Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Global Campus Chiang Mai Key Administrators Promoted

Global Campuses Foundation is pleased to announce that the two key administrators of Global Campus Chiang Mai, Kachakorn Thaveesri (Ka) and Yutthaphon Damrongchuensakun (Non), have advanced to new positions. 
Sheryl Tewksbury, Director of GCF stated that she and other GCF colleagues are impressed with the professional advancement of Ka and Non since they first started their roles at Global Campus Chiang Mai.  In a brief time period, they have not only administered many accomplishments of the campus, developed personally and professionally, but also have advanced the mission of GCF in Thailand markedly.  We congratulate them on their success.

Ka who served as the Campus Director of GCC since it started in 2002, will now take on the position of GCF Regional Director: S.E. Asia.  Her new responsibilities will be directed toward expansion of Global Campuses within Thailand as well as to other regions such as Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Burma.  Over the past 2 years, Ka has had the opportunity to train as a facilitator with a Japanese sponsored organization called the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability, APCD www.apcdproject.org.  In May, she was invited to become an APCD international facilitator.  As a facilitator, Ka leads Disability Equality Workshops at international conferences held in Bangkok.  In the future, Ka will travel to S. E. Asian countries on behalf of GCF and APCD. 

Non, has served since 2002 as the Campus Administrator of GCC.  In January 2009, he was the first Global Campus participant to receive a Bachelor’s degree.  Non majored in Public Administration at Sukhothai Thammathiraj University.  Non now moves into the position of Campus Director of GCC and will also work with the directors of Global Campus San Sai and Global Campus Nan sharing his expertise.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Global Campuses Foundation Fall Invitational Conference The Global Campus Experience: A Paradigm Shift in Adult Education

Global Campuses Foundation Fall Invitational Conference
The Global Campus Experience: A Paradigm Shift in Adult Education

Global Campuses Foundation and the Vermont Global Campuses participants are hosting an all day conference highlighting their innovative educational experiences. The conference will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Davis Center, on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington.

During September and October, the campus members are preparing for this invitational conference which will feature teaching presentations, panel discussions, and
virtual tours of their campuses. In addition to these activities, conference participants will have the opportunity to experience a live Campus to Campus connection via video conference with Global Campus participants in Thailand. Opening and closing ceremonies and keynote speeches by Vermont campus participants are also a part of the conference program.

Global Campuses Foundation is very pleased with the UVM Davis Center as the venue for the conference. As a learner-focused student union and event center, its cutting edge 5 star green design sets the stage to showcase the dynamic adult education programs and curriculum developed and operated by Vermont Global Campuses participants. This Fall Conference promises to truly live up to its title The Global Campus Experience: A Paradigm Shift in Adult Education. For more information contact info@globalcampuses.org

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Lake Champlain Campus-to-Campus Connections Conference

The Vermont campuses gathered at Champlain College in Burlington on August 14th to continue building inter-campus relationships, share experiences from an exciting summer term, and begin preparations for a large Global Campus conference in Burlington on November 3rd. The conference was held in response to the participants voice and request for a fun and social event involving all the Vermont campuses.

The day of the conference was a beautiful, hot Friday morning and the excitement was incredible as participants arrived from all corners of the state. Old friends greeted one another and new connections were quickly initiated as folks registered and mingled as they found their seats.

A high point of the morning was a conversation with Ka and Non from Global Campus Thailand using Skype, an free internet tele-conferencing program. Ka and Non shared about their campuses in Thailand, halfway around the world and 12 hours earlier in time, and then the conference participants flooded them with questions. Does is snow in Thailand? What is the weather like now? What classes are participants teaching? How many participants are at each campus?

The conference continued with each campus presenting their Time Capsules. Representatives from each campus stood up and read a list of items that their campus was collecting for the time capsule. There were a few artifacts that folks brought to share as well. Afterwards, each table enjoyed a small group discussion regarding the events and adventures of the summer term. A spokesperson from each small group then presented what had been shared with the larger audience.

Folks were motivated to get down to the lakefront for lunch and an afternoon of fun! Most people walked down to the water from the college, despite the heat! We ate our lunch in a nice shady spot outside of the ECHO museum. After lunch we split into groups depending on what folks wanted to experience. The different groups went to ECHO, took a tour of some old boats, and enjoyed old-fashioned games and crafts. The activities were a perfect culmination to a summer term exploring history and culture in our respective communities.

