School: Riverside School
    Prague, n/a, Czech Republic

24 students, ages 12-13 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 16, 2012. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): n/a

Classes and Teachers: David Hellam

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.riversideschool.cz

1. Description of Our Community

Our community is the multi-faceted expatriate communities within the city of Prague. Our 24 students in Grade 7 alone are drawn from at least 12 different nations. The students have many strengths, however, for a high proportion of them, English is not their first language, which is why we have tried to reach out to their peers using a variety of media the feel more comfortable with.

2. Summary of Our Project

The premise is what if... What if a single student decides to take action to become more environmentally friendly; wastes less energy, recycles more etc - and tells their friends - what if they do the same, what impact would that have on their families and communities?

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:more than 6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

A high proportion of our students speak English as a second language, although we are an English-medium international school. It was therefore easier for them to communicate through using other media.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

The project has given us the opportunity to use different media to highlight environmental issues across our school through the use of the surveys and our other projects. We hope the games and our other work will have a greater impact.

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

The project fits into our web design unit for Grade 7. Students had to design page layouts, cascading stylesheets and graphical buttons - the final design for the site was a combination of several students' work. Students also created surveys using the forms from Google apps for education, and used the spreadsheet tools to create charts of the data and attempted to analyse them. Students also worked with Scratch to create simple games to fit in with the theme and used photostory to create slideshows.

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

Our resource center has 18 networked computers and an interactive whiteboard. In addition to this, students have had the opportunity to visit a recycling centre, the local zoo and recycled art installations - all of which have been drawn upon in their work.

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

The students needed to write persuasively in order to persuade participants to answer their survey questions. The students also acted as ambassadors for the school on the field trips they went on.

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

At this point, we feel that this is an early stage for seeing the impact of the project. We intend to share the survey activity with other schools to see if this will help stimulate similar activity. The one thing that is noticeable is the awareness of switching off unnecessary lights and a willingness to recycle more that this project has stimulated in the 7th Grade.

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

Our students found the information from their field trip to the local recycling plant to be particularly helpful.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

I am always amazed by the resourcefulness of students when they are allowed to unleash their creativity through programming their own multimedia-rich games, interactive presentations and simulations.