Symbols+of+Peace+World+Project

=Project: Symbols of Peace™(SOP)=

Theme: Digital Stories from Around the World
The SIG Project Advisers: Dr. Joyce Pittman-McLaughlin, Chair E-mail address: jmclaughlin84@yahoo.com

Dr. Minnie Ladores, Coordinator Email address: minnieladores@gmail.com

1. Peace Education Resolution
At the WCCI 13th Annual Conference, Antalya, Turkey, September 2-7, the IT-SIG (Now MT Sig) adopted a resolution for using instructional and information technologies to advance teaching and learning about Peace education in K-Adult levels.

The WCCI SIG for instructional technology will engage and promote digital projects that support intercultural awareness, knowledge of the world and peace education through collaborative learning and teaching experiences that connect international partners from various disciplinary areas.

2. Project Summary
The project coordinates the efforts of experts and students from around the world to develop and disseminate digital materials and assessment tools that will expand the focus on the world's attention beyond basic education to Peace education curriculum. The strategies will promote an interdisciplinary approach to infusing Peace education into learning and teaching science, mathematics, literacy (verbal and written). These skills will improve intercultural awareness, relations and knowledge of the world. In return people and nations will be successful in understanding and practicing Peace-making in the foreseeable future.

3. Vision
The SIG's vision for encouraging advancing Culture of Peace Education in teaching and learning is to create active learning and teaching materials. The digital materials are expected to improve knowledge and awareness of peace education through activities that improve academic performance, literacy and technology skills of students using oral and written storytelling that is shared through metaphoric digital imaging and virtual environments.

4. Project Materials
The IT-SIG Symbols of Peace project proposes to concurrently develop two sets of products: digital stories and teacher guided materials for curriculum integration. The digital stories program is an experimental program using information technology and Symbols of Peace™ stories to support creative, student centered, active learning model of instruction to integrate peace education into different subject areas. The project will is designed to give WCCI members, educators and students opportunity to progress peace education through innovation aimed at active learning and teaching methodology for building knowledge of the world, intercultural awareness and global collaborating.

The WCCI's IT-SIG’s conceptualization and implementation of the overarching goals and objectives of IT-SIG’s Symbols of Peace™ digital stories Project” is expected to demonstrably mature as various disciplines are woven together in the fabric of the stories. The summative reports and publications will be designed to help policymakers understand the progress that WCCI has made in promoting Peace Education in curriculum and instruction through a collaborative community. The COE's Symbols of Peace™ digital stories Project will represent an expansion of WCCI's research and practice efforts to expand the United Nations Culture of Peace signatory and partnership agreement.

6. Project Executive Summary
For the purpose of this document, an //Active Learning Symbols of Peace™ Education Proje//ct will be considered as a digital object, course, workshop or activity in which active learning about Peace Education is introduced in the curriculum. The project must stimulate and support students' engagement in thinking and doing something besides listening to a lecture, taking notes, and reading textbooks about Peace Education. Projects may support talking and listening to one another, or writing, reading, doing research and reflecting individually. This means that for active learning to happen, teaching or instructional strategies must be active.

The //Symbols of Peace™// digital stories project was designed in hopes of creating stimulating learning environments and approaches that appeals to the net generation of podcasters, bloggers, chatters, and more. A major focus of the Symbols of Peace™ digital stories program is to change the way educators teach the principles of Peace Education. Research concludes the most critical factor to the success of the Symbols of Peace™ digital stories course is the instructor’s approach to teaching, which is guided by the instructional design and philosophy of teaching.

Collaborative teams around the globe will develop:

 * Text,voice, and video descriptions of Cultures of Peace in different ways. Projects will include visual images, video, art, websites or multimedia presentations that describe their definition or wishes for Peace in the world.
 * Case studies of classrooms, schools, businesses or organizations that have made development contributions will be included in the project descriptions, reports and publications (online and text formats for some)
 * An online repository of digital peace projects designed to promote the ongoing development of Peace Education activities to help educators explore how to develop and implement similar projects will be shared.

The Peace Education skills that related to 21st century skills in this project include:

 * Creativity and Innovation
 * Communication and collaboration
 * Research skills and information literacy
 * Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
 * Technology operations and concepts
 * Digital citizenship, Global awareness and systems thinking

The findings from the Phase I //Symbols of Peace™// digital stories Project will hopefully suggest Phase II Project strategies for promoting the most effective methods for using new technologies to advance peace education learning activities in a myriad of cross-disciplinary approaches. Online Project Design and professional development guidelines and support to participants will focus on how to engage active learning using Symbols of Peace digital stories projects.

=Do you have a Symbol of Peace project in mind?= Please view this document for more information about how you can be a part of Symbols of Peace!