A Virtual Village

One of the best things I learned about and saw at the Islam Workshop was Peter Gottschalk's "A Virtual Village" website. Peter Gottschalk (a professor at Wesleyan College) and a buddy of his, have spent quite some time traveling through South Asia studying and learning about the surrounding areas. One of their major accomplishments in the search for understanding the South Eastern cultures has been the completion of a virtual tour website of the city in Arampur, India. The website allows its visitors to go on a virtual tour of the small town by offering a map that treks the voyeur through the streets, and allows a 360 degree view of the places you stop to observe. Among the amazing tour, you find links to a plethora of informational links that cover its people, culture, religion, and demographics. The topics available for exploration include, the history of Arampur, topics of village life, society, agriculture, economics, religion, gender roles, languages, architecture, arts, education, glossary, updates, and "My Life".

Students from any class, whatever the subject-matter, can benefit from exploring and visiting this site. Students can learn about cultural diversity, religion, the history of ancient societies, art appreciation, economics, and climate. The English teacher, as easily as the Math, Science, and History teacher, will find it an invaluable resource; and at a click of a button! The site is easy to navigate and offers wonderful images that will capture and hold the interest of any student.

As an English teacher, I could use this site to help teach narrative, expository, and persuasive writing, while simutaneously exposing my classes to a culture very different from their own. I especially enjoy the "My Life" link because it offers an inside look at the life of Arampur's citizens. This link allows site visitors to learn about the day-to-day living of the village's inhabitants. Peter Gottschalk provided each featured person with a video camera to record anything they chose from their daily lives. Each participant also took pictures and entered captions for each, describing the image depicted.

By asking my students to explore the "My Life" link, they could learn about gender, age, religion, caste diversity, and individuals, and write narratives by assuming the persona of the individual they prefer. They can also access the other topics to learn more about the society and its norms to write an expository essay, or a persuasive paper on an issue of their choice.

I love-love-love this website! It is a fascinating tool for individuals interested in diversity, as well as for teachers, students, and philantropists, alike.

Check out this site! The address is: http://www.virtualvillage.wesleyan.edu

Enjoy![Edit by="rflores on Jul 27, 8:27:05 PM"][/Edit]