Finding the Beauty of Civilization of Three Thousand Years At an awards ceremony for the Intel Teach Program, a peculiarly-dressed and beautiful girl from the Dan minority, an old fishing boat and a fisherman’s singing attracted everyone’s attention. As principal of Haicheng District No 9 Elementary School in Beihai, Guangxi Province, I have been exploring for years how to make breakthroughs in the “cramming” method of teaching. The ideas that the Intel Teach Program advocates, such as encouraging students’ creativity, teamwork and problem-solving skills and letting children take the initiative to learn, were fresh and new to me. My school is adjacent to a fishing island, which is the birthplace of the Danjia culture – a typical marine civilization, but my students knew little about the characteristic culture. Being aware of the problem, I said “I will find a way to combine active learning, exploring spirit and issues around us, so that children can know more about their hometown.” I designed a field study project – “Look for Danjia People.” Students formed teams to collect cultural relics of the Danjia. At the beginning stage of data collection, some unknown legends of the Danjia culture, the accumulation of three thousand years of history, and the vast information about the ancestry of fishing residents touched the souls and lives of students. In the following field study, unique customs, such as “when visiting the home of a Danjia family, do not step on the threshold of the door,” or “when people of Dan minority eat fish, they call 'turn over the fish'” and “Danjia people use boats as their homes” inspired the children’s interest. Especially when they heard the vague but penetrating love songs from the elderly Danjia people, the children said “We never expected that we would be so impressed by the old Danjia songs.” In my view, all of this is the practical result of a new educational philosophy, which helped students change their understanding about the world when they study and record the past. Therefore, when presenting results, I used to think students were too young to study and understand such profound concepts as civilization. But with the innovative methods of the Intel Teach Program, the children not only resurrected the culture of the ancestor in their minds, but also developed a love for the old civilization. I also believe that the students will create their own bright future after experiencing and recording dying civilizations.

I feel responsible for the future of my students. The 21st century is here, and I feel that being involved in the Intel Teach Program has helped boost my competence as a teacher to start on a more challenging teaching/ learning process where an aware and wise use of technology makes the difference!

This door symbolizes the entrance to a temple where we (teachers) are messengers of the goddess Saraswati, and we are here to impart knowledge and inculcate good manners among students for their overall personality development and also help them to become good and responsible citizens.

The Intel Teach program has improved my teaching ability, enriched my career resources, and enabled my students to open the gate to high-level thinking.

The magnetism that pulls me towards the Intel Teach program is that it enables the teachers to expand the boundaries of the classroom and connects the knowledge being imparted with life outside the class -- therefore making knowledge an integral part of the student’s life.

Intel Teach course transformed my outlook for the student teacher relationship. It relates to the current needs of the times. It helps in Project based learning and provides a platform for the students to develop holistically. Nowadays there is increasing need of technology-based learning that brings the practical approach to the classroom. Intel made me think that Change is possible and The students can be the change in today’s times…

Intel Teach has brought new life to my teaching career. The use of technology in classroom teaching has given a new meaning to teaching and learning. My school is in the rural area and mostly girls from minority communities are natives of the school. The importance of education is very meager in the community. Something was needed to get the girls to school and make them continue their studies -- which could act as a catalyst to ignite the fire of knowledge in the girls and then later be reciprocated through the girls to the community. After being trained as a Master Trainer under the Intel Teach program, the first thing I did was to get the other staff members to embrace the new methodology and technology in their teaching, followed by getting girls involved in learning through project-based approaches. I taught them how to make use of technology

Technology brings students from behind closed doors into a world of knowledge. I began work at the eMINTS National Center in Columbia, Missouri (USA) in 2000 and since then I’ve been training and coaching classroom teachers and I am amazed at how much has changed in that time!! An eMINTS classroom looks like a regular classroom except that it has lots of cool technology for students and teachers. Each room has an interactive whiteboard, scanner, camera, internet connections, a printer, and computers for students and teachers to use at any portion of the school day. I am currently providing professional development to 7/8th grade teachers in my portion of the state that are a part of our I3 validation study. These teachers want to enrich the learning in their classrooms by integrating technology in meaningful and purposeful ways. They will do this using a 1:1 classroom laptop environment in combination with eMINTS and Intel Teach Thinking with Technology professional development programs. _____________________________________________ [Intel editor's note: Intel Teach Thinking with Technology is course designed to help teachers learn instructional strategies for addressing and assessing thinking skills, using technology to support deeper understanding of core content. The goal is for teachers to leave the course with a standards-based unit plan, support materials, and implementation strategies to improve and assess students’ higher-order thinking with the use of free online tools.]

When technology's door is opened, we let in infinite possibilities… That is how the Intel Teach program has entered my school and my professional CV. It has helped me to rethink methodologies, to plan new teaching practices and to reinvent the teaching/learning processes. Learning, experiencing and living are part of my daily life through this door. I believe the education is the door for new possibilities in children's lives. New technologies came to enhance even more our students' artistic productions, who now have new possibilities of creation.

