Pereslavl Summer Computer School is more virtual nowadays
Valery Rudenko
Galina Guzilova
Abstract
The paper presents the educational projects designed to bring WWW technology
into the Computer Summer School in Pereslavl-Zalessky. In summer season 1995
we organized two special ecological sessions which were precisely reflected
in html-documents. This approach help us to reconstruct learning process,
make it more sharply defined. Based on these results we now setting up
hypermedia line of the Computer Summer School from 1986 to the future.
Introduction
The first Children Computer Camp in Pereslavl-Zalessky was organized in 1986
on the initiative of academician Velikhov and director of Program Systems
Institute Prof. Ajlamazyan as a response to the need of new methods of
introducing computers to children. Being one of the first in the Russia, the
computer camp represented new attitude of young scientists to education and
bringing up of children. It was often called Summer Computer School, and was
a school of new: new in its structure, field of education, diversity of
forms of teaching and learning, new relations between teachers and students.
Since 1986 there were held more then twenty Computer Camps (two of them were
held during winter vacations). Starting with 1987 this camp is an
international camp.
Since 1988 the camp is participating in the project
"Associated UNESCO schools". Ten years of camp activity have as the result
more then 2500 participants aged from 7 to 16. Many of them were invited
several times as students and then as assistants and some of them as
teachers. Children have been from various regions of the Russia, from
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Italy, West Germany and USA (Cupertino,
Indianapolis, "New England Experience" Camp). From the very beginning of the
Computer school we have try to create new learning environment encourage
students to learn in more productive way. But the WWW technology is the
first we have try to based the reflection of whole summer school activity.
Virtual reflection of the school programs
First Summer Computer School session with WWW reflection was organized on
the territory of ICCC near Pereslavl-Zalessky. During the session all school
departments created open-ended html-documents about their activity. These
documents were very helpful for everybody in the summer school:
- to manage program more effectively (administrators);
- to know more about colleagues works (tutors);
- to know more about future activities (students);
- to present and restore results of educational projects (students and tutors).
The results of the educational program of the session is outlined below:
http://iccc.botik.ru/ICCC/July95/
Department of Ecology
The department of Biology and Ecology is working on the project "Description
of Ecological Trails in the Urochishche Kukhmap Nature Preserve." The
children act as trailblazers -- they decide themselves where to put the
trails. They study the surroundings of the camp and decide where to place
the main observation points of the trails, and then make an illustrated
discription of the trails.
Telecommunication Center
Russian-Japanese Telecommunication Project "Rainbow Bridge in Summer-95".
This is the third year of the project "Rainbow Bridge in Summer" which
links the students of the International Computer Camp-School
(Pereslavl-Zalessky) and the students of Shimizu International Junior High
School (Japan). This project was made possible on the Japanese side by the
generous support of Apicnet. In Russia, the project was backed by the
Programs Systems Institute (Pereslavl-Zalessky).
Lego-Logo Center
In the Logo-Lego Department the teachers introduce educational ideas with
help of Logo (on the computer) and Lego Dacta (building materials). On the
one hand, they are studying Logo and Lego in order to understand technology,
and on the other hand to create worlds of our own, and to understand all of
the complications that this task demands. Therefore, the projects include
aspects of history, art, and literature.
Psychological Center
The main idea of the project is to teach students to analyze the draw
""Nonexistent animal" and after it to understand:"Is knowledge is so big
power that it can change our behaviour?"
Architecture and Landscape Design
The department of landscape design provided the children with an opportunity
to learn about the history of garden and park design. During the camp our
students will participate in the following projects:
- Seramida's Hanging Gardens
- Landscapes near the ICCC
- Composition on the base of natural materials
- Joint Project with Ecological Theater
The Ecological Theater
The main idea of the Ecological Theater this season is to create different
versions of an "ecological" fairy tale: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears".
During the camp we will present:
- "Goldilocks and the Three Bears in the ancient world"
- "Goldilocks in the Italian comedy"
- "Goldilocks Dreams"
- "Goldilocks on the West"
Second Summer Computer School session with WWW reflection was organized on
the territory of Pustyn biostation near Nizhny Novgorod. Second school
accepted heritage of the first. The outline of the educational program of
the session is following: Department of the Hydrobiology, Department of
Plants, General Genetics Lecture Hall, Project 10, Lego-Logo Center,
Medicine and Sexology, English Club, The Ecological Theater. We began to
build a virtual spation model of Pustyn's school on the with the help of
different media - texts, drawings, photos. On the both schools the results
of students work were reserved on the school Web
(http://u-pereslavl.botik.ru/UP/pustyn/).
Hypermedia historical line of school development
We believe that WWW media is very promising way to reserve and share
educational heritage. That is why we have organized special WWW site which
present ten years history of the Pereslavl Summer Computer School. This
WEB-site location is : http://u-pereslavl.botik.ru/uchcom/. There is
information not only about Pereslavl summer schools but about summer schools
in another regions.
Information about the authors:
Valery Rudenko is a senior scientific researcher in the University of Pereslavl
Galina Guzilova is a scientific researcher in the University of Pereslavl