Global+Collaborative+Projects


 * Connecting Classrooms: **
 * Managing Global Collaborative Projects **

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Why Global Collaborative Projects?
A lot of teachers ask me how connecting out students with others makes for better learning. Well, it's pretty simple actually - it's about learning to be a connected learner. In the digital, networked world of the 21st Century, the answers for our questions won't come from books or teachers, but from our interactions with information and people from around the world.

By giving our students the opportunity to utilize the web and all it's tools to connect and learn from and with students from around the world, we give them a toolkit for their future.

In addition to that, I firmly believe that by having students talk to each other directly we can do a small part in breaking down some of the misconceptions and misinformation that floats around out there in traditional media and popular culture. I always say, would you rather have your kid learn about what it's like to live in Afghanistan or Iraq from a student there, or from Bart Simpson?

Tools & Projects
Teachers always ask me what tools they can use to connect. Well, the short answer is...it depends. There are a virtual plethora of collaborative tools out there, and the one you choose will depend on how you want to structure the project, what your learning goals are and what learning activities you have planned.

Here are a few of the more common tools that we use everyday in projects I support in my district.


 * **Blogs**
 * **Wikis**
 * **Twitter**
 * **Voicethread**
 * **Video-Conferencing**
 * **Ning**
 * **YouTube, TeacherTube**

**Locating Projects / Partners**
This is the million dollar question! Most teachers have limited professional connections which hey can leverage to develop learning projects. I always encourage them to start small anyway. Find a colleague across the hall or across town to connect with to learn the tricks.

However, connecting kids globally is powerful. The first thing I encourage people to do is think about their past. Who did they go to teacher training school with and where are they now? Social tools like Facebook can help track them down if you aren't sure exactly how to find them. Pick good people to work with.

Another strategy is to leverage your own network. As a teacher, you may not know an international partner, but I bet your network does. One of the real joys I have in my job is to connect teachers with teachers for learning. I am sure you have a digital learning specialist in your district you could try.

Finally, there are a huge number of tools out there to find partners. ePals, iEarn, TIG, etc are the teacher equivalent to on-line dating sites where you can create an on-line profile, search for others and connect your classrooms. All have a slightly different slant and often have projects you can join as well.

Finally, Edublogs has a site where teachers have left their particulars to connect. There are also other projects that you can join (Digiteen, Flat Classroom, 1001 Flat World Tales).


 * **Personal Connections (who do you know and where are they now?)**
 * **Your own PLN - Twitter, Facebook, etc.**
 * **Global Collaborative Sites – [|ePals], [|TakingITGlobal], [|iEarn]**
 * **Collaborative Project Ning - [|http://flatclassrooms.ning.com/]**
 * **Edublogger - Connecting with Other Classrooms**

[[image:sd18techpd/asb1.jpg width="385" height="258" align="right" caption="Hello Mumbai!"]]
There are any number of project ideas. It doesn't have to be flashy and can be from any subject area. Take something you do every year and turn it global. have kids teach each other. Just do it.

Below are a few of my favorite projects I have worked on, as well as a couple others. If you have any questions about any of them, give me a shout.

Flu Shot Novel Study / Two Island Light - Blog with author as students read his books ASB-NMS French Language Project (Mumbai, India) UNIS-ASMS French Language Project (Hanoi, Vietnam) 1001 Flat World Tales - Elementary - Middle Flatclassroom Project https://krs-sba.wikispaces.com/Home

Blogs can provide an authentic experience and audience for students to share their learning. This is a link to the student blogs at Yokohama International School - http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/middle/student-blogs


 * River City Project**

Planning / Execution
A simple project plan should outline the basic goals, tools and expectations of the project. Students should also be given an assessment rubric prior to the project outlining how their performance will be assessed. A sample project outline is below.

This is extremely important. First of all it makes sure wveryone is on the same page and knows the objectives and timelines. In addition, it forms a social contract between teachers (and by extension their students) to fulfil their part of the bargain. I can tell you from experience there's nothing more demoralizing for a group of students to have their learning partners disappear. But, if that does happen, pick yourself up, dust yourself up and try again. Your kids will thank you for it.

Project Plans

 * Project Template**


 * Project Plan Example - Nasis Middle / ASB India French Project**