Lower Canada College

Percy Julian Middle School

Santan Junior High School

Greg: When Mrs. Peters first told us about our GVC project, I was very excited to collaborate with other schools across the world and couldn't wait to get started. I learned how to do various things, like creating my very own superhero with his exclusive powers, to navigating the Wikispaces and making my own web page! Collaborating with students around the world has really taught me a lot. I had no idea what were all possibly capable of, with kids from different backgrounds all working together over the internet, using Skype and messaging, to create a great and knowledgeable web site (which I think is a real winner). Working collaboratively really showed me that a group and seven and eights could pull off a very challenging task, with working on different schedules and time zones, and I can imagine that made it very hard for our teachers to set up a Skype conference. What really surprised me is that everyone did their part and not one story or flash has been left out. We were given a task to complete, and we did responsibly and to the best of our abilities. Our web site looks amazing since the last time I saw it, from navigating the God World through the continents on a globe, to the stories and flashes prepared by us students. The only thing I would change about the project would be to have arranged more Skype conferences with the other schools so we could get to know each others lifestyles better, but I'm sure it must have been very hard for our teachers, who had that to think about on top of all their other work for the other classes. In fact, I would like to take this one opportunity  to thank all the teachers for organizing this wonderful project for us, because I know we all enjoyed it. If I had a chance to do this kind of project again, I'd gladly accept  because I find it very fun and exciting, working and competing with people all around the world, with even seeing them! In conclusion, I really had fun working on this project, and I look forward to winning that first place prize, because I think all our work would deserve it!

Thalia: Working with three classes proved to be a difficult task. Many mistakes were made, while many things were learnt. We had to face some minor challenges throughout our little journey around the world. We learned how to cope with each other and even ourselves. Personally, I learnt how to develop my descriptive writing skills and my story telling skills. I did not just learn about myself, but I learned about others. The interaction between us has taught me a lot about my other teammates. It's taught me a little bit about their school lives and how different it is from ours. Even working with the other students was a great learning experience. I learnt that you have to be patient, but you can't wait forever. Also, understanding the circumstances is a big key when you're working with others. Time zones, holidays, sickness and even concussions are included in the list. If none of us realized any of these things, we probably wouldn't have ended up with a good final project. We did very well for three classes living in different places. Using your time efficiently and completing your work are some very important things I've learned how to do. For example, sometimes I got off track and start talking to other classmates. At the end of the period, I ended up either doing nothing or very little. So, I quickened my pace and starting concentrating on my work. Giving your all is important too. I don't think there is anything more we could have done for this project and I think it's an incredible experience. If I did a similar project, it would be terrific. I'd probably be a lot better at it, because I have some experience and it would be fun to interact with students around my age. All in all, I think the whole learning experience was fun and very educational.

David: There were many things to discover during this exciting international competition. I learned many new computer programs that can not only help my creativity but my school work as well. One of the most important things I learned during this competition is how to divide the work between students so it is completed quickly and efficiently. I believe as a group, we had a very effective strategy that helped the group complete the work for the date given and create a fun yet education web site for many students to brows and enjoy. I have improved my homework skills during this competition by meeting assignment deadlines more effectively. I think that this competition is already an enjoyable, challenging and creative contest and should not be changed. I would not hesitate to participate in this exciting and challenging competition again.

Zachary: During this project I have learned how to use new software like Dreamweaver, and Fireworks. I have also learned about wikis and their functions. I have discovered many new gods and goddesses. I met different people while doing this project. I learned how to work with other students outside the class-room. Working with other students allowed our class to split the work with other classes so we could share the load of this project, which allowed us to spend more time on one particular thing, instead of spending more time on more things. This would give the project a better look and make the project truly a collaborative work. I believe as a collaborative group we did phenomenal, because, as I said, we communicated well and shared the work well and evenly. We also had no problems with our different time zones and March break holidays. Our groups have been very responsible with handing in certain aspects of the project on time. I have learned that I could do more work than I thought I could (Mrs. Peters this doesn't mean I could do more Homework) and I learned that I could be more responsible with my work. These discoveries made me change the way I work, and speaking of change I would have changed one thing. I would have changed that instead of letting other people making the graphics for your hero I would have preferred to make it myself (not that I don't like the drawings) so I could incorporate little details that I thought would make him cooler and more detailed. I would also change that only grade 7's could do this because I would love to do this next year. I liked every aspect of this project and would love to do this again. I loved this project and to anybody who reads this, participate in this project because you would not be disappointed!  

Stephanie: When we were first told that we would be building a website with three other schools, I had no idea what to expect. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive, but once we got started, and I realized how co-operative our partners were, I couldn’t wait to get the project underway. This experience has been not only enjoyable, but I have learned so much from it.  First of all, I have learned a lot about how to work with students from different schools. The fact that we were in different parts of the world and had different time zones made it a little bit tough, but other than that, everything was amazing! I have also gained a much better knowledge of the programs on my computer such as flash, fireworks, dreamweaver, etc… As a collaborative group, I think we did exceptionally well. We got all our work in on time, and we made suggestions and comments to each other in the discussion area. In terms of my own work habits, I think I’ve improved a tremendous amount because I learned how to work quickly and efficiently. I knew that it was my responsibility to put the work on wikispaces, so that made me work very hard. If I were asked to change something in this project, I wouldn’t have very much to suggest, but I think it would be nice if we had a little bit more time to complete our assignments so that we could do a better job. If I had the opportunity to do this project again, I would definitely take it because, first of all, I really liked working with other schools. We each put and equal amount of effort in, and it was something that we could all be proud of in the end. Secondly, I really enjoyed having skype casts with the participating schools because we could learn about their different ways of life, and we could talk about our website. In conclusion, this has been an amazing experience, and I really hope that I get the opportunity to do it again!

