PROJECT IDEA EXCHANGE "PIE" MONTHLY NEWSLETTER MARCH 2002 VOLUME 1: NO. 5 http://pie.mcvts.net www.mcvts.net/pie PROGRAM OF THE MONTH Are you searching for an approach to use to involve your students in learning about life in the past? If you are, I suggest that you look into "I Remember…" a new educational project being conducted and posted on the PIE website. Simply stated, "I Remember…" is an effort to record, document and share remembrances of life. Students will be asked to seek out someone who has a remembrance of a past event that will assist others in learning about the Human Experience. Members can also post their own remembrances. The remembrances need not be ones of epic portions. They need not be those of a well-known situation, but rather they need to be the memories of what we, as humans, have experienced. Once an event has been successfully documented, each document will be posted on the Project Idea Exchange website (http://pie.mcvts.net), permitting students and others around the world, who support education, to read about, react to and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the role that each has played in the creation of the Human Experience. "I Remember…" is an educational program that can be adjusted to fit almost any grade level. To learn more about "I Remember…" access the PIE website (http://pie.mcvts.net), go to the MESSAGE FORUM/HISTORY PROJECTS and then click on "I Remember…" You will find a full description of the project. Included are interview forms that can be used in addition to suggested websites that explore the concept of documenting personal experiences. Contact Ernie Read (erreadiii@aol.com; reade@mail.mcvts.net) for more details or assistance is taking part in this program. MEMBER NEWS Hisao Hayashi, Music teacher from Inokuchimyojin Elementary School in Hiroshima, Japan will shortly be traveling to the Washington, DC area of the United States for a whirlwind tour. Hisao's travels will include a tour of America's capital city and visits to area schools.  If you wish to contact Hisao, he can be emailed at hisao@hiroshima-cdas.or.jp. Welcome to PIE's newest member, Wilfredo Vizcaino, a Spanish teacher at the Perth Amboy Campus of the Middlesex County Vocational/Technical High Schools in New Jersey, USA. Wilfredo can be contacted at wvizcaino@aol.com. PIE "TIP OF THE MONTH" Would you like to learn more about education in other areas and countries? A new PIE program, EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD has been created and can be accessed on the PIE website. Currently, go to the MESSAGE FORUM/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT to learn about education elsewhere. One item that will be posted and updated is the newsletter of Hisao Hayashi of Hiroshima, Japan. Please feel free to respond to any of the postings and post your own description of education in your area. DIRECTOR'S NOTES As the PIE Director, my goal is to constantly explore approaches that will improve the opportunities that PIE provides for its members, and for teachers, their students. One concept currently being explored is videoconferencing. I am quickly discovering that there are numerous approaches. I am asking for your assistance. If you, your school and/or your organization have videoconferencing capabilities, please contact me and describe what you have. Also, if you are interested in taking part in related projects likewise please contact me. Once I gather this information, I will be able to share by posting it on the PIE website and hopefully be able to create educational projects permitting real-time video contacts between PIE members. One final point. In order to access portions of the PIE website, you may be required to sign in using your log-in and password. If you cannot remember what they are, please contact David Perez at "perezd@mail.mcvts.net", identify yourself as a PIE member who has lost their log-in and password and he will issue you a new one. If you have any question, please contact me at "erreadiii@aol.com" or "reade@mail.mcvts.net" so that I can assist you. As a PIE service, I will store your log-in and password, but you must share that information with me. If you decide to take advantage of this opportunity, I can supply you with your existing data rather than creating a new log-in and password. All information reminds private. Enjoy!