Bringing heros online

Goodfellow Public School students participated in an international webcast last week. The students presented Photo by Chris Simon local heros to peers living in the United States, Mexico, Israel and other area of Canada. Colin Diceman couldn't wait to show the world his hero.

The Grade 6 Goodfellow Public School student has been completing a project on his firefighter uncle, who died while battling a blaze.

"I get to have fun doing this project, while doing work," he said. "You get to talk to people all around the world."

Several of his schoolmates have also been doing similar projects over the last few weeks, as part of the international My Hero program. Students from throughout the world complete projects on their personal heroes, while also learning about well known and well respected icons in other countries across the world.

The projects are then posted on the My Hero website, for people across the planet to see, said teacher Mali Bickley.

"It is a project where kids learn about the lives of different characters, heroes, the importance of them and why they inspire," she said. "A lot of time they pick family members, but we also did a literature unit about other heroes."

Photo by Chris Simon Stace Wills, right, of Elluminate and Goodfellow Public School student Deema Rabisian look at a computer screen during last week's international webcast. Last week, the Goodfellow students participated in an international web conference with peers in Barrie, Toronto, Ohio, California, Mexico and Israel. The eight international classes shared information about their schools, hometowns and heroes.

Bickley says the experience helps local students understand the cultural heroes in other countries.

The eight classes work together and report back. The kids wrote stories online, and they're going to talk about them," she said. "They've got their own private webpages where they talk about their heroes. They have pictures and web links up there."

But heroes sometimes come in the four-legged, lesser known variety as well. Grade 5 Goodfellow student Alexxis Smith's hero is her dog, Kelly.

A few years ago, Smith was pulled from a lake by the dog, an act that saved her life.

"I'm excited because we get to communicate with other people. I'm excited to talk to people in another country," she said. "When I was little, I almost drowned in the water and my dog came and saved me."

Bickley says a wide variety of heros were displayed through the website, and discussed during the conference.

"The kids are reporting and sharing," she said. "It's been a great project. They're getting a chance to interact with kids from all over the world."

For more, visit www.myhero.com.