Welcome! This is a website that everyone can build together. It's easy!

Elementary Online Projects HomeThis is a featured page

Kids Around World

Excerpt from Education World Interview With Jennifer Wagner


Online projects are a great way to expand your classroom while, at the same time, exciting your students about learning. An online project uses the Internet to enhance curriculum-based lessons. It encourages collaboration with teachers and classrooms around the world (although you also can have a successful project with a school down the street or the class next-door). Finally, an online project assists you in meeting many state standards, in a variety of subjects.

Before you join an online project, however, you will want to ask a number of questions:
  • What is the timeframe of the project? You probably already have a very full schedule. Will you be able to fit the project into the timeframe posted?
  • What is the grade level of the project? Is the project too simplistic -- or too hard -- for your students?
  • What will I need to buy, find, or acquire for the project? Most projects try to keep cost to a minimum. You will find that some can become quite costly, however.
  • How do I post data? Are you expected to send in your results by mail or e-mail? Do you need to post to a chat room, message board, or blog? Do you have access to the tools you need to do that?
  • What does the sponsor of the project expect from me? Are you expected to create a Web page to show off your class's participation? Is there anything you might need to mail in?
  • Will my principal understand my involvement in an online project? Double check to see if your school allows you to join in. (For those principals who are dragging their feet when it comes to technology use, an online project is an excellent way to get them on board!)
  • If food is involved, do any students have allergies or religious beliefs that might hinder their involvement? One of my projects involved sorting Froot Loops, and I never thought of students who were diabetic. We quickly adapted the project to include rubber gloves - and, luckily, all went well.
  • Is there an easy way for me to get my questions about the project answered? Make sure the hosts e-mail address is posted. I would advise you to send off an inquiry e-mail just to see what his or her response time is. That usually is a good indication of what to expect during the project.
  • Can the project merge easily into my school and state standards? Most projects now post state standards, but if this one doesn't, you might want to check to see how you can easily adapt the project to your standards.
  • How does the project end? Many projects on the Internet peter off to nothing and you never know the results. The good projects post final results and send you a certificate of participation or an e-mail of completion. Also, check to see how often the project will be updated. The more your students come back for updates, the more involved and enthused they will be.

Readings on Online Project/Collaboration:

"Collaborative Web Projects Abound" from News Wire
"Wide Open Spaces:Wiki, Ready or Not" from Educause


No user avatar
Mrs_Travis 		Latest page update: made by Mrs_Travis , Feb 1 2009, 10:45 PM EST (about this update About This Update Mrs_Travis Edited by Mrs_Travis

9 words added
1 word deleted

view changes
- complete history)
Keyword tags: None
More Info: links to this page

Threads for this page

There are no threads for this page.  Be the first to start a new thread.