search articles:     from the issue of May 5, 2005           Program Opens UNL to Russia, Spain, Yemen GOING GLOBAL  BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS Thirty years ago, Chuck Braithwaite sat at a desk in the United States Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam, helping evacuate American and Vietnamese personnel.     Global classroom coordinators (front, from left) Bruce Sandhorst and Chuck Braithwaite, talk to the Communications 211 classroom at Voronezh State Agricultural University in Russia during the final class session of the semester on April 28. The global classroom project will expand in the fall, with funding provided by a mix of UNL colleges, organizations and programs. Photo by Troy Fedderson, University Communications. In the final years of the war (from 1973 to 1975), Braithwaite served as an interpreter for the U.S. Navy. During most of his tour, Braithwaite was assigned to intercept and transcribe North Vietnamese messages. In the waning days of the war, Braithwaite was reassigned to help with the evacuation, talking with Vietnamese nationals and approving - sometimes denying - passage to the United States. "It was something a 20-year old should never have had to do," said Braithwaite, who left Vietnam on April 25, 1975. "It was a really difficult position to be in, deciding the fate of these people." However, the Navy experience - which started with training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., - set Braithwaite onto a career path. Fast forward 30 years and Braithwaite - a senior lecturer for international studies and the Center of Great Plains Studies - can now be found at the head of the global classroom project at UNL. "My experience in the Navy helped fuel my interest in finding ways to improve intercultural communication and international cooperation," Braithwaite said. "It was truly a life changing experience for me." Growing from funding provided by the U.S. Department of State, the global classroom project aims at connecting students and classrooms in the states with those in foreign countries. The program started in May 2004 when the State Department contacted Harriet Turner, director of international affairs at UNL. Turner recruited Braithwaite and Bruce Sandhorst, coordinator of information services' instructional technology program, to write a proposal to get UNL involved. "Forty universities from across the United States applied, and only 12 were selected to participate," Braithwaite said. Through State Department funding, Braithwaite, Sandhorst and Turner negotiated global classroom agreements with universities in Russia and Yemen. When federal funding was pulled in October 2004, International Affairs paid for trips to Spain to establish a third connection with the Universidad Castilla La Mancha. Connections between the campuses started in the fall 2004 semester, allowing Communications 211 (Global Classroom) to begin with Braithwaite serving as lecturer. Students connected for the first weekly video session with Voronezh State Agricultural University in Russia last fall. This spring, the Universidad Castilla La Mancha came online and a second section of the course was added. The two foreign universities have also started video connections with each other. "That is what this whole project is all about," Braithwaite said. "It's not about the United States dictating what goes on. It is about students from different countries getting together to break down stereotypes. It's about forming bonds and friendships that will benefit us all in the future." During classroom sessions, students from the different nations discuss current issues and offer PowerPoint presentations via the connection. The presentations run the gamut from cultural differences and product pricing to personal lives and classroom expectations. "I really like the fact that the classroom puts the students in the lead roll," Braithwaite said. "It is wonderful to see the students learning from each other. And, their interactions are exciting to watch." Many students have taken to e-mail and instant messaging to maintain contact after class. "It's always kind of a sad time when class ends and we close out that connection," Braithwaite said. "During class, it feels like we are in Russia talking with them. Then, it ends and we're back in Nebraska. "It's a strange experience." In the fall, the course will expand into a new classroom, and the University of Science and Technology from Yemen will join the global link. "One of the best aspects of this project is that it is relatively inexpensive to set up," Braithwaite said. "When we got into it, people said we would need a lot of money for equipment and satellite relays. But, we found these $500 Internet cameras that are very reliable." While the expenses are relatively low, the UNL program was on the brink as federal funding was cut last fall. However, seven university entities have joined forces to provide funding that will allow the course to continue and update Mabel Lee 128 as a permanent home. Those providing funding ($114,000 total) are the Office of Extended Education, College of Arts & Sciences, Information Services, College of Education & Human Sciences, and the departments of Political Science, Communication Studies, and Modern Languages. "I'm the one in the classroom, but we couldn't have kept this going without that support," Braithwaite said. "And, I couldn't have done this without continued support from Bruce (Sandhorst), Harriet (Turner) and the other universities involved." A fourth university may be added to UNL's global list as the U.S. Department of State has earmarked limited funding to expand the project. In a message sent last week, Braithwaite was asked if UNL was interested in setting up a partnership with a university in Pakistan or Turkey. Braithwaite and Sandhorst have already started planning a trip to establish the link. "I am so excited about this global classroom project," Braithwaite said. "I love to teach, but I have not been this excited about a teaching project in a long, long time. "It is just amazing how this has created entirely new dimensions to what I do." GLOBAL UNIVERSITIES Other U.S. universities selected by the State Department to take part in the Global Classroom project include: • Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minn. • College of Staten Island, CUNY, Long Island, N.Y. • East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. • El Camino College, Torrance, Calif. • Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Ind. • University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala. • University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield, Ill. • Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. • Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. • Millikin University, Decatur, Ill. GO TO: ISSUE OF MAY 5 NEWS HEADLINES FOR MAY 5 GOING GLOBAL 2,100 to receive degrees Saturday Pulitzer winners headline UNL writers' event Antivirus software change begins at UNL Student info system switches to NU Ids USDA Tour 732071S34624X