Muskie fellow Ibragimdzhon (Ibrahim) Rustamov brings students at a local elementary school in Connecticut to different classrooms around the world. In addition to studying Educational Technology at the University of Hartford, Ibrahim volunteers with 5th grade children at Aiken Elementary School. Using the internet to connect them with their peers all over the world, Ibrahim aims to teach students both communication skills and important lessons about diversity and tolerance. More than simply talking about different cultures, Ibrahim wished to actually show his students different countries in a new way.
Before joining the Muskie program, Ibrahim worked for five years as a teacher in his home country, Tajikistan, where he integrated technology into his lessons even in this remote setting. “In 2002, internet arrived to my hometown (of) Isfara, and I started using the internet and computers that I enjoyed in my student years… this time in a professional level… teaching English as a second language,” said Ibrahim. Ibrahim began to create lessons based on his own teaching experience and to learn new ways to present information by working as the Internet Learning Center Educator at Relief International Schools Online. As an applicant to the Muskie program, Ibrahim wanted to continue to look for ways that he could incorporate technology into the classroom and create online learning communities through educational networks. Shortly after arriving in Connecticut on the Muskie program, Ibrahim realized his vision, creating this online community with local children.
When Ibrahim met with teachers and administrators at Aiken Elementary school, he expressed his desire to work with the students and was welcomed as a volunteer. In order to connect his students with students in Tajikistan, Ibrahim used rafi.ki. This British site, which takes its name from the Swahili word for friend (Rafiki), was started for students of all languages and countries to create home pages about their local schools and communities, while giving them the opportunity to research and meet students from different countries also connected to the site. Unfortunately, due to unreliable electricity in Tajikistan, Ibrahim has been unable to connect his students in the US with children from his country. However, he has started partnerships with students from the UK and China. His students have the ability to meet and learn about new these cultures by sending messages to students, starting discussion forums, communicating in chat rooms or setting up video conferences, all with the aid of the site’s translation tool when needed.
Currently, Ibrahim’s students are creating their own mini encyclopedia pages on the site to provide general information to other elementary level students. Topics they are working on include: American states, electronics, climate change and world hunger. To assure accuracy of information, pages are closely monitored by both teachers at Aiken Elementary and the administrators of the rafi.ki site. Ibrahim’s students have been prospering since he began working with them as evident by the fact that Aiken Elementary was recently selected as the school of the month by the website and one of Ibrahim’s students had her encyclopedia page on World Hunger chosen as the homepage of the month Ibrahim has seen the importance in creating an international perspective for his students that he hopes will continue after he has left Connecticut and returned to Tajikistan.