Everyone departed with hugs, smiles, and a natural high from a day filled with friends, fun, and a great sense of pride in sharing their campuses with one another.

Summer Term Time Travel

Time Travel: Exploring and Celebrating our Community Heritage. This is the summer term curriculum theme for the Vermont Global Campuses that everyone has been raving about! Participants have enjoyed field trips, special events, and presentations, discovering what life was like for folks in their communities during the 1700's and 1800's.

Global Campus St. Johnsbury decided to meet every other week for the Summer Term 2009 and hold Self Advocates events on the opposite weeks. The group had a few projects in mind for the summer, which fit nicely with the theme of cultural heritage and exploration. We kicked-off the term with a tour of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, led by the Fairbanks Museum staff. We listened to stories of many St. Johnsbury families, and learned about crime, deception, love and good humor in the community. A scavenger hunt in historic downtown St. Johnsbury showed us the houses of many of the families we had learned about in the cemetery. We saw the architectural style of Lambert Packard, St. Johnsbury's most famous architect, and viewed the intricacies of the “painted lady” house. Global Campus St. Johnsbury also planted their first garden this summer. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and potatoes are in pots in front of the agency, tended and eaten by anyone in our Global Campus community.

Global Campus Newport spent an afternoon brainstorming activities that they wanted to complete for summer term 2009. We tailored the brainstorm session around ideas of community, history and culture and came up with lots of good ideas. Activities included a tour of the Old Stone House heritage site, ropes courses and canoeing at Northwoods Stewardship Center, a beach BBQ, a tour of Memphremagog Artist Cooperative, a tour of Butterworks Farm and more. Some of the experiences we gained during summer term have already begun to shape fall term classes. A few participants have chosen topics on history and Northeast Kingdom culture to study in the fall.

Global Campus Hardwick and the surrounding communities are full of culture and tradition, which made summer term full and exciting. There are so many small farms and projects going on in Hardwick, that GC participants had no problem brainstorming activities for the summer. We visited a number of unique farms and communities, including Jasper Hill Farm, where we visited underground cheese caves, Vermont Glass, where Diane Tanguay tried her skills at glass blowing, Agape Hill farm for llama training, and more. We also spent a few days at Caspian Lake, playing wiffle ball and enjoying the sun.

Global Campus Springfield began our Summer Term by creating our own Quests at the Spring weather Nature Area near the North Springfield Lake. This gave us a chance to learn about the history of this area and also enjoy the beautiful fields and woods.

The Springfield area is rich with history! Our time travel continued with learning about some utensils and artifacts from the 1800's and how to make Journey (or Johnny) cakes. The following week we were visited by living historians Amanda Page and Jon Soule who shared about life in the 1800's in and around the area of Fort No. 4. Our next stop was the Eureka schoolhouse and then a visit to Billings Farm in Woodstock. At Billings Farm we learned about farm life in the 1890's and were able to see the animals and many farm tools. Several hard-working participants were able to help with doing laundry and churning butter by hand! St. Gaudens Historic site was the next stop on our time travel tour. Despite the cool weather, we enjoyed the beautiful gardens and art and had a history lesson about the Civil War! Our time travel will soon take us into some local berry fields and will end with a visit to the Calvin Coolidge homestead.

Global Campus Bradford celebrated our cultural heritage by hosting the Old Fashioned Craft and Game Day on July 21st. Many members of our community came to participate and share their favorite crafts, hobbies, food, and games from yesteryear. Folks set up little booths in our large Outback Room with crafts like stencil printing, candle making, wood burning, needlepoint, crocheting, knitting, weaving, card making and more! Everyone floated around to the different tables, trying their hand at the various crafts. There was also an old-fashioned lemonade stand and a butter making activity! We experienced what people dressed like in the late 1700's as our campus coordinator dressed up as and reenacted Aaron Hutchinson, a famous preacher who lived in Woodstock and spoke at the constitutional convention.

This summer we have also enjoyed a few Upper Valley Quests, including the Fairlee Glenn Falls Quest and the Magnificent Tree Quest. The Fairlee Glenn Falls were a spectacular sight to see and we really enjoyed our time in the forest by the cool stream. The Magnificent Tree Quest was also fabulous. We had the opportunity to measure the diameter of several very old and large trees including a white oak, hemlock, birch, ash, and even a very large and rare American chestnut! We are looking forward to continuing our summer term by building a time capsule and attending the Campus-to-Campus Connections Conference at Champlain College.

