Module 5: Collaborative projects

Joining a collaborative project

Education Network Australia (EdNA Online)
iEARN
Global Schoolhouse
montageWORLD
oz-TeacherNet
State and Territory links
Finding other collaborators and projects
Developing your own collaborative project
M5 Task 5 - Preparing your own collaborative project

Perhaps one of the best ways to get practical experience with collaborative projects is to join one that is established. There are thousands of collaborative projects running at any one time so it shouldn't be difficult to find one that suits your interests and needs.

This section contains information about some online services that make joining a collaborative project easier and some advice on how to plan and develop your own project. Be aware that some of the following services are free to view but may require a fee to become an active participant.

Education Network Australia (EdNA Online)

EdNA Online (http://www.edna.edu.au/) provides a noticeboard for schools seeking online project partners

OzProjects (http://ozprojects.edna.edu.au/) is a sibling site of EdNA Online. It will help you to find suitable projects and provides useful resources.

iEARN

iEARN (http://www.iearn.org) is the International Education and Resource Network. It 'enables young people to use the Internet and other new technologies to engage in collaborative educational projects that both enhance learning and make a difference in the world'.

To access most of iEARN's resources, you must be a paying member of the organisation, but you can click on Projects at the bottom of the page to see what the projects are about. Members of iEARN can also participate in helpful 'conferences' (which are actually restricted newsgroups) with other members.

To get a taste of what iEARN has to offer, click on Projects, and then on See tips on getting started and working in iEARN.

A list of iEARN Australia (http://www.iearn.org.au/index.htm) projects is located at iEARN Projects.

Global Schoolhouse

The Global Schoolhouse (http://www.gsh.org/) provides opportunities for schools, teachers, parents, students and the community to use the Internet for teaching and learning. It is owned and operated by the Global SchoolNet Foundation (GSN).

Membership is free and there is a large register where you can search for relevant projects that you might be able to join. The Global Schoolhouse is particularly well known for its promotion and support of Internet video conferencing between schools.

You can view an index of the projects by visiting GSN's Internet Projects Registry (http://www.gsh.org/pr/). Other resources available include articles, links, discussion groups, online tutorials and archives of completed projects.

montageWORLD

montageWORLD (http://www.britishcouncil.org/montageworld) is a program from the British Council that supports global collaborative projects. The projects cover a range of subjects for all age groups and are moderated to assure quality control and suitability for classroom use. There are a number of other resources available, including teacher resources, a newsletter and project showcases.

oz-TeacherNet

oz-TeacherNet (http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/) has collaborative projects like Project Atmosphere. The site also has mailing lists that deal with announcements and discussions about projects. You can visit the Project Related Communities discussion without joining.

State and Territory links

Here are some possible links for collaborative projects for the States and Territories.

The Australian Capital Territory Department of Education and Training has a list of Collaborative Projects in ACT Schools (http://www.decs.act.gov.au/schools/curricprojects.htm) or search the ACTivatED (http://activated.decs.act.gov.au/default.asp) databank for 'collaborative projects'.

The New South Wales Department of Education and Training has access to collaborative projects through its Professional Support and Curriculum website (http://www.curriculumsupport.nsw.edu.au). The projects include some that have been developed in collaboration with the Department and also others that support the New South Wales syllabus. Click on e-learning then Student Internet Projects.

There are some online projects for students listed on the Northern Territory Government Department of Employment, Education and Training LATIS: Learning and Technology in Schools site (http://www.latis.net.au/). Click on resources and then select student resources, then Online Projects.

The Queensland Government (Department of Education) Education Queensland (http://education.qld.gov.au/) has resources to support collaborative projects through its Curriculum Exchange. (Password protected for AccessClub members only.) Take a look also at The Learning Place.

The South Australian Department of Education Training and Employment, DETE Student Page, may provide links to some online projects (http://www.schools.sa.gov.au/schlstudents/), or go to Technology School of the Future (http://www.tsof.edu.au) and click on Teaching Resources.

Students in Tasmania can participate in collaborative projects through the Department of Education Tasmania Discover site (http://www.discover.tased.edu.au). Select Forums, then Forum Central.

The State of Victoria (Department of Education, Employment and Training) runs Global Classroom (http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/gc/). If you go to Projects and Partners, then Search All Projects, you can search for projects using a number of different criteria, such as Key Learning Area and level of collaboration.

CMIS Evaluation provides an information service for the Department of Education, Government of Western Australia, to assist teachers in the selection of quality curriculum resources that support the Curriculum Framework. They have an alphabetical index of Collaborative Projects (http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/curriculum/onlineactivities/curricprojects/index.htm).

Finding other collaborators and projects

As well as the above sites, the following list of resources will help you find other collaborators and projects to join.

The Science EdNet discussion group is a good source of contacts for Australian Science educators. Visit the discussion group section of this website for more details on how to join.

The ePALS.com Classroom Exchange™ site includes email contacts for schools (http://www.epals.com/).

IECC (Intercultural Email Classroom Connections) (http://www.teaching.com/IECC/) is a free service from Teaching.com to help teachers link with partners in other cultures and countries for email classroom pen-pal and other project exchanges.

Developing your own collaborative project

After participating in one or two collaborative projects, you may wish to develop and coordinate your own project. Although you would use your own curriculum as a starting point, you could use another project for ideas.

There is no point implementing a collaborative project unless it improves on what you are already doing or does something new. Projects should not be about novelty, but about student learning.

If you develop an idea you wish to pursue, use the Science EdNet discussion group to ask questions or even to ask for specific advice. You will probably find other teachers prepared to share their experiences.

Like other curriculum initiatives, collaborative Internet projects are likely to be most successful if they are carefully planned. Some of the cross-cultural and practical issues involved in international collaboration between schools have been examined in Module 4. Take them into account when planning a project.