NSF Awards: 1612824
How does collaborative STEM project-based learning change when the participating students represent fundamentally distinct cultures, countries, economic, and social backgrounds, and work together over synchronous and asynchronous internet settings? How does international collaboration shape identity formation of young adults? All the more timely as we step away from the pandemic, the IC4 (ic4.site) project seeks to understand and shape such learning and identify development through international and cross-cultural collaboration. The project continues to expand intellectually and geographically.
Does the use of videoconferencing in such STEM project-based learning settings alter intersubjectivity or shared meaning in ways that might have broad social impact?
Differences in where people live and in our cultures factor deeply into social and economic fractures in US and global society. Can students working together across such boundaries experience virtual presence and shared meaning-making through project collaborations in ways that allow deeper appreciation of each other’s differences, and reduce such fractures?
Featuring students who collaborate with one another from sites in the US, Kenya, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore, the IC4 (International Community for Collaborative Content Creation) project explores the intersection of learning, culture, and collaboration. Supported by NSF’s AISL Program, the project provides an international, collaborative, and digital makerspace that explores these questions and seeks to understand how student learning and identity formation changes when collaborating teams identify themselves as teachers seeking to help peers understand STEM topics.
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Welcome to IC4, the International Community for Collaborative Content Creation. This video seeks to illustrate a vision for building next generation scientists and engineers through international collaboration. This year, we continue last year's innovation of enabling captioning in Kiswahili, Portuguese, Spanish, and English, reflecting the first language of our students and teacher facilitators, including those from Kenya, Brazil, Mexico, and the US and enables more discussion from family and friends of our students in those countries.
Participants from these four countries, along with participants from Uzbekistan, the UAE, and Singapore, teach one another through their shared interests and shared projects. They develop sophisticated and lifelong collaboration competencies while navigating scientific learning through the circumstances of the pandemic. The project has evolved in exciting ways, and we hope to encourage your contribution to a lively conversation thread below. Please share questions, comments, suggestions, or opportunities to come alongside this network in any way that you find useful. We are thrilled to have you learn about and from our students and teachers, and to learn about the research underlying this effort. More information and papers are also available at ic4.site. This year, our video is dedicated to longtime teacher partner Israel Ramirez from Las Vegas, who passed away shortly before this video was completed. He was a giant of a teacher who continues to motivate and inspire learners and colleagues around the world. Welcome!
Arquimedes Luciano
Ana Paula Giacomassi
Ateng' Ogwel
Tiffany Wright
Patricia Camarillo
Ruth Akumbu
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Nastassia Jones
Ruth Akumbu
May his memory be eternal.
I love hearing the children speak words in their official first languages. Cool idea.
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Dear Ruth, I totally agree with you. It is really important that the students feel they are not limited in their language abilities, and the fact they can't use any language perfectly is not the reason they shouldn't communicate with other countries' representatives or share their projects. Thank you organisers for the opportunity given ro our students
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa,
You've not an important aspect that should inform teaching and learning - celebrating what we can do before we're scaffolded to higher levels. Also, the affective domain dozen receive significant attention in education despite the role of emotions and attitudes in learning.
It's true, language should not be a barrier, but an enabler, if we take advantage of appropriate technologies, evident in the IC4 Project.
Arquimedes Luciano
Lynette Ateng'
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Dear Ateng',
Agreed. Just for your point of view, do you think that when children learn science or math outside of their first language, they lose some understandings in the process?
Arquimedes Luciano
George Hein
Professor Emeritus
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for describing this imaginative program. It seems you have been doing this for quite some time with positive results. From the video and your post I can imagine how collaborative activities develop and how participants benefit from their engagement with others at different sites. But I don't know much about the STEM content of the projects, or how you manage to have all the participants have access to the materials with which they engage in actually doing STEM work given the range of places where they are located. Could you give us some concrete examples of the projects themselves?
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Hi George, thanks for checking out our video, and for your comments! In response to your question about the types of STEM projects the students engage, it is actually up to the students to decide what they would like to do, and what topic, so long as it is STEM focused. They range from presentations describing a STEM topic (e.g. describing how the engines of race cars differ, the process of how fruit decomposes, trends in cybersecurity) to the design of artifacts (e.g. creating an app to disseminate COVID-information, building a robotics car) or even coding projects (e.g. developing a python webform to help people in less populated areas to self-diagnose COVID symptoms). The degree of collaboration can range depending on the type of project. But it's really an outlet for students to share their STEM interests, and in turn, learn from one another. I'm hopeful we will have some of our student participants chime in over the week to talk more about some of the work they have done. It's been a tremendous experience to see!
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
George, good to see you. There has been interesting work by a network of learning scientists, primarily in Asia, around the construct of "Interest-Driven Creator Theory" (Chee Kit Looi, Tak-Wai Chen, and about two dozen others) that more formally elaborates this interest-driven approach.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric,
Thanks for adding a perspective on a theoretical foundation. This complements Danielle's response to George's question on the STEM Content.
True, STEM content is the context of the collaboration and interactions by the participating students.
Lynette Ateng'
Stephen Uzzo
Chief Scientist
Fabulous work! I would love to know how you reconcile the differential in cultural meanings across cultures when doing your ENA analysis? How have you dealt with ambiguity around the ways that different cultures define terms or concepts, and how that affects the meanings when you are coding? Particularly with any preset codes. Also, do you have a process for validating codes from the standpoint of the originator of the coded terms? post hoc?
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Hi Stephen, thank you so much for stopping by our page and watching the video! Great questions. So, we are very fortunate to have had robust research team members over the years to bring in various viewpoints when we shape our codebook from a grounded analysis of the data. Our team has people from different institutions and countries. Coming up with the labels for constructs is not a perfect process, but we spend a lot of time refining the definition of codes based on what the student says, and avoid researcher inferences on intention. Then of course, we go through a rigorous process of social moderation for all our coding. Our team has been diligent in catching these dynamics as best we can, and while nothing can be perfect, we at least ensure consistency. I hope this addresses some of your questions-- thank you again for checking out our project!
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Ruth Akumbu
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
One other aspect of reconciling cultural meanings sounds a little trite, but it is true. - The students do the reconciling. As they work together, their trust grows and the develop a lot of latitude in understanding each other and navigating meaning. Especially with help from facilitators from Kenya, Brazil, and US, the process becomes a very moving one of observing how differences are bridged.
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Ruth Akumbu
Ateng' Ogwel
Stephen's question is deep and your responses are on point.
Stephen might find additional information at https://ic4.site/index.html
Eric Hamilton
Nastassia Jones
I love to see the many layers of the IC4 project. I especially love the addition of the multi-language captioning so that students (AND family and friends) can be included in their native languages. This point highlights an important aspect of access and inclusion!
Lynette Ateng'
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Jones, we are so grateful you have shown interest in our project and support in our vision, especially in the last two years. Similarly, we appreciate your commitment to access and inclusion through your work with VR and teachers, and we are so blessed to have crossed paths. Thank you so much :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Things have come a long way in real time translation since the project started, and that has been a tremendous help to helping students feel included, yes, but also helping students extend welcome and shared understandings themselves - their own inclusive agency, to be able to bring reasonably accurate translations in different languages.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Hope to have Southern U and A&M involved in some variation of this project, including students from the US Virgin Islands and Ghana :)
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Hi dear all, I adore this project, since it is the web among the cultures and like-minded people. Participation to this project gave me and my students something more than knowledge, we have learnt the value of collaboration, ways of wise usage of technology in our classroom. Moreover, we got acquanted with the terms of STEM education.
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dear Nafisa, thank you so much for your comment-- we have been so grateful to have your involvement and participation in IC4 in the last year! This actually is a testament to the potential of the STEM for All Showcase. At last year's showcase, Allan Miller, who had another project regarding his work with Uzbekistan, commented on our page and that's how the connection got started which led to our current partnership. So incredibly amazing when I think about it. Thank you for being part of the IC4 community :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Dear Danielle, thank you a bunch for giving us opportunity to be part of the IC4 family. Iur meetings were highly productive both for me and my students. Mr Allan Miller is one of the most incredible, supportive and talented professional I know. In Uzbekistan we collaborated together with him. I designed first ever STEM class in my Hometown, and Mr Allan was our beacon in the world of STEM which was totally new sphere for me. Even after the completion of our project Mr Allan continues to support us. It really worths a respect.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Nafisa, thank you again. Hopefully in coming year we will be able to expand participation with Uzbekistan colleagues. We are very fortunate to work with you.