Global Campus Randolph has enjoyed a busy and exciting travel schedule this summer term! Our first adventure took us to the Roxbury Fish Hatchery where we learned all about how fish are raised and then released into Vermont's rivers, streams, and lakes. On a very rainy Thursday afternoon we settled in at Pleasant Street House to enjoy a time travel video called “Time Bandits”. The sun came out in full force for our trip to Quechee gorge where we explored the walking paths overlooking the gorge, the dam, and the river far below. Another afternoon we took a guided tour of the Randolph Historical Society Museum where we had the opportunity to see a replica kitchen, dining room, bedroom, apothecary, barber shop, and more from 17 and 1800's in Randolph. Most of the items were made right here in town! A trip to Hubbard Park in Montpelier led us to the large stone tower at the top of the hill and all through the beautiful forest paths. Unfortunately the tower was under renovation, so we couldn't go up and see the view. Next, we'll be spending an afternoon at the old schoolhouse in Brookfield where Dorcas, one of our resource persons, lives for a potluck and series of mini lessons on turkey calling, bird sounds, native American style drumming, fishing, and a little history of the floating bridge that crosses the pond right behind the schoolhouse!

Global Campus Moretown has been celebrating summer and history by getting our hands dirty in our garden! We spent a few weeks planting seeds, building self-watering containers, setting up a barrel of potatoes, and tending to the plants as they grew. One week our campus coordinator dressed as a preacher named Aaron Hutchinson, who lived in the late 1700's. He showed us artifacts from his home and we tried to guess what the different objects were used for. Traveling back in time like that helped us to brainstorm what we might like to put in our own little time capsule to capture the essence of our campus in 2009. We also went on a few trips. Our first outing took us to the Mad River Glass Gallery, where artisan glass blowers David and Melanie showed us the tricks of their trade. We all marveled at their skills and talent and tried not to break any of the exquisite pieces in their gallery!! Another trip led us to the old Bobbin Mill in Warren. We checked out the crumbling mill and some of the old water powered machines before hiking up the path next to the river for a few miles. There were many beautiful swimming holes along the way, but no one took a dip! We'll be continuing our summer by assembling our time capsule and harvesting our vegetables!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Spring Term 2009: Vermont Global Campuses Celebrate Community Stewardship

Each of the Vermont campuses takes great pride in the creative and dynamic ways in which they offer service and support to their communities.

Global Campus St. Johnsbury created a service project, called “Walking Green”, to raise money for a local family who lost their home and belongings in a fire. Participants asked community members for sponsorship as they walked around town for two hours picking up trash and cleaning up the community. Participants engaged in the project by collecting sponsorship money, walking, picking up trash, or helping to plan the project. The following is an article written about the event by participants of Global Campus St. Johnsbury:

Walking Green, by Amanda Daniels, Cristy Norman, and Aaron Sanville
For Walking Green people sponsored us for walking around Stevens Loop and picking up trash. The loop is 2.2 miles. We will give the money to a family who lost their home to fire. Some people are picking up trash and some are walking. We have one person to sit with the money and water and do registration. The event will be two hours and we will finish with an ice cream social.

Walking Green ended up collecting $475 dollars to donate to the LaCoste family. We had over thirty participants walking, picking up trash and supporting the group.

Global Campus Newport decided to complete two community service projects this spring term. For one project, participants decorated boxes for food donations, which were set-up around town specifically for Easter donations. Fifty dollars worth of food was donated to the NEKCA food bank!

Global Campus Newport participants also decided to green-up around the State Office building, where Global Campus classes are held. Although the weather was bad, about ten people braved the elements to help pick up trash together. In the small area around the building, the group gathered up six bags of garbage! Cigarette butts were plentiful!

“For Green-up Day we picked up six bags of trash from the lawn outside the State Conference Room. We wore gloves. We had a group of about ten people, despite the wind and rain.” – Debbie Thompson

Global Campus Hardwick moved campus locations halfway through the spring term. The Greensboro Bend church underwent renovations, and Global Campus moved to Heartbeet Farm. Participants intended to plant flowers around the church, but have postponed the project until after the renovations are complete. Global Campus Foundation donated $50 to help with church renovations.

Global Campus Springfield decided to help beautify the Springfield walking path as a community service project. We had a beautiful sunny spring day for our project but not much litter. Apparently the users of the path (which include many Global Campus participants) are picking up litter as they walk or run so the path has remained fairly clean. We had a great time walking and picking up what litter we found and enjoying each other’s company!

