THE IRAQI
CHILDREN'S ART EXCHANGE
Grades: all
Ongoing? Yes
Classroom
Anatomy Online
Grades: 8-12
Ongoing? Yes
Students post fictional case studies about patients. Other students, in turn,
use on-line forms to offer their diagnoses. This is an example of a site that
doesn't have to be flashy or high-maintenance in order to be pedagogically
sound.
The Kidwriters Writing Studio
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
Students (and occasionally, professional authors) use real-time and asynchronous
communication to discuss their writing.
How Far
Does Light Go?
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Not sure
This project helps students discover, defend, and
refute theories about how far light travels. The site includes downloadable lesson
plans, research guides, and implementation notes. Once students conduct their
research on this question, they post their theories on the website for others
to evaluate.
Meet Authors of
Children’s Books
Grades: K-6
Ongoing? Yes
This site, part of the
Animal Diaries
Project, provides students with an ever-growing list of children’s books’
authors and illustrators who are willing to assist students with their writing
and illustrating. Students may communicate with these individuals through email,
chat rooms, and through their homepages. Organized chat sessions and live
videoconferences will be arranged periodically. They will be announced on the
chat room page and via the free newsletter teachers receive when signing up for
the Animal Diaries Project.
Monster Exchange Project
Grades: 1-5
Ongoing? Yes
Students in one school draw a monster, describe it using words, and e-mail
their description (not the picture) to a partner school. The partner school
then must redraw the partner, based on the descriptive text. Then, the two images
(the original and the redrawn one) are compared! Your students will enjoy
comparing the original and redrawn images...and will likely see the importance
of good descriptive writing. The "meatiest" part of the site is the
gallery.
Nogylop AKA Polygon People Exchange
Grades: 1-6
Ongoing? Not sure
Similar to the Monster Exchange Project, this activity requires students to
draw people using polygons, describe their pictures in text, and e-mail the
text to a partner school. Students in the partner school then draw the
"Polygon People" based on the text description. Then, students in
both schools compare the original and redrawn images.
Writers in Electronic Residence
Grades: 1-12
Ongoing? Yes
Professional, well-known authors critique the original work of young Canadian
writers. The site contains writing resources and guidelines, as well.
ExTerminator Mystery Project
Grade: 5
Ongoing? No
This website offers humorous vignettes that provide
clues about different types of insects. Participants use on- and off-line
resources to figure out the name, order, and other information about the
insects and submit it to the project's hosts.
GeoGame
Grades: 3-6
Ongoing? Yes
Project participants learn geography terms, learn how to interpret maps, and
develop their awareness of geographic and cultural diversity by playing on- and
off-line geography "games."
Hunt for Country Capitals
Game
Grades: 4-10
Ongoing? No
Students provide clues about world capitals to their distant peers, who in turn
try to guess the identity of the capital cities.
Hunt for Famous
Explorers Game
Grades: 4-10
Ongoing? No
Students provide clues about famous explorers to their distant peers, who in
turn try to guess the identity of the mystery explorers.
Identify the Nut
Grades: 1-6
Ongoing? No
Students provide clues (e.g., measurements, caloric content, etc.) about
different types of nuts to their distant peers, who in turn try to guess the
identity of these nuts.
Internet Math Hunt
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
Every month brings with it a Math scavenger hunt in
which students compete to find answers to questions such as: What mathematical
relationship did Stradivari use to place the f-holes
on his violins? and What is Cartesian geometry and for
whom is it named?
Landmark
Game
Grades: 2-12
Ongoing? Yes
Each group of participants provides the others with
nine clues about a landmark anywhere in the world. Other groups are allowed to
ask yes or no questions in order to gain further knowledge. The goal of the
game is to guess as many landmarks as you can!
What Book
Am I?
Grades: 6-9
Ongoing? No
Classes exchange hints and riddles about books with each other and try to
identify the names of the books.