Pia Danisi
This IC4 project is truly a game changer! This allows for all cultures, globally to come together, regardless of possible language barriers as one. When we bring people together globally, we can begin to support, create, motivate, and also see that everyone has many similarities especially where mental health is concerned. All of a sudden it feels true that the world is in each of our hands! Great work and much continued success on this amazing project to bring youth together from every part of the world!
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dear Pia, wow-- thank you so much for your powerful comment! We feel your sentiments in the work we get to do with this project. It has been an amazing journey with these students, the future of our world. Seeing them come together gives us so much hope as they see their potential together and in collaboration. Thank you for finding our project :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Aileen Owens
Hi Danielle,
I know first-hand how exciting and powerful your work has been as per our involvement at South Fayette School District. What I love about this project is that it changes constantly to adjust to the needs and interests of the students. Each student and cohort brings their own unique talents and interests to the group which creates an expanding innovation mindset. Wonderful program!
Ateng' Ogwel
Ruth Akumbu
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dear Aileen, thank you for this note! We are so grateful to you for being an advocate for our project since the very beginning-- it's your strong support that helped established such a key partner with South Fayette, which has continued on even as you have retired from the district. We are so honored you have been on our side, as your excitement and visionary efforts in technology have been inspirational. We thank you so much!
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Your leadership in technology and curriculum innovation has changed countless lives, including ours. Readers should be aware that you are a giant in educational technology now enjoying a bit of "retirement." Thank you for coming alongside and enhancing this effort so powerfully.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric,
I remember South Fayette has featured prominently in your work. Could Aileen be among the connecting pillars? I've just watched her amazing 'Digital Promise"
Lynette Ateng'
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
I agree! She has moved on to a more independent form of daily living as a consultant, but I am eager to find ways that she might be able to be a connector for us. I hope she is listening!
Lucía León
IC4 is an amazing experience. I enjoy so much meeting with people from different parts of the world and learning about each other. Being part of this project has given me many opportunities, I have improved my communication skills, I have learned about python programming and it has helped me get out of my comfort zone.
Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Lucía, it has been an honor to have you be part of IC4 and see your growth over time! We have been grateful for your continued involvement amidst your many school activities. You've accomplished so much (even doing the python strand to create projects!) and we are so proud of you.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Lucia says "improved communication skills" and [getting] out of "comfort zone". This self-awareness and setting higher expectations is true testimony of the outcomes of IC4 project.
Kudos
Lynette Ateng'
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Agree it has been an honor to be alongside you in IC4, Lucia, including during the exceedingly difficult period of losing Mr Ramirez.
Jonathan Alejandre
IC4 is such an amazing program. Every week I learn something new. I meet new people from around the globe who share the same interests and hobbies as I. IC4 is one of the reasons why I am going into engineering when I go to college. Everyone teaches everyone, here there is no limit to our imagination. IC4 lets out our creativity and I am glad for that.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ruth Akumbu
Danielle Espino
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Johny, simply put, you rock. Your engagement with the IC4 community has been tremendous, and you do Spring Valley proud with all you have done. Especially amidst your other involvements in school. Thank you for believing in the potential IC4 can have in impacting your future, and we are just so honored to have you in the community. We appreciate you!
Ateng' Ogwel
Juan Miranda
Hello everyone! :D
IC4 has been an incredible experience in which I have loved to work, I had the opportunity to work on some projects and the opportunity to learn python programming, I really enjoyed being part of this incredible project, I met many people from different arts of the world and I learned a lot from them; no doubt that I would participate again in this project because it has been one of the best decisions I've made.
Thanks to everyone who supported me and motivated me a lot in the course of this project, I was very pleased to have spent time with you :D.
I hope to see you next time.
Thank you very much :D
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Juan, your various projects in IC4 have been so memorable! You bring such passion to the community that has helped to positively impact and shape others as they join IC4. You are so good at expressing your reflections in ways that are beyond your years. You've pushed yourself to take on python coding, which is no easy feat. But your motivation is inspiring. We are so proud of you for being part of the IC4 community!
Ateng' Ogwel
Juan Miranda
Noemi Torres
Hello everyone, my name is Noemi Torres. I am a student from Las Vegas,NV USA. This is my second year in IC4. I truly enjoy being part of this team. I have been able to learn about others cultures and learning from all the different students in the IC4. IC4 has helped me improve my communication skills. I have been able to communicate with other students from other countries in-order to collaborate together. And have been learning from all the groups. IC4 has been an amazing journey this year. Not only have I been given the amazing opportunity of being a part of this wonderful program and in participating, I have also been given the opportunity to be a facilitators in helping out students truly engage with one another. I hope that I can get to be part of this amazing opportunity again next year as well.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to participate in this team.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Julia Savoca Gibson
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Noemi, you are a shining star for us! Thank you for posting and sharing your experiences, as your viewpoint is such a valuable voice to have in this showcase thread. Your involvement as a participant, and then continuing on as a facilitator has been a joy to see, as we have seen your growth over time. We are unbelievably proud of your accomplishments so far and all that lies ahead. You are amazing :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateamate Mukabana
Julia Savoca Gibson
I just want to echo Danielle--you are so amazing, Noemi! Thank you for being such a great leader and facilitator for IC4. It's been awesome to get to work with you in meet-ups every week :-)
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Noemi, we are very proud of your work on projects and as a facilitator now in college. Shining star indeed. Well, also very proud of brother Jonathan!
Toby Baker
IC4 STEM Media has impacted so many teachers, students, and researchers from around the globe. As a graduate student of Pepperdine U. and researcher of IC4, I have gained so much from IC4, particularly the opportunity to engage learners in STEM learning, share ideas that facilitate growth, and obviously collaborate with team leaders, educators, and students from so many countries! And of course, IC4's leaders Dr. Eric Hamilton, Dr. Danielle Espino, and Dr. Seung Bok Lee taught me so much more than simply research, such as ENA, Qualitative, and Quantitative research, which was highlighted in this awesome video! IC4 continues to reach STEM learners and influence them to take action and change the world!
I am sincerely sorry to hear about Mr. Isreal Ramirez. He was such a wonderful leader of science and so inspiring for both teachers and students alike. He will be missed.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Baker, thank you so much for sharing such rich commentary for us! We were so honored to have you be part of our team for so many years, being our advocate and cheerleader with both the project and research. Your passion and enthusiasm lightened up our meetings. Your presence at meet-ups was so appreciated by students in helping to create safe spaces for the students to share. We are so proud of what you are continuing to accomplish. Thank you, Dr. Baker!
Ateng' Ogwel
Kristina Lux
Dr Baker, It was always so wonderful working with you on the IC4 project. Your participation, leadership, and guidance was tremendous!
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Kristina, Danielle and Toby,
Thanks for the leadership in IC4.
I was thrilled to watch Seung's Video on Young Scholars Program, showing amazing testimonies. This confirms that Pepperdine is great institution, molding, mentoring and inspiring innovative professionals.
Lynette Ateng'
Ateng' Ogwel
Mary Gerhart
Having heard about this project from my daughter it's fascinating to see all the participants seem fully engaged without ever meeting each other in person.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Ms Gerhart,
Thank you. We especially value comments by parents. If there are any observations about how participation has benefitted your daughter, or ways by which you think the project could be improved, we would be grateful to hear. Otherwise, we deeply appreciate your comments!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you so much for your kind comments! It has been a joy having Heather on our research team; she has been a game changer in moving our work forward, and seeing her analyze and put together papers. We'll be saying we knew her when :) It's been our privilege-- thank you for supporting her in her endeavors, we are excited to be part of her scholarly journey!
Ateng' Ogwel
Annie Gerhart
This is great!!!!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Annie, thank you so much for supporting our project and this page :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
Thank you for supporting the project!