Global Campus Bradford decided to mix it up this spring term by hosting a wildly successful Hoedown Dance and Bake Sale as their community stewardship event. Folks who attended the event brought in non-perishable food items, which we donated to the food shelf. Many people donated home made baked goods for us to sell and raise money to support out campus. The campus staff decided the money should be used to offer a fun event to our community free of charge. So in the middle of June on a beautiful summer day, our campus offered a pizza party lunch and a game of miniature golf at Mr. Putz, all free of charge! We ended up going a bit over budget, but that got us excited about more fundraising events like this one in the future!

Global Campus Randolph has been working on a project to raise money for HEIFFER International, an aid organization that helps impoverished families worldwide become more self-reliant through the gift of livestock and training in their care. Our campus made collection jars and placed them at various locations around Randolph. We also received a generous grant of $200 from the Randolph Area Peer Support group (RAPS) to be used for this project. This fall we will choose which animals we would like to sponsor. You can read more about the HEIFFER program by clicking here.

The Randolph campus also participated in Green Up Day by walking around downtown Randolph collecting garbage. The Global Campus participants living at Pleasant Street house pick up trash often on their regular walks in the warmer months.

Global Campus Moretown did not prioritize a service project for the spring term and is currently brainstorming for their next community stewardship project.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

GCF Receives Vermont Community Foundation Grant

Global Campuses Foundation was recently recognized in the Randolph Herald newspaper for receiving a generous grant from the Successful Communities Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation. The $10,000 grant will be used to strengthen the existing Vermont campuses and to expand advanced learning opportunities to under-served populations statewide. For a full copy of the published article please click here.

Friday, February 20, 2009

GCF Thailand site visit missive 1-20-09

The following missive continues Campus to Campus Connections activities between the campuses in Vermont USA and the Campuses in Chiang Mai Thailand. We hope that the reader enjoys these short updates and information to enhance their further understanding of the educational work on behalf of GCF. As we conduct this current site visit the successes and challenges experienced by all involved continue to demonstrate the value and importance of this work. Thank you for your interest and participation. JRT


Sawadee from “The Land of Smiles”,

Why the Land of Smiles?

Thailand is sometimes referred to as the land of smiles. We think it is because the Thai citizens are smiling all the time. Life is to be enjoyed it seems. We also think that because the climate is so nice and there is so much beauty as you look around it just makes you smile a lot. Today is January 20th and right now as we write we can look out the windows at beautiful green trees with many different blossoms. There are also large plants with flowers of many colors and they all produce a wonderful sweet smell in the air. As you hear this description I know how different it is from what you see and feel in the beautiful Vermont winter. The temperature range for today will be a low of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. So we are sending you all warm thoughts from this warm place.


Global Campus Chiang Mai

This past week we had the privilege of opening an all day seminar conducted by Global Campus Chiang Mai. The group of participants represented the five recognized areas of disability issues visual, hearing, learning, physical and mental challenges. The curriculum topic was to gather their voices about how to improve the technology of communications such as phone service, computer access, and other forms of communication that are used by persons who have challenges that are sometimes a disability. After our opening presentation the participants asked us many questions about the Global Campuses in the USA and what services are available to support persons who experience disability. We enjoyed sharing about your campus activities, and all the participants requested that we hold another seminar for further conversations. So Campus to Campus Connections is growing here in Thailand.


Exciting experience for us!

Last night at about 8 pm there were five helicopters that flew right over our apartment. We are living on the 8th floor at the end of a soi( side street). They landed at the airport about two miles from where we live. Across the street from us is a new fancy hotel that just opened. We noticed that there were many police and military solders all over the place. Soon we understood why they were there. The Princess was arriving and we think staying at this new hotel. We watched from our balcony and soon she did arrive with her entourage. An entourage is the many friends and officials that travel with the Princess wherever she goes. There were about 25 police cars and another 25 fancy cars. We watched and soon her car was the first to pull up to the hotel. By now there was a crowd of onlookers and as she got out of the car we could see her. It was quite exciting for us to see a member of the royal family right across the street from were we are living. The Princess is here in Chiang Mai to hand out diplomas at Chiang Mai University on Thursday. So Last night we saw the Princess of Thailand and tonight we will watch the inauguration of Barack Obama. We are very proud to be American citizens and there is much excitement all over the world. Thank you for listening to our update to you all. Please feel free to ask us questions and know that we often think of you and your great campuses.