AiS (Adventures in Supercomputing)
Challenge
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
This particular project is only available to students and teachers in New
Mexico, but the concept and ideas are worth a perusal of the Web site by those
outside the state. In the AiS Challenge, high school students in teams of 1-5
and their sponsoring teachers design and implement science projects using
supercomputers. The project is sponsored by laboratories, businesses,
universities, and New Mexico Technet who provide the equipment for the challenge
as well as offer support as project advisors. The AiS Challenge encompasses a
full academic year and is divided into 8 phases, beginning with the Kickoff
Conference in the fall and culminating with the Final Judging and Awarding of
Prizes in the spring. The Web site also contains resource pages for both
students and
teachers to provide guidance
throughout their supercomputing challenge.
Beans Around
the World
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
What started as a joke between two friends in 1993 has become a worldwide bean
craze! Although this site is not designed specifically for students, it can
definitely engage them in parallel problem solving. The “Where Have They Been?”
link breaks down the beans activity by state and city. Each link has a short
write-up about the city and most have pictures of the beans in the particular
city. Details are provided on the site about to join in the fun. Basically, you
get a can of S&W Black Beans (if you can’t find them in your hometown the site
also provides a label to download and print); take a picture of the beans in
your hometown; and send it the email address provided along with the story of
your bean picture. What a laugh!
Beyond Kites
Grade: 4
Ongoing? Not sure
This project asks fourth graders to build electromagnetic
motors using a particular set of directions. Students then experiment with
different variables and submit their results. The site's moderators then
tabulate and publish the results. This hands on
project gives students firsthand experience in using the scientific method.
Canadian National
Marsville Mission
Grades:K-8
Ongoing? Yes
Want to take your elementary science curriculum all the way to Mars? You can in
this Canadian project, developed in conjunction with the
Challenger Center for Space Science
Education. Students work in teams communicating online with their peers from
across the country--and with scientists and engineers, too--to design a livable
settlement on Mars. The site includes a gallery of photos that show students at
work on the project and a helpful link to
NASA’s Mars site.
Cybersnow Project
Grades: K-4
Ongoing? Yes
Students submit handdrawn or digital images of
snowmen and snowomen in various professions. The result? a "
A Day in the Life of an Ice Cube
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
The Great Paper Airplane
Fly-Off
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? No
Students make and hurl paper airplanes, then submit their best scores (via
e-mail) to the project's judges.
The
Great Paper Airplane Distance Challenge
Grades: 2-8
Ongoing? Not sure
Students send in actual paper airplanes (elementary school) or directions for
making paper airplanes (middle school), which the Los Angeles County Office of
Education then tests. The designers of the furthest-flying paper airplanes
receive a prize.
The
Great Stain Remover Hunt
Grades: 2-6
Ongoing? Yes
Students around the globe test different stain removers (limited only by
students' creativity!) to remove grape juice, mustard, and other gooey
substances from white cloth. An online
form facilitates the data-recording process.
International Schools CyberFair
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to showcase your students' talent and
creativity! International Schools CyberFair is a huge competition (2001's
competition involved more than 1,500 schools!) in which students conduct
research about their local communities and publish the findings on the Internet.
In addition to the Web project, teams create project narratives describing the
creation process, and also participate in a peer review process to help rank
other teams' work. Prizes are awarded in each of the following categories: local
leaders, businesses, community organizations, historical landmarks, environment,
music, art, and local specialties.
Inventions Project
Grades: 3-12
Ongoing? No
Students work telecollaboratively to brainstorm and
design inventions that may change the way we live.
Kids
‘N Fitness: Co-nexercise
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Not sure
Looking for a way to get your students up and moving? Join the Co-nexercise
fitness program! During one week, students tracked how long they exercised and
competed with other classes from all over the US. The site includes a student
record sheet and a class record sheet for students to track and tally their
data. Results for the top ten classes were posted online; the results statewide
and by the six most popular sports were also posted. Teachers’ resources include
ideas for additional activities, a collection of fitness-related projects and a
link to a fitness WebQuest project. Prizes were awarded to winners in several
categories. Student resources include responses by professional atheletes to
student questions.