Romy: During the process of making the web site, I learned how to work as a group and how to make a good story. I learned that by working with others you need to respect the deadline, cooperate and share your ideas with the other groups. In my opinion I think we did great, the web site is fantastic and you can see that we worked very hard. I've also learned that I can be very responsible to complete my work if I put my mind to it. I wouldn't change anything, because the web site is awesome and you can see that all of the schools who participated in this contest put a lot of effort into it. I would like to do this kind of project again because it was fun working with other schools, to have skype conversations and to learn how to use different software such as Flash and Dreamweaver.

Griffin: As a part of GVC 06, I think that I have learned a lot. I have learned how to use wikispaces, how to use dream weaver, how to use skype and much more. I learned that when you are working in a large group you have to take all the advice you can get. I think that we worked very well as a collaborative group because most of the things that we did came out looking very well. Since we were paired up with other schools, I learned that you can not fall behind in work because the person who edits your stories, or whatever it may be, has to wait for you to finish and if you take long to finish then your editor also falls behind in his or her work. If I had the chance to change something I think I would have wanted to learn how to use flash so I would have liked GVC more if we got to use flash. If I had the opportunity to do this project again, I would definitely take that opportunity because it is a very fun project and I think that it is very cool to work with people from all over the world.

Alanna: As a collaborative group, I think we did very well on this project because everyone worked together and we trusted each others ideas, suggestions and work. The end result was amazing. I learned a lot about Fire works. At first, I didn't know how to use tools to make backgrounds, now it is easy for me since I had been making a lot of backgrounds for this project. Also, I learned to write better stories and that improved my writing a lot. I learned that we have to share the work load and give suggestions to our teammates and support each others ideas. I learned that I have to work very hard to complete my work. Also I learned how to be organized. It was a good experience and I would not change anything. If I had the opportunity, I would do this kind of project again because you get to learn more about making web pages and working as a team with other schools.

Alex B. : Being a part of GVC 06 was an amazing experience for me.  I learned new things, got to get to know students from other schools and I got to learn more about myself and about being responsible.

I learned how to explore and use programs that I have never used before, for example Dream weaver and Fire Works. With these new programs, I learned how to make a web page and a funky title to go with my story. It was pretty cool!! Another thing that I learned, during this time, was how to use Wikispaces and Skype so I was able to communicate and share my ideas with other students from other schools. I also learned about working with other students. For example, I learned how to take other students ideas and combine them with mine to make my story better. I also learned some interesting things about the students from Illinois and Arizona by exploring their personal web pages. Doing GVC, I think, helped us collaborate well as a group. For example, we used each others ideas to improve on what we had done. We also helped each other by editing our stories which turned out really well at the end.

Working with GVC helped me learn about my own work habits and being responsible to complete work. I learned that being responsible was a very important factor about participating in the making of the GVC web site I had to get my story in on time, find a title of my story, make a background, make a picture of my superhero, edit my story make a complete title and do this reflection. All of this work took a lot of responsibility and patience and I think I did a very good job of doing what I needed to do.

Jonathan B. :I really loved this web site project on super heroes. I've learned so much. I've learned how to use new programs, I've learned new synonyms and the most important, and I've learned how to cooperate.
Cooperation is the most important in all the things I've learned because I'm going to need to co-operate the rest of my life. For example when I'm going to work. I want to be architect or engineer, and these jobs are all about co-operation. That is why it is the most important thing that I've learned. I have also discovered some new habits that I now have. I have found out that I have a special imagination. I loved my story. I would have liked to have more time to add details to it but I am still happy with the result. I would love to do an other project like this again because I've learned a lot and want to learn more.

Rebecca: I learned how wikis work, how to edit them, how to log in… I learned how to make a web page on flash, adding the background, typing… I learned how to work over several months with people across the world. It was very interesting to see the differences between them and us, and also the similarities. I think for the most part we worked well, but there were a few minor difficulties with understanding what each other meant in online communication.

Ryan: As part of GVC 06, I believe that this is a great experience and I am so glad that I will be able to share all of my experiences with you. I have learned many things during this project like how to use Macromedia Dreamweaver and Macromedia Fireworks, how to use a wiki space, how to use Nicenet and also, how to make a web page and how to communicate with others from around the world. After working with others, I have realized that I work better in a group than working alone. Also, I think it is much more productive to work with other students. I also think that working in a group is better because if someone doesn't understand something, there is always someone to help out.  In my opinion, as a collaborative group, we worked extremely fast and productively and in my opinion, this web site is a winner! After working on this web page, I have really realized all of my true work habits. I realized that I have to be more rapid at completing my work and to not underestimate your time. Also, I find that I work very well in a large group and that this project was the right type for me. I don't think I would change any of the work habits or rules because I really like how it is setup and I really enjoy the rule where you are not allowed to take any pictures that you have not made. The reason why I like that rule is because it allows us to be more creative. I would love to do this type of project again because it is great to learn new things about different cultures and religions and to work as a large group with schools from around the world. GVC 06 will have a great impact on how I work in the future and I am glad to take part in this contest.  

