As Highlighted in The Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040120b9.htm 

The Transatlantic Internet/Multimedia Seminar Southeastern Europe (TIMSSE) is an e-Learning analyzing conflict in the Balkans. The institutions that hosted the seminar include the:

-Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, http://www.tc.columbia.edu/ceoi/
-Center for Applied Policy Research (CAP)/University of Munich*, http://www.cap.uni-muenchen.de/bertelsmann/timsse.htm
-Rotary Center for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution, Sciences Po (ScPo), Paris*, http://www.sciences-po.fr/
-Houston Community College System (HCCS), Houston, http://www.hccs.cc.tx.us/
-Asociatia Femeilor Din Romania (AFR), "Women's Association of Romania", Bucharest, http://interconnection.org/afr/
-Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office (ASRLO), Ljubljana, http://www.ff.uni-lj.si/asrlo/
-University of Costa Rica (UCR), San Jose, http://www.ucr.ac.cr/

*taken for credit by students at the host institution

TIMSSE consisted of fifteen (15) weekly modules. Each weekly module included two (2) sessions. Each Wednesday and Friday session lasted two (2) hours. A comprehensive syllabus formed the basis for class interactions.

All materials are posted on TIMSSE's web site.  Both asynchronous tools (email interaction, listserv messages, and threaded discussion) and synchronous tools (face-to-face meetings and PC videoconferences) are used.

The syllabus contains basic readings, questions to orient discussion and Web references, CD ROM material and/or videocassette documentary sources.

The initial hour each Wednesday allowed the students in Paris and Munich time off-line to exchange ideas about the readings and questions to orient discussion. The second hour brought these students together on-line in a global classroom.

Each Friday session featured a guest speaker whose practical experience provided a counterpoint to the concepts presented in the weekly readings. The speaker gave a 15-20 minute online presentation followed by a question and answer period.

The requirements for TIMSSE students were to:

-contribute to weekly interactive discussions (35%)
-submit an e-journal during weeks 8 and 13 that critically assesses the analytical and empirical points made in class discussions (30%)***
-work in teams of 7-8 students among the different partner sites via email to define and prepare question topics for the threaded discussion forum and take responsibility for its interactive Web-based dialogue (35%)

***This requirement was specifically for the Paris students who meet with Dr. Mazzucelli individually. Each e-journal entry should be 3 pages in length emphasizing a critique of the readings and Web references for the week in light of TIMSSE's themes, their relevance to the student's current interests, personal and professional, and the insights the readings may offer in light of the student's previous internship, travel, residency abroad, cross-cultural and/or intellectual experiences.

TIMSSE Objectives:

(1) to learn using multimedia tools by introducing a wealth of information on the Balkans already online and thereby define a new pedagogical approach to conflict prevention for the region; (2) to develop a “common sense” Web-based pedagogy that allows a European and transnational consciousness to take root; (3) to facilitate a new type of inter-personal transatlantic real time dialogue about the Balkans in the context of European integration and cultural diversity via audio, video and chat links; (4) to archive the TIMSSE content, and to organize our Web-based classroom forums, to offer German, European, American and global citizens the chance to engage in life-long learning at minimal cost; (5) to familiarize and train CAP and Sciences Po candidates in the uses of new technologies on behalf of an ethical “educational diplomacy” for the Balkans; (6) to enable CAP and Sciences Po candidates to establish cross-cultural contacts that may be useful in the course of their subsequent careers; (7) to innovate in curriculum development at the University of Munich and Sciences Po.

N.B. The TIMSSE syllabus is an integrated, multi-lingual transatlantic effort. Those students in Paris proficient in German are encouraged to consult the German language sources in the syllabus. Focus in each session on the readings that are available on the Web since these will provide a reference point for common discussion among all the sites. For your own enrichment, personal and professional, read selectively, but widely. Please consult with Prof. Dr. Mazzucelli via email, cgm7@nyu.edu , about the readings and web references you choose in preparation to write your e-journal entries and remarks in http://www.yahoogroups.com

N.B. Whenever possible, please use the Internet Explorer browser as the tools we use sometimes may experience difficulties with Netscape.

Weekly Web References to Consult, including News Sources online and Listservs pertaining to the region

German Law Journal (GLJ) Links - Legal Materials, Co-editor, Mr. Russell A. Miller, LL.M. candidate at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, http://www.germanlawjournal.com/links.php

http://www.lemonde.fr/
http://www.deutsche-aussenpolitik.de
http://www.usip.org/library.html
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.iwpr.net
subscribe-vdiplomacy@usip.org
http://news.bbc.co.uk/

This initiative pays tribute to the life and work of His Excellency the late Secretary General Alfred Cahen- diplomat, teacher, humanitarian and friend.

TIMSSE expresses its sincere appreciation to http://www.srpska-mreza.com/mlad/Monasteries.htm for the educational value added by the inclusion of various monastery photos from the Balkans region on our site. These photos were chosen to reference Module 9 of the multimedia seminar, http://www.timsse.com/modules.html, which presents readings in the field of aesthetic education with questions to orient discussion about the significance of holy monuments for the Serbs and as a source of interethnic conflict in Kosovo/a. Additional photos of Albanian refugees and civilians during the Kosovo war will be included as part of the TIMSSE web site to present a balanced account of the crisis.

The TIMSSE Learning Community also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Ryan Sylvester with the revisions to this site.

The TIMSSE web site is maintained by Colette Mazzucelli. Questions and/or comments may be emailed to cgm7@nyu.edu