Ateng' Ogwel
Kristina Lux
It has truly been an honor to work alongside such a wonderful team. IC4 has grown tremendously over the last few years!
Ateng' Ogwel
Philip Ramsay
Wow this is really incredible. Great work everyone.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you for taking the time to check out our video and appreciate our work!
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
Thank you so much for watching and supporting!
Ateng' Ogwel
Ofwono Florence
This is encouraging. STEM draws the learning to reality and its practical nature brings solutions to the world's challenges. If students are taught this way at an early age, the country will have many scientists who will be able to tailor and maintain the environment to adopt to man's needs.
Ateng' Ogwel
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you so much, we are hopeful for these outcomes with or project, that having these collaborative experiences early on will help encourage such global collaborative efforts to address larger issues in the future.
Ateng' Ogwel
Kristina Lux
You are correct! This project has brought STEM concepts to life in a variety of ways while increasing global collaboration among learners who otherwise would never have met.
Ateng' Ogwel
Lauren Ramsay
This is a really interesting way to stay active and continue learning. I love this!
Ateng' Ogwel
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Heather Orrantia
Thank you for watching the video and supporting the project!!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
We agree-- even as the researchers on this project, we learn along with the students. It's an awesome experience for all involved :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Learning Culture!!!
Lynette Ateng'
Jamie Menaker
So interesting to hear about this global effort!
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
Thank you for supporting the project! The global effort is truly inspiring!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Often the global nature of our project puts us in awe as we see the shared brilliance of students from different locations.
Ateng' Ogwel
Kate Murphy
This is amazing! Great way to meet people and learn all around the globe.
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
Great observation! The global interaction has created some incredible friendships and connections through the IC4 community. Inspiring!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
What amazes us is how students are excited to connect with peers, and that excitement can translate into learning.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateamate Mukabana
IC4 Facilitator
IC4 has been an amazing 5 years journey. I have seen myself grow since I was a student, to a facilitator, to a capacity to mentor others to lead. IC4 has given students from different geographical locations and cultures a platform to share ideas and learn from each other, and over the years you could see students' interactions growing. Amazing ideas and projects have been made out of these interactions and collaborations.
I am very much grateful for the opportunity to be part of this fantastic journey.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
IC4 has many dimensions to it. Facilitation and leadership by next generation leaders is one of the key points of impact; you know how immensely proud we are that you came alongside of this project and have served it with such aplomb and grace while immersed in your university mathematics studies, Ateamate. Thank you does not begin to cover it.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateamate Mukabana
Kristina Lux
Ateamate, your leadership in the IC4 program has been simply amazing. Your ability to facilitate meetings and guide so many of the learners has been invaluable!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Ateamate, you are are an incredible light to us and this project! I am so proud we could be part of your life journey, becoming such an incredible career woman and putting your mind to work. Your contributions to the IC4 community are too many to count, and the sense of community people feel is in large part to your guidance and leadership. Thank you for giving so much of yourself to this shared vision for IC4 and serving our students so selflessly. We are so grateful for all you do. In awe, Danielle
Ateng' Ogwel
Jacky Aguilar
IC4 Facilitator and SPTA III
IC4 with international collaboration has opened young minds and creates a link without distances where young people teach, learn, interact and share the same interests with different perspectives. Years ago sharing ideas with other students from other continents sounded impossible and the language more than the distance was a barrier, with IC4 it has become everyday and part of the students' life trend, IC4 with international collaboration makes students popular, open minds and have the power to achieve their dreams, our futures engineers, scientists and mathematicians are here.
It fills me with pride to have been able to share my life with Professor Ramirez, his almost 12 years in collaboration with IC4 make me proud, his positivism, his achievements and work continue to leave a mark not only in Las Vegas NV. but with IC4 it has reached various parts of the world. Let's celebrate your story Mr. Ramirez by continuing learning, collaborating and helping.
Ateng' Ogwel
Kristina Lux
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Dear Ms Aguilar,
It is especially poignant to read your comment. For other readers, Jacky Aguilar is spouse of Israel Ramirez, whose untimely passing in March has affected countless lives. Jacky and Israel have been integral to the line of research that led to this project for many years. They have been the quintessential school partners who have helped shape the direction of our joint work, have articulated our work more clearly than we have, and have inspired us and their students without fail. Israel has been the "Maestro" as one of his colleagues put it. I simply call him my hero.
Ateng' Ogwel
Kristina Lux
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Ms. Jacky, we are so grateful to you for your heart and care with IC4 over the years, in collaboration with Israel. There are no words that can truly account for the incredible contributions you both have made to developing our community. Israel was such a memorable force to everyone he interacted with, from students and colleagues alike. His energy and passion poured out of every conversation, even through computer screens, and left an impact on people around the world. Students grew in confidence and belief in themselves because Israel empowered them to. He's a spirit and force we all will hold as an example in our lives. We are so grateful to you for sharing him with us, and the world.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Jacky, we celebrate you for being a pillar in Israel's life. Thank you for being part of IC4.
From us in Africa, we are indebted to your family for believing in the course to develop human capital. May Israel sing with the Angels!
Lynette Ateng'
Folashade Solomon
Associate Professor
This is an incredibly important project. Do you help teach the participants learn how to facilitate conversations across the groups? What are the some of the qualities you see that shape effective collaboration and outcomes?
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Folashade,
It's also more of mentorship and self-drive that defines the evolution of great facilitators. What I admire about IC4 is that there are no standard requirements besides one's passion and commitment. The growth is also catalysed by having icons to look up to, like Prof. Hamilton. Much of the learning is also peer-driven.
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Dear Folashade,
This is a great question. We did have a situation early on, with a 17 year old facilitator in Kenya, Ateamate Mukabana (also in the thread for this video). The "situation" was that she possesses a natural genius or ability to size up a virtual room, make people comfortable, draw in their participation, insert humor seamlessly, tolerate and navigate out of awkward situations that involve misunderstandings, etc. - the things you want from a facilitator, except she seemed to possess all these skills already, and was only 17. She was teaching us, actually. She has helped train others, even as an up and coming mathematician in eastern Africa.
Ateng' Ogwel
Folashade Solomon
Associate Professor
This is inspiring.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Well said-- Ateamate represents the hope for our future :)
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
We do have a protocol for other facilitators, and with Ateamate, they have formed a formidable team. A great example is Noemi Torres, mentored by late Mr Ramirez, and several others. Perhaps Dr Espino can furnish additional information on the protocols she and the team have established.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Good question! There is some training, but for the most part it comes from experience. Our current peer facilitators, Noemi and Luiza, have guidance and encouragement from Ateamate (a longtime facilitator since 2017) but they do ultimately make it their own. The goal as a facilitator is to help guide the conversation rather than control, so while they help move things along, the participants are meant to be the main focus. We have been so grateful to have a team of incredible young women leading in facilitator roles!
Ateng' Ogwel
Marie Himes
Hi IC4 Team! Thank you for sharing this incredible initiative with the STEM for All community. Our team at NC State's Friday Institute has been navigating similar territory with Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global. I'm curious how IC4 connects and cultivates partnerships with educators and students across the globe. Additionally, you mentioned that the intensity of collaboration among global partners is negotiated. Could you share more about how this works/what this looks like? With gratitude, Marie
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Marie, thank you. The connections, I think, can be described as a self-organized system with some additional guidance. The connections virtually all predate the project or were formed in some other organic setting. There have been multiple contexts with many actors in which connections were made, then explored for this type of collaboration, and then formalized. Only about 20% of the connections where a strong link seemed likely actually came to pass, since participation in the network involves many steps, agreements, and time-shuffling by those involved.
Ateng' Ogwel
Marie Himes
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
The type of collaboration once a group is in the network then is driven by the level of reciprocal interest and time that project-specific collaborators can share. This is just like normal project collaborations - it is based on natural, self-reinforcing interest and the availability of the students to meet together given their different schedules. It is a pretty natural process that we experience in other contexts. Students and their teacher facilitators do need to communicate with their collaborators, and it is on that basis that projects unfold. I am not sure that answers the query, but I hope it helps.
We would be very happy to discuss the project more with the Friday Institute. It plays an important role in the national STEM education community. Thank you!
