Collaborative Internet Projects

Presented at NJAET Conference,  Georgian Court College,
Lakewood, NJ  October 15, 2002
Marci McGowan, Grade One Teacher
H. W. Mountz School  Spring Lake, NJ

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If you hate to type in web addresses as much as I do, then you've come to the right place!   All of the sites listed in the handout are linked on this page.

*   What Are Internet Projects?

*   What Internet Projects
Look Like

*   Projects We Have Done

* Projects We Host

*   How To Find Projects

* Create Your Own Project

* Our Current Projects

* Contact Marci McGowan

 

 

 

 

 

Internet Projects: What They Are

Internet Projects are collaborative learning activities between two or more classes at different locations using the Internet.  Students work on a similar problem or topic, sharing their findings and activities through the Internet.   This is purposeful, authentic, engaging work that begins to prepare today's learners for new literacies in the technological world of today and tomorrow.

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For Background Information:

Leu, D.J., Jr. (2001, March). Internet Project: Preparing students for new literacies in a global village [Exploring Literacy on the Internet department]. The Reading Teacher, 54 (6).
http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/RT/3-01_Column/index.html
Dr. Donald Leu's article gives a comprehensive description of Internet projects. 


Payton, T. (2000, September). New Literacies in Action: A professional journey through multiple literacies. Reading Online, 4(2).  http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/action/payton/index.html
Tammy Payton's  work with her students inspired my interest in collaborative activities.

The Literacy Web at The University of Connecticut
http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/
Julie Corio's website is filled with information about using technology in the classroom, including Internet projects.

 

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Internet Projects:  What They Look Like

A few examples of Continuous Projects

Journey North:  A Global Study of Wildlife Migration
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/


Flat Stanley Projects
http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/index.htm

There are several projects available.  This is the official site by project creator, Dale Hubert.


Travel Buddies
http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/projects/travel-buddies/

 

Temporary Projects

These projects have a starting and ending date.  You'll find some good examples at:

Miss Rumphius Awards
http://www.reading.org/awards/rumphius.html

Mrs. Silverman's Webfolio
http://kids-learn.org/

Our Current Projects
http://www.mrsmcgowan.com/projects/index.html


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Projects We've Joined In the Past

Newsletter Email Project 
Over 200 classes send information about their particular classroom experiences to each other each month.

Postcard Exchange Project From 50 States
There are several of these projects going on every year. Teachers from all over the country sent each other's classes a postcard.  My class found the different states and sorted the cards in various ways.  Still a treat to get regular mail too! 

The Jelly Bean Project
We participated with over 100 other classes. Our task was to find out which color is found the most in a bag of jelly beans. This project had a graphing focus.

Pet Exchange
We exchanged stuffed animals with another class for several weeks, providing opportunities for authentic writing and learning about different communities.

Collaborative Story Writing
This was done with another class from New Jersey.  It was our second collaborative effort together.

Frosty Readers and Cinderella Project (Susan Silverman and Pattie Knox).  See Susan's Webfolio site. These projects focus on learning activities in response to literature.

Graph Goodies is another project from Susan Silverman.   Our class graphed coins and wroite questions about our graphs.  I made an online quiz to go with this project.

Seasonal Changes Through Our Eyes and Yours
Students collect and share information with another class about their environment.

The National Math Trail is an opportunity for K-12 teachers and students to discover and share the math that exists in their own environments.  Students explore their communities and create one or more math problems that relate to what they find.  We participated with a measurement project in 2000 and a weather project in 2001.

Update 7/03: Literature Circle Projects with a 4th grade class and college students:  Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and Pippi Longstocking.

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Projects Created by Marci McGowan

My  collaborative projects are designed for teachers with all levels of Internet and computer skill.   They especially are suitable for teachers just starting out with online projects and poetry writing in the classroom.

The model that I use is credited to Susan Silverman, Technology Integration Teacher in the Comsewogue School District (Port Jefferson Station, NY).  It usually includes a project objectives and requirements page, resource page, participants list and student showcase, feedback page and contact information.

Fall Poetry Project 2000 (web page not available)
Over 60 classes from 3 countries participated.

My Town Is Important 2001
First in a series of 3 projects focusing on communities and Margaret Wise Brown's, The Important Book.

Oh, The Places We'll Go! 2001
Shared poems and information about special places; seconf in communities series.

Read A Book - Write A Poem 2002
We couldn't find winter poems written by first graders on the web, so this project was created.  Lots of wonderful poems written and stories shared.

That's What Happens When It's Spring! 2002
Students from varied places describe springtime using this book pattern.

Junie B. Jones Favorite 2001-2003
Fans of Barbara Park's favorite little girl read and review her stories.  This is an ongoing project.

A Patchwork of Places and Poetry 2002
Currently underway, this is the third in my communities series.  Students are writing poems describing their special place and are learning about quilting as a form of communication.  Their poems and illustrations will be displayed in a classroom quilt and shared on class webpages or on our project webpages.

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Find An Internet Project That's Just Right

You want to find a project that is good for both your students and yourself.  Some of the basic computer skills needed for the teacher are:

  • sending/receiving email

  • scanning student work and saving to your hard drive

  • attaching files to send to project host

More advanced skills:

  • making and publishing a webpage

  • teleconferencing (need special equipment)

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Some projects require Internet research capability, keyboarding, graphing, quiz making by students.  Read the requirements carefully so you select a project that fits your students' skills.  Some projects require specific software such as KidPix, Inspiration or Kidspiration.

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There are many projects available from:

E-Mail Classroom Exchange
http://www.epals.com/
You can register your class and find classes looking for keypals.

Houghton Mifflin Project Center
http://www.eduplace.com/projects/index.html
Projects presented by grade level.

Global Schoolhouse Projects and Programs
http://www.globalschoolhouse.com/pr/
This site is my favorite.  You can register your project and have it sent to all who have signed up to receive their newsletter.  There are tons of projects listed here!

Listservs and mailrings especially Teachers.net
http://www.teachers.net
Sign up for grade level mail.  Many teachers post their projects this way.  Or send a request for interesting project and someone is sure to guide you to the place.

Travel Buddies
http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/projects/travel-buddies/

 


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Creating Your Own Project

Thorough planning, well in advance, is essential to the success of a project!  Here are the key features I include:

  • Develop specific goals, tasks and outcomes, including exact information, kinds of student work, if images will be accepted, and how teachers will send these contributions (email, attachments, jpg/gif files).
  • Create a time line for the project with specific start and end dates.
  • Plan where participants' information will be located on your computer, including name, grade, school, email and website addresses.
  • Create a mailing list to contact the whole group.
  • Allow time to locate resources, links, and a book list before announcing the project.
  • Create project homepage, description page, resource/books page, and feedback pages.

 

 


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Contact:  Marci McGowan  marcimcg@aol.com

Mail: H. W. Mountz School
411 Tuttle Ave.  Spring Lake, NJ 07762
732-449-6380

Mrs. McGowan's Class Website
http://www.mrsmcgowan.com

 

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Updated July 2003.
© 2003 - Marci McGowan - Collaborative Internet Projects
All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

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