Megaconference Jr. in review - http://www.mohs.k12.hi.us/media-central/mega-04.html (Prepared by Moanalua High School, Hawaii)

Comments from participants about the project - (Taken from the following site - http://megaconferencejr.cciu.org/)

"Just wanted to send you a very warm mahalo for helping us to be part of this very exciting Internet 2 initiative! It was truly "chicken skin" (as we say in Hawaii) to be part of this online community...We made a lot of new friends, gained some confidence in online conferencing, and learned many new ways in which this technology can enrich the learning of our students!!! A nd...wanted to share our online MegaConference album with you"

Thanks again... Lynne & MoHS Crew - Honolulu, Hawaii
(Note:the students from Hawaii signed on at 1:00 am HST in order to take part in the entire event. )

"The conference was awesome... At Keewatin-Patricia District School Board we are very excited about how well it turned out overall. "

Del Schmucker, Keewatin-Patricia, District/Dryden High School -Ontario, Canada
(Note: Keewatin said that they had nearly 1000 students down in their media center throughout the day (!!!).

"Thank you so much for the wonderful experiences we had today at Springfield. We really had a great time and our kids just enjoyed the whole experience. The best part of this is the stimulus it has created for future experiences like this. Once again thank you for the added educational opportunity you provided our kids...... "

Randy McNally - Springfield, Pennsylvania

"There are not enough words in the world to properly thank you for this awesome day and the wonderful gift you have given our children lives - now and in the future."

Carol Scott - Mustang Valley Elementary, Oklahoma

"Thanks for allowing Toowong State School to present - everybody here thought it was fantastic. The kids had a great time and the parents were stunned by the ease of the communication between the groups around the world."

Alan Cody - University of Queensland, Australia

Comments from Megaconference Staff - Bob Dixon

Many children throughout the world will never forget their experiences of May 6, 2004. That was the day of the first-ever worldwide Internet video conference put on by the children themselves, and for themselves.  The miracle of the Internet made it possible for kids in 40 schools worldwide to make television-like educational presentations and musical performances to one another and to an additional audience of 80 more schools who watched.  The schools were in 29 states of the USA, 11 countries and every continent except Africa.

This event was called Megaconference, Jr.  It was a labor of love for the adult ‚Äúolder kids‚Äù who managed all the necessary technical and logistical details behind the scenes.

It ran for 12 hours, to accommodate school schedules in different time zones, starting with China and Singapore in the morning, and going westward around the world to Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia in the evening.  Some of the kids had to come to school early or stay late to participate. The kids in Hawaii even stayed up all night to watch the whole thing. 

The presentations were very imaginative, and included some hard-hitting social issues.

They were all fully-interactive, so all the other schools could make comments and ask questions after each presentation.

Here are some examples:

• A field trip by Singapore students to rural Borneo.
• Discussing summer camp, by deaf students in Maine.
• Exploring the Amazon, by students from Virginia.
• Messages in Societal Images, by students from Minnesota.
• Robotics, from students in Wisconsin
• Re-enacting the Oklahoma land rush (complete with covered wagons), by students from Oklahoma.
• Caring for the Environment, by students from North Carolina.
• Protecting the Sea Environment, by students from Hawaii.
• Steroids in Sports, from students in Rhode Island.
• Building Hurricane-Proof Houses, by students from Florida (using a Leaf Blower to simulate a hurricane blowing away model houses).
• Family, Discrimination, Inequality and the Role of Women, by students from North Carolina. They also spoke in Spanish to the delight of the students in Barcelona.
• The musical events were Really Good, showing great talent.  Here are a few of them:
• A jazz bass fiddle player from the New World Symphony.
• A young violinist from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
• Traditional native dances and singing by students in Alaska.
• Maori singing and dancing by students in New Zealand.
• Bongo drumming ensemble by students in Michigan.
• Native Hawaiian songs by students in Hawaii.
• Waltzing Matilda sung by students in Australia.

When the event ended, the students pleaded to continue talking with one another across the world. The equipment was left running and they had a big group talk-fest. They exchanged network addresses so they can get together in the future.  The enthusiasm and spontaneity of children knows no bounds.

The Older kids behind the scenes had a few moments of anxiety when there were a few glitches in the technology and scheduling,  but this did not bother the kids in the least.

The Older kids also had a few moments of tears in the eyes and lumps in the throat at some poignant times during the event, in wonderment and admiration at what the next generation is capable of.

You can find much more information, and pictures, and recorded video of the event, on the Megaconference Jr web site at  http://megaconferencejr.cciu.org/.