Ateng' Ogwel
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Marie Himes
Marie Himes
Thank you, Eric! We have been trying to think through different models for what PBI Global collaboration could look like across schools and cultures. This is very helpful for us to think through as part of our discussions!
Ateng' Ogwel
Tabby Goko
Such an outstanding project, the opportunity to learn, explore, collaborate and innovate is incredible. What stands out for me is that through the collaborations, students can think about and explore their future career paths at Such an early age.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateamate Mukabana
Ruth Akumbu
Heather Orrantia
I agree that the IC4 project allows the students to explore their interests in a collaborative and supportive environment! Thank you for this great observation!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
I concur, the experience has the potential to impact students long after their involvement, especially in contributing to future career choices and experiences. Thank you for taking the time to check out our project :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Patricia Camarillo
Thank you for sharing these wonderful international cross-cultural and intentional collaborative meet-ups during the project-based learning process. The opportunity for students to learn collaborative practices with peers and interpersonal skills on a global level is priceless. I believe exposing children to these skills from an early age will provide educators with a guide for future instructional practices when teaching children in the 21st-century educational environment. This will allow students to learn how to critically think and reflect on their own self-identity, self-determination, and growth through the learning process. I can’t wait to hear more!
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
What a wonderful comment and observation! You have captured and articulated one of the important efforts of the IC4 network! Thank you for your interest in the project and the community!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Hi Patricia, thank you for your thoughtful words. We couldn't agree more with your assessment, and we have done our best to reflect this in some of our research papers in hopes of promoting these kinds of collaborations in learning settings. Building confidence is perhaps one of the key comments students share-- since they are connecting globally, it's an entirely different scenario they would get in the classroom otherwise. We are so grateful for all the learners and educators we've gotten to working with!
Ateng' Ogwel
Julia Savoca Gibson
Hi everyone! My name is Julia, and I'm a undergraduate student on the IC4 research team who helped create this year's video. I joined the team over two years ago, and I've had an amazing time helping run weekly meet-ups, conducting research, and working with such talented students. Seeing kids from around the world collaborate on such incredible projects impresses and inspires me every week, and I'm so glad to have been a part of this community. Please enjoy our video, and thank you for taking a look at our project!
Arquimedes Luciano
Ateng' Ogwel
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Nafisa Khudoynazarova
Dear Julia, please recieve my deep gratitude for your excellent work. The video you have created is amazing.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
I have to echo Nafisa's praise-- we have been so honored to have your involvement on our research team. From the hard work of supporting students with the meet-ups on early morning calls to helping with research endeavors with qualitative coding, to helping Dante put together our video these last two years, has been awesome. We are so honored to have your talents and efforts in this project, and I'm so glad others have a chance to see the work you put in! Thank you, Julia :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Ruth Akumbu
Mr. Ramirez, we miss you!
The cross-cultural collaboration in IC4 is an influential factor in the research that benefits both facilitators and learners. After Favour from Cameroon participated in this research project, her educational outcomes, including grades, improved significantly. IC4 taught her how to learn on her own and self-efficacy. It also gave all the participants and facilitators from Cameroon international exposure, and they developed ease in collaboration with others both locally and internationally. I am very grateful for the work of IC4.
One thing that stood out to me this time around is the ENA visuals. In the past, it was a cool tool with beautiful representations. After using it for my research, It is an incredible tool, and seeing the strength of the overall connections in IC4 is quite exciting.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Very glad to see the ENA tool becoming increasingly useful to you!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Ruth, I'm so glad to hear your update about Favour and how her involvement helped her to do better in school. She always brought so much enthusiasm to the meet-ups, we are so grateful you were able to connect Cameroon to the network!
We miss Mr. Ramirez greatly too... he generated inspiration to pretty much any student and educator he interacted with by simply speaking.
Ateng' Ogwel
Sonya Sharifi
I am very grateful for the work of IC4. These opportunities have made a difference in education technology, and continue to shape the local and global efforts of students whose voices are empowered through this space. Thank you for your leadership!
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
Thank you for supporting the project!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. S, thank you for your continued support over the years with our project and quantitative ethnography :) Your care for us does not go unnoticed! Thank you for believing in our work. We are truly so grateful!!
Ateng' Ogwel
Melkizedek Owuor
Great project! I'm glad my home country, Kenya, is participating! The project reminds me of African Maths Initiative.
I'm a senior project coordinator for KASA (Kibera Aeronautics and Space Academy), an initiative that educates young learners on scientific and technological knowledge using space exploration as inspiration. We take our learners through our 9 sets of courses - that include robotics and human-computer interaction, future of food, future of buildings, and staring into space, among others. By doing this, we improve their access to job opportunities, give them a better understanding of challenges in their communities and equip them with the right skills to tackle those challenges. Our ultimate goal is to inspire and coach the next generation of innovators and astronauts who will be among the first humans to step foot on Mars. Find out more about our work by visiting our webpage https://kiberaspace.tunapanda.org/.
We hope to take part in IC4 one day.
Ateng' Ogwel
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Zach Mbasu
IC4 Research Coordinator
Thank you Melkizedek Owour for your kind comments and for sharing about your exciting work. I am elated to hear that African Maths Initiative(AMI) planted a seed in you and you have become a great leader promoting STEM education! What you are doing is exactly what IC4 envisioned from the beginning - to inspire students collaborate and identify themselves as teachers seeking to help peers understand STEM topics. I will visit Kibera space.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
African Maths Initiative is an amazing effort, and I know it has planted mathematical seeds in Africa in ways that are unique and truly powerful. Melkizedek, I hope to have occasion to meet you when I am able to journey against to Kenya and Kibera. Congratulations on your work.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Melkizedek, thank you for your thorough comment, and for sharing your work with KASA! This looks like such an incredible project that would intersect with IC4 nicely. But kudos to you on all you do with inspiring and impacting learners in Kibera, and giving them a space to help dreams become reality. We're so grateful you took the time to write us so thoughtfully, and I echo Eric and Zach's sentiments :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Zach,
Thanks for the great work in AMI and IC4. It's gratifying to note that the seed in Owuor is flourishing at KASA. I too need to check on KASA and meet the team there
Elaena Kempt
Hi All,
I believe that your IC4 project is one of a kind! This collqboration efforts I spite of regardless language barriers is admirable. Gall Al support motivates the team and encourages a healthy environment. Excellent job!
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Thank you Ms Kempt. One of the most exciting developments of the past year or so has been the degree to which language translation technologies have made it more possible for students to communicate while using their original language. It is an amazing development.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you so much for making that observation-- we are grateful that the students are excited enough that they are willing to persevere through potential language barriers to participate and work with one another, we are so fortunate!
Ateng' Ogwel
Di MacLennan
I am very impressed with this innovative cultural engagement. Apologies if this has already been answered but how are participants recruited?
Ateng' Ogwel
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Zach Mbasu
IC4 Research Coordinator
Thank you Di MacLenan for your great question. Anyone aged between 7-17 excited about STEM learning could become a member of IC4. Interested participants voluntarily approach IC4 club leaders in communities and request to join IC4 clubs. This includes students and out of school youths. IC4 participants do also share their experiences and activities in the clubs with their friends, siblings, classmates, family members, acquaintances etc. who become enthused.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Di, thank you for stopping by our page! Zach covered your question, the only thing I'll add is that the clubs currently do have to have site approval from either the school or nonprofit to operate (we work with nonprofits to have flexibility to have students from different schools, especially outside the U.S.). So as long as IC4 is around, they are welcome to join! I also hope you are settling into FL nicely:)
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle and Zach,
The operations of IC4 requires flexibility. I know the re-organized school calendar as a result of COVID-19 pandemic has had some impact. Hope schools would find space to approve such programs, especially in Kenya
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Esse projeto é único. Sou eternamente grata por poder estar presente no IC4. São crianças extraordinárias com mentes brilhantes, uma visão ímpar em prol do conhecimento e crescimento através dos desafios da aprendizagem. Poder reafirmar o quão pequeno somos muitas vezes em nossa sagacidade e através de todo o grupo, professores e alunos, poder ampliar nossas mentes e ver quão grandioso é o carisma e a humildade desses pequenos grandes homens e mulheres e quanto de conhecimento e valores nos mostram a cada trabalho, a cada questionamento.
