May his memory be eternal.

I love hearing the children speak words in their official first languages. Cool idea.

Dear Ruth, I totally agree with you. It is really important that the students feel they are not limited in their language abilities, and the fact they can't use any language perfectly is not the reason they shouldn't communicate with other countries' representatives or share their projects. Thank you organisers for the opportunity given ro our students

Nafisa, 

You've not an important aspect that should inform teaching and learning - celebrating what we can do before we're scaffolded to higher levels. Also, the affective domain dozen receive significant attention in education despite the role of emotions and attitudes in learning.

It's true, language should not be a barrier, but an enabler, if we take advantage of appropriate technologies, evident in the IC4 Project.

Dear Ateng',

Agreed.  Just for your point of view, do you think that when children learn science or math outside of their first language, they lose some understandings in the process?

Hi George, thanks for checking out our video, and for your comments!  In response to your question about the types of STEM projects the students engage, it is actually up to the students to decide what they would like to do, and what topic, so long as it is STEM focused. They range from presentations describing a STEM topic (e.g. describing how the engines of race cars differ, the process of how fruit decomposes, trends in cybersecurity) to the design of artifacts (e.g. creating an app to disseminate COVID-information, building a robotics car) or even coding projects (e.g. developing a python webform to help people in less populated areas to self-diagnose COVID symptoms).  The degree of collaboration can range depending on the type of project.  But it's really an outlet for students to share their STEM interests, and in turn, learn from one another.  I'm hopeful we will have some of our student participants chime in over the week to talk more about some of the work they have done.  It's been a tremendous experience to see!

George, good to see you.  There has been interesting work by a network of learning scientists, primarily in Asia, around the construct of "Interest-Driven Creator Theory" (Chee Kit Looi, Tak-Wai Chen, and about two dozen others) that more formally elaborates this interest-driven approach.

Eric,

Thanks for adding a perspective on a theoretical foundation. This complements Danielle's response to George's question on the STEM Content.

True, STEM content is the context of the collaboration and interactions by the participating students. 

Hi Stephen, thank you so much for stopping by our page and watching the video!  Great questions. So, we are very fortunate to have had robust research team members over the years to bring in various viewpoints when we shape our codebook from a grounded analysis of the data. Our team has people from different institutions and countries. Coming up with the labels for constructs is not a perfect process, but we spend a lot of time refining the definition of codes based on what the student says, and avoid researcher inferences on intention. Then of course, we go through a rigorous process of social moderation for all our coding. Our team has been diligent in catching these dynamics as best we can, and while nothing can be perfect, we at least ensure consistency. I hope this addresses some of your questions-- thank you again for checking out our project!

One other aspect of reconciling cultural meanings sounds a little trite, but it is true. - The students do the reconciling.  As they work together, their trust grows and the develop a lot of latitude in understanding each other and navigating meaning.  Especially with help from facilitators from Kenya, Brazil, and US, the process becomes a very moving one of observing how differences are bridged.

Stephen's question is deep and your responses are on point.

Stephen might find additional information at https://ic4.site/index.html

Dr. Jones, we are so grateful you have shown interest in our project and support in our vision, especially in the last two years.  Similarly, we appreciate your commitment to access and inclusion through your work with VR and teachers, and we are so blessed to have crossed paths.  Thank you so much :)

Things have come a long way in real time translation since the project started, and that has been a tremendous help to helping students feel included, yes, but also helping students extend welcome and shared understandings themselves - their own inclusive agency, to be able to bring reasonably accurate translations in different languages.

Hope to have Southern U and A&M involved in some variation of this project, including students from the US Virgin Islands and Ghana :)

Dear Nafisa, thank you so much for your comment-- we have been so grateful to have your involvement and participation in IC4 in the last year!   This actually is a testament to the potential of the STEM for All Showcase.  At last year's showcase, Allan Miller, who had another project regarding his work with Uzbekistan, commented on our page and that's how the connection got started which led to our current partnership.  So incredibly amazing when I think about it.  Thank you for being part of the IC4 community :)

Dear Danielle, thank you a bunch for giving us opportunity to be part of the IC4 family. Iur meetings were highly productive both for me and my students. Mr Allan Miller is one of the most incredible, supportive and talented professional I know. In Uzbekistan we collaborated together with him. I designed first ever STEM class in my Hometown, and Mr Allan was our beacon in the world of STEM which was totally new sphere for me. Even after the completion of our project Mr Allan continues to support us. It really worths a respect.

