Nominated by Diana Thomas
School Technology Teacher at Tashkent International School
Tashkent, , Uzbekistan

January 19, 2004

RE: Ms Karrie Dietz Recommendation

Dear Sir/Madam:

Ms Karrie Dietz Teacher Extraordinary. This is a definitation of a wonderful teacher. I first met her three years ago when she came to Tashkent Uzbekistan to teach 5th grade. I was the computer coordinator teacher in my first year in Tashkent.

Ours in a small American curriculum school with only 150 students K-12. My first attempt to integrate the curriculum in K-6 met with limited success to say the least. But although Karrie had not done this before, she jumped in with both feet. She researched sites to use with her 5th grade curriculum, investigated web quests, wrote web quests, and looked for ways to use computers for educational purposes.

The students loved the way she integrated her curriculum with the computer to make it interesting and fun. Once she saw this was a fantastic way to use another modality with her teaching, she was off and running. Karrie found a site called “Cyberfair”. Never mind she had never done HTML before. She used a small book to help her along and she and her nine students were busily doing a site called “Treasurers of Uzbekistan”. Guess what? They won first place. One of the prizes they won was an Alpha Smart. Seeing them as a positive force in the classroom, Karrie campaigned to get them in our school. Now all teacher and students have had the benefit of yet another piece of technology. The next year Karrie said lets do the Cyber Fair again but involve more students. We did so with 60 students in grade 4,5,6,8, 10, 11 and 12 . Again guess what: They won first place again. http://www.tashschool.org This last year her class did two entries. They were Game Days and Uzbek Instruments. Oh well, they won honorable mention and second place. These can also be seen at http://www.tashschool.org.

In addition, Karrie has done a Christmas program for the Hotel Intercontinental for two years in a row. It was featured on an Intel site http://www97.intel.com/education/odyssey/day_078/day_078.htm

Been involved with Friendship through Education sponsored by the Whitehouse http://www.friendshipthrougheducation.org and

Through her association with Yvonne Andres of Global school net Association, she has been chosen to be been interviewed by Nancy Henderson of Parade Magazine. It has not been published as of yet.

http://www.internet4kids.com/ featured The Treasurers of Uzbekistan 2001 site Global Junior Challenge Event in Rome, Italy was an exchange program that Karrie participated in and in an ongoing program with schools in Italy and Uzbekistan. She and four students were invited to visit Rome and receive their awards.

Postcard Geography is nothing new to most cyber people but the 6th grade class received and sent 182 card We gave her a digital camera, Intel microscope and video camera Anytime you want something tested, Karrie is your person. The students produced videos, watched bugs under the microscope and made films with them. The students did e- pals and regularly converse with about 16 sites all over the world.

When we decided to try video conferencing, Karrie’s students were right in there. We talked to a school in Florida on a project called “As the Earth Turns and Japanese students who we had fun just talking and conversing for a couple of hours.

She works with all the K-6 teachers encouraging them to use technology in their classroom. Due mostly to her efforts three more teachers started using the computer lab to augment their classes and now they too want to find more ways to integrate technology.

Last year Karrie moved up to sixth grade and she began working with the new teacher in her old 5th grade slot. She e-mailed him suggesting that they do things together. This year they are already working on a Cyber Fair project.

This year Karrie presented at an IREX seminar for Uzbekistan teachers. She did a PowerPoint for teachers showing them use the computer for teaching local students. Then the Peace Corp ask her to do one for them also. She was also invited to be an online presenter for Global Learn Day. This is the “Emmies for Computer”. http://www.friendshipthrougheducation.org

As you can see Karrie is really a fantastic teacher and I think would be a positive force for a GSN Nominee. She is far sited in her thinking, enthusiastic in her mentoring of both students and teachers, and is always looking for new ways to use technology.

The section below lists the testimonials that have been reviewed and approved by the candidate.

