CyberFair Project ID: 7020

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Tears From Heaven
Category: 6. Historical Landmarks
URL: http://www.siec.k12.in.us/cannelton/memorial
Bibliography: http://www.siec.k12.in.us/cannelton/memorial/resources.htm

School: Cannelton Elementary School
    Cannelton, Indiana, USA

4 students, ages 10-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 24, 2012. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 1998 through 2000, and 2002 through 2008, and 2010

Classes and Teachers: Joan Goble / Cannelton Elementary Media Club

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Cannelton is a small and very historical town located on the banks of the Ohio River in southern Indiana. It has a rich heritage which dates back to 1837 with the founding of the American Cannel Coal Company. It now has about 2000 residents, many of whom have lived here all of their lives. Cannelton has seen many hardships and many triumphs throughout the years yet it is still going strong. This year marks Cannelton's 175th year! Cannelton residents want to keep our town alive and prosperous, as well as preserve its heritage.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our project is devoted to the memory of the passengers of the ill-fated Northwest Flight 710 which came to rest in a field outside of Cannelton, Indiana on March 17, 1960. Cannelton and the surrounding community of Perry County have worked very hard to keep the memory of those who perished alive and also to keep alive how the community came together then, to build a memorial, and on the 50th anniversary.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:21-50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

One obstacle was finding time to work on the project. We met twice a week after school for several weeks to complete this project. Another obstacle was when we had technical difficulties with our laptop keyboard. We were lucky that our school booster club gave us a new laptop, and we were able to complete our project then.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Participating in the International Schools Cyberfair has given us a feeling of real ownership in our learning. Cyberfair has given us the opportunity to share what we have learned about our community with people around the world.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

This project fit into our curriculum well. We worked on many language arts standards such as reading and writing in creating the website. We used these language arts skills also in the interview process. We worked cooperatively, researching the plane crash itself, and the cause. We organized the information we found and presented it in an easy to understand and comprehensive way on our website. We found out that working together can make any job easier, especially when we had so much information to sort through. Everyone had jobs to do and we worked together to help each other complete them. We feel using the Internet for learning has been highly effective for many reasons. Two of them are the Internet gave us many up-to-date, reliable resources and it gives us a way to publish our work so we can share it with the rest of the world. Creating the website itself met our language arts standards and also gave us skills in working with word processing, webpage building, researching on the Internet, photograph editing, and allowed us to use creativity skills in design. All of these are lifelong skills that will help us in the future. We feel we play a strong role in our school community when we share our learning with others online.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

The information tools that we used include Internet, libraries, three PC computers, 2 digital cameras, scanner, Microsoft FrontPage website builder, Microsoft Image Composer photograph editor. We used our local library and history museum for background information and photographs. We interviewed many who remembered the crash and used a tape recorder and microphone. These were the most helpful tools we used. Our school's booster club donated a new laptop when our old one quit working so that we could finish our project on time.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

We acted as ambassadors during the project process in many ways. Our drawings and interviews were displayed at the memorial ceremony in honor of the victims of the plane crash and their families. Our poem was read aloud to the entire audience during this ceremony. We know that our website is helping others to understand the tragedy of that sad day and how the community of Perry County pulled together to help the families of the victims. Being able to be a part of this ceremony allowed us to feel like we helped the families of the victims to find peace and know that our community will always remember their loved ones and will never let their memory be forgotten.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

The impact of our project is large we feel. Our drawings, along with drawings from fellow students, and our interviews were on display, and we heard many positive comments from many community members as well as family members of the victims of the plane crash. In fact, one family member (whose mother and father both perished that sad day) loved one of the drawings so much that she asked if she could have it. We have kept in touch with her and she included our drawings and poems in a book she created about her parents and this event. We hear from many community members about how much they like our website and also they like our poem, 'Tears From Heaven'. Our website has helped people to understand how the plane crash made our communities of Perry County, Indiana pull together as one caring group to help the families of the plane crash victims to cope and has let them know that their loved ones will never be forgotten.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

Community members who helped include all of the people we interviewed about that day and time fifty years ago. They helped us to better understand the impact of that tragedy on the community at the time and even up to today. We thank all of them for their sharing of their remembrances and their time. Other community members who helped us by giving us information, use of photographs, and other items were the Perry County Museum and the Tell City Library. We are very thankful to our school Principal, Mrs. Ginger Conrad, for her support in many aspects of this project. We also need to thank the Tell City Kiwanis and the committee for the 50th Memorial Ceremony for allowing us to be a part of this. We felt honored to help in any way we could.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We know that everyone can have a positive impact on their community. Everyone can do something to help someone. We know that we helped bring a sense of peace and closure for the families of the victims of the plane crash. Knowing we helped in any way is a wonderful reward in itself!

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 7020)

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