Nafisa, thank you again.  Hopefully in coming year we will be able to expand participation with Uzbekistan colleagues.  We are very fortunate to work with you.

Dear Pia, wow-- thank you so much for your powerful comment!  We feel your sentiments in the work we get to do with this project.  It has been an amazing journey with these students, the future of our world.  Seeing them come together gives us so much hope as they see their potential together and in collaboration.  Thank you for finding our project :)

Dear Aileen, thank you for this note!  We are so grateful to you for being an advocate for our project since the very beginning-- it's your strong support that helped established such a key partner with South Fayette, which has continued on even as you have retired from the district.  We are so honored you have been on our side, as your excitement and visionary efforts in technology have been inspirational.  We thank you so much!

Your leadership in technology and curriculum innovation has changed countless lives, including ours.  Readers should be aware that you are a giant in educational technology now enjoying a bit of "retirement."  Thank you for coming alongside and enhancing this effort so powerfully.

Eric, 

I remember South Fayette has featured prominently in your work. Could Aileen be among the connecting pillars? I've just watched her amazing 'Digital Promise"

I agree!  She has moved on to a more independent form of daily living as a consultant, but I am eager to find ways that she might be able to be a connector for us.  I hope she is listening!

Lucía, it has been an honor to have you be part of IC4 and see your growth over time!  We have been grateful for your continued involvement amidst your many school activities. You've accomplished so much (even doing the python strand to create projects!) and we are so proud of you.

Lucia says "improved communication skills" and [getting] out of "comfort zone". This self-awareness and setting higher expectations is true testimony of the outcomes of IC4 project.

Kudos

Agree it has been an honor to be alongside you in IC4, Lucia, including during the exceedingly difficult period of losing Mr Ramirez.

Johny, simply put, you rock. Your engagement with the IC4 community has been tremendous, and you do Spring Valley proud with all you have done.  Especially amidst your other involvements in school. Thank you for believing in the potential IC4 can have in impacting your future, and we are just so honored to have you in the community.  We appreciate you!

Juan, your various projects in IC4 have been so memorable!  You bring such passion to the community that has helped to positively impact and shape others as they join IC4.  You are so good at expressing your reflections in ways that are beyond your years.  You've pushed yourself to take on python coding, which is no easy feat.  But your motivation is inspiring.  We are so proud of you for being part of the IC4 community!

Noemi, you are a shining star for us!  Thank you for posting and sharing your experiences, as your viewpoint is such a valuable voice to have in this showcase thread.  Your involvement as a participant, and then continuing on as a facilitator has been a joy to see, as we have seen your growth over time.  We are unbelievably proud of your accomplishments so far and all that lies ahead.  You are amazing :)

I just want to echo Danielle--you are so amazing, Noemi!  Thank you for being such a great leader and facilitator for IC4.  It's been awesome to get to work with you in meet-ups every week :-)

Noemi, we are very proud of your work on projects and as a facilitator now in college.  Shining star indeed.  Well, also very proud of brother Jonathan!

Dr. Baker, thank you so much for sharing such rich commentary for us!  We were so honored to have you be part of our team for so many years, being our advocate and cheerleader with both the project and research.  Your passion and enthusiasm lightened up our meetings.  Your presence at meet-ups was so appreciated by students in helping to create safe spaces for the students to share.  We are so proud of what you are continuing to accomplish.  Thank you, Dr. Baker!

Dr Baker, It was always so wonderful working with you on the IC4 project. Your participation, leadership, and guidance was tremendous!

Kristina, Danielle and Toby,

Thanks for the leadership in IC4. 

I was thrilled to watch Seung's Video on Young Scholars Program, showing amazing testimonies. This confirms that Pepperdine is great institution, molding, mentoring and inspiring innovative professionals.