Landmark Game
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
Part of KIDLINK, this site requires students to join KIDLINK by answering a
four-question survey and subscribing to the Kid Project listserv. Links to both
are provided on the site. Once students have gained access, they use writing,
critical thinking, map reading, and organizational skills to participate in the
game. Students first choose a landmark, research it, and write nine clues. Three
clues per week are posted for a total of three weeks. While posting their own
clues, students are also going to read the clues from other students around the
world. Each participating group may ask one question per week of other groups
and at the end of three weeks students try to guess the landmarks for which
clues are posted. There are deadlines for each year’s game; however, clues and
landmarks from previous games are posted for use within your classroom alone.
Lego Robotics
Grades: 5-9
Ongoing? No
Looking for creative science and technology projects for your elementary or
middle school curriculum? This Canadian site combines language arts, science,
math, and technology studies in a unique set of robot building assignments using
Legos. The site includes examples of each student project and links to all of
the curriculum objectives. Each student team showcases their component of the
project in an excellent example of the use of published student work online.
MacDougall
MacDougall in Time
Grades: 6-8
Ongoing? Not sure
“Happy hunting haggis lovers!” From the outset, you know that searching for
MacDougall MacDougall in time is going to be different from your average
manhunt. In this multinational project, students are paired with a classmate or
another “Mac Tracker” from another country. For five weeks, teams receive
information about MacDougall’s trail in two locations each week, but to go on to
the next site, they must work through a series of exercises and answer a
question from the man himself.
MathMagic
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? No
Geographically distant student teams telecollaborate to
solve math challenges, thanks to e-mail. The site also supports a discussion
list for teachers.
MVHS
Crater Project
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? No
Students experiment to how spheres of different materials create
"craters" in buckets of sand. Students measure their craters and look
for patterns in the relationship between material and crater size.
Nonprofit Prophets
Grades: 7-12
Ongoing? No
Nonprofit Prophets is an interactive project that challenges groups of students
to investigate a problem that they see in the world, and then create a World
Wide Web Resource page on the Internet that teaches the world about the problem.
Typically, students collaborate with local non-profit agencies that need a Web
site.
Off to a Flying Start
Grades: K-4
Ongoing? Not sure
Students work with their classroom teachers (and other classmates!) to learn
about, construct, design, and test model airplanes. E-mail is used to submit
results to the project's sponsors.
Save
the Beaches
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? No
In this project, students picked up litter at local beaches, whichthey then
analyzed and categorized. Students used e-mail to share the data with other
participants. The project then encouraged them to draw conclusions from the data
and discuss ways they can reduce beach-area pollution both locally and
worldwide.
Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence (SETI@home)
Grades: 4-12
Ongoing? Yes
Astronomy buffs and aficionados of supernatural phenomena will rush to assist
the SETI Program at the
Sink or
Float?
Grade: 2
Ongoing? No
This site challenges younger students to design rafts that can float with the
maximum number of pennies on board. Examples of student designs are posted. A
good example of using technology to publish student work, this site is best for
elementary science teachers looking for project ideas.
Teen Court
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Not sure
Teen Court is a process in which juvenile offenders are sentenced to perform
community service by a jury of their peers. It was establishedin Illinois, and
now exists in over 400 communities. This website provides information that will
help other communities establish teen courts, as well as provide resources and
networking opportunities for existing teen courts.This website was created by
teens as part of ThinkQuest.
TeleOlympics 97
Grades: 1-12
Ongoing? No
On the same day, students worldwide participate in competitions involving
running, jumping, and throwing. The results are sent in to the project's
sponsors and shared with the other participating schools.
ThinkQuest
Grades: 4-12
Ongoing? Yes
Teams comprised of diverse (and often geographically distant) participants
create educational Web sites, which are then judged by a team of reviewers.
Scholarship prizes are awarded to winning sites. Sites that made it to the
finals have titles such as Anatomy
of an Epidemic, Volcanoes
Online, and Designer Genes.
Wind Tunnel Online Design
Grades: 8-12
Ongoing? No
This project will blow your students away! The Wind Tunnel Online Design project
is sponsored by the aerospace team at NASAQuest. In it, students worked
collaboratively to design a wind tunnel in the same way the Wright Brothers did
in creating and testing the first airplane. Teams used an online forum to
discuss what they thought comprised a good wind tunnel design (they eventually
came up with a single BEST design).