1. Testimonial from Cinda Muenchen (2)
Teacher Elementary/Primary (ages 5-12) at Taylor Mill Elementary- Covington, KY
United States

I believe Karrie Dietz more than exemplifies the qualities and abilities you are looking for to qualify for this award. I first became acquainted with Karrie and her class through a global postcard program on the web. The goal of the program was to promote communication through postcards which were sent from school children throughout the world. My students loved receiving the postcards and learned so much about the culture and geography of different states and countries. When we received Karrie's postcard, my students were intrigued by the country they knew so little about.Her excitement and involvement in her students was so evident in the postcards she sent. There was also a poem written by her students that I still have posted in my classroom today. So I wrote to Karrie and asked if we could take the relationship one step further by linking our classes through mail and the internet.She was more than willing to take this next step. What developed, with Karrie's help, was a wonderful individualized bond between her students and mine. They have now corresponded for over three years. The students have traded pictures, letters, small gifts, and more importantly insight into another culture through their eyes. My students have learned about Uzbekistan and their people. They quickly learned that Karrie's students, although a world away, had the same interests, thoughts, and dreams as they did. By taking that next step, Karrie allowed my students to see a world they never even knew existed. It took a teacher who was willing to take on extra work and see a project through for this relationship to work. Karrie was that teacher. Thank you for allowing me to make this testimonial.

2. Testimonial from Stephen Larrabee (3)
Other at IREX
Uzbekistan

Hi,

Karrie Dietz was invited to make a presentation on using the internet as a resource for educational institutions.

I am the director of a multi-million dollar USAID funded project in Uzbekistan that delivered computers to a 110 schools in the country. Part of the mandate of our program is to use the internet as a source of curriculum development, web-site development and as a tool to increase the student's awarness of what is happening around the world.

Kerrie came highly recomneded from her current school and I asked her if she could present some information pertaining to the use of the internet in schools.

Her presentation was amazing. First off, she provided each participant (there were over 50 people present) with a hugh 60 page manual on all of the activities she had completed over the years. She then spent an hour highlighting her activities and some of the lesson plans she had put together.

I was thouroughly impressed with the information she provided and her presentation skills.

About half of our schools have incorporated this material into their curriculum and many schools have started using the internet to develop lesson plans, have made web-sites and entered competitons. One student recently won a competiton to travel to Egypt for an Educational Conference. She was inspired by what the students had done at TIUS (Kerris school).

Overall, Kerrie seems to have made a tremendous impact at her school and has realy, realy helped my project reach its goals.

I can endorse her a 100% for this award.

Stephen Larrabee

Chief of Party, IREX

Computers for Schools in Uzbekistan

3. Testimonial from Jeff Lyons (4)
Teacher Elementary/Primary (ages 5-12) at Tashkent International School
Select a Country

I have worked with Karrie for a year and a half now, and have observed Karrie in action with her students on several projects that she has worked on. Karrie is very skilled at organizing and getting the students to perform at their best, without hand feeding them the information. She uses a constructivist approach that drives her students to think for themselves and be excited about what they are doing. While her efforts and her student's efforts have claimed honors in several cyber fair/international competitions, it has never been and is still not about the accolades. It is very apparent that the students' learning is at the heart of what she does and it shows in their projects. The students walk away from the projects having learned a great deal about the subject matter studied. Having worked with her, she is driven to help her students learn about the community they live in and how to make a difference. While the web pages they build are eye catching and exciting to look at, there is depth and meaning to the content because this is the focus of what they do in the classroom. She spends a great deal of time working with other professionals across the Internet, working together to cross the boundaries of culture and language. Karrie is not a textbook teacher in the sense that her kids get their knowledge from textbooks. Karrie finds ways to help her students achieve the objectives the school needs them to learn, while utilizing on-line collaborative projects to enhance this. It is my opinion that Karrie indeed exemplifies the qualities you are looking to recognize and is an outstanding online collaborative teacher.