Sawadee from,
Jim & Sherry

GCF Thailand site visit missive 1-13-09

The following missive continues Campus to Campus Connections activities between the campuses in Vermont USA and the Campuses in Chiang Mai Thailand.  We hope that the reader enjoys these short updates and information to enhance their further understanding of the educational work on behalf of GCF.  As we conduct this current site visit the successes and challenges experienced by all involved continue to demonstrate the value and importance of this work. Thank you for your interest and participation. JRT


Sawadee Vermont Global Campus participants,

Greetings from halfway around the world. We are in Thailand-hurray! We hope all of you enjoyed the holiday season. Happy New Year 2009!


Congratulations on your travels:

We are happy to be sending you this travel update as we know all of you are beginning your Winter Interim Travel adventures. It is great to think that all of us are learning more about the world we live in. How exciting to know that all of the Vermont Global Campuses are traveling in many different countries at the same time. Please enjoy your adventures and have fun learning about the people and places where you travel.

Living in Chiang Mai:

As many of you know we love to travel here in Thailand. We are living at the base of the mountains of Doi Suthep. The weather is quite warm and everything is green here right now. As we look out our windows we see much activity on the roads with many motorbikes and cars whisking about. We use a small motorbike to get around but also enjoy walking the small side streets ( called sois). As we walk around we see families working in their yards and preparing their meals, many in outdoor kitchens. Children are off to school riding their bikes or riding in small taxi/trucks.

As we walk around many people greet us with a smile and they say Sawadee. Some ask us where we are from and when we say America they smile and are excited about our new President. Many want to practice English, so we stop and chat a bit. Even though this is a very modern city the old ways still continue so you get to see what it was like 50 years ago and you also get to see the modern changes like shopping malls, coffee shops, and American fast food restaurants. We like Thai food so we eat at the traditional places and enjoy the tastes very much.

News From Global Campus Chiang Mai:

Ka and Non send their greetings and best wishes to all of you. They are very well. Soon, Non will be attending his graduation ceremony in the big city of Bangkok. He completed his Bachelor’s degree and will receive his diploma directly from the Prince, who someday will become King. This is a great honor for Thai students. Non began his formal studies many years ago when his grandmother gave him some money to enroll in Open University. Over the years while at Global Campuses, he has studied hard and spent his money on his books and tuition. He is the first Global Campus participant to receive a Bachelor’s degree. We know you are all very happy for him and proud. We are very excited for him too. We will share more about the Global Campuses here in Thailand in future writings to you.

For now we will say goodbye. Please know that we are thinking of you and enjoy sharing with many people here about your campuses and what you are doing. Please also know if you have any questions about Thailand, about the campuses here or about our adventures and work, let us know and we will be happy to respond. We are looking forward to talking with you in the near future using the computer and Skype (we get to see you and you can see us).

Peace and love from Thailand,
Khun Sherry and Khun Jim

Monday, January 12, 2009

About Global Campuses

Global Campuses Foundation was formed for the purpose of providing advanced learning opportunities for under-served populations worldwide, foremost people with disability. The philosophy and methodologies of Global Campuses offer a unique education paradigm that reorients the experience of disability to a positive life experience with an emphasis on ability.

The mission of Global Campuses is to support adults with differing abilities worldwide to enhance their quality of life as they create, experience, manage, and sustain campuses of advanced learning. Key to this mission is honoring their Voice and full participation as the creators and producers of their educational experiences. Taking on leadership opportunities as faculty, students, and administrative staff strengthens cognitive, emotional, and social outcomes that support self determination, community inclusion, and higher employment/entrepreneurial opportunities.

Global Campuses aspires to achieve its mission by fostering a worldwide network of campuses interconnected to promote high quality cross-cultural learning and cutting edge educational opportunities. Currently, there are ten Global Campuses in Vermont, USA and three Global Campuses in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand.

Global Campuses facilitates educational formats such as its Campus Seminar, Teaching & Learning Class, Campus Administrative Staff Meetings, Community as Campus Model, Campus to Campus Connections Program and a Community Service and Stewardship Project.

Global Campuses Foundation develops and directs resources to support its mission and, as a nonprofit organization, relies upon a diversity of funding sources, in kind donations, and pro bono services. GCF is an 501(c)(3).

Global Campuses Foundation
Vermont Office
43 S. Main Street, Suite # 3,
Randolph VT 05060
802-274-2163, 5680

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