BioDesigns, Incorporated
Grades: 10-12
Students work collaboratively to invent a genetically engineered product and
evaluate it from scientific, business, and ethical perspectives. This project
has a comprehensive list of links to relevant resources, aswell as guiding
questions for students.
Blizzard
Attack!
Grades: 7-12
This site provides a problem-based learning opportunity in which students are
engaged in open-ended, real world problems. Blizzard Attack! establishes a
scenario for students in which they are coming face to face with a major winter
storm! With the goal of staying safe and arriving at the destination, students
will embark on a trip through the storm. Once they have safely arrived,
students are asked to write an essay defending the choices they made along their
journey. A little twist: students are assigned a new identity and must in “in
character” while making the travel decisions, and they have state-of-the-art
weather computers called WeatherPads that will provide weather information and
updates throughout the trip.
Bullying.org: WhereYou Are NOT Alone!
Grades: K-12
Do you have a bully in your class? Or perhaps a student who gets picked on
incessantly? Take him to this website, where he will be greeted with touching
essays, music, pictures, and poems from both bullies and the bullied. This
grassroots site provides children with wonderful opportunities to try resolving
this pervasive evil in their own ways.
Interactive Weather Maker
Grades: 7-12
The Weather Maker is a simple, flash plug-in interactive tool that helps
students see their newfound knowledge about weather in action. There are two
weather absolutes to be adhered to at all times, but beyond these two rules the
rest is left to the students’ imaginations. (Flash download provided if
necessary.)
International Symposium on Environmental Issues (WebQuest)
Grades: 8-9
Taking the role of a life, physical, or earth scientist, every student works in
teams to study the relationship between depleted ozone and the decline of the
penguin population in Antarctica. Student teams then research and present
initiatives to help ameliorate the situation.
Look Who's
Footing the Bill!
Grades: 7-12
In this "Introductory WebQuest on Democracy and the National Debt,"students
assume the roles of number cruncher, fact checker, and budgetdirector to
research solutions to the national debt. The site includeslinks to the National
Debt Clock, point of view articles, and e-mail addresses to senators so that!
students can let their well-researched opinions be known.
We the Children
Grades: 9-12
Based on the 1984 Action Plan for Children, the site sets up a scenario placing
students as one of four chosen to join the Executive Direction of the United
Nation’s Children’s Fund in New York to evaluate its success. Students are
charged with researching the plan, evaluating its success, and making
recommendations. The assignment page breaks the project into seven manageable
chunks and provides links to helpful pages. There are also suggestions for
places the students may post their writing online.
Adventure 2000
Grades: 1-4
Ongoing? No
Read about the adventures of four adorable stuffed animals as theytraveled (via
postal mail) to schools in places like Australia, Canada,and Scotland. Each
host school submitted a travelogue entry to thissite, using the voice of their
glassy-eyed, yet cuddly visitors.
Animal Diaries
Progressive Story
Grades: K-6
Ongoing? Yes
This site is actually two projects in one and global in scope! First, the
Online Book project is geared toward individual students and offers each an
opportunity to submit one paragraph to an ongoing, online story about animals;
their contribution will be immediately published. The Progressive Story
section’s focus is on entire schools or classrooms; each month a different
school or classroom is asked to submit the next chapter of this online,
progressive book. It is advisable to make sure students understand the Terms of
Participation; any violation of these terms could prohibit a student’s
contribution from being published.
Around the World
Christmas Story
Grades: K-8
Ongoing? Not sure
Want your class to write stories in a unique new way while learning about
classmates around the world? This site displays Christmas stories created every
year with each chapter written by a class in a different part of the world. You
can read individual chapters or download entire completed stories.
Participating in this project is a great way to connect your students to the
rest of the world, while allowing them the experience of publishing their work
on the Web. Perfect for K-8 writing and reading curricula.
Benni
the Bear Around the World
Grades: K-6
Ongoing? No
A little teddy bear named Benni gets mailed from classroom
to classroom, having little adventures with young new friends at each stop. The
students share their experiences with Benni the Bear
with other participating schools.