Tomas: While working on the GVC project, I learnt many things, such as how to create a web site Also, I learnt how to use inspiration. During the project, I learnt that when you work with other students, you have to be patient and cooperative. Another thing that I learnt was that when working with other students, you have to be open to everyone's ideas.  As a collaborative group, I believe we did quite well; we seemed to work together harmoniously. I learnt that if you want to be responsible and complete your work on time, you have to respect deadlines and you have to be open to positive feedback. If I was given the opportunity, I don't think that I would change anything on the project because the final product turned out great! I would like to do this project again because, it was really fun working with kids from all around the world and it was exciting making such a cool web site!

Kianna: Participating in the creation of GVC06, we all learned many important things. As a student, I learned how to write a good story because before I wasn't very good at writing stories and other writing assignments. Also, when I heard that we were going to write stories on Super heroes, it motivated me to do my absolute best. Working with other students all around the world was something very exciting because I love meeting new people. I learned how to co-operate with others in other words, we worked as a team to accomplish these well written stories that each of us created on the Internet. This was so much fun. While working with these schools we sometimes communicated with them with our new technologies such as, Skype, and with the computers sending messages to each other on Wikispaces.com. This especially improved are communicating skills. As a collaborative group I personally think that we did marvelous job with our writing, making the coolest flash presentations, and constructing the backgrounds. I think that because we did so well, all 3 schools together should create a Superhero movie. I'm sure that if we did, we'd win an Oscar. While writing about Ursula Plum, I discovered that it takes a long time to write story and there is need for a lot of patience. To me, writing a story seemed really easy at first, but then realized, it wasn't an easy task. Handing in the work on time was difficult too because I had to reread my work many times before it satisfied me. The only thing I would have changed is having more time to correct my story because I found many spelling mistakes once I gave it in. If I had the occasion to do this kind of project again, I would for sure do it because it was a great experience and I absolutely loved reading all the stories. It was so much fun looking at all the different ideas people had when they wrote there story, created the flash presentation and the drawings of the Super heroes. This was so much fun and I hope we can do it again next year!

Jamie: When someone does a big project like GVC they learn many things; one of the things that I learned from doing this project was that I learned how to use the Wiki's on wikispaces.com. I also learned how to use two of the Macromedia programs; Fireworks and Dreamweaver. In my class we used the program inspiration a lot so I now have more knowledge on this program. Sometimes it can be difficult working with complete strangers you don't know, but when I did this project it was different. I learned that I had to be patient when I waited for the kids in the other schools to respond to my question and comments. I also learned I shouldn't rush my work I should take my time and think before I write anything that doesn't make sense. I realized I had to trust students from other schools with my work; I had to let them do what they had to do to make my work the best it could be. I think the 3 schools did great as a collaborated group, we listen to each other ideas and comments; we didn't ever doubt each other when we other students did work that a creator didn't like. During this project they was a couple assignments that I had to work on at home, I learned that I always had to give in these assignments to help my GVC team do they best they could. I was able to give them more time to work on my flash introduction by doing everything quickly and efficiently. Something I have to pay attention to while I am writing stories are my grammatical errors. Even thought I was not a grammar expert I should still try hard to do my best. I don't have many changes I would make to this project but if we started this project a bit earlier, we would have used are time more efficiently. It would have been better if students were able to talk to the people that were helping them with there web pages by the phone or threw the internet so they could listen to each others ideas. If I got the opportunity to do this sort of project again I would for sure take it because it was so much fun and I was able to collaborate with many other students who are hundreds of miles away from me.

Cody: I have learned so many things from this project but the one that stands out in my mind and I bet a lot of the other students are that it doesn't just take one person to complete something. Even if you do finish something on your own, there is always peer editing in need. When you complete something you learn character traits like how to be patient and co-operative with school in far away locations and with different time's zone. Everyone plays a role in this project and it would be impossible to complete this task without help from our co-operating schools. Also doing the project with these distant schools was difficult but really amusing considering that all of our schools are in different time zones though; I would have to say that we found our ways to discuss our web site with them.  It was easier to talk about what we need to improve and complement them on something they added to the web site with the calls on ``Skype``. They helped us very much because without being able to actually talk to your partners, how would you know what is going on? I definitely cannot take any credit on my own for anything completed on our web site because I did not do anything fully on my own. But as an individual, reflecting on what I did, I have to say that I think my writing and editing skills has definitely gotten better. I also noticed that since I was always handing my work in first, I was the first to see results. So I think it is very important to hand in your work on time and if not early. Also to always be open minded about others people's ideas. The only thing I would want differently is that the other schools would be closer to us but that would also take away the entire experience of learning how to co-operate with people in far away places. I think everyone really tried their hardest on this project and that is really what made it so fun. I definitely would want to do this again because I have learned so much and have even made new friends. I also learned things that our school is not teaching us that I find very interesting. My grade has not been working with flash and since I have seen so many from the other schools and asked questions about them, I am really looking forward to start using flash. This was a great experience.

Jennifer : As a part of GVC 06, I think that it has been a wonderful experience because it shows our creative ability and our knowledge towards this project. I learned that it takes a lot of cooperation, teamwork, and fairness to complete the web site I also learned how to make backgrounds with fireworks and Photoshop. Furthermore, I discovered how to use wikispaces and nicenet. I believe that working with other schools around the world was very interesting because you got to enrich your circle of friends, share ideas and contribute different lifestyles. I suppose that we did an amazing job with our web site because all our months of hard work paid off. The pictures and flashes looked amazing and the stories were very interesting to read. However, if I could change anything I would make the opening page stand our more to captivate anyone who looks at our web site I sense that my work habits are different now than they were before because I do my homework in advance and hand it in on time. I would consider doing GVC again because the next time we may get partnered up with other schools around the world and make a whole new web site with a new topic and new ideas. This way we would be exposed to different ways of completing this web site!