Ana Paula Giacomassi
Ateng' Ogwel
Reginne Michelli Silva iocca
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Reginne has written,
This project is unique. I am eternally grateful for being able to be present at IC4. They are extraordinary children with brilliant minds, a unique vision for knowledge and growth through the challenges of learning. To be able to reaffirm how small we are many times in our wit and through the whole group, teachers and students, to be able to broaden our minds and see how great is the charisma and humility of these great young men and women and how much knowledge and values they show us all the time.
Ana Paula Giacomassi
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
We are grateful to you, Michelli, as an educator in Brazil to have observed students during meet-ups! Thanks so much for your support of our efforts, and believing in the potential that students have when participating in IC4.
Somos gratos a você, Michelli, como educador no Brasil por ter observado os alunos durante os encontros! Muito obrigado por seu apoio aos nossos esforços e por acreditar no potencial que os alunos têm ao participar do IC4.
Ana Paula Giacomassi
Ateng' Ogwel
Shane Praiswater
Great stuff! I was a little confused about the practical usefulness of this concept….until I thought about how poorly and occasionally angry some of my mid-pandemic Zoom classes were. That was a diverse cohort, but it wasn’t international, so I could easily see how things might have really gone off the rails without this kind of research
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Thank you. I am not really sure that we help Zoom implementations, though we were doing Zoom before the pandemic. But we are trying to understand ways that students can learn and acquire competences more richly when when collaborate over these international borders, and how they can model the intellectual and social richness of a diverse team.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
I do want to echo the comment about us being early adaptors (we were already using Zoom in early 2018), and how the global nature enriches the social aspect in ways that complement the learners' localized classroom experience.
Ateng' Ogwel
Zach Mbasu
IC4 Research Coordinator
School aged girls and boys from different countries were well represented among the IC4 participants and produced artefacts of STEM content. They created videos and other digital products about their STEM topics. This content supported group learning during their weekly meetups and high engagement learning as they worked collaboratively on their projects. Girls had safe spaces to learn virtually from the comfort of their homes where they interacted with their peers from other countries and learned topics together. During schools’ closures due to COVID-19 pandemic, they continued to learn through the IC4 connections and supported one another.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
This articulates well how you and the team have structured experiences for our students. We are all deeply indebted to you for your creativity and management, and pedagogies that are combine compassion with excellence in pedagogical design. Thank you sir.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Zach, we owe so much to you for helping our IC4 connection in Kenya thrive as much as it has. You have brought so many brilliant people to the group. Thank you for giving us so much of your time over the many years, since the very beginning and early days of 2016, your dedication has persisted. Your passion and innovation keeps us going. You are the best :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Rosemary Ateng'
This is so nice. IC4 is a great project. These meet-ups will definitely expose children to skills that they will critically apply as they grow. This is very impressive
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you SO much for your comment and appreciation for our project! We are grateful that our students are able to do so much :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Tiffany Wright
Congratulations on another successful year of the IC4 project! I enjoyed the video! I especially appreciated the ENA breakdown you provided for those who may be unfamiliar. Thank you for your service to STEM learners and the field of education at large!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you for you for your support :) I have to give kudos to Julia on our team for thinking of how to simplify the explanation of ENA for a general audience-- as a humanities person with a talent for video production, she thought of what would be best to put in the script if she were to describe it to a friend or family member. We're glad it translates!!
Ateng' Ogwel
Zachary
This is so cool 😎
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
We're glad you think so :) Though I'm intrigued how you were able to get an emoji in this post, I need to find the secret option :p
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
um yes, please share how to insert the emoji, sir.
Yik Ting Lam
Thanks Dr Hamilton and team for this year's IC4 opportunity - as a student instructor, was definitely a fruitful experience in terms of developing my sharing/learning skills and was really enjoyable collaborating with the rest! A once in a lifetime experience for me, an incredible, inspiring space to turn up to every Saturday.
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
It is great to have one of Singapore's future leaders participating in the project. Thank you for serving your peers in Mexico, UAE, Kenya, and USA, Yik Ting. Greatly and gratefully appreciated :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thanks for your time and effort with the python strand these last several weeks, your dedication speaks volumes to how valuable peer to peer interactions can be!
Ateng' Ogwel
Lynette Ateng'
The IC4 project is very nice. The students interaction world wide through the videos and projects is very encouraging, and a form of complimenting each other. This is great. Bravo.
Ateng' Ogwel
Heather Orrantia
Thank you for this comment and observation! The global nature of the cross-cultural interactions is very inspiring to witness!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
We are grateful that the community provides a source of encouragement among peers, especially building confidence in presentation and communication skills :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Ms Ateng' we are grateful to read your comment. One way the project might benefit in the future is to find ways that more students can participate independently more readily without a teacher facilittor, and I believe that might be something that could benefit your family. I look forward to exploring that.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ty Houston
Drs. Hamilton and Espino - This video speaks mountains centered on garnering traction among young learners in the STEM orbit. Through IC4, student identity development, cross-cultural exchange, and collaborative interface (in a digital learning environment) make for ideal training of budding scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. It is undoubtedly rewarding to impact the lives of future leaders who will manage multidisciplinary, multifaceted, and multicultural teams with insights to a global mindset. ... Way to make a difference in the best way possible.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Houston, we are grateful to have your support in our project-- I can sense the passion and enthusiasm that is quintessentially you seeping through the text, I love it! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, which accurately states a lot of our hopes with our project aims to impact young learners for the better :)
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
I am especially interested in seeing where and how your research and insights on STEM education and the career paths of female engineers and female engineering executives might help us form critical learnings for this project. I think your research has lessons for addressing underrepresentation and increasing full participation in the national STEM workforce. Thank you!
Ateng' Ogwel
Heinz Ateng'
I'm immensely impressed by the IC4 project. It is so nice to see how children from different parts of the world meet and share ideas. I think that these activities and interactions will help these children to develop cultural awareness and relativism, which will be important in their social lives as they grow
Ateng' Ogwel
Yutong Tan
Thank you for this comment! I was impressed when I saw students from different continents share festivals from their own cultures with others. Especially during the pandemic period, when students have a hard time going out to see the world by themselves, this community gives them a chance to promote their cultural awareness during their meet-ups.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Heinz, thank you for sharing your thoughts about IC4. We have been fortunate to have you participate in meet-ups, so we know you are able to speak from experience. Thank you for sharing!
Ateng' Ogwel
Patrick Njoroge
I still have fond memories of the IC4 project while working with primary school children in Kenya. It's such a great platform that fosters cross-cultural collaboration & learning.
Great work to all involved and all the best!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Patrick, thank you so much for your support to our project, especially with our sites in Kenya. You have contributed greatly to the IC4 community by getting learners involved; we are so grateful to you for your heart and dedication!
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
One thing that has struck us is how you created conditions for a new IC4 site, and for that we thank you. Can you think of anything unexpected that you learned in this process?
Ateng' Ogwel
Griffin Hurt
The IC4 project has meant so much to me during my involvement as a student teacher over the last year and a half. My cultural awareness, planning, and interpersonal skills have greatly improved through working with my fellow students from all walks of life. I am grateful for everything the program has taught me and look forward to continuing to help in any way possible.
Mr. Ramirez was an amazing force of positivity for the entirety of IC4. During the first few programming lessons I taught, I was nervous and unsure of my capability as a teacher. Despite my insecurities, Mr. Ramirez was always there to reassure me and come up with new ideas for the lessons. His memory will live on through all of us that he mentored.
Ateng' Ogwel
Ateamate Mukabana
Heather Orrantia
Thank you for your contributions to the IC4 community!
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Griffin, we have been honored to have your exceptional talents and participation in the IC4 community! Thank you for always being so willing to help others and share whenever you can. You have achieved so much during your time at SF, and your future in academia is filled with so much promise-- we'll be saying we knew you when! We appreciate you taking the time to comment :)
Thank you also for sharing about Mr. Ramirez-- your account is consistent with how most people remember him, as someone who always encouraged and shared passion with others. As you say, his impact on others is his legacy.