Classroom Pet Exchange
Grades: K-5
Ongoing? Yes; registration is open from July through October each year
Join Teddy in his adventure across America as part of this classroom pet
exchange! In it, students send their class pet (a stuffed animal) along with a
journal to another class. The pet "visits" each student's home, and the student
writes or dictates a journal entry about the adventures they had together. Each
week the host class sends a travel tale back to the pet's "home class" via
email, and at the end of a specified time period, they send the pet back "home."
Don't miss the suggested activities or the participant feedback page for this
project.
Flat Stanley Project
Grades: K-6
Ongoing? Yes
Flat Stanley rides again! Born as a result of Jeff Brown's "Flat Stanley" book -
describing the boy who was run over by a steamroller and escaped flat, but
unhurt - this project has Stanley is traveling all across America and beyond. In
this project, students send an outline of the boy with a form to fill out (for
detailing his adventures) to friends or relatives around the world. They in turn
"dress" Stanley in a manner suitable to the local climate and culture, and
return him with a description of the places he has visited and the things he has
seen. The site includes images and stories of previous Stanley's journeys and
instructions for implementing the project. Especially useful are the copy of a
plain Stanley and a blank form for describing his "visits."
Global Campfire
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? No
Here you will find four on-line "story
trees" in which students add a line or paragraph to the evolving story and
pass it along to the next person. The goals of this project are to create a
sense of community and promote creativity in a public forum.
"I Have a
Dream" Electronic Poem
Grades: 3-12
Ongoing? Yes
This is a series of poems comprised of sequentially
student-written free verse inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
most famous speech.
MIDI
Music Relay
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Not sure
Students take turns adding 30-second-long sound bytes (in MIDI format) to create
emerging songs. Sound files are shared as attachments to email messages sent
among participants.
Playwriting in the Round
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Yes
During this project, four classes grouped by age collaborated to write scripts
for mystery plays. Each week, each class would write one act of one play. They
would send update emails biweekly to the other three classes in the group—one
outlining their ideas for the next act and one describing the writing process.
At the end of the project, each class received a copy of the four completed
scripts. Also, a weekly chat with the project coordinator was organized.
Quesla: World Traveler
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
Quesla is a traveling llama who first began her adventures with the Olympic
Exchange. The purpose of Quesla’s travels is to increase global awareness and
harmony. Teachers may either host Quesla for a 4-week period and post daily
exchanges on a webpage, or they can choose to access and use information already
posted by host classrooms. Quesla and her Web page give students an excellent
opportunity to share about their countries and their cultures.
Travel Buddies
Grade: K-8
Continuing? Yes
Looking for adventure? Longing to see exotic lands? Take your class around the
world without ever having to pack a lunch with Travel Buddies! The Travel Buddy
program supports students globally as they send class representatives - actually
small stuffed animals or puppets - to visit other schools bysurface mail or tour
the world with human friends. As the animal goes fromplace to place, the host
class sends back the stories of her adventures (usually through email or posted
to a Web site), so both sending and receiving students have a chance to learn
more about each other. In addition to information, most animals bring cameras
along with them to show pictures of the exciting places they have visited. One
of the "not to miss" highlights of the Travel Buddy program includes "Quesla"
the llama - her journal includes detailed descriptions and great picturesof
the places and people she visited.
2001 - A Space Ottersey
Grades: 2-4
Continuing? No
Man is not alone! Otters now roam the galaxy! In this new twist on the traveling
stuffed animal theme, Mum, the California sea otter, beganher virtual travels in
space. Host classes chose an astronomical destinationfor her, took her for a
week, and then send the home class ("Otter Control") a page to add to her online
book with scientifically accurate descriptionsof the star or planet she visited
and pictures to add to her scrapbook. The goal was to create a collaborative,
online children's book about Mum's travels. The site allowed students and
teachers alike to stretch their imaginations and astronomical understanding.
Worldwide F.A.X.
Project
Grades: 2
Ongoing? No
Two classrooms from
Write and Illustrate a
Children's Story
Grades: K-6
Ongoing? Yes
Integrating Art, Technology, Language Arts, Gifted and Talented Education, this
project invites students to take turns adding text and illustrations to a story
about a fantasy-filled field trip to a museum.