The transformation of me … Have you ever read the book Doors, by Roxie Munro, an interactive “lift-the-flap” book for children? “This is a door of a different kind…to fantastic worlds that will open your mind…” Behind Door Number One: The Transformation of Pedagogy: New Vision…New Mission Twelve years ago, I was selected to be one of several teachers in my district to participate in a new program entitled Intel Teach to the Future. I really didn’t know much about the program, yet it was new and I have always had a strong desire to learn about the latest and greatest things happening in technology. I was thrilled to be selected and to attend my first Master Teacher training. Like many others that attended this training, I had pre-conceived notions that this training would be just like all the other technology trainings that I had attended. But, to my great surprise, within the first thirty minutes of that training, I realized how wrong I was. High quality integration, interactive collaboration, new pedagogy, relevant materials and engaging hands-on activities pushed beyond the boundaries of my technology integration and skill level at the time. I had a feeling of being overwhelmed, excited, inspired and motivated all at the same time. As I listened to the trainer, I thought to myself, “I’m going to do what? And… I’m going to turn in what and I have until when to get this done?” I can still hear her say…. “And you too can become a Senior Trainer…” I still remember my thinking… “Yeah right! I can’t even turn on my laptop and locate my CD!” After completing this train-the-trainer model, I couldn’t wait to return to my district to share my new found knowledge with my students and peers. Intel trained teachers to take what they learn back to their classrooms to give students the opportunities to increase skills while making global connections with digital tools. I can truly say Intel Teach has effectively transformed my teaching and learning models in the classroom. Behind Door Number Two: Transformation from Learner to Facilitator… Paradigm Shift…Enabling and Engaging Others. After delivering a few Master Teacher trainings in my district, I was asked to become an Intel National Senior Trainer. As an ST, I was able to share my knowledge and skills with students and teachers in my district, and also to inform and educate my peers throughout the United States. Fast forward ten years… I have been with Intel Teach since the very beginning and have seen the progression of the different courses as I grew with the program. I consider Intel Teach and Teachers Engage to be outstanding professional development resources, where cutting-edge tools help to engage both students and teachers and allow them to become global collaborators who transform teaching and learning in the 21st century. Attending that first training was the best educational decision I have ever made. From that very first hour, there was a paradigm shift for me in what “technology integration” was all about. This was what I needed to continue my quest to be a life-long learner and to take my teaching and learning to the next level. I have enjoyed my journey of learning with the program and how it has enhanced not only my own learning, but that of countless administrators, teachers and students with whom I have worked, and made a difference for them. We open different doors throughout our lifetimes... all doors provide learning experiences to all that enter. It is up to us to know how to enrich those experiences.

The Intel Teach program helps teachers to master new technologies for teaching and reinforces the desire for teachers to improve their skills.

Technology enables more efficient performance to create a more agile education system. The Intel Teach Essentials course made me realize that computer skills improve my capability to teach and helps me to have the confidence to use technology applications to simulate real-world environments and create tangible environments for learning growth. By doing this, my students are able to carry out authentic activities as real workers, explore new learning dimensions, communicate with people of different cultures, and use a variety of tools to gather information and solve problems.

One of the key moments in my professional development was learning from the Intel Teach Essentials Course («Design activity in the information educational environment of the XXI-st century») .The big thing, I consider, is the leading idea of the Program - effective use of information and educational technologies. Technologies which we practiced using during the course, I now use effectively in my pedagogical activity. Intel Teach has allowed me to understand this success: inner confidence that my pupils will live in life with values, knowledge and the skills that really are necessary for the person in the 21 century. It also is the most important thing - achievement of internal success, satisfaction and the professional work. The lessons of the Intel Teach course is an open door in new understanding at higher level of life, a new educational system, overall objectives and problems.

The future is not simply near – it looks at me every day through my students’ wide-open eyes. It’s not me who is leading children, it’s they who stretch out their hands to me. The Intel Teach Program gives me a chance to reach them.

I was introduced to the magical world of Intel in 2009 when my Institute nominated me to be a Master Trainer for Intel Teach Essentials Online and Essentials Course. Over the years I have trained many of our teachers in Intel Teach Trainings. Now, we are making a difference by inculcating not only technological literacy, but also the competency to impart collaboration, critical thinking, media literacy and communication skills, enabling students to be self directed and fully empowered with 21st century skills. The Intel Teach Program helped me to convert my classroom from “Teacher centered” to “Student Centered” by kindling curiosity and promoting students’ creativity. My objective for this step is to make my students competent enough to match those in any part of the world. I am trying to implement PBL in all of my classes. After learning from the Intel Teach Courses, I created wikis for collaboration with other TEVTA (Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority) Institutes. I uploaded the resource material for students on my wiki and motivated students to submit their assignments online for teacher as well as peer feedback. My students are doing this activity in group as many of my students have no computer or internet at their homes. They are grouped in a way to help each other to complete the task. Intel Teach Program helped me to develop self-direction among students; when I facilitate my students in collaborating to do projects, I consider myself socially responsible and accountable. My Intel experience helped me to enliven my dream to make a change for students who lack resources. The change in students is tremendous. I felt my students grow up having the capability to think big and independently with greater self-reliance and self-confidence. Within two months from the commencement of the session, even the shiest students tried to express themselves in class interactive activities. My long term goal is to get rid of the traditional education system entirely from my pedagogical practices and replace it with project/activity based learning (PBL). So far the biggest hindrance I am facing is to motivate other teachers to use technology in their classroom ambiance. The teachers in our educational system are reluctant to use technology. Many of our teachers do not realize their dynamic role to make students more conscious and socially aware global citizens. I give all the credit to Intel programs and the Teachers Engage community for opening a new door of learning and enabling me to use student oriented methodologies to make them self-confident and successful member of global citizenry.

Before I came to this training program I was unaware of preparing subject-wise projects. Now I am fully equipped with the skills and knowledge required for project-based learning. It is only through this training program that I received a complete idea of using computers and related equipment in preparing projects in my primary subject -- Mathematics. I can proudly say this training has delivered many benefits – all made possible by the talented and untiring lecturers of Intel Teach.