I have been teaching English in Israel since 1990. For the past 5 years the dynamic and interactive nature of the Internet has been steadily luring me away from textbook based EFL (English as a Foreign Language) instruction.  My recognition of the potential for genuine exchange and real-world learning has motivated me to extend myself beyond the walls of my classroom and borders of the conflicted country in which I live.

Working with only a simple home based dial-up connection in a remote rural community of northern Israel, I have initiated and managed a number of student-centered projects which have fostered and supported global collaboration among more than 12, 000 learners and teachers in 36 countries worldwide. While sustaining an authentic dimension to the curriculum, these telecollaborative projects have encouraged student ownership, promoted creativity and celebrated cultural diversity. Through my efforts I have established a significant network of hundreds of dedicated educators committed to building bridges and securing a brighter future for the next generation.  In this narrative I will describe the process that has led to these projects as well as the projects themselves.

Participation in exciting and enriching online shared learning activities such as The Monster Project and Day I Was Born Project left a lasting impression on my perception of teaching and learning. Convinced of the benefits of online collaboration, I was more than eager to share my enthusiasm with my colleagues.  Having worked for EFL publishers on textbooks and EFL games, I seized the opportunity to co-author  “Surfing in English” an Internet Guide book for Beginners (http://www.upp.co.il//bookindex5.htm). I also contributed articles to English and Educational Journals both in print and online
 (http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/eini.htm).

Determined to reach even more teachers, I volunteered as a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) councilor and devoted my free time to developing workshops on technology-enhanced education and creating an EFL project clearing house resource.   I also used the web publishing technology at Schoollife.net (now defunct) to build my own school’s website. The site hosted our project activities, provided teacher resources, as well as interactive language activities for each of my classes, grades 4-9. I was rewarded for my efforts with positive feedback from teachers, students and parents as well as first prize in Schoollife.net’s international web building contest.   

By the year 1999, I was more than inspired by my positive experiences and ready to initiate a project of my own.

I had originally designed Friends and Flags (http://www.friendsandflags.org) as a simple project for my 9th graders. As an EFL teacher my objective was to combine English language instruction with technology to achieve a meaningful social, cultural and personal learning experience. My plan was to have my students assume the role of foreign ambassadors for a year long Internet exchange with partner classes from 5 different countries. This was to be complimented by cultural research packages sent by post by each of the classes in our international mail group. The 'many to many exchange’ would provide all participants with an opportunity to create and receive a finished product that would reflect their culture as well as the project goals.  

I began looking for partners by posting an invitation to join Friends and Flags on the project registry at GSH   (http://www.globalschoolhouse.org). Within days I was overwhelmed with responses from over 80 interested educators from various geographical locations. I realized that this was an opportunity not to be missed and refused to allow lack of funding and meager resources stand in the way of this enormous and exciting undertaking. Once again, I took advantage of my professional connections, this time as a teacher trainer in both the Jewish and Arab Sectors. I approached teachers from the two arenas and asked them to represent Israel in international learning teams of their own.  As a result, a total of 15 schools represented Israel in the project’s first year. In this way Friends and Flags fostered unique opportunities for collaboration among Jewish and Arab educators within Israel.  

By accepting the challenge of creating and moderating additional mail groups, I had become a global educator!  In that initial year of F&F, I coordinated 15 international groups of 6 member classes each, with a total of 25 countries participating.  During the past 4 years students from 360 schools around the globe have joined the project and collaborated to gain valuable knowledge and cultural communication skills. By adapting the project to suit learners’ needs I have been able to promote equal learning opportunities for all student populations. This has created a safe and dynamic online learning environment with tangible results.  The website, http://www.friendsandflags.org has become a rich, interactive community.  It has enabled teachers, students and parents to contribute content and participate in asynchronous learning opportunities.

 Ongoing virtual community building project activities continue to strengthen Friends and Flag’s mission of multi-cultural collaboration. The logo contest has promoted artistic creativity and imagination while the   Friends and Flags Multi-cultural quilt (http://www.friendsandflags.org/quilt/index.htm) has added an element of creative cooperation both among participants and within the local communities. Many partners have encouraged active involvement of grandparents, parents, youth leaders and other members of society.

The large number of educators involved in the project demanded an efficient channel of communication. A comprehensive Teacher’s kit provided clear project guidelines. The teacher email list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/friendsandflags2001) and scheduled teacher chats have enabled me to mentor and foster communication for the duration of the project.  Email lists organized by country facilitated additional channels of communication and support for teachers from the same geographical location.

