GhanaHomePage launches demo project with US High School

Steve Case, Chairman of AOL/Time Warner Inc. states, “The internet has the power to truly engage people by transforming education from a passive, one-way process to an exciting, interactive learning experience that connects people all over the world.” These words serve as the catalyst for a demonstration project in cross-cultural communication between students of McKinley High School in Buffalo, New York.

Dr. Pharra DeWindt, Team Leader in English Language Arts at McKinley High School, and GhanaHomePage CEO, Francis Akoto, developed this project during the month of October. This collaboration is designed to use interactive technology, as well as traditional instructional methodologies to facilitate and enhance pedagogical, curricular, research and instructional development that will promote cross-national understanding and experiences for the students involved. Although Dr. DeWindt’s students will be based in Buffalo, they will use the Internet and e-mail to communicate their work, thoughts and questions to our readers in Ghana.

The student's primary task will be to proofread articles submitted to GhanaHomePage News for grammar and punctuation corrections. In addition, they will submit articles in order to engage Ghanaian students in cross-cultural communication about American and Ghanaian cultures.

The first article from the students will be a news article about the agreement/partnership between this website and McKinley High, and will be published in the feature articles section: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/.

Subsequent articles will discuss the distance learning project in conjunction with Dr. Osei Darkwa and the Asante Akim Telecentre in Patriensa. McKinley's students are currently creating distance learning CD-ROM English lessons for students in Patriensa as part of the Telecentre’s distance education initiative.

The successful completion of this collaboration will give the American students tools and resources that will enable them to successfully engage the world of the 21st century, as well as give Ghanaian teachers and students the opportunity to interact with the students at McKinley. Teachers and students who are interested in taking part in this collaboration should contact the Editor of Ghana Home Page News, Mr. Francis Akoto, or contact Dr. DeWindt directly through her webpage: www.pharra.com

This is a ground breaking and exciting partnership that we hope will serve students and educators in Ghana and America as we attempt to create a cyber bridge of understanding between our two countries.