| TELECOLLABORATION
PROJECTS
What
is it?
Telecollaboration projects, on-line projects or online
collaboration projects are
activities in which individuals communicate electronically (mainly through
e-mail) with other individuals, individuals communicate with groups or
groups communicate with other groups.
- Online
Collaboration: Starting Online Projects
In this 9:28 minute Kidz Online video, you will explore what
online collaboration projects are, how to set up projects and share
tips to help you and your students as they connect to their peers in
projects across the globe.
Why would
I use it?
One of the greatest strengths of the Internet is its ability to extend
learning beyond the four walls of a classroom and get students involved
in collaborative efforts. Teachers and students can get connected with
their community, other schools, experts, and people and sites around the
world. Through these collaborations, students become more aware of the
global nature of information and discover the importance of connecting
with others in the pursuit of knowledge.
How is
it used?
There are a variety of on-line projects that lend themselves to classrooms.
These include competitions, on-line conferences and correspondence, information
gathering and interactive writing. With on-line projects, students can
extend their learning. They begin to develop an appreciation for the opinions
of others and become connected to the larger global community.
How can
I do it?
Before creating your own collaborative project, join at least two or three
collaborative projects that are currently on-going. You can learn how
information is exchanged and gain insight as to what you like or dislike
about these projects.
There are
two ways to find on-going collaborative projects:
1. Join an Educational Mailing List
Visit the following webpages to find a list of educational mailing lists
that you can join:
2. Visit
Sites that Post Project Opportunities
Here are some sites that have several projects listed:
After spending
a while participating in on-line projects, think about developing one
of your own!
Here are some suggestions for making your projects successful:
- Be specific
about the goals of your projects. What do you want to accomplish?
- Since
the project title is often the first thing people see, make sure it
quickly conveys the basic idea of the project.
- Specify
what curriculum areas are covered be the project, what grade level (s)
it is appropriate for and what materials are necessary to complete the
project, if any.
- Be sure
to include a timeline for your project. The timeline should include
all important deadlines including initial contact, registration, delivery
of materials, etc.
- If your
project is on-line, be sure that the URL to your site is present.
- Always
include your name and e-mail address and/or a "snail mail"
address with your project.
- Proofread
your project to be sure that spelling and grammar are correct. Also,
keep text formats simple - when you send your message in e-mail boldface,
italics and special fonts do not translate well. As well, do not use
capital letters unless you really need to emphasize some part of the
project, such as a title. On-line, capitals are the same as shouting.
- Locate
your participants several weeks before the beginning date - do it too
early and people will drop out, too late and you may not find enough
participants. Post notices on K-12 listservs with calls for participation.
Be explicit about the project goals, tasks, deadlines, grade levels,
etc.
- Keep in
touch with participants! They need to be updated during the project
as well as thanked and informed of the results at the conclusion. Encourage
them to share the results with their school and larger community.
Teacher
Resources
- Developing
a Telecollaboration
Sponsored by the website NickNacks, helpful tips for developing a collaborative
Internet project are outlined on this webpage.
- How
to Design a Successful Project
These
informative guidelines were developed by Yvonne Andres, who is on special
assignment as Director of the Global Schoolhouse, an international K-12
networking project, and by Al Rogers, who is a well-known teacher (with
over 20 years classroom teaching experience) and software/tele-curriculum
developer who has received many awards.
- Global
SchoolNet
This site provides online opportunities for teachers to collaborate,
communicate, and celebrate shared learning experiences.
- Judi
Harris's List of Telecollaboration Projects
This is an extensive list of resources for Collaborative Projects.
- International
E-mail Classroom Connections (IECC)
Register if you would like to post a project. You can also search for
projects or classrooms by country, language, time frame, or level. There
are links to other international email classroom connections.
- Kidlink
This has all kinds of projects you can become involved in.
- Class2Class:
Math & Science Internet Projects
This site is designed to facilitate student and class participation
in collaborative projects, data-collecting experiments, peer tutoring,
and keypal exchanges designed to enhance the mathematics in math, science
and interdisciplinary curricula.
- Keypal
Project Links
Click on an age range below to see projects for that level.
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