The supportive and compassionate tone of the list has played a significant role in the bonding of the members of the project.  Partners have exhibited heartfelt concern for colleagues whether they are Arab and Israeli teachers enduring the stress of the Middle East Conflict, or victims of the horrible tragedy of September 11th, 2001. Each year the teachers and students of Friends and Flags have rallied to show their support in the form of supportive emails, care packages and fund raising.

Since the project began I have continued to contribute to EFL literature on the impact of multi-cultural learning. In various journals and articles I explain how, through Friends and Flags, students have: 

• developed an awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity

• learned to use a variety of technology tools

• engaged in authentic language learning

• collaborated in the production of creative materials

I have led Friends and Flags collaborative learning workshops both in Israel (http://www.friendsandflags.org/wkshp)  and in Romania (http://www.eminescu.multinet.ro/mmcamp/index.html) . I’ve presented Friends and Flags in international conferences such as TESOL, Vancouver, 2000, (http://www.uoregon.edu/~call/ev2000/internetfair.html), Iatefl, Cyprus 2001 and in online conferences such as Global Learn Day III  (http://www.bfranklin.edu/gld3audio/keini2.ram).  

Teachers and students around the world contribute to the sustainable development of the educational  impact of F&F in a number of different ways: 

1.  Partners provide constructive feedback and assessment ,which is an integral component in the development of the scope of the program.  

2. Dedicated member teachers in Brazil, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and United States have voluntarily become local coordinators, promoting the project to their school districts and locating additional partners.  

3. Partners have built their own Friends and Flags websites which are linked back to the project page and to each other. (http://www.geocities.com/dcowland/friendsandflags.html and  http://www.geocities.com/gorenmm).

4. Many educators have shared their success with their colleagues in workshops and presentations of their own. (http://www.friendsandflags.org/guestbook.htm: entry 6/1/2001). Some have been recognized for their efforts by the local media (http://www.friendsandflags.org/news/mariana.htm), while others have won grants and awards for their collaborative work.(http://www.friendsandflags.org/bulletin.htm).

5.  Several partner classes  (Israel/Italy & Denmark/Turkey) have     traveled great distances to visit in each other’s schools and communities (http://www.friendsandflags.org/news/clare.htm).

Participant accomplishments are celebrated and shared in the Friends and Flags community in emails, newsletters and on the website. Each and every achievement fills me with great pride and appreciation. Their success preserves and promotes the continuation of multi-cultural learning as well as the global impact of Friends and Flags.

Friends and Flags has opened doors to additional opportunities that continued to challenge my creativity. I am currently developing a model of Friends and Flags, called Friends and Kin, which connects  hundreds of Jewish youth in Israel and the Diaspora (http://www.friendsandflags.org/partnership).

The Technion Institute of Haifa has through Friends and Flags recognized the potential of collaboration and technology enhanced education. They have engaged me to develop interactive online EFL/ESL curriculum programs (http://www.friendsandflags.org/tech/start.htm). This English Adventure program will be expanded for Grades 4-12 in Israel as well as around the world.

While attempting to harness the positive powers of the Internet, I have discovered a new source of creative energy and potential to empower others. My life has been enriched with international friends who guide, support and motivate me to continue my efforts despite impossible circumstances. I dedicate this narrative to my colleagues and partners  who have helped me turn a simple idea into reality. I thank the Global SchoolNet Foundation  for accepting my nomination and for providing the opportunity to make dreams come true.

Karen Eini

TESTIMONIALS

I am participating the Friends and Flags project for the second year now. As a teacher in a school for kids with special needs I am more than proud to be a part of this wonderful global community. Karen has created a project where children and adults learn together how to work and have fun with the help of modern technology. My students are slow learners and in many cases they feel discriminated but while working with this project they have been able to experience equality and joy of being accepted. Contacts by e-mail and chats with other students make learning motivating and fun. This is an equal opportunity project, not just by country, nationality or age, but also by special needs. Karen has helped us with good advice when problems have occured. My students presented the Friends and Flags project to other students and teachers in the Netdays Europe 2000 in Finland's national theme week. They were also granted with a small amount of Euros by a youth organisation for arranging a multicultural day in our school in 2001. This idea raised also from the F&F project. Learning a foreign language and understanding a foreign culture is not always easy but Karen has managed to create a forum where these both things are a little bit easier. Modern technology and creative thinking combined with mixture of cultures and innovative teachers and learners and mutual respect create new educational networking and change this world even a little. That's what Karen has succeeded start and run and that's why she is the right person for the award!