Sacha : From the wonderful experience of being able to interact with different schools and other places around the world, I've learnt that even though there may be a long-distance between each school, we still all worked together and made an effort to distribute the work of the project evenly so that each school was busy with different things to do. I personally thought that we all did an outstanding job and that everyone put 150% of their effort into it and it shows because the overall presentation was just unbelievable.  I've learnt from working with the other students from LCC and the students from the other schools that if we all work our hardest, try our best and set our minds to it, we can do an excellent job, which we did. Before we started this project, I was wondering how we could all possibly share the work that must be done and on top of that, work as a collaborative group. At the beginning, I still didn't know how this could possibly work out but as the days progressed, I realized that we did all that and did a good job at it. Not only did this enrich my skills in working with others but it made me realize that I became more responsible about my work because I knew that if I did not hand in my work on time, well done, that it wouldn't only be bad for my marks but that the rest of the students who were working on this project would have to suffer for my lack of consideration because this assignment is a team assignment not an individual one. I learnt that if I could manage to do that for this project, I could manage to do it for any other work that I had, if I dedicate myself to it. In my opinion, everything turned out perfect, just the way that I had imagined it, if not even better than that. The only thing that I would have liked to see more of was the video conferencing that we did because I thought it was a very creative way to get to interact with the others besides through e-mails on the computer and another plus was that it was fun. This project was so much fun and I would never miss the opportunity to do it again. It was so much fun to see everyone take a part in it and then the final production was just simply amazing. We are all very fortunate to have experienced such a wonderful way of learning such as this one. It was great to see everybody's reactions to the site and everybody's opinions, ideas and their take on how everything turned out. I really had a lot of fun.

Matthew: Throughout this GVC project I have learned a lot, but some of the biggest things that I have learned, is how to work AND co-operate with students from other schools, how to use all of the programs to make a wiki, to make backgrounds and to make a web site I have also learned how to write a proper short story that makes sense and follows certain criteria. From all of the work that we have done with other students I have learned how to look over other people's work and let them edit my own. From working with other students, I also learned how to be patient and not always want things to happen at the exact moment I would like them to, but rather wait and spend more time on something to make it even better. I have also learned how to work in a group and agree on certain ideas that other people have. Considering that everyone has their own schedules, I find that all together every one worked very well together and we were a very collaborative group. I have learned that I can get things done well and on time when I want to and that when I want to, I can put a lot of effort into my work and make it turn out good. If I could change the project a bit, the only thing that I would improve would be to communicate with the other students at the other schools. If I had the chance I would definitely do this project again because you learn so much about all of the software and features of the computer while communicating with other students not only from Montreal. I found that this was a great project.

Jessica: Working on GVC was a great idea for many reasons. It had helped us understand and learn about people that live in different places and to get to know about them and meet new friends. It had also helped us to lean how a web page should be designed. To work with someone can be a lot easier than working as an individual. It allows you to share ideas and make them better by adding or changing it. So I learned that it is better to share something then keep it to your self and instead of sharing it near the end you don't really like your idea so you end up not even using it but you end up trying to avoid it. I think that I worked well enough as a collaborative group because I did all I could to help others and cooperated with them as a group listening and helping them with problems or listening to their ideas. Having to work on a project is always quite hard in some way. However, it allows you to improve our work habits and being responsible to have to complete your work on time. I found that I did pretty well on it because I handed all my work on time and tried hard to do well. However, I could certainly improve my writing skills in writing a story in a better way in making it more interesting to read. There isn't much to change in this project because of how well we worked to together and cooperated on all our ideas. I would certainly like to do this project again if I had the opportunity to. I would like to do it again because it gave me a chance to learn more about my classmates and others around the world to learn what kind of community they live around in their everyday lives.

Alex C. : Working on GVC, I think that I have learned a lot. Not only have I learned about how to use all these electronic communications, I have also been able to learn about other people's living styles and cultures. Even though we are not such different countries, there were things that I did not know about are GVC friends. I learnt many things, like how they celebrate different holidays and play sports that I don't really concentrate much on.

Working with other students, helps me open doors to finding out about their cool facts. Like I said, I learnt a lot about their cultures and habits. One very interesting thing that I learnt about the other students from the U.S. is that the majority of them have never seen what snow was like...   

I think the groups that were assigned were perfect for each other because we all agreed on things even when they were not exactly what we wanted. I very much appreciated when a girl from another school drew my photo of my hero, but got part of it wrong. After I told her, she corrected the mistake immediately. All in all, I think that we all worked very well with each other and that are overall presentation works very well with what we all agreed on.   I have learnt very much about myself over the course of this whole project. First of all, I have learnt that when I want to get something done, I step to it and can get high quality work done extremely fast. I have also realized that my organization skills are much better after this because we always organized our work into folders on our computers. 

I probably would not want to change anything, but if I had to only change one thing, is maybe if we were able to get more involved with the graphics of the cover page. I would not want to do any flash projects because they would end up being horrible, but if I got to design the cover page of our whole GVC web class. Yes, I would definitely do this again because we got to meet new people and we also got to know how to work with people we have not even met face to face. The whole experience is very fun and helps me use my imagination a lot more.