Ms Gerhart,

Thank you.  We especially value comments by parents.  If there are any observations about how participation has benefitted your daughter, or ways by which you think the project could be improved, we would be grateful to hear.  Otherwise, we deeply appreciate your comments!

Thank you so much for your kind comments! It has been a joy having Heather on our research team; she has been a game changer in moving our work forward, and seeing her analyze and put together papers.  We'll be saying we knew her when :) It's been our privilege-- thank you for supporting her in her endeavors, we are excited to be part of her scholarly journey!

Annie, thank you so much for supporting our project and this page :)

Thank you for supporting the project!

It has truly been an honor to work alongside such a wonderful team. IC4 has grown tremendously over the last few years!

Thank you for taking the time to check out our video and appreciate our work!

Thank you so much for watching and supporting!

Thank you so much, we are hopeful for these outcomes with or project, that having these collaborative experiences early on will help encourage such global collaborative efforts to address larger issues in the future.

You are correct! This project has brought STEM concepts to life in a variety of ways while increasing global collaboration among learners who otherwise would never have met. 

Thank you for watching the video and supporting the project!!

We agree-- even as the researchers on this project, we learn along with the students.  It's an awesome experience for all involved :)

Learning Culture!!!

Thank you for supporting the project! The global effort is truly inspiring!

Often the global nature of our project puts us in awe as we see the shared brilliance of students from different locations.  

Great observation! The global interaction has created some incredible friendships and connections through the IC4 community. Inspiring!

What amazes us is how students are excited to connect with peers, and that excitement can translate into learning.

IC4 has many dimensions to it.  Facilitation and leadership by next generation leaders is one of the key points of impact; you know how immensely proud we are that you came alongside of this project and have served it with such aplomb and grace while immersed in your university mathematics studies, Ateamate.  Thank you does not begin to cover it.

Ateamate, your leadership in the IC4 program has been simply amazing. Your ability to facilitate meetings and guide so many of the learners has been invaluable!

Ateamate, you are are an incredible light to us and this project!  I am so proud we could be part of your life journey, becoming such an incredible career woman and putting your mind to work.  Your contributions to the IC4 community are too many to count, and the sense of community people feel is in large part to your guidance and leadership. Thank you for giving so much of yourself to this shared vision for IC4 and serving our students so selflessly.  We are so grateful for all you do.  In awe, Danielle 

Dear Ms Aguilar,

It is especially poignant to read your comment.  For other readers, Jacky Aguilar is spouse of Israel Ramirez, whose untimely passing in March has affected countless lives.  Jacky and Israel have been integral to the line of research that led to this project for many years.  They have been the quintessential school partners who have helped shape the direction of our joint work, have articulated our work more clearly than we have, and have inspired us and their students without fail.  Israel has been the "Maestro" as one of his colleagues put it.  I simply call him my hero.

Ms. Jacky, we are so grateful to you for your heart and care with IC4 over the years, in collaboration with Israel.  There are no words that can truly account for the incredible contributions you both have made to developing our community.  Israel was such a memorable force to everyone he interacted with, from students and colleagues alike. His energy and passion poured out of every conversation, even through computer screens, and left an impact on people around the world.  Students grew in confidence and belief in themselves because Israel empowered them to.  He's a spirit and force we all will hold as an example in our lives.  We are so grateful to you for sharing him with us, and the world.

Jacky, we celebrate you for being a pillar in Israel's life. Thank you for being part of IC4.

From us in Africa, we are indebted to your family for believing in the course to develop human capital. May Israel sing with the Angels!

Folashade,

It's also more of mentorship and self-drive that defines the evolution of great facilitators. What I admire about IC4 is that there are no standard requirements besides one's passion and commitment. The growth is also catalysed by having icons to look up to, like Prof. Hamilton. Much of the learning is also peer-driven.

This is inspiring. 

Well said-- Ateamate represents the hope for our future :)

Good question!  There is some training, but for the most part it comes from experience.  Our current peer facilitators, Noemi and Luiza, have guidance and encouragement from Ateamate (a longtime facilitator since 2017) but they do ultimately make it their own.  The goal as a facilitator is to help guide the conversation rather than control, so while they help move things along, the participants are meant to be the main focus.  We have been so grateful to have a team of incredible young women leading in facilitator roles!