"Hello!

First of all I want to tell you who I am. I'm Andreea, I'm 16 years old, I live in Craiova , a little town from Romania. My country is in the south-east of
Europe , it's a small country but with friendly
people. I met Karen last summer in a multimedia camp
in Baia Mare. She was a volunteer trainer there and and she taught me and 100 other kids a lot of things about the computers , about the internet and other interesting things. I had a chance to write to kids in Israel and it was very exciting for me and the others in the camp.
Karen gave me some advice from where
I can collect information , pictures , graphics about Romania for our friends in Israel.
Karen spoke us about a project "" Friends and flags ""
and we liked the idea, so right now, I and my class
are in that project. This project help us to learn how to work together , but we also can practice our
English. Karen showed me that a teacher can be more then just your teacher , she can be your friend, you can speak with her when you have a problem , because she will help you. Karen is a lovely person, and and optimist one, so every time when I was with her I couldn't be sad .
I wish she can stay and be my teacher her in Romania, but... right now I'm
just hoping that some day I can meet her again.
After I came back from the camp, my friends and I wrote with Karen on the e-mail, and every time when we need some information about the project we write her , and she tell us what we have to do. So even if she if so far from me, when I need her help she gives it to me. I wish Karen the best of luck with this contest.

Fondly, Andreea"

"I have known Karen for most of my life. Though we have miles of ocean separating us,as Karen is in Israel and I am in Montreal, we never lost touch. We continue to share both our personal and working lives. I have participated in Friends and Flags since Karen started the project in 1999. I can tell you that Karen is one of the hardest working individuals I know. I am in awe of the educational games she has created, the textbooks she has written, the projects she is developing, and her ability to reach out and unite children from around the world. Her dedication to making education interesting and fun for students is remarkable. Given the appropriate tools, I believe that there are no limits to the benefits we as a global world can reap from Karen's imagination, drive and dedication. This is why I believe she and the ""Friends and Flags"" project are a perfect candidate for the ""Global SchoolNet "" award.

By using her passion for teaching and belief in the power of the Internet, Karen is empowering the young leaders of tommorrow, with language and computer skills, cultural awareness and the ability to develop global relationships based on mutual respect and compassion. In addition to her excitement about the integration of the Internet in the curriculum as a way to increase students' use of practical English, Karen saw this modern technology as an exciting opportunity to renovate her classroom. By breaking down walls she has expanded her students' horizons and moved them from the remote hilltop in the small town of Katzir in Israel, into a wider global community.

It is Karen's determination to enhance children's lives all over the world, not just in her classroom, but abroad, that continue to push the project forward. Karen does this labor of love, while teaching English, teacher training in the Israeli- Arab sector ,raising a family, and dealing with the violence that is occurring on a daily basis in the Middle East. The politics of her country drive her further to create a safe, nurturing environment for the next generation.

Thousands of students and teachers have been touched by Karen's efforts and this is because Karen has the qualities that allow this type of connection to occur. She is warm, compassionate, caring, energetic, passionate about people, her work, open to new ideas, tolerant, and so very giving of herself.
Her spectacular clear blue eyes are an open door to her soul. One look into them and you can feel her energy and how deeply committed she is to her passions, be it teaching, her friends, family. It is fitting, that someone who so open, is in return opening the eyes of students and teachers, bridging cutural and language barriers and making our world a little smaller.

Wendy Singer, Canada"

"I've known Karen since 1998 when we met in the now defunct schoollife.net community of educators to share ideas and plans for creating our own separate collaborative Internet projects. Although it was only 4 years ago, it seems like eons. In those days, teachers with a vision of the best educational uses of the Internet often felt isolated and misunderstood--many other teachers at that time didn?t ?have a clue?, most school administrators didn?t ?get it?, and parents in general were horrified at what the kids ?might get? from this strange new world called ?The Internet?. Younger teachers may not understand what I?m talking about but seasoned educators will?and might look back with a laugh at how things were not so long ago.

Karen was a pioneer who so generously shared the vision of the educational value of the Internet with me. The projects Karen and I discussed, during those early days, were Karen?s ?Friends and Flags? and my ?The Day I Was Born?. Both of these have grown to include thousands of students from around the world. Karen helped me to believe that this could be possible?that a teacher could sit in her home or her classroom, with an idea in her head, which could grow to become a lesson which would involve students from all over the world. I am quite certain that Karen has also inspired other teachers, during these past 4 years, to use the Internet to share, to enrich, and to inspire.

