Internet Projects
by Chris Ward
Canadas School Network Grassroots Program:
I chose the Canadas School Network Grassroots Program because I have several students that speak only French and Creole. Canadas School Network is also available in French. The project home page is in English. Therefore I can use it as an E.S.O.L project and address the needs of my French students while exploring exciting Canadian cultures. I may also use this site as a basis for teaching Web Page Design, a course that I will be teaching next semester, and introducing Internet Projects as a curriculum.
Registry: http://www.schoolnet.ca/grassroots/e/project.centre/search-projects.asp
Project Description:
Canadas SchoolNet Grassroots program is designed to encourage Canadian schools to produce cultural research and publish it over the Internet (Lieu, 2001). Currently they have funded over 22,000 Canadian schools. The project areas range from aboriginal studies to Vocational education. Researchers may select projects based on grade, province, and theme. The projects are broken down into Block Projects, Pre-site Projects, and School Website Projects.
Collaboration:
Students conduct research about their community, culture, environment, and history as a school as a collaborative project (Becker, 1999). For example, Whitehorse, Yukon, produced a project that included students in grades 4th through 7th grade and people in the community like their Mayor. The Mayor had a special welcome address. The school produced a school website as well as a project web site. The project web site may be viewed at: http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/cyberpal/, and the school website may be visited at: http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/selkirk/.
Evaluation:
I chose this project to challenge my students with a more global outlook. Lake County is far behind in technology. Residents and educators think it is smart to be conservative and to hold back technologically. Well the Canadians do not think so. Canada, like many nations, is multicultural and multilingual. In Florida we had to make it law for educators to use more than one language in the classroom, while other nations expect it. Canadas School Network thrives on multicultural realities. It is excellent exposure for my students.
Learning Objectives:
This project meets the following curriculum objectives:
a. Collaboration
b. Time line
c. ESOL
d. Multicultural
e. Example of a collaborative internet project
f. Integration of technology in the curriculum
Constraints:
American children are basically xenophobic. The 9/11 tragedies have not helped this classroom problem. I do believe I will have to be prepared to encourage them to learn about Canadian culture.
IECC: Intercultural E-mail Classroom Connections
I chose IECC as my second project for two reasons: One, the Global Pen Pals, and second, the IECC-Discussion Forums.
Registry: http://www.stolaf.edu/network/iecc/
Project Description:
Teaching.Com or IECC is designed for primary and secondary classrooms that are seeking partner schools for e-mail, discussion forums, and surveys on a global basis. I like to refer to IECC as Global E-exchange.
Collaboration:
Teachers and their students use IECC as a postmaster to locate schools interested in global exchange using current technology and the Internet.
Evaluation:
I chose this project because I feel that Lake County students, need global interaction and exposure. In Central Florida some of the best jobs are in tourism because we are located near Disney World, Epcott Center, Sea World, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, Busch Gardens, Splendid China, and many other theme parks. The future of Lake County students is in multicultural careers.
Learning Objectives:
This project meets the following curriculum objectives:
g. Collaboration
h. Time line
i. ESOL
j. Multicultural
k. Example of an Internet Project
l. Integration of technology
Constraints:
Lake County has a data use policy that prohibits student e-mail, chat-rooms, and IMs. It would be difficult to convince our school board to allow them restricted use of e-mail for educational purposes without an umbrella project like the IECC Internet Project. However, IECC is developed, tried, and proven as an excellent educational endeavor. Using IECC is one way I may develop a collaborative Internet project safely and with the approval of the board.
References:
Becker, H. J. (1999). Internet use by teachers: Conditions of professional use and teacher-directed student use. Available at http://www.crito.uci.edu/TLC/FINDINGS/internet-use/startpage.htm
Leu, D. J. (2001). Internet project: Preparing students for new literacies in a global village. The Reading Teacher, 54(6), 568572.