Marie, thank you.  The connections, I think, can be described as a self-organized system with some additional guidance.  The connections virtually all predate the project or were formed in some other organic setting.  There have been multiple contexts with many actors in which connections were made, then explored for this type of collaboration, and then formalized.  Only about 20% of the connections where a strong link seemed likely actually came to pass, since participation in the network involves many steps, agreements, and time-shuffling by those involved.

The type of collaboration once a group is in the network then is driven by the level of reciprocal interest and time that project-specific collaborators can share. This is just like normal project collaborations - it is based on natural, self-reinforcing interest and the availability of the students to meet together given their different schedules.  It is a pretty natural process that we experience in other contexts. Students and their teacher facilitators do need to communicate with their collaborators, and it is on that basis that projects unfold.  I am not sure that answers the query, but I hope it helps.

We would be very happy to discuss the project more with the Friday Institute.  It plays an important role in the national STEM education community.  Thank you!

Thank you, Eric! We have been trying to think through different models for what PBI Global collaboration could look like across schools and cultures. This is very helpful for us to think through as part of our discussions!

I agree that the IC4 project allows the students to explore their interests in a collaborative and supportive environment! Thank you for this great observation!

I concur, the experience has the potential to impact students long after their involvement, especially in contributing to future career choices and experiences.  Thank you for taking the time to check out our project :)

What a wonderful comment and observation! You have captured and articulated one of the important efforts of the IC4 network! Thank you for your interest in the project and the community!

Hi Patricia, thank you for your thoughtful words.  We couldn't agree more with your assessment, and we have done our best to reflect this in some of our research papers in hopes of promoting these kinds of collaborations in learning settings.  Building confidence is perhaps one of the key comments students share-- since they are connecting globally, it's an entirely different scenario they would get in the classroom otherwise.  We are so grateful for all the learners and educators we've gotten to working with!  

Dear Julia, please recieve my deep gratitude for your excellent work. The video you have created is amazing.

I have to echo Nafisa's praise-- we have been so honored to have your involvement on our research team. From the hard work of supporting students with the meet-ups on early morning calls to helping with research endeavors with qualitative coding, to helping Dante put together our video these last two years, has been awesome.  We are so honored to have your talents and efforts in this project, and I'm so glad others have a chance to see the work you put in!  Thank you, Julia :) 

Very glad to see the ENA tool becoming increasingly useful to you!

Ruth, I'm so glad to hear your update about Favour and how her involvement helped her to do better in school.  She always brought so much enthusiasm to the meet-ups, we are so grateful you were able to connect Cameroon to the network!  

We miss Mr. Ramirez greatly too... he generated inspiration to pretty much any student and educator he interacted with by simply speaking. 

Thank you for supporting the project!

Dr. S, thank you for your continued support over the years with our project and quantitative ethnography :)  Your care for us does not go unnoticed!  Thank you for believing in our work.  We are truly so grateful!! 

Thank you Melkizedek Owour for your kind comments and for sharing about your exciting work. I am elated to hear that African Maths Initiative(AMI) planted a seed in you and you have become a great leader promoting STEM education! What you are doing is exactly what IC4 envisioned from the beginning - to inspire students collaborate and identify themselves as teachers seeking to help peers understand STEM topics. I will visit Kibera space.

African Maths Initiative is an amazing effort, and I know it has planted mathematical seeds in Africa in ways that are unique and truly powerful.  Melkizedek, I hope to have occasion to meet you when I am able to journey against to Kenya and Kibera.  Congratulations on your work.

Melkizedek, thank you for your thorough comment, and for sharing your work with KASA! This looks like such an incredible project that would intersect with IC4 nicely.  But kudos to you on all you do with inspiring and impacting learners in Kibera, and giving them a space to help dreams become reality.  We're so grateful you took the time to write us so thoughtfully, and I echo Eric and Zach's sentiments :)

Zach,

Thanks for the great work in AMI and IC4. It's gratifying to note that the seed in Owuor is flourishing at KASA. I too need to check on KASA and meet the team there

Thank you Ms Kempt.  One of the most exciting developments of the past year or so has been the degree to which language translation technologies have made it more possible for students to communicate while using their original language.  It is an amazing development.

