Project Evangeline

Evangeline is now a web site! If you like learning about Cajuns, Cajun music, French, or Louisiana, drop by for a visit at: www.evangelineweb.org.  

LOUISIANA KIDS STUDY CAJUN PAST USING FUTURE TECHNOLOGY

BOUTTE, LOUISIANA, U.S.A. -- Louisiana students can now learn about the past by using computer technology of the future. A Louisiana educational project, Project Evangeline, has released a multimedia computer software program to teach students about Cajun heritage and culture. The multimedia CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) includes videos, music, speech, photographs, and animations. The group will be donating the software to Louisiana educators.

Features of the program include information on history, architecture, music, food, religion and language of the Cajun culture. Users of the software can tour Cajun buildings using "virtual reality," see Cajun music videos, hear stories of Cajun life, and laugh along with a Cajun humorist. Students also can create their own Cajun music on-screen, read the poem "Evangeline," and learn key Cajun French terms. The program includes 180 pages of text, over 200 photographs, 20 video clips, and over 100 audio recordings of music, interviews, and pronunciations.

Students will use multimedia computer technology to learn about Cajuns, and tie what they learn back into the core school curriculum. While using the program, students will learn reading, music and fine arts, history, social studies, religion, language arts, and more. The program also works hard to dispel myths about the Cajun culture.

The project was developed by a network of dozens of volunteers from around the state, and across the country. Photographers, writers, videographers, musicians and computer programmers all donated time and effort to the project. Materials were contributed by well-known local talents, including musician D.L. Menard, filmmaker Pat Mire, humorist Dave Petitjean, chef John Folse, writer Mary Alice Fontenot, and the staff of Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Additional contributions were made by individuals from CODOFIL, the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Vermilionville, the Times of Acadiana newspaper, Xavier University, The French Consulate, and Louisiana State University.

All personnel, administrative, and travel expenses were covered by the individual volunteers. Computer equipment needed to create the project was donated by Apple Computer, Inc. The costs of duplicating the CD-Roms will be financed by the Center for French and Francophone Studies at Louisiana State University, and Fondation CODOFIL.

The first release of the software has reached 1000 Louisiana educators, and thousands of students. The software will also be running in several local museums. The disk requires a Macintosh computer with CD-ROM, and will be distributed by CODOFIL and National Data Products.

As of early 1997, the Evangeline CD is now totally translated into French, and we are sharing another 1000 copies with various schools around the country. The CD is already used in French classes at several prominent universities in the US.

And as of early 1998, the Evangeline CD-ROM project is completely finished (4 years is enough), but the French Embassy is still giving away copies of the CD for Macintosh to any school that asks.

Contact information:

Adam Steg
French Consulate, New Orleans
Email aasteg@aol.com
Tel. (504) 529-7502
 
Gary Dauphin
Project Director, Evangeline Web
www.evangelineweb.org
229 Beaupre Drive
Luling, Louisiana 70070
Tel: (504) 785-0191
Pager: 888 973 7860
Fax: (978) 945-7994