Laura Morett
Hi Eric, the IC4 participants did a wonderful job on the video! The tribute to your late colleague, friend, and participant at the end was particularly touching.
The explanation of ENA was helpful, and the example highlighting the difference in connections between prompted and unprompted discourse was really interesting. It would be interesting to know what you think this difference means.
It was fascinating to see the diversity of topics of student projects. I'd be very interested to hear about cultural factors that you think may have affected student project choice.
It's always great to hear about this intriguing work--can't wait to see next steps!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Morett, we are grateful to have you take time to comment on our project! Glad you found the explanation of ENA helpful. In the particular example that Julia narrated (she also wrote the script on this portion based on one of our research papers), we share in the paper that there are essentially complementing patterns of discourse generated from prompts and lack of prompts; essentially, we would think prompting might heavily influence the discourse, but it doesn't dominate.
As for the topics students choose, it really is driven by their interest-- sometimes they are inspired for a topic based on their area, and sometimes they are influenced by each other; after having a heavily facilitated experience in the classroom, the learners tend to find it freeing to select whatever topic they want.
We hope to dive more deeply into how these experiences shape student identity, and also how this can translate from informal to in-classroom settings.
Lucian Talu
Such an innovative cultural engagement. This is really incredible!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you so much for the complement-- the unique global engagement helps to draw students in to participate :)
PRUDENCE AMALEMBA
Great work!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Appreciate your support and checking out our project :)
Natasha Brown
Thank you for the video showcasing your groundbreaking work in international student collaboration in remote environments. I especially appreciated the visual depicting the insights you are capturing using ENA. Congratulations on the valuable outcomes of your work to date, and best wished for continued success. Thank you again!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Brown, thank you so much for stopping by to support our project! Glad you found the ENA insights valuable, it was a lot to pack into a short video, but we're grateful to our team members Dante Schulz and Julia Savoca Gibson for their efforts in putting this together-- they are respectively graduating from George Washington University and College of William and Mary respectively, and we have been so honored to have them work on putting this video together the last two years, and in Dante's case, the last four. I'll take advantage of this moment to congratulate the Class of 2022 :)
Rui Yang Tan
The IC4 experience has been very meaningful, and getting to meet people from all walks of life as we embark on our journey of education is truly an experience to be treasured.
I have learnt much from my short stint in this project, and am very grateful to have been part of this project. I would like to thank Dr Hamilton and his team, as well as my fellow student instructors for making this experience great, and providing me with the opportunity to give back to the wider community whilst developing my skills in teaching and collaboration!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on the IC4 project video! We have been so fortunate to have your involvement with the python coding strand, everyone's experience was enriched because of your dedication and efforts. We hope you will take the experience with you and be encouraged in your teaching and collaboration skills in the future!
Dr. Henri r. Same Etame
Hi All,
Through this video and as educator and lifelong learner, it appeared obvious to me that the International Community for Collaborative Content Creation (ICCC/IC4) offers a multilingual and multicultural platform to student around the world that promotes learning through group collaboration. As Frederick Douglass once said:"It is much easier to build strong children than it is to repair broken men." For the past 5 years, IC4 has been fostering a Global Community of Learners involving four continents, namely Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe in order to provide these learners and future leaders the opportunity to "Think Local and Act Global" as well as "Think Global and Act Local" through Collaborative Leadership, Experiential Learning and other instructional practices and delivery models such as Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, Reading (WICOR), Differentiated Instruction/Scaffolding, to some extent Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) by monitoring participants' progress.
It takes creativity and innovation to to build new content that is meaningful and hands-on for lifelong learners. The IC4 also promotes, reinforces, and emphasizes on the use of the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge framework (TPACK) as a means for participants to integrate educational technology into their collaborative community as a tool for problem-solving, especially in this age of remote learning triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Through the Think-Pair-Share model, participants work as a team to solve problems and answer specific questions by tapping into their prior knowledge, thus stimulating risk-taking, creativity, and innovation. By integrating participants at various levels of educational attainment such as my former Ph.D. Classmate Dr. Seung Lee Bok and others to promote discussions among team members as a useful strategy for talent acquisition and development, by supporting students around the world. IC4 hence enhances risk-taking while fostering collective genius At the ICCC, participants use collaboration and technology to make recommendations in fighting emergent diseases such as COVID-19, and promote healthy living through healthy choices. Participants use coding and a wide variety of algorithms to tackle global issues including those of ethical nature such as human cloning. As a proponent of global and multicultural mindset, and ethno-relativism, IC4 positioned itself not only as the reservoir of future global leaders, but also as an open academy for the Ambassadors of Global Positive Change. Referring to the participants, someone posited on the video:"I like how they can be free in expressing to share their ideas to everyone."
For the past five years at IC4, we have built a Community where global participants use their collective genius and work collaboratively in multicultural and ethno-relative teams to create meaningful content by tapping into their prior knowledge in order to address global issues of the twenty first century and beyond (Same Etame, 2022).
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Same Etame, thanks for your thoughtful and extensive post about our project! We appreciate you taking the time to reflect on or efforts so thoroughly and include such rich insights and the impact our project can have on learners. We have been so impressed by our students and their involvement in IC4 beyond their classroom experience, as a way to enrich their learning based on their own interests. We hope that others get to see the benefit in the very insightful ways you have shared. Thank you again!
Dr. Henri r. Same Etame
Dr. Henri r. Same Etame
Greetings Ms. Espino,
First and foremost, I would like to once again, take my hat off to Dr. Hamilton, to you and the other co-principal investigators, to the whole team at IC4, and to all those who day in and day out, have contributed to the success of this unique adventure where everyone can become anyone. Education is a human right, not a privilege; more importantly, education is the equalizer, and most importantly, education is a common good; hence those who have that clear understanding, more than just motivating, inspire the youth to embrace it with grace and resolve. IC4 through its global outreach and talent development program, focuses on creating content through community collaboration across cultural, linguistic, and national boundaries. As transformational and servant leaders, Dr. Hamilton, and his co-principal investigators including you, have built and continue to nurture social capital by bonding and bridging participants around the world. You are the champions in the creation and dissemination of knowledge through information sharing, cross-cultural awareness, curiosity, participatory teaching, media production, collaborative disposition, social capital, cultural capital, and feedback. You are the epitome of "First Thing First." You are the true and real champions.
Kudos to you all for making the World a better Place to Be....
Reyna GR
I love the #multilingual introduction! Keep up the #amazing work! Love to hear updates and how far the collaborations have evolved!
Dr. Henri r. Same Etame
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. GR, we are humbled to have your eyes on our project! We have been so proud of how every student is able to value each others' perspectives from around the globe with such respect, especially when it comes to language. Thanks for your support :)
Yutong Tan
Hi everyone! I'm Yutong, a graduate student on the IC4 research team. As a new team member, I've had a fantastic time checking meet-up videos and finishing the transcription and coding. Every presentation that students made impressed me a lot, and I acquired more STEM knowledge from them! I'm really glad to be in this community! And hope everyone can enjoy this video!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Grateful for your involvement on the team! We appreciate your efforts with all that goes into helping us get ready for meet-up analysis :) Excited for you as you continue the dissertation journey while working with us!
Kristina Lux
I have had the incredible honor of working on this project for the last few years. The growth so many learners have shown is tremendous, including presentation skills, depth of research, and formation of identity. IC4 has had an invaluable impact on so many learners across the globe!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
What a ride it's been, right? You were with us in the OG days when we were figuring things out, and crazy how things have evolved in the best way. As always, grateful for you being on the team again and diving into all things research while still having a passion for the project itself :)
Heather Orrantia
Hello everyone! I'm a research assistant on the IC4 team. I have learned so much from our participants throughout the past year...From presentations on coding languages to environmental considerations, these students fearlessly pursue their interests and collaborate across cultures, timezones, and languages. I am in awe of their growth and success on a regular basis, and I feel so honored to be able to contribute to the research aspect of this project.
