CyberFair Project ID: 5370

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Targoviste - myth and reality
Category: 6. Historical Landmarks
URL: http://www.targovistelegend.cabanova.ro
Bibliography: http://targovistelegend.cabanova.ro/page3.html

School: Colegiul Economic 'Ion Ghica'
    Targoviste, Dambovita , Romania

10 students, ages 8-18 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 15, 2008. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2008

Classes and Teachers: Carmen Radulescu

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.holisticview.wordpress.com

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Our school is located in Targoviste, Romania, 70km far from Bucharest, the capital. It is a small town with a deep history (in 15 century was the capital of the region and the resident of the king, who’s known by the foreigners as...Count Dracula).

68 teachers and 18 auxiliary are providing educational services for 934 students into vocational secondary school, and 54 adults in evening programs. The main topics followed by our students are marketing, business and administration, public alimentation, tourism (being a vocational school, they are preparing for becoming the next qualified workers into the services field), but also the general curriculum (mathematics, ITC, foreign languages, Humanities, literature s.o).

Most of our student are going to study to University, but there are also some of them who are going to become technicians in economic field, or also entrepreneurs. Our school have as a mission to assure for all students equal opportunity (we established special measures for couple of students with special needs); we also encourage the inclusion of the minorities, especial the RRomanian population into the educational system, and not in the last time, providing educational service for the unemployed persons, offering them a chance for returning to the working system (as a center for long life learning). The School has been involved in the last years in many national and European projects: - European School from 2004 - School for application – within the program PHARE VET EU RO 9405 - Center of resources within the project PHARE VET RO 0108.01 - Support center for long distance learning within the finance PHARE TVET 2004-2006 - Education for quality – the program PHARE EU RO 9602 – TTQM - Center for ECDL - Provider of professional - accredited for 8 qualifies from Services Field.

We were involved in organizing campaign for touching the young people to participate on elections for European Parliament) – we have a debate club where they are practicing argumentation, preparing for becoming responsible citizens of our country, express their own opinion, exercising the team work and tolerance. We are also interested and participated to many European contest that promote intercultural and diversity.

2. Summary of Our Project

The moving image is a shared and global language. We thought that is important for students who lived in the 21st century, in the century of the media environment, to learn using all kind of media, as a tools for gain the communicating, problem-solving, and decision-making skills needed for living in this global media culture. This project we wanted being the first step forward to preparing students with lifelong learning skills of critical analysis and self expression applicable in a global culture.

The aim of the project is to encourage students to make brief video as well as many other activities, to communicate their point of view related to legend of Dracula, to establish the line between the fiction and historical reality...

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:none

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:none

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:not sure

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Although we don’t have Internet access in the classroom we have used our personal computers and we have finished the project in our high school’s informatics’ laboratory.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

First of all we had to use and benefit an interface offered by www.cabanova.ro, the only one who give free access. The only problem to fill our work within the limit of the free webside.We haven’t met special problems in the webpage building because we have had access at informations, we have benefited to all necessary devices for achieve video and photographic materials. Also we have been in advantage thanks to our knowledge about Târgoviste history and Dracula’s myth. The project translation has demanded us a big concentration, but working together is easily and we have succeeded to fulfill this task.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Through this project we wish to make known to the entire world the historic color of this little Romanian town, Targoviste, to offer to the anxious of knowledge the past historic events that are hidden in the back of myths and legends. We hope, thanks to this project, the Fortress Targoviste will become a subject as bright as Dracula’s myth. Above all, we want to sustain our town values at international level. We intend to show that the modern technology can be joined with the past, without reciprocally affecting.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

The use of video as an educational tool has been nule 15 years ago, but we discovered now the value of video production which helps motivate students to engage with the media. It can also help them express themselves, voice their opinions and experience rewarding team work. Our school aims to make students self confident, to develop entrepreneurial competencies and transferable skills for efficient insertion into the labor field. In this way we hope to improve our experience using media, involving students and teachers as well, being active, learning new things and being prepare to share experience with the students.

We discovered that educational system has got so many resources obviously need to be used, and media is one of them. Using media and internet, we can do important step for growing up the intellectual and practical level of the student’s mind, offering them insights for a good formationa as a part of long life learning. Traditional methods have have their virtues, but using Media and internet is becoming more effective and we expect to increase the tolerance degree between different cultures, to establish easily an intercultural dialog.

We have chosen the “Historical Landmarks” category because our city is famous for his history roots. The marks of the hospodars who ruled in Targoviste are monuments like the Chindia Tower and the Royal Court. These represent symbols of the past and important attractions too. The subject of our project is met in our school subjects, but we couldn’t use just the information that we’ve receive from classes ant it required a few hours out of school that help us to develop the communication within the group, to exchange opinions for realize a good project.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

In the achievement of this project we have used different technology means like: - 5 computers, - 1 camera, - 1 video-camera, - many books, magazine and newspapers from library, - Internet and various programs of processing the information. For realize the structure of the site, the film and the games we have used free software programs: - www.cabanova.ro – online interface for site building - Ulead video studio – to accomplish the video - voki.com

The information have been processed from the Internet and from the museums whivh we have visited and presented. A part of photos have been processed from Internet, but Alexandra has used his own camera and taked many pictures. Without these means, the achievement of the project would have been impossible.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Each of us has acted as “ambassador” and spoke-person for the Cyber Fair Project both at the visits we made for collecting information, but also between our high school mates, friends , family. We have presented our opinions and we have shared the main ideas, which our project is based on. By an interview about this legendary character, Dracula, we have informed the community of Targoviste about this project and we have succeed to find various opinions about this subject, about Vlad The Impaler against Dracula. Each of us acted by turn as research, reporter and camera director.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

The interview realized in the community of Targoviste was the base of our case study about the impact of this subject on the people. In this way we have succeed to look from more angles the well-known legend of Dracula and to create some limits between reality and myth. With the help of our teacher , Carmen Radulescu , we have realized a survey on the students of our highschool , and so we have found out what thinks and knows the young generation about the links between Dracula and Targoviste. For the ones who prefer to express themselves on the Internet we’ve posted some questions on our high school’s blog. That’s way we hope for a deep impact within the young people’s group, because obviously, they have started to question their attitude face to historical issues, to think critically an old topic and to cross over the limit of the ignorance. Also we’ve started a project with a group of Greek students, within a reading club, which has as subject the character of Dracula, presented in the book with some name of Bram Stoker.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

Our work for realizing this project has been easier thanks to our principal’s help, also our colleagues teachers and friends, who has given us the technical means. Also we’ve been helped by the workers from the museum and library. The people from Targoviste and our schoolmates have been so kind to answer to the questionnaire survey, so we could succeed to find the impact that the presence of historical traces in Tragoviste left ,over the citizens of the modern town.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We were honored to demonstrate that Dracula’ myth is more than well-known locally and also internationally, but at the same time we were surprised to discover that only few persons know the links between him and Targoviste’ history. Also we were surprised, in the bad way, to discover that a lot of persons who have participated at the survey didn’t know what hides in the back of the myth or they consider it just an attractive package for a commercial tourism. We have discovered that for locals Vlad the Impaler is as hospodar a local mark , a pride, and for tourists ,unfortunately and fortunately at the same time , is just a “hot” subject.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 5370)

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