Crossing Borders 2013
Crossing Borders is an international module focusing on ways to cross borders and bring-down barriers. The participants are students from The University of Maine at Machias in the USA; The Hochschule Mittweida a university of applied sciences in the district of Mittweida, Saxony, Germany; The department of social work and social care; Bergen University College students and faculty from Health and Social Science, Bergen Norway; and Inholland University of applied sciences and professional education School of Social Work Alkmaar, Den Haag, Amsterdam and Haarlem The Netherlands.
The student and faculty participants cross borders in more than one way:
By receiving support from native speakers when speaking and writing English.
By communicating in an international virtual community.
By comparing ways to empower and include social-work and counseling users in different countries.
By coming to an understanding of inclusion and exclusion in marginalized populations in each country.
After a semester of weekly video conference classes the students are beginning our week of intensive study in Alkmaar the Netherlands. The 2013 cohort has been divided into four groups of students, each group has one student from the USA; 2 or 3 from Norway; 2 or 3 from Germany and 2 or 3 from Holland. Each group is facilitated by faculty member from one of the participating universities. During this intensive week the students and faculty will combine the research that has been going on all semester in their home countries and finalize the research paper for each group. Students will present the combined findings to each other on Wednesday during the intensive week. (we will try to capture the presentations and provide a video link).
The week won't be all work :-), we will also get to spend time socializing and learning about our cultures and explore our host country. The following blog will keep you updated on how our week is progressing as well as an occasional picture, we hope you will post your thoughts and ask questions as the week progresses! Let the fun (and learning) begin!!!!!
