ONU Students Speak With Russian Counterparts from the University of Perm

On Wednesday October 13, a group of ONU students from Dr. Crawford's Western Civilization class, and Dr. Smith's World Regional Geography class talked with students from Perm University in Russia. The Russian students came primarily from the Linguistics and Mathematics departments at Perm.

Both groups shared PowerPoint presentations and videos about their universities and towns. They discussed what requirements were for graduation, what classes were like, and what they each did for fun. The Russian classroom was full, and while the ONU contingent was small, they were talkative. The groups used Skype to talk back and forth, and were able to communicate easily.

Opportunities such as this offer students the chance to broaden their horizons and find out what experiences their peers have in other countries. It also demonstrates, in a practical way, the centrality of technology within Western Civilization. This sort of experience was impossible until the creation of the internet and conferencing systems such as Skype.