..I will finally introduce myself briefly and then would
like to share with you the project I am currently working on.
I was until this year the technology facilitator at the Greenfield
Center School in Greenfield MA which supports K - 8. I completed my
Masters in Teaching with Internet Technologies at Marlboro
College a year or so ago. I have recently begun to facilitate a couple
of online courses working with teachers who wish to incorporate the
Internet and online tools into their curricular efforts with an emphasis
on the importance of understanding the pedagogical intent. I have also
been working on the educational online component of the Cambodian Master
Performers Program. It is this project that I would like to introduce
you to and invite you to join. I will tell you a bit about it and if you
A bit about the program - A quarter century of terror during which
intellectuals and performers were systematically killed has left
Cambodia with few surviving artists. Because Cambodian performing and
musical arts have no written system of transmittal -- all training is by
direct contact between a student and a teacher -- a thousand year
tradition of performing arts has nearly disappeared. The Cambodian
Master Performers Program (CMPP) is nurturing its return by finding the
few remaining Masters and funding them to teach again. It is an
all-volunteer organization with no paid staff and was founded in 1997 by
Arn Chorn-Pond, a Cambodian refugee who survived the Khmer Rouge camps,
and by Alan Morgan, a Quaker active in Cambodian humanitarian efforts.)
It also offers an educational component - Masters in the Classroom
offers structured learning activities for the weeks before and after the
Journey and allows students to explore Cambodia and to work with what
they're learning in creative ways. Learning skills such as critical
thinking, communication, and analysis are nurtured through
developmentally-appropriate constructivist activities. Students also
enhance their computer skills (Internet navigation and searching, Email,
multimedia authoring, and word processing) while they learn about the
country where the Masters live. On-line lessons in geography, history,
culture and music tutor students in a self-paced learning style.
Journey to the Masters 2000 - The Journey to the Masters takes place in
November, to coincide with the Cambodian River Festival. Access to the
Educators’ Zone in October prepares teachers to introduce students to
the geography, history and culture of Cambodia and to the current
Cambodian Masters prior to the Journey. Pictures, journals,
observations, interviews, videos, and music are posted to the Web site
daily from Cambodia during the trip.
This year the Cambodian Master Performers Program has received a
foundation grant that will enable us to invite classrooms to join us on
the Journey to the Masters 2000. Because of this generous funding
donation, we can offer 200 classrooms free subscriptions to our
Educators’ Zone (http://www.cambodianmasters.org/educators.htm)
I hope this wasn't too long. I also hope that some of you can join us
this year. Andy, I have visited your Cambodian site and thought you
might be particularly interested in this program.
Take care,
Peggy Londahl
lonwal@shaysnet.com
www.cambodianmasters.org
