Cole Blaise documents his study abroad experience in the Czech Republic. This is an excellent web series that illustrates a typical American student abroad.
Month: September 2010
Top 5 Tips on How to Get the Most Out of your Study Abroad Office
Melibee Global's Top 5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of your Study Abroad Office.
Amanda Knox Movie Planned
Update on Amanda Knox; Hayden Panetierre will play her in the film.
The Study Abroad Urban Dictionary
An international educator discovers how the term study abroad is defined on the Urban Dictionary!
The New Americans: A Documentary about Recent US Immigrants
Information about "The New Americans" documentary and how it can be used as a learning tool.
Funding Study Abroad: Upcoming Webinars
Funding is so often an issue – in life and in study abroad. The good news is that there IS funding out there for study, research, internships and professional development. The challenge is that many students (and faculty/administrators) find out about it too late to apply.
There are two organizations that are incredibly generous with their funding – and they will be offering webinars that you MUST put on your calendar.
1) NSEP Boren Awards
Boren Scholarships and Fellowships provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to add an important international and language component to their educations. We focus on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study that are critical to U.S. national security (broadly defined), and underrepresented in study abroad. Note that students must be US citizens at the time of application. Click here for the list of their free webinars through January 2011. These scholarships and fellowships are administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York City.
2) DAAD: German Academic Exchange Service
I have written about DAAD several times on Melibee Global; I was funded by them to visit Germany in 2009 and it was a wonderful opportunity. This is a unique organization in that it also funds faculty and administrative staff travel also. Their 2010 webinar dates are not listed on their own website yet – but here is the information:
DAAD Funding Opportunities for Study and Research in Germany
Covering funding for summer, semester, year-long and short-term study,
research and internships in Germany. All academic disciplines are eligible.
(General overview of DAAD funding)
Wednesday, September 22
12:00 – 1:15 pm EST
Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/299585570
DAAD Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students, Post-Docs and Faculty
Covering funding for graduate students, post-docs and faculty to conduct
short and long-term study, research and internships in Germany. All academic
disciplines are eligible.
Tuesday, September 28
2:00 – 3:15 pm EST
Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/793616370
DAAD Application Walk-Through
Addressing common questions about the application process, from the study
proposal to letters of invitation and everything in between.
Monday, October 4
2:00–3:00 pm EST
Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/687205523
DAAD Funding Opportunities for Study and Research in Germany
Covering funding for summer, semester, year-long and short-term study,
research and internships in Germany. All academic disciplines are eligible.
[General overview of DAAD funding]
Wednesday, October 13
2:00 – 3:15 pm EST
Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/678872035
Please Vote for Me: An Experiment in Democracy by 8 year olds in China
If you read Melibee regularly, you know I’m a big fan of documentaries. I have written extensively about Crossing Borders, a film that I think should be screened everywhere! This weekend, I watched a terrific documentary from China entitled “Please Vote for Me.” Here is the trailer:
This film chronicles 3 adorable eight year old children (Xu Xiaofei, Cheng Cheng and Luo Lei) vying for the title of “classroom monitor.” The film, directed by Weijun Chen, claims to have documented the first democratically elected elementary school classroom monitor in the city of Wuhan (in central China.)
This film is an outstanding educational tool on many different levels. First, I found it hysterical (and sad) that these kids were so competitive that they manipulated, bribed and tortured their competitors. They engaged in political strategy and debates that make some very seasoned politicians look amateurish! Perhaps most disturbing was how incredibly overly involved their parents were in the coaching of their political “campaigns.” You had to wonder at times who was running for the position.
This film gives a bird’s eye view of a Chinese elementary school in a large city. We see some of the opening school ceremonies, the classroom spaces and learning tools, the food eaten at lunch (which certainly looks a heck of a lot healthier than the average American classroom school lunch!) and the type of dialogue between students and their teachers. We also see 3 different homes: one of a married couple, one of a single mother, and one of a mother who has remarried. Finally, we get a sense of life in a country with a one-child policy.
This film creates an excellent opportunity to explore politics, human nature (are we naturally competitive? is feeling guilty when we wrong someone a universal feeling? etc), education and family dynamics.
The film is only an hour long and is an easy, funny and enjoyable film to watch. (Subtitles are in English.) You may purchase the film here:
The Ninth Anniversary of 9/11 and our Profound Responsibility to Work Toward Peace
The 9th anniversary of 9/11 - an opinion from a New Yorker and international educator.
DAAD: Chemistry Research and Higher Education Visit to Germany
Information on applying to DAAD's Chemistry Research and Higher Education visit for December 2010.
Former FBI Agent Claims Amanda Knox is Innocent
Update on Amanda Knox case - new supporter, former FBI agent Steve Moore, comments on why he believes she is innocent.
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