A recent survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups revealed that 10% of the 3,600 primary and secondary school students interviewed spent over six hours on the internet every day, and 27% of them admitted they had different extents of online addiction (Wenweipo, 25 November, 2007). It is thus crucial for us to help teenagers develop a healthy online habit. However, how can we achieve this goal, when teenagers can gain access to such a great variety of attractions on the internet nowadays?

Centre for the Advancement of Information Technology (CAITE) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which has been striving to promote the effective use of IT in education in Hong Kong, is going to implement a project entitled “Project-based Learning for Hong Kong-Taiwan School Pairs on a Game-based Collaborative Learning Platform.” With the use of “Learning Villages,” (www.learningvillages.com.hk) which is a web-based learning system integrating computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) with elements of online games, the project aims at:

Fourteen Hong Kong primary schools have been invited to participate in the project, which will commence in February and end in July, 2008. The project will provide the participating students with an opportunity to exchange their views on various topics with students from Taipei through online discussions on “Learning Villages.” It will thus help the students develop a good online habit of using the internet as a learning platform, instead of a mere tool for entertainment.

For enquiries, please contact Miss Carol Tjan at 2603 5931 or via email caroltjan@cuhk.edu.hk .