Global Connections While Covering the Standards at the Elementary School Level

Global Connections While Covering the Standards at the Elementary School Level

By Dona Weber

Technology Resource Teacher, Euclid City Schools, Euclid, Ohio

Reasons to make global connections: authentic, gives a broader understanding of others, interactive, collaborative, exciting, involves information processing, stimulates questions & answers, expands the world as the child knows it

Requirements vary from internet access and snail mail or email to using webcams, scanners, and videoconferencing

Websites for Global Projects:

Wandering Wally:

http://www.lebanoncatholicschool.org/wally.htm

Fables:

http://www.kidsfables.com/

A Walk in the Woods:

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/woods/funplace.html

Monster Exchange:

http://www.monsterexchange.org/

Westward Ho!

http://www.cyberbee.com/wwho/

Square of Life:

http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/squareproj/

Endangered Animals:

http://www.tenan.vuurwerk.nl/indexusa.htm

Animal Diaries:

http://www.tesan.vuurwerk.nl/diaries/

E-Pals:

http://www.epals.com/

Global Grocery List:

http://landmark-project.com/ggl/index.html

Travel Buddies:

http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=19&bid=36&btitle=Projects&meid=22

Old Trees:

http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/toc.html

Fairy Tales:

http://www.op97.k12.il.us/instruct/ftcyber/

Journey North:

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/

Global Book Club:

http://www.ncsu.edu/globalbookclub/home.html

Kidlink Math:

http://kidspace.kidlink.org/kidspace/start.cfm?HoldNode=899

Sites to visit to browse for a project:

Join an Online Project: *Use drop down menu at top for great info

http://www.siec.k12.in.us/west/online/join.htm

Youth Net:

http://www.youth.net/

Online Collaborative Projects:

http://www.wtps.org/wths/imc/ProfessionalDevelopment/Quickpicks/online_collaborative_projects.htm

Kidlink:

http://www.kidlink.org/english/general/index.html

West Elementary:

http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/index.html

Victoria Ed:

iEarn (Cost involved):

http://iearn.org/projects/index.html

Global Schoolhouse:

http://www.globalschoolnet.org/GSH/index.html

Collaborative Projects:

http://mathforum.org/workshops/sum96/data.collections/datalibrary/lesson.ideas.html

KET:

http://www.ket.org/Education/IN/projects.html#sites

CIESE:

http://www.k12science.org/collabprojs.html

Oz Teacher Net:

http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=13&bid=35&btitle=Communities&meid=12

Videoconference Projects:

Megaconference Junior:

http://www.megaconferencejr.org/

Read Around the Planet:

http://www.twice.cc/read/index.html

Videoconferencing Collaborative Projects:

http://www.twice.cc/projects.html

Things to consider:

Is the size of this project achievable?

How long does it take to complete?

(one time experience or ongoing)

Is the background of the paerticipants similar or different and how will that impact things?

Does it meet the content area needs?

Is it relevant and interesting?

Do I have the necessary technology?