Thank you so much for making that observation-- we are grateful that the students are excited enough that they are willing to persevere through potential language barriers to participate and work with one another, we are so fortunate!

Thank you Di MacLenan for your great question. Anyone aged between 7-17 excited about STEM learning could become a member of IC4. Interested participants voluntarily approach IC4 club leaders in communities and request to join IC4 clubs. This includes students and out of school youths. IC4 participants do also share their experiences and activities in the clubs with their friends, siblings, classmates, family members, acquaintances etc. who become enthused.  

Di, thank you for stopping by our page!  Zach covered your question, the only thing I'll add is that the clubs currently do have to have site approval from either the school or nonprofit to operate (we work with nonprofits to have flexibility to have students from different schools, especially outside the U.S.).  So as long as IC4 is around, they are welcome to join!  I also hope you are settling into FL nicely:)

Danielle and Zach,

The operations of IC4 requires flexibility. I know the re-organized school calendar as a result of COVID-19 pandemic has had some impact. Hope schools would find space to approve such programs, especially in Kenya 

Reginne has written,

This project is unique. I am eternally grateful for being able to be present at IC4. They are extraordinary children with brilliant minds, a unique vision for knowledge and growth through the challenges of learning. To be able to reaffirm how small we are many times in our wit and through the whole group, teachers and students, to be able to broaden our minds and see how great is the charisma and humility of these great young men and women and how much knowledge and values they show us all the time.

We are grateful to you, Michelli, as an educator in Brazil to have observed students during meet-ups!  Thanks so much for your support of our efforts, and believing in the potential that students have when participating in IC4.  

Somos gratos a você, Michelli, como educador no Brasil por ter observado os alunos durante os encontros! Muito obrigado por seu apoio aos nossos esforços e por acreditar no potencial que os alunos têm ao participar do IC4.

Thank you.  I am not really sure that we help Zoom implementations, though we were doing Zoom before the pandemic.  But we are trying to understand ways that students can learn and acquire competences more richly when when collaborate over these international borders, and how they can model the intellectual and social richness of a diverse team.

I do want to echo the comment about us being early adaptors (we were already using Zoom in early 2018), and how the global nature enriches the social aspect in ways that complement the learners' localized classroom experience.

This articulates well how you and the team have structured experiences for our students.  We are all deeply indebted to you for your creativity and management, and pedagogies that are combine compassion with excellence in pedagogical design.  Thank you sir.

Zach, we owe so much to you for helping our IC4 connection in Kenya thrive as much as it has.  You have brought so many brilliant people to the group.  Thank you for giving us so much of your time over the many years, since the very beginning and early days of 2016, your dedication has persisted.  Your passion and innovation keeps us going.  You are the best :) 

Thank you SO much for your comment and appreciation for our project!  We are grateful that our students are able to do so much :)

Thank you for you for your support :)  I have to give kudos to Julia on our team for thinking of how to simplify the explanation of ENA for a general audience-- as a humanities person with a talent for video production, she thought of what would be best to put in the script if she were to describe it to a friend or family member.  We're glad it translates!!

We're glad you think so :)  Though I'm intrigued how you were able to get an emoji in this post, I need to find the secret option :p

um yes, please share how to insert the emoji, sir.

It is great to have one of Singapore's future leaders participating in the project.  Thank you for serving your peers in Mexico, UAE, Kenya, and USA, Yik Ting.  Greatly and gratefully appreciated :)

Thanks for your time and effort with the python strand these last several weeks, your dedication speaks volumes to how valuable peer to peer interactions can be!

Thank you for this comment and observation! The global nature of the cross-cultural interactions is very inspiring to witness!

We are grateful that the community provides a source of encouragement among peers, especially building confidence in presentation and communication skills :)

Dr. Houston, we are grateful to have your support in our project-- I can sense the passion and enthusiasm that is quintessentially you seeping through the text, I love it!  Thank you for sharing your thoughts, which accurately states a lot of our hopes with our project aims to impact young learners for the better :)

I am especially interested in seeing where and how your research and insights on STEM education and the career paths of female engineers and female engineering executives might help us form critical learnings for this project.  I think your research has lessons for addressing underrepresentation and increasing full participation in the national STEM workforce.  Thank you!

