Cyber Bridges Stories
Bridges to Viet Nam
Exactly a year ago, high school students in New Jersey and California figuratively dipped their toes into the Red River which runs through Viet Nam and made friends with Vietnamese teens by participating in Cyber Bridges. In preparation, principals, assistant principals, teachers and education officials from Viet Nam visited St. Peter the Apostle High School in New Brunswick, NJ and Mercy High School in San Francisco to acquaint themselves with their partner schools and meet the teachers and students.
After the visit, Martina O'Sullivan, Religious Studies teacher at Mercy High School wrote, "It was wonderful to meet Vietnamese delegates. Mercy was totally impressed and happy with the visit. I love Cyber Bridges and want to encourage the girls to first develop a relationship with the Vietnamese students in their groups and then go on the discussion boards."
Party Like Your Partner
This video-conference marked the first time Cyber Bridges participants were able to communicate directly in real time. And what better way to learn about one another than with a cross-cultural celebration?
Meet The Mentors
Meng Muoykheng and Lim Sowanvicheth are third-year students at the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. They are both studying Information Technology and were attracted to Cyber Bridges because of the innovative use of the Internet connecting Cambodian and American teens. Cyber Bridges is being implemented through Youth for Peace, a Cambodian organization dedicated to empowering youth through training and experiential learning to become active, informed citizens.
Meet Nicholas Harami
Nicholas is an eighteen-year-old student in Jerusalem and a very enthusiastic proponent of Cyber Bridges. "My dream is to live in a peaceful world. Thanks to Cyber Bridges, I'm learning about cross-cultural communication and working for social justice with American students."
Cambodia to California Connections
De La Salle High School in Concord, California is now connected to Youth for Peace in Cambodia. In October, freshman students in Concord embarked on a journey across virtual bridges to expand awareness of their peers in Cambodia and to fulfill some of the requirements for World History and Service Learning. De La Salle is piloting Cyber Bridges in one class with a view to expanding the program to eight freshman classes next academic year.
Cambodian participants are all members of a peacebuilding organization called Youth for Peace based in the capital city, Phnom Penh. They range in age from 14-22 with the older college-aged students acting as mentors to the secondary school students.
Within days of workshop in Cambodia, there were messages and photos flying between California and Cambodia over the Cyber Bridges website. In the "getting to know each other" introduction stage, teen-agers exchanged information on their favorite foods and music, families, daily routines and their dreams for the future. Americans learned about the recent Water Festival which takes place every year on the Mekong River and Cambodians saw pictures of steak and shrimp. Later in the school year, the participants will exchange information on how to organize a celebration in their respective countries, and then have a party like their partners.
Check this website for updates on the Cambodia to California connection.
Bishop Ahr High School Connects to India
Students at Bishop George Ahr High School in Edison, New Jersey will be the first Cyber Bridges group to be connected to students in the Diocese of Thanjavur in southern India. Technology Curriculum Coordinator Ann Marie Pacciano and Computer Science teacher Adele Demarco will be leading the initiative as Mrs. Demarco's third and sixth period students put their computer skills to work with Indian students in Thanjavur.