4. Testimonial from Marsha Goren (5)
Teacher Elementary/Primary (ages 5-12) at Ein Ganim Elementary School
Israel

To the GSN Committee Testimonial for Ms. Karrie Dietz

My name is Marsha Goren and I come from Petach Tikva, Israel. I met Karrie and three of her students and the Global Junior Challenge in Rome 2003. Since Karrie and I were both active members of Friends and flags, Karen Eini gave me Karrie's e-mail address and we began to correspond with each other since we were not in same circle of schools.

Meeting Karrie and the three girls in Rome was an exciting experience for me and the three boys that I had taken from Israel. The children spent time together at all the social activities and the GJC exhibition which lasted for three days. We each cheered as we received our awards at the ceremony and the children were truly delighted with our new friends.

Karrie and I decided to continue our global collaboration through snail mail, an exchanging of cultural packages, email and our "Dream a dream with Ein Ganim" project. Karrie's classes have been active members of our dream discussion board as well as the forum. We have been in frequent touch through individual emails. Karrie has also made a web page about our work together and has linked back to our dream site.

We share our hopes, our dreams and our cultures. The children have learned so much about Uzbeksitan thanks to Karrie and her wonderful web sites. The children feel closeness to Karrie and her classes and their genuine concern for our well-being.

As an educator I feel blessed to have friend like her. She has become more than a global partner to me. She is helpful and kind. She truly cares about children and it is my dream that we will continue to be global partners with our wonderful friends from Tashkent School for many years to come.

Karrie is truly worthy of your award. She is making a difference in the lives of so many of her colleagues, children and educators from Uzbekistan and around the world. I am honored to know her and will be delighted if she receives this prestigious award. She surely deserves it. Most Sincerely, Marsha Goren Ein Ganim – Israel Dream coordinator and Global educator.

5. Testimonial from Felicity Timcke (6)
Librarian at Tashkent International School
Uzbekistan

I have known Karrie Dietz since she started working as a 5th (and later 6th) grade teacher in Tashkent International School almost four years ago.

As her librarian, I have watched how organized she is when planning her lessons in order to fit in with her global outlook on curriculum. She encourages her students to work in groups, pairs and on their own to do project that she has set for them. They are always VERY excited about what they are doing, and each studetn seems to be able to find his/her niche in her class.

Her students, through each year, develop a work ethic that is very mature for students of their age. They show a developing sense of responsibility and commitment. They respect her as their teacher and enjoy her as their friend - this balance is also an art which Karrie displays.

Karrie's energy is unsurpassed. She always seems to be taking her studetns on excursions, embarking on unusual, and sometimes very challenging, projects, working in various locations: indoors, outdoors, computer lab, library, art room and more.

In terms of working with her as a colleague, Karrie has a pleasant disposition. As I have already mentioned, she is organized and methodical, even though she is very creative.

I can think of none other who deserves this award more than Karrie Dietz!

6. Testimonial from Dawn Thompson (7)
Teacher at Byron Elementary School
United States

February 27, 2004

I have known Karrie Dietz since she was a little girl. During her elementary and high school years, Karrie held various leadership roles and earned many awards. She has been recognized for her resourcefulness and can be counted upon to assume responsibility, showing both initiative and good judgment. It has been my pleasure as an elementary teacher and Karrie's aunt to watch her blossom into the fine woman and international educator that she has become today. Karrie Dietz is an extremely intelligent and creative person. She works very hard at whatever she undertakes. An example of this is her project-based learning web-site that she created with her 5th grade class at the Tashkent International School.

I became very excited when I was introduced to Karrie's web-site. I had recently taken a class on project-based learning and was proud to share this site with my peers and students. My class became very involved and engaged in learning about the country of Uzbekistan through the project. The children really enjoyed viewing the pictures and reading about the food, clothing, animals, and traditions of Uzbekistan. This method of teaching made us feel much closer to the people living in another country on the other side of the globe.

Karrie exhibits high values and standards. She is an excellent communicator as can be seen through her efforts on this project. I highly recommend Karrie Dietz for this award.

Dawn Thompson Byron Elementary Teacher Byron, Minnesota