Beyond
Wild Justice
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
This excellent project from Canada, with content more appropriate for mature
students, has them take the role of a reporter covering the trial of two young
women accused of causing the suicide of another girl with their taunting and
bullying. Students research the case in actual news articles, write editorials,
and express their feelings about the real case with poetry and art. The project
provides for great learning about the Canadian justice system but is excellent
for any high school classroom dealing with government, sociology, journalism, or
writing.
The Charter Challenge
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
This online simulation gives high school students an opportunity to communicate
electronically about issues related to the protection of fundamental liberties,
freedoms, and human rights while also examining national security issues. Each
year, students roleplay lawyers who are assigned cases. They prepare briefs on
the cases and submit them online for judging by expert mentors from the legal
community. This is a great site to consult for curriculum ideas on government
and politics, regardless of your national origin.
Classroom
Simulations
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
A list of classroom simulations from the US Institute for Peace. Students
will be able to gain a greater insight into the dynamics of peacemaking, and
will be better able to raise pertinent questions and concerns. The simulations
included here enable participants to practice the skills of conflict management,
and to test policy options to determine the preferred response to a given set of
circumstances.
Crew's Stock Market Simulation Handbook
Grades: 7-12
Ongoing? Yes
This site contains everything needed to help students
launch into a simulation/study of the stock market.
eLections
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Yes
Inspired by the classic board game "The Game of Life," players will role-play
their own virtual candidates running for President. The one or two-player game
is both entertaining and educational - with emphasis on delivering a fun
learning experience. Kids can play with parents, students with teachers, users
of all ages with a friend, classmate, or with a computer-generated opponent. The
latest edition of eLECTIONS also
offers a computer-generated Third Party candidate.
The Election
Co-nection
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? No
Here's a great way to encourage students to become
actively involved citizens while teaching them about our political system. The
Election Co-nection site was created as a WebQuest with free registration
required to participate. Two weeks before the 2000 U.S. general election,
students from all over the country held a mock presidential election. In
addition, some students created fictitious candidates--according to the required
presidential qualifications--and ran for office in a parallel election. One
highlight of the site is election results broken down by state and demographic
profile. Resources for teachers include: clearly written instructions for how to
use the various sections of the site, a wide range of suggested curriculum
applications (from social studies and language arts to math), assessment
rubrics, and a long list of links for additional election-related information.
Electronic United Nations
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? No
Delegations of classroom "countries" research and discuss timely
political, economic, and social issues. Participants present proposals, vote on
measures, and complete online surveys in this simulation of the United Nations.
Federation Role-Playing Game
Grades: 9 -12
Ongoing? Yes
Join the characters of Star Trek in an exciting new adventure! FRPG is a very
well-organized and long running email role-playing game. Individual participants
create characters based on the Star Trek Next Generation series (40 years
afterward). To apply, participants submit a three-page application story
involving the character they created. Players do not need to be Star Trek
experts, but do need to be able to express themselves clearly in writing (and
willing to commit the time to the role play).
The Heart: An On-Line
Exploration
Grades: 7-12
Ongoing? Yes
Students can virtually explore the heart and the complexities of its development
and structure while you travel along its blood vessels exploring web like body
systems. On the site, students can also visit the heart preview gallery, the
history of heart science, learn how to have a
healthy heart,
and how to
monitor your
heart's health.
Heritage Gateways
Grades: 1-12
Ongoing? No
Students (and adults) participated in a simulation of the Mormon Trail Wagon
Trek that took place 150 years ago. The site features audio, text, and video
files depicting pioneer life.
Interactive
Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Resources
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Not sure
This site provides detailed descriptions of
high-quality resources such as a virtual frog dissection website and
mathematical modeling software. Try
http://webspace.ncsa.uiuc.edu/ncsatopics/vis/list.html for a complete
listing.
