School: Shanghai Community International School Hongqiao
    Shanghai, Shanghai, China

4 students, ages 13, 14, 15, 14 worked together to complete this Doors to Diplomacy project on March 7, 2012. They have participated in Doors to Diplomacy in the following year(s): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Classes and Teachers: Amy Brill, Carson, Janie, Tiffany, Lou Salome

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://hq.scischina.org

1. Description of Our Team

Carson- She is 13 years old, she was in charge of citations and editing. Janie- She is 14 years old, she was in charge of putting together the research and wrote most of what is in English. Tiffany- She is 15 years old, and was in charge of getting Chinese research, translating and pictures, and artsy stuff. Lou Salome- She is 14 years old, and was in charge of translating from English to Chinese.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our DTD project is about how horrible some orphans are treated all around the world. A lot of orphanages do not put that much time and effort into helping the kids, by keeping the malnourished, and in need of clothes and shelter. We think that with the help of diplomacy, this could change, and help the orphans of the world for the better.

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:not sure

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Our school gives us computers. We each have our own at school, and at home, therefore we did most of our research on the computer.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Our group had numerous issues to overcome to make this project work. One issue was a personality problem. Two of our team members were constantly trying to take charge of the project and sometimes made it very difficult to get anything done. Another issue that we had to face was the slow internet speed in China. Also, a lot of the websites we tried to access were blocked due to the internet censorship in China.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

This Doors to Diplomacy project has taught us (as a group) to appreciate other's talents and how to work in a group quickly and efficiently.

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

We talked about Orphanages of the World. For example, we talked about how bad people treat to those poor children all throughout the world. We learned a lot about using iWeb to create a website, and we also learned how to work in a small group, and how to work through our problems. We used the Internet a lot to help us through this all. Our school interacts through the computer. We did all of our research on the Internet. This gave us a broader perspective on what the world thinks about orphanages.

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

* We used four Macbooks. We used our computers to do the research and one of the four to make the website. * We already owned our computers * No, we have our own computers. * Our computers, I guess. We did all the work on them. *I think for our group, we relied on our computers, and the internet the most.

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

Our team felt it was a great thing to be ambassadors for our school, and its community. We all believe we are very good students, and that represents our school very well. We think that if we can make a difference in the world, everybody can.

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

I think that our project will open eyes to the community about horrible problems that orphans are conflicted with. There are many problems with this world, and this is one of them. If we just open everyones eyes to the bad things that go on in these atrocious homes they call orphanages, we might be able to change the way orphanages are run, for the better. Children will be treated better, and people will be happier.

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

Our group had a few inner working group problems. We had our English teacher Ms. Brill help us with this. But we mainly did our project on our own.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We learned so much about orphanages in different places around the world. It was a great learning experience for us all about diplomacy, about our issue, and how to work with others. We know that Doors to Diplomacy showed many of the kids in our groups school how to be diplomatic, which is something they might not have learned before. This project gave us a better understanding of the world around us, not only from researching our topic, but also looking at our peers websites. Our group had an amazing time working on this project.