Students at all Island schools will be taking part in an extraordinary adventure this week — the Canadian Heritage Interactive Journey (CHIJ), a national Internet project.
During the Canadian Heritage Interactive Journey (CHIJ), three cycling teams will be travelling across Canada. Over the nine-week journey, the cyclists will visit more than 80 host schools in Canada's largest cities and most remote villages, exploring the history and culture of each Canadian province and territory. The eastern team of cyclists, which arrived in PEI today, began their journey on April 15 in Ottawa and will finish June 15 in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Students at five Island schools have created special webpages for the CHIJ initiative. They will host the visiting cyclists and demonstrate their webpages: May 14, Amherst Cove Consolidated School; May 17, Stonepark Intermediate School; May 18, Vernon River School; May 19, Montague Consolidated School, and May 19, Belfast School. The cyclists will leave PEI via the Wood Islands ferry and continue on their journey through Nova Scotia.
The cyclists relay their findings, via digital camera and laptop computers, to a website at www.chij.com. Students at all Island and Canadian schools have the opportunity to play an active role in the journey, posting and sharing information they have researched about their own communities.
"This is an excellent way to enhance the technological skills of our youth and to make learning geography interactive and fun," said Deputy Minister of Education, Elaine Noonan, on behalf of Minister of Education Chester Gillan. "This unique initiative also provides students with an opportunity to learn more about Canada's rich and diverse culture."
Industry Canada, through its SchoolNet Program, has partnered with the PEI Department of Education, to provide all Island schools with free access to the Canadian Heritage Interactive Journey. The CHIJ is being used to introduce students to the Internet and to help them develop basic technology skills, from using email to designing web pages. Industry Canada is supporting the development of these skills through SchoolNet's Jr. GrassRoots program, by providing Internet access to 1,000 Canadian schools.
The CHIJ was developed by BC-based Ingenuity Works, a leader in developing Canadian content educational technologies.