Karen Eini is a passionate advocate of using the Internet to bring children together to understand that what makes us alike is much more important than what makes us different. She also understands that these differences are what makes us unique and gives us a very special place in the world we share. During these difficult times Karen?s ?Friends and Flags? project speaks volumes for what could be in the eyes of the children who are our future."

"Talk about Karen is very easy. Because talk about love is easy.
I met her project at internet, and since then I could notice her efforts to build a better world throughout the eyes of our students. The best way to get peace around the world is not talking about it but let the children and the teens know there are other civilizations, people that live in a different way but also want to construct the peace. And with her project FRIENDS AND FLAGS Karen was able to do that in a fun and enjoyable project. Why does a person ""spend her time"" to coordinate a project around the world without rewards or money , just to see a better world ? Just love can explain that.
I was with Karen in some terrible time, when her country and her own life was in danger, and I could be a witness that her worries were in how people from the project were, and to send email asking everyone how they were.
I'm in Brazil, very far from Karen, but I can tell everyone that read this profile, Karen and her project got to do her job. My students ( around 300), now know the peace is able, because they can understand why peolpe live that way, and they respect people the way they are.
Karen we love you !!!"

"I have had an ongoing collaborative relationship with Karen Eini since September 1999 and as a fellow educator and global collaborator I have had ample opportunity to assess her character, ability and technical capabilities.
As the Instructional Technology, Design and Development Director at Praesidium Educational Research Institute, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies I had the invigorating opportunity to enjoy Karen?s work and her inept ability as an internet educator when I joined the Friends and Flags Global Collaboration Project 2000. At that time I was working with a group of students with various learning challenges, ranging from non-verbal learning disabilities to sensory integration dysfunction. The project provided a medium via which I could develop individual educational programmes for this special group while maintaining an engaging, cooperative, exciting and rewarding learning strategy for the scholars under my tutelage.

Karen is a professional of the highest calibre, who is very meticulous and passionate about her work and the creation of interactive, multimedia learning environments for teachers and students. Hundreds of teachers and students around the globe can attest to her being able to ignite the flames of engaged and collaborative learning. These flames are being constantly fuelled by her outpourings of love, patience, understanding, advice, sharing and inspiration as teachers and students rely on her for guidance.
The Friends and Flags Web project and website is incredibly creative, integrated and simple enough in design to enable even the computer illiterate to easily navigate around it. The Teachers? Project Kit is solidly built on core curriculum standards and objectives. Consequently, teachers use Friends and Flags for delivering the subject content of the curriculum using a cross curricular approach and incorporating such subjects as language arts, social studies, mathematics, arts and craft, reading and research and library skills.

As the Friends and Flags Coordinator for Trinidad and Tobago and the Southern Caribbean I have found collaboration with Karen Eini to be artistically challenging and fruitful. She successfully experiments with alternative educational solutions and communicates with teachers and students with precision and ease

As Friends and Flags enters its fourth year under Ms. Eini?s leadership, her commitment to Internet integration into the classroom provides us all with a glimmer of hope. Today's students are our future global leaders and it is our responsibility as educators to sow the seeds of love, compassion and peace in their hearts. I firmly believe that through Friends and Flags educators, parents and students can build chains of peace, love, unity and compassion. We have all been blessed with the vision of a better tomorrow in this new ICT era lovingly fertilized and nurtured by Karen Eini. I am sure that she will be continue to be a beacon in the Internet teaching and learning arena which will propel us forward as new ICTs emerge. I unreservedly recommend her for the Global SchoolNet Award.

Sincerely,
Margot Barrow"

"My name is ANCA MOCULESCU and i am from Romania, I
am a high-school student and i want you to know what Karen means to me. Well first of all she is my friend and when ever i have a problem i don't hesitate to write to her.I met her last year during a camp in Baia-Mare(a town in Romania), she was a volunteer trainer there. Before I go into details I want you to know that back then I didn't know how to use the computer.She taught me , she even let me work on her lap-top.I was astonished...never in my whole life had I imagined that I could work on such a computer. After that in order to be able to talk to her I started to use the internet.
My dream is to work with people, to comunicate,to
develop relationships.Guess who helped me to make my
dream come true?...Karen, of course, she got me
involved in ""Friends and Flags"" project and right now I have a group of 24 students who work with me and try to learn what team-work means. May be for you it's nothing but here in Romania it means a lot to be in such a project...it means being in touch with reality.
Anca"