Maria:   Even though I was unable to create a super hero [due to illness], I very much enjoyed watching and admiring the web site, and the work the students did with the help of all the teachers at the schools that were involved in the project. I would also like to thank all the teachers that took the time to make a video for us, my class very much enjoyed seeing who was helping them from all the way in the US on their stories. As students of LCC we work very hard, and to get the chance to be able to relax and have fun in a class was really appreciated. So to all the teachers we thank you!

Sam: As a collaborative group I think we did very well because the work we did came out very well and most were completed and turned in on time.  The 3 schools came together for a great finished product. I learned how to fix a lot of problems you can encounter when in flash. I learned to be patient when working with other kids because they have different schedules then we do and are working in different time zones so you have to wait and be patient for their response. I have learned that you must complete your work on time and have it turned in on the correct date because, although the schools will wait for you they can't wait forever and less work gets done if you have to wait forever. I personally would like to be able to do this again because it was fun to make the flash and all the components that you need to put it together. Also I like the group work in it because one person creates the character and another makes him come to life. The only thing I'd like to change is give more time for making the flash because many students get it finished on time.

Sarah: All of our groups in the contest worked well together. I think we worked better together this year than last year. I liked how one group made the stories and the other group made the flashes and then the last group pretty much put the site together. Also we worked very well together to make the god gallery. I have learned a lot during this contest. I learned a lot more about flash. It is easier to use and it looks a lot better. When working with the other groups, I learned how to split the work with others. From this contest I learned that I need to work as hard as I can to get things turned in on time. If I had another opportunity, I would definitely do it again. This was a lot of fun. I would not change anything!

Matt S: I think that we did very well collaborating as a group. We communicated well as a group and talked with each other to get the jobs done on time. I have learned how to better use modern technology. We are very fortunate to have most of the best programs to have a great learning experience. It is a lot easier to have a lot of people working on one thing. So it is true that the more people you have the faster things get done. I have learned that you are the only one responsible for your work. Once you get the due date, you shouldn't have to have the teacher tell you every day to turn it in.

I would very much like to do a project like this again. It was so much fun getting to know people I wouldn't usually talk to normally. It was also very fun to use all of the great technology that we have all of our school. I could have never imagined that I could make my own cartoon. If I could change anything about the experience I would change the date of our spring break. It is too complicated to have our spring break different then our partners. So if we had a question for our partners we couldn't because they were on vacation.

Allison: I think as a group we did well but here needs to be more communication between partners about what they want. I learned how to communicate with people over the internet, It was harder to work with students you didn't talk to very much because they might have one idea about something but maybe not communicate it well. I also learned new tricks and better ways to make a flash. I would like to do this kind of project again because it was very creative when everyone got to make a superhero.

Gabi: We had great communication and were able to check what our partners were doing. I have learned so much throughout this experience. First of all, I learned so much more about flash. I have also learned more about our partners in Arizona and Canada. As time passes bye, I have gotten to know more about the people in my class as well as the people in the classes we are working with. There are some many things they have shared with me including ideas and opinions about my flash project along with others. Working everyday on the same thing can be tough. However, once the project is done you feel good about yourself. I enjoyed doing this project and I would like to do it again. It was a fun experience working with kids from around the world. If I had the opportunity to change something, I don't think I would. The teachers did a great job.

Ryan H: I think everyone worked hard and our web site looks really good. The globe is really cool. I learned a lot. One thing is how to get something done in a certain time, and another is how to use Flash better. I learned many new tricks. I learned that you have to trust the other students to do their work, and you have to concentrate on your work. I'm a hard worker, but I try to do everything perfect so it takes me a long time. I have also learned that I don't mind being responsible for my work. Yes, I would do this project again as long as my Flash doesn't take 5 weeks again!

Annabelle: I have learned how to communicate better with people over the Internet. I knew how to before, but this experience has further sharpened my abilities to communicate. I have also learned to work with new programs and understand their knowledge better. Working with other students was hard because of the time change and because we weren't always understanding each other. I have learned that that I need to not be such a perfectionist. I also learned that I should keep the dates of when things are due in mind. I would like to do this project again, but I thought the idea of it was weird. We came up with cool super heroes., though I wasn't expecting the "heroes" category. This was a fun opportunity to learn and to be with different people. I would change the amount of time that we needed to complete our projects. I would probably make it longer, and make the pages more interesting rather than just a story. Maybe the hero could have a whole home page! I really did like this unit of learning.

Kristopher: I think that we did good as a group because everyone worked together. I learned it could be fun when everyone pitches in. I learned that if you are assigned to work on something that other people depend on you. I would not change anything.

Alex: I think I did well in a collaborative group. I did my work, and I also had many good ideas and suggestions. I have learned a lot in VC. I have found out how to do many things on the computer that I didn't know before. There isn't much I would like to change. One thing that I would have preferred is a partner who had more fluent English. Sometimes it was hard to read the instructions they gave me. Also, I would have less Flash projects and more writing projects.

Sophie: This project has helped me to learn about completing work by a deadline. Usually, when you work on a project, it is by yourself. You don't have to worry about incorporating someone else's schedule but when you work with a group you have to complete everything on time. If you don't it affects everybody and not just yourself. I think if would be fun to do this project again. It is a fun challenge and I like working on the computer. I would probably do this project at a different time because it is a little difficult to finish when we are going on spring break. Our partners were on spring beak from March 10 through March 25 and we are on break from March 24 through April 1.

