I doubt if you learnt Portuguese whle growing up in Chicago, but am sure you’re used to taking on adaptive challenges!!. This, also demonstrates that learning in IC4 is by everyone

Toby,

The level of self-drive among the students is just amazing. There are millions if learners across the globe whose greatest challenge to learning is low motivation manifested through negative attitufe and low achievement. IC4 is providing an enabling environment for learners to develop positive identity and self-awareness as they progress in building resilience through trials, failures and success. I guess Luiza and team willl go through mixed emotions as they work on the rocket project. Fortunately, these are the lived experiences of scientists. All the best as they refine their project and enter the competition 

Dan, you are so right. I believe that is one of the many things I love about this project. The diversity in cultures is very inspiring. 

Hi Tamasin,

Welcome. I am glad to hear about how the project is impacting your students. I hope they will be able to work with children in Cameroon in the future or other African countries participating if they have not done so already. 

Very much so. I also find fascinating the quality of the learning happening during these meetups, the quality of content the students are producing, and the ease with which they work with their teams. IC4's work is exciting and informative to facilitators as well as other students. 

Yes, Ying. It is also fascinated to see the impact it is making as regards knowledge creation and self-efficacy. 

I believe Israel and was able to cover that in the following post. I agree the time differences and internet issues are the best challenges especially working with children in Cameroon.

We persevere when challenges are in our way...

The team in Los Angeles goes above and beyond, and we can all see it in the quality of the work content students produce. Waking up every Saturday at 6 am, or 7 am after a full day of work is a commitment and labor of love. I compliment the team and teachers for their determination to offer the best to students. 

 

Yes, I agree with Shad and Ruth. The IC4 team committment goes above and beyond having weekly, weekend, and monthly teacher leaders meetings. It takes a team effort to be able to accomplish global collaboration learning.

Hi, and thank you for your comments.  On your question, North Africa and the Middle East are often group together - the acronym "MENA" is common.  In the same way, Sub-Sahara is also treated as a grouping.  In any case, we avoid talking about Africa monolithically - around 50 countries, each very distinct!  I hope that helps, and thank you again.

I agree about talking about Africa monolithically. You know, my heart doesn't seem to care much for the MENA grouping or the sub-Saharah groupings. It's hard to explain why so I will have to reflect on why I think and feel this way. Maybe one of the kids in the video might create content around this topic. 

Ruth, 

I agree with your remarks on monolithic characterisation of cultures. There's a way in which socialization contributes to perceptions of learning and actual learning engagement. Where children are socialized to speak less, they're unlikely to externalise their thoughts / reasoning, with a probable risk of negative labels on their cognitive abilities.

Schools also have a socialization effect beyond the impact from the community, and those less verbal might be wrongly characterized. Therefore, it's empowering to have opportities for expressing multiple intelligences. IC4 uses video to gradually enable learners to be more confident communicators as they collaborate with peers and leaders 

You hit on multiple good points, Ateng. As a student who was taught to be quiet and listen in class, I have found it very challenging in Western environments where you are expected to speak up in class or group sessions. There is move improvement not, but the internal dialogue and second-guessing of my opinions sometimes cause me to retreat. Encouraging children to speak up in a culturally appropriate way is necessary, especially for African countries. Our children learn as they play in groups, making IC4 a suitable model for teaching children on the continent.

Hi, your comment of course is greatly appreciated.  I don't want to turn down a fine compliment, but it is probably most fair to say that the essence of this project is not so much cleverness as much as common sense.  People learn and live differently when they can do it together.  The richness of different cultural traditions around the world adds up in these contexts.  Thank you!

Claudine, you have touched on one of the things I love about this project. The ability to combine technology and culture allows content to be culturally relevant to students. They also have a platform to learn about other cultures. Thank you for noting that about the project. 

Hi Ms Mukiri, your comments are poignant for us. It was actually Kenyan students, mostly from Kibera, who first started making a lot of student contributions to the video forum four years ago.  At first, I thought, these are children talking in grown-up community.  I am ashamed to say that made me uncomfortable, until the realization hit me that we had an opportunity for these children to have voice in other parts of the world where they would not otherwise be given access. I was embarrassed that I did not see that right away.  And of course, the projects themselves form a way to function in intellectually and culturally nourishing ways.

On your question, we do have some college student involvement, but more than that is beyond our current capacity.  We do have alums like Ateamate Mukabana and Denis Okello who facilitate the global meetups - they are remarkable good at it.  We would love to do more, and dream in that direction.  We also think that the pandemic may help spur more vigorous effort in building such collaboration.  

Thank you for your thoughtful comments and questions.

Thanks Arquimedes for believing in your daughter and sharing the outcomes you've observed in her. 

I echo Ateng' words. It is facinating to see how students from Brazil, U.S.A, Mexico, and Kenya really care about the future of our world. Our IC4 students are the future leaders of our planet. We can't wait to collaborate with your research project, Arquimedes. 

I agree. I love the project that they are been working on. Our planet is in safe hands and I am so grateful IC4 is providing an environment where students can that thinking about the future. 

Thank you Arquimedes for always trying to look forward towards the future, on how we can sustain our current efforts and be able to leave a legacy for our future generations.

The Brazillian team is an example to all clubs. Their dedication to the project is inspiring. They use whatever tools at their disposal to overcome the language barrier and are not deterred by this challenge. Adding translations from English to Portuguese and vice versa has been a great help to everyone. 

Thank you very much for your comment Ruth, I agree with you, at the beginning my biggest concern was communication due to the differences between English and Portuguese, it is clear that Luiz has been a great encourager and motivator of our students, however IC4 shows that the barriers are only in our minds, as our students have shown that they can and want to overcome the boundaries of language, economic, social, cultural and everything that can block human interactions, that's why this project is inspiring. And you, Ruth, are an inspiring person.

Thank you for watching our video. 

Thank you Ashley for the new observation, indeed you being one of the pioneer group for IC4 its a motivation to hear this from you. All the best in your new school.

Tabby, thank you for your comment. In IC4, there are opportunities for every participating student and adult to reflect on their own process of learning and the soft skills you that mention. I have witnessed how the environment with diverse cultures nurtures the learning for everyone, enables learners to take risks and respond positively to challenges.

Hello Dana, thank you for your kind words!

I wish I also had the same opportunity growing up to participate in such an interactive and creative environment like IC4. Going forward, I hope to see more school around the world adopting a similar initiative to create awesome online learning experiences :)

Lucy, 

Es un orgullo para nuestro equipo IC4 poder colaborar contigo y que tu sigas ensenandonos, aprendiendo y mejorando tus abilidades tanto academicas como personales. Esperamos seguir aprendiendo de ti y que tu colaboracion global siga dandonos muchos ejemplos de aprendizaje y comprendimiento de tabajo en equipo. Muchas felicidades!

This particular story speaks to the poignancy of teenagers interacting with each other as they navigate what for too many becomes a life and death grapple.  Thank you for sharing this crucial dimension to the community.

Dear Christine, your note prompts me to consider creating a summary that documents where and how global competencies are reinforced in IC4.  Thank you for your observation.