Module 5: Collaborative projects

Collaborative Internet projects

M5 Task 1 - Looking at collaborative projects
M5 Task 2 - Goals of Visual Arts learning

Collaborative Internet projects can link online students, educators, experts, institutions, and people from other communities as they exchange information, ideas and, in some cases, physical objects. The project members work together, as individuals or groups, to create a community working to fulfil predetermined goals. Collaborative projects are a means for national and international exchange between teachers and students. They represent an excellent means of learning for world citizens of the twenty-first century.

Here are some basic questions you can ask to work out whether an online collaborative project is worthwhile.

Is it relevant to the curriculum?
Does it have definite goals and outcomes?
Is it something that cannot be done any other way?
Is it truly collaborative?
Is there some sort of feedback or evaluation?
Is there an end to the project?

One of the best ways to learn about collaborative Internet projects is to explore some. This section looks at some ongoing projects and some that have already been completed.

M5 Task 1 - Looking at collaborative projects

Here are some links to a variety of collaborative projects, some small-scale and some quite ambitious. Some links contain a lot of information, others only a paragraph or two. Spend some time exploring. How would you assess the projects? Do you think they are worthwhile? Do they fulfil the questions asked above?

The Cyber Sketchbook and Digital Drawing Board
http://www.sitesketchers.com/drawingboard.htm
Go to Events.

The Global Mural Project
http://mural.home.dhs.org
(Helen Treuel)

Faces of War
http://www.araratcc.vic.edu.au/fow/faces.html
(Joanne Tate)

The Hobart-Malang Electronic Mail Project
http://www.fahan.tas.edu.au/indonesia/indo.html
(Fahan School, Hobart)

iEARN: Aspects of Love Project
http://www.iearn.org/projects/aspectsoflove.html
(iEARN-USA)

iEARN Australia: The First Peoples' Project
http://www.iearn.org.au/fp/
(iEARN-Australia)

The Investigators
http://www.dovetonnorth.vic.edu.au/collab/tour.htm
(Garry O'Shanassy)

Junk to Gems
http://www.junktogems.org.nz/
(British Council, New Zealand)

Lilydale District School Online: Gallery
http://www.lilydale.tased.edu.au/
(Department of Education, Tasmania)
Select Gallery.

Travel Buddies
http://www.schools.ash.org.au/hillview/travbud.html
(Cherrol McGhee)

Visible Knowledge Program
http://www.newmuseum.org/
(New Museum of Contemporary Art)

Choose the project you think is most worthwhile and make notes in response to the following questions.

Are there any common characteristics between this project and the others that you looked at? If so, what are they?
What methods of communication are being used in the project you chose?
In addition to Internet use, what classroom or other activities could occur during the project?
What could be the learning goals achieved by students?
What range of skills could be developed in the course of the project?
Could this project find a place in your classroom practice?
What existing activities could it enrich, extend or complement?
Would it require modification for your classroom? If so, what changes would you make?

You can print out these questions if you wish (M5 Task 1 Questions).

Here are some suggestions and help for the questions on collaborative projects (M5 Task 1 Suggestions).

Go to the Virtual Architecture website and read the following article by Judi Harris to get some idea of different types of collaborative projects.

Curriculum-Based Telecollaboration: Using Activity Structures to Design Student Projects
(http://virtual-architecture.wm.edu).
Click on Ch.1: Foundational Ideas > Focus: Designing an Activity > Activity structures for curriculum-based telecollaboration. (This is a pdf file and it could take some minutes to download, depending on the capacity of your modem and processor. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it)

You can read a summary of this article if you wish (M5 Task 3 Harris Summary).

For a fairly extensive list of the types of communication, exchanges and outcomes that can occur see the Telecollaborate! website (http://telecollaborate.net/).

M5 Task 2 - Goals of Visual Arts learning

Use the collaborative project you chose for Task 1 and make brief notes about the extent to which it could promote the goals of Visual Arts learning generally, and those specific to new communication technologies (discussed in Module 2 Task 2).

Here is a table to help you in this task (M5 Task 2 Proforma).

Take a look at an example of how an integrated unit of work can be developed around a Global Classroom project (http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/gc/index.htm). Click on Support for Projects > Global Classroom Projects and the Curriculum.


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