Volunteer to Explore Other Cultures
New from the Peace Corps is an Internet-based program for American educators who wish to enhance their current curriculum with authentic, timely, first-person accounts of experiencing new cultures.
CyberVolunteer connects classrooms in the United States with a currently serving Peace Corps volunteer through e-mail correspondence. Teachers receive nine e-mails throughout the school year covering each of the three regions the Peace Corps serves.
The messages received through CyberVolunteer can be used in conjunction with many of the other resources available on the World Wise Schools Web site, such as the Destination: Paraguay video and study guide, and the 'Looking at Ourselves and Others' and 'Culture Matters' volunteer stories. An organized schedule detailing the name and location of each featured CyberVolunteer is also provided.
Interested instructors should note that the e-mail correspondence is not one-to-one. Rather, the volunteers’ letters are shared with a large group of classrooms through a listserv. However, one-to-one correspondence matches are available by visiting the correspondence match section of the Web site. In addition, it is possible to participate in the CyberVolunteer program and the correspondence match simultaneously. Teachers interested in receiving messages from CyberVolunteers may register directly at the Web site at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/cybervol. Peace Corps, Washington, D.C. (800) 424-8580, www.peacecorps.gov.New from the Peace Corps is an Internet-based program for American educators who wish to enhance their current curriculum with authentic, timely, first-person accounts of experiencing new cultures. CyberVolunteer connects classrooms in the United States with a currently serving Peace Corps volunteer through e-mail correspondence. Teachers receive nine e-mails throughout the school year covering each of the three regions the Peace Corps serves.
The messages received through CyberVolunteer can be used in conjunction with many of the other resources available on the World Wise Schools Web site, such as the Destination: Paraguay video and study guide, and the 'Looking at Ourselves and Others' and 'Culture Matters' volunteer stories. An organized schedule detailing the name and location of each featured CyberVolunteer is also provided.
Interested instructors should note that the e-mail correspondence is not one-to-one. Rather, the volunteers’ letters are shared with a large group of classrooms through a listserv. However, one-to-one correspondence matches are available by visiting the correspondence match section of the Web site. In addition, it is possible to participate in the CyberVolunteer program and the correspondence match simultaneously. Teachers interested in receiving messages from CyberVolunteers may register directly at the Web site at www.peacecorps.gov/wws/cybervol. Peace Corps, Washington, D.C. (800) 424-8580, www.peacecorps.gov.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/2001 issue of THE Journal.