Thank you for this comment! I was impressed when I saw students from different continents share festivals from their own cultures with others. Especially during the pandemic period, when students have a hard time going out to see the world by themselves, this community gives them a chance to promote their cultural awareness during their meet-ups.

Heinz, thank you for sharing your thoughts about IC4.  We have been fortunate to have you participate in meet-ups, so we know you are able to speak from experience.  Thank you for sharing!

Patrick, thank you so much for your support to our project, especially with our sites in Kenya.  You have contributed greatly to the IC4 community by getting learners involved; we are so grateful to you for your heart and dedication!

One thing that has struck us is how you created conditions for a new IC4 site, and for that we thank you.  Can you think of anything unexpected that you learned in this process?

Thank you for your contributions to the IC4 community!

Griffin, we have been honored to have your exceptional talents and participation in the IC4 community!  Thank you for always being so willing to help others and share whenever you can.  You have achieved so much during your time at SF, and your future in academia is filled with so much promise-- we'll be saying we knew you when!  We appreciate you taking the time to comment :)

Thank you also for sharing about Mr. Ramirez-- your account is consistent with how most people remember him, as someone who always encouraged and shared passion with others.  As you say, his impact on others is his legacy.  

Dr. Morett, we are grateful to have you take time to comment on our project!  Glad you found the explanation of ENA helpful.  In the particular example that Julia narrated (she also wrote the script on this portion based on one of our research papers), we share in the paper that there are essentially complementing patterns of discourse generated from prompts and lack of prompts; essentially, we would think prompting might heavily influence the discourse, but it doesn't dominate.  

As for the topics students choose, it really is driven by their interest-- sometimes they are inspired for a topic based on their area, and sometimes they are influenced by each other; after having a heavily facilitated experience in the classroom, the learners tend to find it freeing to select whatever topic they want.  

We hope to dive more deeply into how these experiences shape student identity, and also how this can translate from informal to in-classroom settings.

Thank you so much for the complement-- the unique global engagement helps to draw students in to participate :)

Appreciate your support and checking out our project :)  

Dr. Brown, thank you so much for stopping by to support our project!  Glad you found the ENA insights valuable, it was a lot to pack into a short video, but we're grateful to our team members Dante Schulz and Julia Savoca Gibson for their efforts in putting this together-- they are respectively graduating from George Washington University and College of William and Mary respectively, and we have been so honored to have them work on putting this video together the last two years, and in Dante's case, the last four.  I'll take advantage of this moment to congratulate the Class of 2022 :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on the IC4 project video!  We have been so fortunate to have your involvement with the python coding strand, everyone's experience was enriched because of your dedication and efforts.  We hope you will take the experience with you and be encouraged in your teaching and collaboration skills in the future!

Dr. Same Etame, thanks for your thoughtful and extensive post about our project!  We appreciate you taking the time to reflect on or efforts so thoroughly and include such rich insights and the impact our project can have on learners.  We have been so impressed by our students and their involvement in IC4 beyond their classroom experience, as a way to enrich their learning based on their own interests.  We hope that others get to see the benefit in the very insightful ways you have shared.  Thank you again!

Greetings Ms. Espino,

First and foremost, I would like to once again, take my hat off to Dr. Hamilton, to you and the other co-principal investigators, to the whole team at IC4, and to all those who day in and day out, have contributed to the success of this unique adventure where everyone can become anyone. Education is a human right, not a privilege; more importantly, education is the equalizer, and most importantly, education is a common good; hence those who have that clear understanding, more than just motivating, inspire the youth to embrace it with grace and resolve. IC4 through its global outreach and talent development program, focuses on creating content through community collaboration across cultural, linguistic, and national boundaries. As transformational and servant leaders, Dr. Hamilton, and his co-principal investigators including you, have built and continue to nurture social capital by bonding and bridging participants around the world. You are the champions in the creation and dissemination of knowledge through information sharing, cross-cultural awareness, curiosity, participatory teaching, media production, collaborative disposition, social capital, cultural capital, and feedback. You are the epitome of "First Thing First." You are the true and real champions.

