How we connect schools
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The Global Buddy program matches schools from its global network and helps them to connect. Our network includes thousands of students from schools across five continents. Matching the correct schools involves many factors such as language skills, time difference, age group and learning goals. We then work with teachers, school administrators, student organizations and NGOs to set up a program that is appropriate for each school. Most programs include regularly scheduled video conferences as an in-class or after-school activity. Other programs include interaction of individual students using social networking tools.
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Why schools participate
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Schools participate in a Global Buddy program for many different reasons. A Chinese and an American high school may participate as part of their respective foreign language classes. Students write emails, interview each other for papers and collaborate on blogs. An Italian school may connect with a school in Kenya as part of a social studies class. High schools in Afghanistan and the US may schedule video conferences as part of an after-school global education initiative. The reasons are diverse, but the principle is the same: peer-to-peer support, students reaching out to students.
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Video conferences
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The most popular Global Buddy activity is video conferencing where groups of students discuss topics such as education, entertainment, food, cultural festivals, sports, politics, war and social issues. Conversations are based on mutual respect, the belief that students from different cultures can and want to learn from each other. Stereotypes and cultural misunderstanding disappear when students hear a first-hand account from a student in a different culture or country. Students take turns in front of the webcam to ask and answer questions. Click below for video clips of a global buddy conference.
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