Darien: I have learned that there are a lot of different jobs in making a web site run smooth and that these jobs are really hard. I have learned that I am easily sidetracked from what I have to do and I need to buckle down and not take on so much. That way I won't let people down. It was a fun thing to do to meet new people.

Nate C: I learned that collaborating with others is a good experience for both sides. Also I learned how to work with computers and collaboratively. I have learned it is not always easy working with people. That I get things done faster on the computer and am a procrastinator when it comes to writing and things. I would change the quality and work out all the little problems. Also I would change my time management because I had none whatsoever before.

Jacob: I learned that in order to get things done on time with a group, we should minimize goofing off. I also learned how to collaborate effectively with a group. I learned that I am pretty good in completing work on time.

Daniel: It can be hard to work with other students, but it pays off and you get a much better result than working alone. I learned that I need to work hard to be sure I get everything done, but I can do it if I take the time. I would certainly do it again, it has been fun making the flashes and stories, and overall has been great fun. If I could change it, I would give more time to work.

Eric: I think we did well, because there was a lot of communication between one another. People all around the world can do work with each other even if they are far away. I had a really good experience with doing work with other people.

Nathan S: I KNOW I learned a lot, not "think" I learned a lot. I learned how to use flash, all of its layers and key frames. Then there was using fireworks and Photo shop Elements, for backgrounds, buttons, or banners. That wasn't that hard. I learned how to work with Garage Band for creating music and sound effects. I learned how to a lot, and I could on with all the complex computer stuff I learned, but that would probably get you really bored fast. Working in groups is commonly used for teaching in school. I can say something new I learned is that in groups, you have to find the person who is best at doing a certain thing that needs to be done for the project, and assign him to it. Then this method is repeated with all the other group members. With a limited time in a period of the school day, its important to know what your doing, how to do it, and get it finished at the due date. I especially realized that this was crucially important for my work habits. Ms.Barnstable really emphasizes work getting turned in on time and the work at least being done right. And a lot of the time, if you don't know how to do one thing or another, you ask someone who has all ready completed the assignment or just know how to finish it.

Trevor: I have learned that I should not wait to the last minute and to not expect some one to do the work for me. That I should not put everything on someone else and do my part of the job. Yes, I would like to do this kind of project again because it was fun and we got to use our imaginations. I would change my work habits by doing the work when I have the time and not to play around.

Caroline: I think we worked well as a group. I have learned that working with other students can be difficult because we have to wait for their reply but it is fun. I've learned that you have to work fast but efficiently so that it all gets done by the dead line.

Brianna: I have learned that when working with other students you must work together to achieve your goal. I have also learned that in first period the kids are very helpful with other students and we can do and achieve much more when we help each other. I have learned that when I am assigned a task I try my best to complete it. With help from my classmates I have been able to do more than I usually do alone and I thank them for that.

Dimeji: I think I did very well and am proud of myself. As a collaborative group I did better than if I were to do it alone. This has helped me a lot. I would not like to do this project again because it took a lot of time and was very hard. I would probably not change anything.

Nathan R: I believe that in this group I did fairly well. I admit that I would rather have been the one with the ideas than the one doing the Flashes, but all in all it was a fairly even trade-off. I have learned much about people from other countries, even if their customs are similar to ours they are still different. I have also increased my knowledge of creating flash animations, and because of this I am fairly good at it now. I have learned that I procrastinate a lot. However, through this task I believe that I am now much more organized and manage my time better. My upcoming invention-fair is proof of it, as I am almost done with my invention with still 3 weeks to go. Yes I would. This project was very fun for me. I got to talk with kids I didn't know before of until now, and I got to work with them on an even level, as equals. I learned that they are just like you. They play video-games and eat pizza. They talk with friends and the like, it is just like normal life.

Courtney: I think that I personally did pretty well it's just that my partner had this one thing in mind and wouldn't alter her idea what so ever. When you have the opportunity to communicate with other people around the globe, go for it because it might be the only chance you get.  I realized that we are all very different and we all have different vision for each of the flash guys. I would like to read about my partner more because I couldn't  really see her vision.

Bridget: I learned that it is a good idea to come in early to finish my work if I was falling behind. We should get more time.

Brendan: I learned that flash is not just a walk in the park it is something that takes great skill. I have learned that cooperation is every thing and if you don't cooperate the whole group fails. I have learned that you have to be responsible to succeed in this class. I would like to do this again because this helped me to focus on the more important things. I would change nothing.

Maggie:I have learned a lot about mythology and different cultures and also how to do more things in different programs. I have learned that you can't do everything and that everyone else can do really cool things; you cant always be working on what you want, but you need to do what is needed.

Brad: I have learned that when I remember things I get the work done, however when I don't remember I don't get the work done. This shows me that I need to remember my work. We put in a lot of hard work and it turned out great. If everything is how it should be, we will win the contest again.

Jaleel: I can be distracted easily, and I have to keep on task. I would not like to do this kind of project again, because Ms. Barnstable yells at me to get my work done and I can stay on task. It was one of the hardest things I had to do.

Ally: I think we did great! We all pitched in, it would've been a lot harder if we did it alone. Some of the flashes would've taken months to make them all with just one group or person. The web pages would've have taken a long time too. I think I've learned to work together with people you only have connection with over the Internet. It was hard since sometimes the person your drawing for is in Canada and hasn't checked his/her e-mail or Wikispaces. I have learned to be patient. Working with lots of others students takes time. I also have learned to work with different kinds of people. I don't like to work long distance (with one part of the team in Arizona and the other in Canada) it's just to straining, while if you can really work with your partner in one place or just at the same time that's what I like. I would change what we did (the heroes and stuff) it's not my favorite.