Kudos to you all for making the World a better Place to Be....

Dr. GR, we are humbled to have your eyes on our project!  We have been so proud of how every student is able to value each others' perspectives from around the globe with such respect, especially when it comes to language.  Thanks for your support :)

Grateful for your involvement on the team!  We appreciate your efforts with all that goes into helping us get ready for meet-up analysis :)  Excited for you as you continue the dissertation journey while working with us!

What a ride it's been, right?  You were with us in the OG days when we were figuring things out, and crazy how things have evolved in the best way.  As always, grateful for you being on the team again and diving into all things research while still having a passion for the project itself :)

Heather, you have been such an incredible addition to our research team, and we've been blown away by your ability to pick things up so quickly and your pristine work ethic-- a dream to have!  Your insights from a psychology standpoint have been so valuable.  Thank you for caring about the project and seeing how the learners are impacted by their experience and involvement in IC4.  We appreciate you!

Agree with this sentiment, and feel that your research has helped fill an important need for writeups and papers.  If you have a chance, interested in learning if there are one or two things that are most unexpected about your experience in IC4 and in your synthesizing findings from it for article submission....

Haille, it's awesome to hear about your global teaching experience, what a great connection to our work!  Indeed, when learners connect across geographical boundaries, it broadens so much perspective.  Thank you for taking the time to comment-- we have been grateful to have you be involved in our QE methodology endeavors and moving research forward!

Haile, as someone who has participated in this kind of interaction, are there lessons you have acquired or insights you have formed that perhaps you did not expect?

Shad, it has been an honor to have you involved in our IC4 community for so long-- one of our original site leaders!  I think you, Zach and Israel/Jacky have been our longest IC4 partners, and we could not be more grateful.  It's been quite a journey in evolving the project community, but the aim and outcome has persisted-- for students to have enriching, interest driven learning experiences motivated by global connection through meet-ups.  Thank you for sharing your observations and thoughts above-- your perspective as a site leader is critical to have in our conversations/discussions about IC4.  You and Mr. AJ Mannarino have been so awesome at South Fayette!  Thank you for everything!

Ethan, thanks for taking the time to comment on IC4!  you've seen it evolve with insights from our beloved Dr. Hamilton ;)   I want to echo your sentiments of thanking everyone who has been involved to move this work forward, many of whom are on this discussion page, ranging from our research team, site leaders, parents, supporters, and most important-- our students, and heartbeat of the IC4 community :)

Dr. Carson, thank you so much for taking the time to check out our video, and for recognizing the value our effort to developing youth for the future!

Liz, feeling so humbled by your supportive words and sentiments towards our work.  Thank you for finding hope in our young people when they are able to come together globally to learn and grow-- we share it too :)  And thanks for all you do to help shape minds for the future through learning experiences too!

Dear Cyrus, thanks for your support and commenting on the project!  It's great to have your perspective here as a site leader in Kenya who has supported students in the IC4 community over the many years we have been fortunate to operate; we are so grateful for the work you have contributed to building up learners in the program.  Thank you for being here to represent!

Cyrus, hope to have opportunity in the future to learn how you situate an effort like IC4 into other rich activities such as those that you students at Mpesa experience.  Thank you for your comment.

Agreed, thankful you found our use of ENA in our research useful.  Hope there can be some usefulness in your own work too in examining global teams.  We're just starting early :)

Wow, thank you so much for this thoughtful and thorough comment and assessment of IC4!  I appreciate the dot connecting you've articulated with how all the people involved maneuver and impact each other.  We are truly grateful for our community, and supporters like you who see the richness and value that comes from it.  The use of ENA to help us do our analysis to boot just makes it all the more exciting-- and as you describe, has a great geek attractant (can we borrow that for other presentations? :).  Thanks for your support and interest in our work-- we know you are making great strides in supporting our collective research efforts!!  Glad to have you on board.

Thanks for the kudos on the video creators!  We are honored to have Dante and Julia who led this effort, and are both graduating from college this month-- we have been so blessed.