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Heather, you have been such an incredible addition to our research team, and we've been blown away by your ability to pick things up so quickly and your pristine work ethic-- a dream to have! Your insights from a psychology standpoint have been so valuable. Thank you for caring about the project and seeing how the learners are impacted by their experience and involvement in IC4. We appreciate you!
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Agree with this sentiment, and feel that your research has helped fill an important need for writeups and papers. If you have a chance, interested in learning if there are one or two things that are most unexpected about your experience in IC4 and in your synthesizing findings from it for article submission....
Haille Trimboli
This is amazing work and I enjoyed hearing about the details of this project. Thanks for participating in this work. These are future leaders for sure! When I taught internationally in Nicaragua I connected my students on a zoom call to a classroom in Canada and another in the USA and it was hands down their highlight of the year. There is so much to gain from cross cultural collaboration!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Haille, it's awesome to hear about your global teaching experience, what a great connection to our work! Indeed, when learners connect across geographical boundaries, it broadens so much perspective. Thank you for taking the time to comment-- we have been grateful to have you be involved in our QE methodology endeavors and moving research forward!
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Haile, as someone who has participated in this kind of interaction, are there lessons you have acquired or insights you have formed that perhaps you did not expect?
Shad Wachter
Technology Literacy Teacher
Being a site leader for IC4 since its inception has truly been a rewarding experience for me, but what I enjoy most about the project is the amount of learning I see from all of our participants. Because students get to choose their STE(A)M topics, the level of engagement and enthusiasm for each project increases. They can pursue topics and issues related to their experiences, location, culture, or interests. Students are able to present their projects at various times in the process, whether its brainstorming, project ideation, refining, or completion. The feedback participants give to one another opens new opportunities to study further and build off of each other's experiences. Watching these connections emerge is truly amazing! Thank you, Dr. Hamilton for inviting me to be a part of this project. Thank you, Danielle, for your enthusiastic leadership. Thank you, research team for all of your work behind the scenes, showing the quantitative importance of this project through the analyzation of the qualitative data (does that make sense?). Thank you, fellow facilitators and site leaders, for encouraging your students to participate. And especially thank you, students, for teaching us how you learn in this ever-more connected world we share.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Shad, it has been an honor to have you involved in our IC4 community for so long-- one of our original site leaders! I think you, Zach and Israel/Jacky have been our longest IC4 partners, and we could not be more grateful. It's been quite a journey in evolving the project community, but the aim and outcome has persisted-- for students to have enriching, interest driven learning experiences motivated by global connection through meet-ups. Thank you for sharing your observations and thoughts above-- your perspective as a site leader is critical to have in our conversations/discussions about IC4. You and Mr. AJ Mannarino have been so awesome at South Fayette! Thank you for everything!
Ethan Hamilton
Always good to see these updates on IC4! So thrilling to see this work continuing year after year, as well as the young leaders that get to participate and continue building the program. For all those working directly on the IC4 team, thank you for your work to move this project -- and by extension all the others that will follow its lead -- further up and further in.
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Ethan, thanks for taking the time to comment on IC4! you've seen it evolve with insights from our beloved Dr. Hamilton ;) I want to echo your sentiments of thanking everyone who has been involved to move this work forward, many of whom are on this discussion page, ranging from our research team, site leaders, parents, supporters, and most important-- our students, and heartbeat of the IC4 community :)
Carol Carson
I am in awe of this video. As a lifelong educator and learner, I am humbled by this creative space that empowers K through 12 youth to develop skills and competencies that will enable them to compete in the global economy.
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Carson, thank you so much for taking the time to check out our video, and for recognizing the value our effort to developing youth for the future!
Liz Robertson
Thank you for sharing this inspirational video about IC4! I was honored to glimpse behind the curtain and witness the deeply meaningful work in which these young global leaders are engaged. As an educator, I am filled with hope for the future when I see the global collaboration that is being modeled so effectively by these brilliant students. Thank you for your leadership, Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Espino!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Liz, feeling so humbled by your supportive words and sentiments towards our work. Thank you for finding hope in our young people when they are able to come together globally to learn and grow-- we share it too :) And thanks for all you do to help shape minds for the future through learning experiences too!
Cyrus Mema
Thank you for sharing the STEM for all video. I am always looking forward to this time of the year to watch the great work done by our Students. In fostering learning, IC4 has enabled students to interact and share projects with local and international communities. It has yielded collaboration and embracing emerging issues in creativity and innovation. There are lots of gains since IC4 inception for the last five years and thus learners have been able to gain skills in presentation and programming.Great work
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dear Cyrus, thanks for your support and commenting on the project! It's great to have your perspective here as a site leader in Kenya who has supported students in the IC4 community over the many years we have been fortunate to operate; we are so grateful for the work you have contributed to building up learners in the program. Thank you for being here to represent!
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Cyrus, hope to have opportunity in the future to learn how you situate an effort like IC4 into other rich activities such as those that you students at Mpesa experience. Thank you for your comment.
Sheri Mackey
What a wonderful way to connect young people globally and help them to learn to work together in productive ways! The use of ENA is also very useful in seeing where connections and strengths exist. What an innovative program!
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
I think the project will benefit from findings of your research on global integration, Ms Mackey. Grateful for your work and for your interest. Thank you!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Agreed, thankful you found our use of ENA in our research useful. Hope there can be some usefulness in your own work too in examining global teams. We're just starting early :)
Andy Hurford
IC4… to use a sports metaphor, I’m happy to say that I see IC4 as touching all four bases, at least! At a slightly different scale, it looks like a grand slam home run.
The (international) community of student learners, teachers, scholars, and researchers provides an incredibly rich medium for growth in about a million directions… There are student researchers—learning about local, often rural, real-life opportunities and challenges. Student researchers are learning about STEM resources and systems around the planet! Far-off places that now they’re pretty apt to visit one day! Then there are the teacher researchers, participating in all the learning that their students are, along with their own learning about teaching and learning. Next in line come the grad students, professors, and scholars, participating in their own new knowledge construction in fields as diverse (yet related and mutually informative) as ethnography and matrix algebra, just for example. That seems mindblowingly impressive in terms of a community of practice (Lave & Wenger style) of educators, situated in participatory learning at many different scales.
Being a learning researcher myself, I look at the environment that the student-learners experience. As the video points out, self-efficacy and self-identity are critical to young learners, and the collaborative and hands-on nature of the digital mixed with real world tools that you can hold in your hands is ideal to help kids to think about, become, establish who they are, in an academic and STEM-rich setting. That pretty much sounds like another win to me.
Then there’s the infrastructure building. Teaching kids and scholars alike how ENA works, how the software based tools work, and how fearsomely beautiful (and a little intimidating) mathematics can be when it’s used to help understand and bring meaning to significantly fuzzy interactions between significantly fuzzy subjects—those being people making sense of their worlds.
Okay. So then there’s international cooperation, friendship, and mutual respect building; and local (STEM associated) applications giving area youth the opportunity to be important, contributing, and respected community members.
Finally, I feel compelled, due to my own idiosyncrasies, to mention the powerful “geek attractant” aspect of ENA and it’s graphics and visualizations—there’s nothing I like better than “boldly going” into the world of mind-numbing mathematics that may or may not turn out to be absolutely worthless (but sometimes valuable too)! LOL!
So anyway, Thanks IC4. I think you’re doing a wonderful job in important directions! Keep up the good work!
—Andy Hurford.
(And by the way—many kudos to the writers, actors, producers, and directors of your superior video introduction!)
Ateng' Ogwel
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Wow, thank you so much for this thoughtful and thorough comment and assessment of IC4! I appreciate the dot connecting you've articulated with how all the people involved maneuver and impact each other. We are truly grateful for our community, and supporters like you who see the richness and value that comes from it. The use of ENA to help us do our analysis to boot just makes it all the more exciting-- and as you describe, has a great geek attractant (can we borrow that for other presentations? :). Thanks for your support and interest in our work-- we know you are making great strides in supporting our collective research efforts!! Glad to have you on board.
Thanks for the kudos on the video creators! We are honored to have Dante and Julia who led this effort, and are both graduating from college this month-- we have been so blessed.
