American and Korean Students in an Inspirational Speech Contest

On January 14, 2020, IVECA organized the World Speech Contest session between students from Hoover High school in Alabama, USA, and Noeun High School students from Korea. The aim of the contest was to inspire each other positively on thematic topics that are reflected in nonfiction literature or news articles from the students’ local culture.

Beforehand, students prepared in groups inspirational speeches related to daily life topics of their interest and that are mainly about perseverance, hope, suffering, competition, relationship and war. During the Live Class students presented their speeches virtually to their global partners through the Zoom platform.

American students decided to use literature to inspire their audience through the book “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand. They depicted suffering and war during the second World War and demonstrated how perseverance and hope can change our life. Students in Korea introduced the devastating impact of the Japanese colonial period on the Korean citizens and presented icons who helped in spreading love and hope such as Dr. Chang Kee-ryo who made lots of sacrifices for his patients.

The two schools talked about war and pains in their countries, though the circumstances were different, the suffering was the same. Students expressed that by persevering, accepting our differences and helping each other, we can change the world to the best.

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Elementary Students Share Solutions for Environmental Problems

Students in India and Korea took environmental solutions to the next level. A group of 5th and 6th grades from Dayanand Paradise School in Rajasthan, India, and students from Taerang and Daedeock Elementary Schools, in Korea collaborated virtually over eight weeks to identify environmental impacts in their countries and explored solutions for those problems.

Indian students shared solutions to current issues, such as pollution, drought, and fluorination. Fifth grade students from India researched the problem of smog in Delhi and other cities of India. The group stressed the need to reduce their dependency on fuel and find alternatives such as solar energy. Korean counterpart, Kim Jiwon, realized sharing ideas and solutions was necessary for both countries, saying: “We have to solve [the] problem together! And we have to prepare [a] solution”. The discussion further developed with Ko Myungbin expressing surprise in learning that her friend’s country is being affected in similar ways to her country. She said: “Wow. I think it’s a serious problem. There is air pollution in Korea, too. If we walk close by [short distances] and use public transportation it will help improve this”.

Also, Taerang and Daedeock’s students focused on solutions to rising sea level, fine dust, and micro-plastic pollution. Sixth grade Korean student Eric Shin and his group shared deep concerns regarding the fact that seafood now contains micro-plastic due to ocean plastic pollution. The group was committed to finding solutions and discovered that an utensil manufacturing industry in Korea has stopped producing plastic goods based on pubic pressure. The kids mentioned that they believe the problem can be solved and emphasized the importance of awareness in people’s daily lives and individual choices.

Working in collaboration, these elementary students showed their increased motivation in learning. Not only did they find solutions, they also shared a positive attitude their ability to make an impact . It is only possible to solve global environmental issues by working together!

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Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good

Have you ever considered using Artificial Intelligence A.I. for common issues in our life, such as health and self-development? What about using it to help save animals? Or perhaps using A.I. to control users' privacy? In other words, how can A.I. be used to promote the common good in global societies? Four High Schools engaged in the project: Butler Tech in the USA, Portão Tech in Brazil,Taekwang High and Jeonmin High in Korea, accepted this challenge and designed their own prototype plans based on A.I. and machine learning to promote the common good.

Students’ mission to design tools to make people's lives better started with in-depth research to understand the main implications that A.I. has in our lives. This endeavor was only possible by exchanging information and feedback on each others’ work through IVECA Virtual Classroom.

Students analyzed current A.I. applications in the United States, Korea, and Brazil, and counterbalanced the ethical issues related to privacy and the pros of having augmented reality in their countries. After learning areas that needed improvement in each country, students organized themselves to design tools to help overcome those issues. Young Kim and his group from Taekwang High, designed an A.I. tool to help teenagers who suffer from mental health. Amanda and her partner from Portão Tech created an app that helps to locate lost dogs in the cities of Brazil and find them a new family.

By analyzing the current uses of A.I. and identifying possible ways to implement augmented reality, students realized that people must maintain an analytical view of A.I. and its use. Sam Lairson and his group members from Butler Tech High School expressed their reasoning: "A.I. is a growing technology with many positive benefits but also some downsides. It's important that we take good care of A.I. because it is our future".

#Education #InterculturalCompetence #GlobalCitizenship #21stCenturySkills #DigitalCitizenship #GlobalEd #GlobalEdChat #SmartPlanet #IVECA