Oh, and more importantly, I know that Eric will love the baseball analogy you made at the beginning ;)  

Ateng',

I totally agree with you. Israel was a strong pillar in mentoring and getting the best out of the IC4 members. He was a light to everyone who had a chance to interact with him and impacted many people. We will remember his greatness forever!

We are always in awe of your support over the years-- we owe much to you for establishing our most critical connection in Kenya, and with Zach, who has sustained our partnership for so many years.  Your heart is golden.

I want to echo your words of dedication about Israel-- he really was a true mentor for all of us. Dedicating our video this year was the least we could do, but his legacy will live on through the many students he empowered with his encouragement!

Thank you for stopping by-- we have a lot of research papers, but this showcase video is the one opportunity where we get to disseminate to a wider audience in a much more accessible way :)

Hope to have more opportunity in the future to connect this work to your efforts in promoting design thinking and user-centered problem solving, Ms Johnson.  Thank you.

So grateful for your support of our efforts, and for seeing the value of these global collaborations in enriching student learning.  We hope that these kind of efforts can have a broader impact and adoption so others can have the same great privilege of getting to see the interactions and impact firsthand too :)  Thank you for taking the time to make it to our page!

Thank you for making it to our page!  Honored to have you check out our project.  So a little bit about epistemic network analysis (ENA), it was actually developed by the Epistemic Analytics Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who have been incredible supporters of our work (shout out to Dr. Brendan Eagan who helped push us along in brilliant ways). ENA has both a webtool and an R package which is free and currently available (anyone interested should check out the website: https://www.qesoc.org/epistemic-network-analysi... ENA is a technique within the broader methodology of Quantitative Ethnography, essentially applying quant techniques on qual data, in a book published in 2017 by Dr. David W. Shaffer.  The methodology has been a game changer for us in better understanding the results of our work.  

As for the identity development aspect, this is a newer/different RQ we are exploring. Students have expressed and demonstrated a shift in how they understand/see themselves after their experience. There is a unique identity set that learners develop, which we are in the midst of formulating into an initial article.  There is so much more to explore and ways to leverage QE to help us understand identity development better, and we have another proposal in the works focused on this.  We're hopeful we'll have an opportunity to explore it more deeply in the future!

I echo the appreciation for our video creators/directors!  Dante Schulz, who was a participant in IC4 when he started this journey with us, continued through college and just graduated this past weekend from George Washington University, and is now moving forward with a role as a Research Fellow :)  We have been so honored to have him be part of our team!  Also Julia Savoca Gibson, who joined us two years ago and has made such an impact with our meet-ups, research analysis and like Dante, lending us her magical talents in video creation.  Julia graduates this weekend from the College of William and Mary.  Their dedication across time zones (especially when the rest of the project team is West coast based in the U.S.) speaks to their specialness.  Thank you, Dante and Julia :)

And of course, our hearts are with the legendary Mr. Jose Israel Ramirez Gamez.   We are forever impacted by his passion and presence.  He was a cheerleader and inspiration to as all when we needed it the most.  

Dr. Ana Paula, having AREA join the IC4 community was such a refreshing game changer-- thank you for being our incredible South American partners!  You and Dr. Arquimedes have been so enthusiastic and critical for our goals in connecting students, we are grateful for your partnership and sharing the vision!  Thanks for all your support these last several years :)

Thank you for letting Maria Cecília be part of our community.  It has been an honor to have her participate!  That's when you know someone cares and believes in what we do in IC4, you trusted to have your daughter be involved and got to see the impact firsthand :)  

Appreciate you stopping by to check out the video-- glad it warrants amazing :)

Dear Maria Cecília, it has been such a privilege seeing you participate and grow over the years-- your enthusiasm and confidence has been such a joy to see :)  Thank you for wanting to continue to be part of the IC4 community, and sharing the impact it has had on you with others!

Thank you for sharing such a powerful statement on the potential impact of the IC4 experience on future generations.  We are grateful for your support, and letting Maria Cecília be involved-- because of that, you have the perspective both as a parent and researcher on the impact experiences from IC4 can have.  Thank you for expressing it here :)