Oh, and more importantly, I know that Eric will love the baseball analogy you made at the beginning ;)
Ateng' Ogwel
Eric, Danielle, Zach and team,
This is an amazing progress in IC4. It is impressive to note the inclusion of countries that were not initially in the Project.
It's befitting to dedicate this years presentation to Israel. He was a true mentor, and remains an icon for all those involved in IC4 and related initiatives.
Ateamate Mukabana
IC4 Facilitator
Ateng',
I totally agree with you. Israel was a strong pillar in mentoring and getting the best out of the IC4 members. He was a light to everyone who had a chance to interact with him and impacted many people. We will remember his greatness forever!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
We are always in awe of your support over the years-- we owe much to you for establishing our most critical connection in Kenya, and with Zach, who has sustained our partnership for so many years. Your heart is golden.
I want to echo your words of dedication about Israel-- he really was a true mentor for all of us. Dedicating our video this year was the least we could do, but his legacy will live on through the many students he empowered with his encouragement!
Libby Johnson
Thanks for sharing this video about IC4! It's great to hear more about the latest in this important work!!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you for stopping by-- we have a lot of research papers, but this showcase video is the one opportunity where we get to disseminate to a wider audience in a much more accessible way :)
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Hope to have more opportunity in the future to connect this work to your efforts in promoting design thinking and user-centered problem solving, Ms Johnson. Thank you.
Bryan (he/él/they/elle)
The future of education and our world look much brighter today than ever thanks to the insights of this IC4 global collaboration. Hearing students narrate and provide insights about their experiences in the video, as well as reading so many comments about their growth and feelings of community with peers across the globe are truly inspiring. As a humanities researcher and instructor, I appreciate the leadership of educators and students in this project and hope to encourage those in my field to find similar ways to enrich our student learning experiences. Looking forward to following this work!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
So grateful for your support of our efforts, and for seeing the value of these global collaborations in enriching student learning. We hope that these kind of efforts can have a broader impact and adoption so others can have the same great privilege of getting to see the interactions and impact firsthand too :) Thank you for taking the time to make it to our page!
Bryan (he/él/they/elle)
The future of education and our world look much brighter today than ever thanks to the insights of this IC4 global collaboration. Hearing students narrate and provide insights about their experiences in the video, as well as reading so many comments about their growth and feelings of community with peers across the globe are truly inspiring. As a humanities researcher and instructor, I appreciate the leadership of educators and students in this project and hope to encourage those in my field to find similar ways to enrich our student learning experiences. Looking forward to following this work!
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Dear Bryan, thank you for these sentiments. We are seeking to articulate the actual ways that we operationalize real things like "feelings of community" in ways that can be shared or replicated. Thank you for your comment.
Jamie Bell
Thank you for sharing this interesting, inspiring project. The amount of engagement in this discussion thread alone attests to the appeal of your approach and its value to the participants! And thank you for the helpful visuals on how the ENA is conducted. Can you say a little bit more about the identity development aspect of the work, e.g. are you focusing on STEM identity, e.g.? And is the network assessment tool you developed available yet?
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you for making it to our page! Honored to have you check out our project. So a little bit about epistemic network analysis (ENA), it was actually developed by the Epistemic Analytics Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who have been incredible supporters of our work (shout out to Dr. Brendan Eagan who helped push us along in brilliant ways). ENA has both a webtool and an R package which is free and currently available (anyone interested should check out the website: https://www.qesoc.org/epistemic-network-analysi... ENA is a technique within the broader methodology of Quantitative Ethnography, essentially applying quant techniques on qual data, in a book published in 2017 by Dr. David W. Shaffer. The methodology has been a game changer for us in better understanding the results of our work.
As for the identity development aspect, this is a newer/different RQ we are exploring. Students have expressed and demonstrated a shift in how they understand/see themselves after their experience. There is a unique identity set that learners develop, which we are in the midst of formulating into an initial article. There is so much more to explore and ways to leverage QE to help us understand identity development better, and we have another proposal in the works focused on this. We're hopeful we'll have an opportunity to explore it more deeply in the future!
Eric Hamilton
Professor and Principal Investigator
Special thanks to all who have viewed our video and have commented on it. And special thanks to JDante Scholze and Julia Savoca and many others in producing this video - and special thanks to the family and memory of Israel Ramirez, our "Maestro."
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
I echo the appreciation for our video creators/directors! Dante Schulz, who was a participant in IC4 when he started this journey with us, continued through college and just graduated this past weekend from George Washington University, and is now moving forward with a role as a Research Fellow :) We have been so honored to have him be part of our team! Also Julia Savoca Gibson, who joined us two years ago and has made such an impact with our meet-ups, research analysis and like Dante, lending us her magical talents in video creation. Julia graduates this weekend from the College of William and Mary. Their dedication across time zones (especially when the rest of the project team is West coast based in the U.S.) speaks to their specialness. Thank you, Dante and Julia :)
And of course, our hearts are with the legendary Mr. Jose Israel Ramirez Gamez. We are forever impacted by his passion and presence. He was a cheerleader and inspiration to as all when we needed it the most.
Ana Paula Giacomassi
Director
IC4 is a brilliant project and a great stimulator of the development of STEM activities in students' lives. Especially here in Brazil, we have observed how much students are excited about the meetings and discussions that are dealt with in IC4. The exchange of experiences of each culture allows each student to break the borders of each country. It is beautiful to observe all this exchange of experience. It is an honor for us Brazilians to participate in a beautiful project like IC4.
Arquimedes Luciano
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Ana Paula, having AREA join the IC4 community was such a refreshing game changer-- thank you for being our incredible South American partners! You and Dr. Arquimedes have been so enthusiastic and critical for our goals in connecting students, we are grateful for your partnership and sharing the vision! Thanks for all your support these last several years :)
Ana Paula Giacomassi
Director
In addition to getting involved with research at IC4, my daughter Maria Cecília has been a participant since 2018. For her, IC4 opened up a great horizon of possibilities, she talks about the projects with great joy and excitement. We were able to observe her appropriation of concepts, as she feels valued and respected in each meeting. It's really beautiful to have the opportunity to see my daughter grow as a person, student and citizen of this planet that wants a better future for everyone.
Arquimedes Luciano
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you for letting Maria Cecília be part of our community. It has been an honor to have her participate! That's when you know someone cares and believes in what we do in IC4, you trusted to have your daughter be involved and got to see the impact firsthand :)
Miriam
Wow, this is amazing work!
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Appreciate you stopping by to check out the video-- glad it warrants amazing :)
Maria Cecília Giacomassi Luciano
It is a joy for me to participate in IC4. It's like a big family around the world. Watching the video and seeing how much cool work we've done is exciting. IC4 is very important in my life and has helped me to better understand the world we live in. Thank you Eric, Danielle and Seung and everyone involved in IC4 and I'm sure Israel is in our hearts.
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Dear Maria Cecília, it has been such a privilege seeing you participate and grow over the years-- your enthusiasm and confidence has been such a joy to see :) Thank you for wanting to continue to be part of the IC4 community, and sharing the impact it has had on you with others!
Arquimedes Luciano
Director of Development
Fantastic project. Ideal for preparing these children to live in a united and prosperous global society.
Arquimedes Luciano
Director of Development
Thinking about a project like IC4 is thinking about how we can prepare future generations to develop Science and Technologies together in a sustainable way. Excellent project congratulations to all involved.
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
Thank you for sharing such a powerful statement on the potential impact of the IC4 experience on future generations. We are grateful for your support, and letting Maria Cecília be involved-- because of that, you have the perspective both as a parent and researcher on the impact experiences from IC4 can have. Thank you for expressing it here :)
Danielle Espino
IC4 Project Manager and Co-Principal Investigator
We are so incredibly grateful to everyone's engagement in this year's showcase video for IC4! We have been fortunate to treat this conversation thread as a way for our participants, especially students, parents, and teachers, to experience as a community-building activity in addition to serving as a way to share this work with others. For our partners and participants in our project community, a sincere thank you for your continued collaboration. To interested colleagues and to our many supporters, thank you for your feedback.
If you feel inclined to engage with us in any way, we encourage you to email us at info@ic4.site or visit our website at http://ic4.site for more information. Thank you, all!