1988 -- iEARN was launched as a pilot program linking 12 schools in Moscow with 12 schools in New York State in a pioneering demonstration that education could be enhanced and the quality of life on the planet improved if young people were to have the opportunity to use telecommunications technologies to engage in collaborative projects. Working with the New York State Education Department and the Soviet Academy of Sciences, students worked in both English and Russian on curriculum-based projects designed by participating teachers.1990 -- Based on the success of the pilot, iEARN expanded to nine countries in 1990. In each country a "Center" was created to provide training and support. 1994 -- Based on the successful project work completed between 1990 and 1994, iEARN opened its network to schools worldwide. In 1994, the iEARN Constitution was drafted in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. http://www.iearn.org/about/constitution.html. Also in 1994, iEARN teachers came together physically in Argentina to hold the first iEARN International Conference--which has become an annual event (Australia-1995; Hungary-1996; Spain-1997; USA-1998; Puerto Rico-1999; Beijing, China-2000; Cape Town, South Africa-2001; Moscow, Russia -2002; Japan-2003; Slovakia-2004; Dakar, Senegal-2005; Netherlands-2006) to be held in Egypt in July 2007 and Uzbekistan in 2008. 1998 -- iEARN began holding an International Youth Summit in conjunction with the International Conference.2000 -- iEARN-USA asked to author the Teachers' Guide to International Collaboration on the Internet for the US Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tech/international/index.html)2003 -- iEARN announced as co-recipient (with Sesame Workshop’s Global Grover) of the inaugural Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education in the field of media and technology, established along with the Asia Society to identify effective and replicable models of international education that address concerns about the economic, social, and diplomatic costs of educational isolationism.2004 -- iEARN-USA announced as a Tech Museum Laureate in the Education category.2007 -- iEARN currently works with schools in over 120 countries. Most of these countries have their own iEARN Coordinator and teacher support structure to help educators integrate this technology into their classroom teaching and learning. Some have also received official recognition from their Ministries of Education as models of education reform. iEARN considers this level of institutionalization to be critical in taking its programs to scale.