Collin: I'm a lazy person and I don't use my full potential in my projects. But starting now I'll change that. I liked the project but the entire thing took to long and we had to do tons of stuff. But I wouldn't mind doing this kind of project again.

Donovan: I do believe that I could have done better, I didn't put as much effort as I should into this project. Overall, I believe I did "Okay," not Great. I've learned some things that are going to prepare me for my future in the business of working with others. It has helped me learn that I need to be more responsive to my partner, and more caring for the project we did together. I've learned that working with other students can be very frustrating. Like, when I would turn in a drawing of what my partner said his character looked like, he would tell me it was wrong, and I'd have to start back over and over again. I need to be more organized. I wasn't every efficient in trying to get my work in on time. I've also learned that I need to be more responsible, I never really took the blame for the project when I should have. Most times, I penned it off on my partner who was actually doing fine.

Ryan C: I have learned a lot about working with other students. I learned that even if you are trying to create something with someone in another school you can still work out how to do things. I learned how to work with other people in my classroom also. I think are whole class at the end of the project at least was all working really hard together. Some people were making music and checking how are site was working and others were touching up their flashes. In the end the web site fit together like a puzzle. I pretty much knew before this about my own work habits but I learned you need to put time and work into your final product so start working early and don't delay your work. I learned a lot about being responsible to finish my work also. I learned this because on the web site we were making there were no extensions and our teacher could give no extra time so we had to be on time for everything.

Ben: We did a great job! Everyone collaborated like mad! We shared, corrected, added, and changed files from other schools around the world. We got fast feedback from our partner schools and created a great site. In terms of collaboration, we excelled in everything. I learned a lot and I know others learned stuff, too. I have learned everything I know about websites from this project, like how to set up a web page, navigation in web sites, and how to create flash stuff. When people rely on you to do things it helps you develop responsibility and that helps in real life. Also, I know more about other people in different parts of the world. I would love to do this again because it is fun to do and I learned a lot.

Christine: My experience with GVC this year has been great. We all collaborated really well. If something needed to be done there was always at least two people willing to do it. During this project I have learned that when working with many other students you're going to get a lot of amazing original ideas that you might not have thought of. I would most definitely do this kind of project again if I had the opportunity.

Garrett: As a group, we collaborated better than I expected. I thought it would be difficult to work together because of location and time differences between each school. I knew that we wouldn't be able to work on the project and be communicating at the same time because of the time difference. I thought this would make working harder, but we worked through it and did a good job creating the site. I learned many things by completing this project. I learned that even though it is fun, it could be very difficult working with other students. I found that when one student wants something and another student wants something different then there could be an unwanted conflict. What I have learned about my own working habits is that I need to find ways to communicate. For example: I needed to tell another student something, but I didn't have a way to communicate with that person. The most important thing I have learned about other people and cultures is that even though we have many differences, we also have many similarities. I would not like to do this kind of project again if I had the opportunity. I wouldn't because it was slow going and it took a long time to complete.

Arpan: I think that our group collaborated very well! We had phone calls to each other, and we posted frequently when needed. When we needed to talk we had the talk. When we needed to work we did the work. I have learned some very valuable things from this project. Overall I learned many various computer skills including being able to use new programs. I learned that to have the best web site for GVC the main component needed is communication. I have learned that procrastinating is very bad and it can lead to other bigger problems. I also taught myself how fun it is to complete work and have the feeling of contributing to a worldwide project. I have learned many things about other cultures and gods of countries. I would certainly do this project again if I had the opportunity, because this project can teach everyone at least one thing about another culture. I really enjoyed taking part in GVC and it should be done every year.

Jatan: All three schools worked really well together and the collaboration was beyond what I anticipated when I first started the project. This was a lifetime experience and I learned that procrastination is not going to get you anywhere. I have learned a great deal about different mythology throughout the whole world. Some of the ideas of the other students in Canada and Oak Park were very creative when coming up with their super heroes. Some other things that I learned were that I needed to think outside of the box when making something from scratch. I also had to let go of my habit of being a perfectionist throughout this project. If I ever get the chance, I would certainly take the opportunity to do this project again because I have learned tons. This type of project was a fantastic experience all together.

John: I think that we did an extremely good job collaborating with our partners in GVC. Nicenet made this all possible and it was a great way to talk to the other schools and to share ideas and express concerns. We all communicated very well on this project. I have learned about the many countries of the world and how their culture is formed around the immortals and stories. I also learned many things about technology in the project. I learned how to use Dreamweaver and how to hotspot some images in Fireworks. I learned that making a well-done Internet site requires careful planning and a team of people that are dedicated to the task. I have also learned that it is important to get your work done on the deadline because you will get marked down points for having it late or incomplete. The peoples and cultures were the most interesting part of the project because I have learned so much about the certain gods and how they made their way into the world. I would like to do this project again because it was a good experience to learn many things about the world.

Josh: This project taught me a lot about collaboration. Working with these other schools has shown me how thoughtful and creative kids can be. I learned that kids can do amazing things with a computer, such as making a globe, rollover animations, and mp3 start buttons. I learned that other cultures could have different beliefs but similar traditions. I learned how to be responsible while finding research, making sure the site is credible. If I were offered to do this project again, I would say yes without hesitation. This project was fun and very educational. From it I was able to learn how to use Dreamweaver to new heights. It is a very worthwhile experience and I would recommend it to everyone who is considering it.

