Dear Colleagues,

We are a small non-profit company called Advanced Network and Services, and you may have heard about our work though ThinkQuest and National Tele-immersion initiative that we sponsored and led in past years.

We at Advanced are focusing our efforts on a new initiative that we call Exploring the Future of Learning (EFL). One thing that has not changed for us over the time is our commitment to providing students with opportunities to contribute to the education community and to have their voices heard and their contributions respected.

Our work in this area will be centered around an on-line international student community for pre college students aged 13-19 called Student Voice. Student Voice will provide students with a variety of opportunities to get involved in student directed activities focused on making learning more interesting, exciting, and valuable. We believe, and we lots of evidence to show it, that students have a great deal to contribute to creating a better future of learning. One of the projects that we offer to students is to do active exploration of Squeak (www.futureoflearning.org/students/squeakInfo.html) - testing and commenting it through dedicated forum discussion led and participated by students, building Squeak Tutorials in Squeak, and creating lessons and activities for their peers.

I would like to ask you to take a moment and think about the students you know between 13 and 19 who you think might be interested in getting involved in the EFL Student Voice community and Mission: Squeak Explore project, and to pass along the following message to them. In addition, it would be great if you could pass this message on to appropriate professional colleagues so that they can inform students they think would be interested and able to contribute to this community.

Let us know your suggestions and advices on providing most constructive and creative activities for students - we are open to your and your students' ideas.

Thank you for your help.

best, Amela

Dr. Amela Sadagic amela@advanced.org Director of EFL Programs ph/cell: 914 224 1276 Advanced Network & Services fax: 914 273 1809 200 Business Park Drive Armonk, NY 10504 project page: www.futureoflearning.org personal page: www.advanced.org/~amela

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new & coming:  STUDENT VOICE - www.futureoflearning.org/students/

Dear student,

We are happy to let you know that we are just about to start a new student community called Student Voice for pre-college students of age 13-19.

We decided to offer you an opportunity of being among selected students who would kick off and guide this new series of student projects as a part our new initiative called Exploring the Future of Learning - EFL (more details about EFL below). You will notice that these project are somewhat different from our past project ThinkQuest but they share the same spirit - students in the center of all what we do and lots of group work and group creations. Additions to this list are: students as hosts, owners and managers of different activities; contributions from individual students; explorations of new ways we can learn more effectively and be inspired by the power of images, sounds, clever gadgets, simulations, animations, good stories and virtual trips.  And we will play with and test some cool emerging technologies that can help that learning too. Student Voice activities do not have the character of competitions - we prefer providing students with creative reward system (see more about reward system below).  So let's make this Summer exciting and memorable!

So how should we start?

1.   We suggest launching a set of discussion forums first. This will give you an opportunity to say what you as a student are interested in doing, what is the way you see the future of learning in and outside of school, and very practically how would you like to contribute to the entire EFL initiative. (see the current list of forums at http://www.futureoflearning.org/students/studentForums.html).       Each forum will have three students as hosts. Responsibilities of the hosts will assume good management of well functioning discussion channel (see details below). You may want to explore this role - it will give you great experience in debating and managing constructive group discussion. Right now we are looking for students who would like to be such hosts - let us know which forum you would like to host on page  http://www.futureoflearing.org/students/studentHelp.html . You are also more than welcome to participate in discussions in all forums.

2.   Mission: Squeak Explore.  For people that like testing and experimenting with new systems we have the following challenge: the first system we will be testing is Squeak, a multimedia authoring tool developed by computer pioneer Alan Kay. You can decide to play with and test the system and let us know your comments. You can also decide to participate in our project called "Squeak Tutorials", a new take on how to build tutorial for your peers. Read more at: http://www.futureoflearning.org/students/squeakInfo.html

3.  Student Council:   Do you feel compelled to discuss, suggest and make recommendations about the activities that will be vital for Student Voice? If your answer is 'Yes' check page http://www.futureoflearning.org/students/announcements.html#Council to apply for Student Council.

This is just a beginning and there is more to come in the future. If at the moment your schedule is pretty tight and you cannot participate in those activities, check our page  http://www.futureoflearning.org/students/announcements.html at any time for future opportunities.

If you would like to work with us please register with Student Voice at http://www.futureoflearning.org/students/register/ .

If you would also like to be:

- forum host        - member of student Council        - take up the Squeak challenge

tell us that on  http://www.futureoflearing.org/students/studentHelp.html

Hope you will like to join our efforts and explore possibilities. Let us know if you do!

best, EFL team

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Exploring the Future of Learning - EFL - www.futureoflearning.org

The EFL MISSION       By the year 2010, all children will have access to a working and cost-effective, individualized learning environment adapted to their personal learning aptitudes and goals, which is as compelling as other parts of their environment, which helps them achieve their full potential in the world and which is capable of being adapted and used worldwide.

The goal of the EFL Program is to create the knowledge, skills and community of people who can lead, enable and support the creation of specific EFL-style learning communities. Above all else, EFL insists that the learning needs and aspirations of the student determine all that we do. Finding out what they are, and creating a system that adapts to them, supports them and helps the student manage them is the central design goal.

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Reward system: creative opportunities for students:

1.  Student Summer EFL Internship: 3 students will be recipients of a paid internship that will last through June, July and August) during which the 3 students will work together on defining the guidelines for a Student Leadership within EFL. It would cover topics susch as student involvement, proposals for a set of activities that students find compelling and important within the context of EFL work, as well as their suggestions for the best ways to reach and affect larger student population, and create self-sustainable and most effective communication channels.

2.  Student Panel:      You may be invited to participate in the panel hosted by Jaron Lanier. The theme is: "The future of the schools and future of learning". The event will be organized in NYC area.

3.  Series of interviews and stories about students and their work:      Exemplary works and contributions will be featured in different public media.

4.  Certificates of appreciation will be given to those students who take specific responsibilities within EFL

5.  Individual student portfolios - http://www.futureoflearning.org/students/portfoliosInfo.html

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