Kids Voting Canada
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
This professionally designed site brings technology and democracy together to
inspire student interest in the political process. Developed in conjunction
with the Canadian government and media, the site offers curriculum materials
about upcoming elections in Canada and links users to media resources for
classroom use. The site also provides a useful link to those looking for the
American inspiration for Kids Voting Canada,
Kids Voting USA, and explains the
process for establishing mock elections in your school. Regardless of its
Canadian content, all teachers looking for curriculum examples in political
science or current events will find them here.
Mars Academy
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
Students work on "collaborative projects to study the problems involved in
the design of a manned mission to the Red Planet. "
The site includes "courses" on topics like Mars basics and space
medicine, a trajectory calculator, and a guidebook on scientific design.
Mars
Landing
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? Yes
Here is an exciting challenge for students: land your ship on Mars without being
able to look out a window! An Exploring the Environment project in which
students study Viking Images of the Mars landscape in order to find a safe and
interesting place for their simulated space ship to land. In the process, they
learn how to use tools in the application NIH Image. In addition to a basic
outline of how to facilitate the project, this problem-based learning module
includes detailed instructions for teachers who lack experience in this kind of
approach. Assessment tips and rubrics are included.
Project Pioneer/Mars Millennium Project
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? No
This is an amazing example of what can happen through online collaboration. K-12
students from two schools in New York City and one school in Sao Paolo, Brazil
collaborated online to create ! a virtual "community" living on Mars in the year
2030. The project was multidisciplinary, including subjects from the sciences,
arts and humanities.
The Ugly
Islands Home Page
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Not sure
Do not sail on by the Ugly Islands! This primarily text-based siteis unassuming,
but more than worth a stop. The Ugly Islands are an entirely fictional, yet
lifelike, detailed, and truly funny set of islands set somewhere in the South
Pacific. The site describes their history, geology, biology, and current
political situation and sets up a variety of problems for students to try to
solve. These problems range from endangered habitats to difficult political
decisions. The key to the site lies in an easily- overlooked "teacher's
information" link from the home page. From there, teachers can find ideas
for using the site with their classes and a link to the author's homepage.
Virtual
Rome
Grades: 8-12
Ongoing? Yes
Virtual Rome is just what its name implies—a multi-user, virtual community set
during the years 70-120 AD. Players interact with one another to recreate and
experience life as an ancient Roman. Before being allowed to view this site you
must first create a login account. Make sure to choose a Roman name for your
player name or your account will not be approved.
Westward
HO!
Grades: 3-8
Ongoing? Yes
Students share travelogues, stories, and classified ads, written from the
viewpoint of pioneers. The look, the language create a
digital ambiance that will take you and your students back in time.
Cranes for Peace
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
This site is a resource page for Eleanor Coerr's book Sadako and
the 1000 Paper Cranes, which is about a girl who develops leukemia and dies
after the
Earth Day Groceries Project
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
This site shows students how to participate in the Earth Day Groceries Project , in which students decorate paper grocery bags with
pro-environmental messages, and give them to stores to use to hold customers'
groceries.
Giraffe Project (Stick Your Neck Out)
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
This site sells a curriculum in which students learn
about everyday heroes, study the quality of heroes, and then implement a
service-learning project so they, too, can be heroic.
Give Water a Hand
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
Here, teachers can download curriculum guides that
will help classes perform service-learning projects with a focus on improving
local water quality.
Holocaust/Genocide Project
Grades: 4-12
Ongoing? Yes
This project promotes education and awareness of the
Holocaust and other genocides by providing links to on-line resources, hosting
a discussion board, providing e-mail access to Holocaust experts, and
sponsoring an actual study trip to
I Have a Dream
Grades: K-8
Ongoing? Yes
I Have a Dream gives students a voice and empowers them with the knowledge that
they can make a difference. The first part of the project begins in the
classroom with groups developing dreams they have for the future. Groups then
promote their dreams to other students around the world. Students evaluate all
possible dreams and apply to work for the dream team that most interests them.
Once jobs have been assigned, the teams begin working out a plan to make their
dreams realities. The site offers support in many different languages; it also
contains a translator function so students are not discouraged from working on
teams with people from different countries because of language barriers. There
are lessons for each of the six modules of development, one of which addresses
the issue of raising money to help fund the teams’ dreams.