Kiho: I think we did well as a group, even though Skype didn't work for our school. We discussed a lot of stuff on Nicenet and Wikispaces about heroes, gods and goddesses, and about the site overall. I learned a lot working on this project, such as how to draw on Fireworks. I've learned that other people from different places have all different and creative ideas. If I could do this kind of project again I would really like to do it again, because you can learn so much about websites and about people from other countries.

Kindra: In my opinion, I think we collaborated very well. It was kind of difficult in the beginning, but then afterwards it got better after getting to know each school. In this project, I have learned that working with other students around the world is very important. We had some difficulty communicating with the other country. Overall, teamwork was the most important part. Also, completing your own part of the project was very important; you have to be responsible for it and not depend on somebody else. During this project, it was interesting to learn about other people and cultures. In the future, I would love to do this kind project again because it involves working with other people around the world!

Kyle: I think that we collaborated well. We did a good job of telling other people what they need to fix and telling them what they did right. Not everyone had great communication, but altogether we did a good job of communicating. I learned that it is not easy to come in contact with far away places. I learned that I tend to procrastinate my work. I did more work towards the end of the project then in the beginning. I learned that people in different places are not much different from how we are in Arizona. If I had the opportunity to do a project like this again I don't think I would do it. It was a great experience to do it once, but it was a lot of work that we had to put into this project and I don't think I want to do that again.

Leif: I feel that we collaborated immensely not as just a group, but also as a species. We demonstrated how humanity can work together in harmony to overcome any obstacle, no matter the difficulty, to achieve true perfection through creativity and devotion of the human soul, regardless of background or race. Through hours of work and frustration, we still have been able to connect with the other teammates and exchange interests. This project has introduced us to a vast amount of knowledge, but was still fun. If the opportunity to do a project just like this one ever presented itself, I would, without hesitation, join.

Mark: I don't usually work well in groups, because you have to be in the groups constantly and it can get sort of annoying. But this was right up my alley. Plus all of the students and teachers from the other schools were fun to work with and extremely nice. Getting to communicate with them over Skype was pretty awesome. The best part of the whole project was probably seeing how much each student could put into the project. For example, when we were doing our backgrounds, Ben alone did about 35 of them. With the navigation bar, Mr. Creighton helped me with some animating in fireworks, and I tried my best to animate the pictures and put it together. If I had the opportunity to do this thing again, I most certainly would. It's the fun of seeing someone in a school just like yours and seeing what they can contribute to something this great.

Mimi: I think we worked really well as a group of three schools. We tried to communicate as often as possible and worked really hard on this project. I've learned that teamwork is the most important thing. If we didn't work together as a team on this, we wouldn't have finished it by the time it needed to be completed. Completing your own part of the project is also important. You should always do your own part, especially when everyone is depending on you to finish it. I learned that different countries have different cultures. They each teach their people different gods and goddesses to believe in. I would absolutely like to do this sort of project again because it is just so fun collaborating with students in different parts of the world. It was really fun getting to know them, sharing ideas, and putting them together to make all of it into one big exciting project!

Mounica: As a group, I think we collaborated pretty well. Some valuable things I've learned by completing this project are Fireworks and Dreamweaver. Before I just knew what they were, but now I'm an expert on them. It was also a great experience working with other schools, because we learned so much from them, and I hope they learned just as much from us. I would definitely like to do this project again if I had the chance. The only aspect I would change though, is that I would like to have more time for creating the web site

Matt: I think that our group collaborated very well together. With three schools working together it could normally be a major problem of communication, but our team was able to pull it off with flying colors and get the web site put together and running smoothly. Along the way I learned some very important things for creating websites and communication with others. I learned what type of formats of pictures will work the best for different browsers and what will take the longest time to load. I also learned that when you are working with a group, you put your trust in everyone in that group and if someone doesn't do their part, it could hurt the whole team. That goes the same for myself that I have to do my part to help the group and get our task finished and perfect on time. Throughout this task I also was given the opportunity to learn about people and other cultures and what they believe which also helped give me knowledge. If I were presented with the opportunity to complete this kind of project again, I would definitely accept the task again and gain more knowledge about what I would be working on, and I would be able to learn more about HTML and JavaScript which I love doing.

Nathan: I think our group did an awesome job of communication, because people were constantly checking on Nicenet and replying to each other's suggestions. I have learned that the best way to communicate is by voice, but that cannot always happen for all of the schools because of their time zone or different languages. We are very lucky to have schools near us so that we can communicate by phone, and we all use the same language and we are only three hours away from each other. I think my work habits are good as long as I have something to do. I will ask other students if they need help and then I would go to the teacher for a last resort. I have not actually learned much about other people's culture because two schools are in the same country and the other country is a next door to our country, the United States. I think Canada is a lot like the United States and there is some differences but I couldn't tell from this project. I would love to do this project again if I could because I thought it was fun and also fun to talk and see our other partner schools.

Sean: I think that we collaborated as a team extremely well, and I'm proud of the work that we did as a class and as a team. Through this project I have learned how to do some Flash and Fireworks, but on top of that I learned how to communicate with other people from around the world and use their ideas along with my own to achieve our goal. I have learned that with my own work habits I need to get in and get things that done quickly and not wait until the last minute to finish what needs to be done. I would like to do this project again if I knew a little about the people I had to work with and I could rely on them a lot like the partners we worked with this time.