School: National College 'Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi'
    Radauti, Romania, Romania

4 students, ages 17-19 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 16, 2010. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2008, 2010

Classes and Teachers: The students that have worked on this project benefited from the help and support of their teachers, Ms. Corina Ionescu and Ms. Loredana Circiu. They also involved students from various classes and levels of study from our high school.

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.cnhurmuzachi.ro/

1. Description of Our Community

Our local community is made of approximately 40,000 people, inhabitants of our town and of the nearby villages. We believe that they need to become more aware of the health hazards that modern eating diets could represent and that is why we have designed this project and have advertised it in our community.

2. Summary of Our Project

“Plead for a Healthy Life” is a project aimed at presenting the general context of eating habits nowadays. We have tried to include a short history of diet, the main components of people’s eating habits, the pluses and minuses of a vegetarian diet and also those of a diet based on meat, and we have attempted at making people aware that food is both global and local problem because agriculture and animal breeding are the World’s oldest occupations. Moreover nowadays countries are marching towards a process of food globalization and we feel it is our duty and responsibility to draw attention and suggest solutions with a view to improving local life quality and to protecting our environment. It is a global problem that must be solved locally. When we started work on this project, everybody said that it is useless because there is so much talk nowadays about junk food and its potential dangers. However this did not deter us from voicing our concerns. We are aware that only by working together, by believing in our cause and by involving as many people as possible, will we reach the results we hope for and that means that by fighting for a healthier life together we will also manage to build a better world for all of us and for the next generations.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

As enjoyable as working for this project has been, we must admit that there have been drawbacks but fortunately we managed to overcome them. Firstly our school schedule is so tight that at times it has been a real problem to try to work on the project without neglecting our school duties. Secondly there have been internet connection problems. Thirdly the research process called on huge effort due to the countless and very varied resources that had to be analyzed in a short time. Last but not least there have been problems with designing the website. With a lot of patience and luck we have managed to find solutions and we worked in a team.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Our project will draw our mates' attention to the big problems their diet could represent if they are not very cautious and if they live to eat instead of eating to live.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

Our project is closely linked to the school curriculum used in our Biology classes. It is also a source of information for fellow students and even teachers of other subjects. By working in a team we acquired and perfected cooperation skills. It has also offered us a broad understanding of international relationships and of the impact of globalization on food. As for the methods and discoveries used we have relied mostly on traditional means (books, questionnaires, magazines) without forgetting the Internet which has also provided us with information. To show how computers can improve the teaching process you can view our video containing real class practice.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

To complete our project we used six computers belonging to our team members, six mobile phones (ours as well), a camera (Alex’s), a scanner (Veronica’s), many books either from our teachers or from the library. As part of our project we have made a survey which gave us a chance to talk to other students (around 100) or to people in the street (around 25). The most useful technologies were our computers on which we use Microsoft Office and the camera because we used them to do research, record information, write our project and do the final draft.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

When we first started working on this project we didn’t know much about what it would involve, so we started by talking to the teachers who talked to other people and we ourselves talked to our parents, friends and relatives, trying to see what each of them thought about the subject we dealt with. Little by little, the teachers gave us more freedom and encouraged us to take initiative and get in contact with more and more people, not only from the school, but also from different organizations, institutions and even leading members of our community. We had to set up appointments, meet people in person, interview people in the street, gather opinions from students, doctors, nutritionists and other categories.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Like any “CyberFair” project, we are trying to make a difference to the world. We have already started by going to different groups in our school and talked to them about our project and what it means. We have also convinced our high school to give us space on its official website to host our project. Furthermore we will publish articles in local and regional magazines or newspapers. All in all we are confident that our project will be a starting point and a challenge for our fellow students and our community, which will give them an insight into the importance of using international affairs and diplomacy in solving any global problem such as that of diets that our project depicts. By teaching our local community more about health we will bring them all together in a joined effort to live a fulfilled life.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

We would like to thank all those who have helped us with this project: our families and friends, our teachers and fellow students, the respondents to our questionnaire (especially forms 9A, 10B, 11B and 12A). Without them our task would have been a lot more difficult if not impossible. They have offered us support, encouragement, useful advice, patience. Last but not least we want to thank the technical staff from Global School for their assistance, patience and support in all difficulties.