We conducted a Global Collaborative Learning Program between three Indian schools and Shibuya city in Tokyo. From India, selected members from The HDFC School Gurgaon, Ryan International School and Suncity School, 37D participated in the program. From Japan, we had participants from various primary and junior high schools with the cooperation of Shibuya City Board of Education.
Participants enjoyed interaction with videos for around a half of the month. They exchanged various videos regarding culture and lifestyle of each country. Especially, the tutorial video of Origami works made by Japanese students were very impressive. Students could also learn similarities and differences by watching videos from each country.
Interaction with videos helped children to learn different culture from various perspectives and to be proud of their own culture.
We also conducted a live interaction session. The participants enjoyed the interaction with students from a different country through fun activities. The active participation and fluent English of Indian students made Japanese students surprised.
Here are some comments from the participants and the teachers from both countries. (A part of the comment is edited to protect personal information.)
<Participants>
・I enjoyed learning various information about the other country. It was also a good opportunity to learn about my own country.
・I always thought that Japanese people live a very different lifestyle than Indians, but after this program I understand that we are all one family living in different countries.
<Teachers>
・These Videos give a real touch and kept them curious about what is more to be explored.
・They are now more open to know about the diversified cultures across the globe and share about theirs.
・Students seem to be really responsible to showcase their culture and heritage.
We hope this program motivated the participants to learn new things from different cultures. We appreciate everyone who contributed to this program, especially the teachers of the three schools, Shibuya City Board of Education, and last but not least, all the participants.
We will keep working together with schools to make such opprotunities for more children.
