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Virtual study abroad
By Olivia Maddox
Purdue and Indiana universities may be adversaries on the playing field but outside the athletic arena, it's a spirit of cooperation, not competition, that prevails.
One of the examples of this partnership is a Web-based high school international curriculum developed in collaboration with the National FFA Organization. The project has combined the expertise of Purdue's International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA) and School of Education with IU's International Resource Center.
The interactive learning curriculum unfolds through a series of time-revealed scenarios built around a group of fictional characters, including high school and college students. "It follows them through events and activities in high school and then college, including making the decision to study abroad and coming to grips with the global arena," says David Sammons, associate dean and director of IPIA.
"We wanted every FFA member to be able to have an international experience," says Jim Piechowski, FFA's global agriculture activities leader. "But a half million students all can't travel abroad. This is a way to bring that experience to the classroom."
Two study abroad experiences are included in the curriculum: an FFA high school homestay program in Moldova and a university program in Honduras, which is patterned after Purdue's own program there at Zamorano College. Purdue Agriculture students who studied there were used as resources, as were former Zamorano students who are now studying at Purdue. A third element of the curriculum, set in Ethiopia, follows the same fictional characters after college graduation as they embark on professions in international agriculture.
While the stories are fictional, they are surprisingly realistic, with photos and biographies of the main characters. "Students can follow the story lines of these characters," Piechowski says. "They identify with them just as if they were real students."
Sammons predicts that the curriculum will create a cadre of high school students with "virtual" international experience. "Many of them, we hope, will come to Purdue and continue their international studies," he says. Each year about 12 percent of Purdue Agriculture students study abroad--a rate that is among the highest of all the schools at Purdue.
In addition to use in agriculture classes, the curriculum can be adapted for use in history, social studies, geography or government courses, Piechowski says.
Over the past year, the curriculum has been pilot tested with FFA chapters around the country and will be available for use beginning with the 2001-02 school year. It is being funded by a grant from U.S. AID (Agency for International Development). The Web site was created by Wisdom Tools, Inc., which originally started as an information technology service at IU.
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