Kid's
Care Project
Grades: 2-12
Ongoing? Yes
This project asks students to identify a community
problem and develop an action plan, including persuasive letters to influential
people, to help combat this problem. Suggested topics include neighborhood
clean-ups, tree planting, etc. The site also contains links
to resources that will help jump start the project.
The Magenta and School Without Racism Boat Tour
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? No
From May-June, 1996, a ship called the Zeester
traveled to over two cities in
Nonprofit
Prophets
Grades: 7-12
Ongoing? Yes
Nonprofit Prophets is an interactive project that challenges groups of students
to investigate a problem that they see in the world, and then create a World
Wide Web Resource page on the Internet that teaches the world about the
problem. Typically, students collaborate with local non-profit agencies that
need a website.
The Rope Pump
Project
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
Students from around the world raise money to dig wells and the install rope
pumps in
Teen Court
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Yes
Whales Project
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? No
Students used this website to present essays, campaigns, and interesting
information to help "save the whales."
Communication in
NetWorlds (from Riel's WebTour)
Grades: 3-12
Ongoing? Yes
This site discusses various "online interactive
spaces" in which students and teachers participate in computer-mediated
meetings. Some examples are Moose Crossing, where students come to " to
meet other kids from around the world, build new places to hang out, and
program cool objects to play with" and Tapped In, where a "'point and
click' web window provides a visual image of their [teachers'] meeting place
and a set of common objects.
CU-SeeMe
KidCast for Peace
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Not sure
CU-SeeMe videoconferencing technology allows students
from around the world to "meet" several times a year and "share
their heart and ideas for making the world a happier, healthier, and more
peaceful place. "
Edison's
Greatest Invention
Grades: 6-8
Ongoing? No
In a project that combines Science, Language Arts, Technology, and Art ,
students are expected to research Thomas Edison's inventions, use
videoconferencing (CU-SeeMe) to discuss the
inventions with students at other schools, and write a five paragraph
persuasive essay (along with diagrams) identifying and defending the selection
of one of his inventions as the "greatest."
Mercury Project: Robotic
Tele-Excavation
Grades: 2-12
Ongoing? No
Students from around the world used the Internet to actually manipulate robotic
arms to excavate artifacts buried in a a sand-filled
NASA K-12 Virtual
Conferences
Grades: 3-12
Ongoing? No
This site hosted virtual conferences with NASA scientists.
Text, graphics, and sound are used to accommodate a range of Internet
connection speeds.
Picnic
in MultiCultural Park
Grades: K-6
Ongoing? Not sure
Students submit graphics and text describing games and food from around the
world. The result is a content-rich website that "feels like" a park.
Robotic
Operation of Tools from Remote Locations (from Riel's
WebTour)
Grades: 2-12
Ongoing? N/A
This site, designed for educators, describes various WWW projects in which
students can remotely manipulate robotic arms to do things like tend gardens,
aim telescopes, and stack blocks.
Schools Demining
Schools
Grades: 9-12
Ongoing? No
This action oriented, problem-solving project was committed to bringing schools
together to rid schoolyards of landmines in infested countries. It focused on
raising awareness, organizing campaigns in individual communities, and raising
money to send to the particular country of focus (which changed periodically).
Students were given the opportunity to communicate via technology with experts,
each other, the United Nations, and victim-survivors of landmines. Although the
project is not ongoing, the site includes a Landmine Fact Sheet, transcripts of
past question and answer sessions, personal accounts of landmine survivors,
teaching units, and resources.
Take Action Center
Grades: 6-12
Ongoing? Yes
Maintained by
EcologyFund.com and The Rainforest site, this site aims to keep you and your
class up-to-date about environmental campaigns. New campaigns are given center
stage on the site with all other “Take Action” projects listed in the sidebar to
the left. There is also a list of stores who donate portions of their profits
to support environmental causes. 201 sq.ft. of rainforest is protected for each
“Take Action” project in which your class participates!
The Telegarden
Grades: 2-12
Ongoing? Yes
Imagine students worldwide being able to tend to the
same garden (a real garden, not a virtual one!). The Telegarden
is just that. In this project, Internet users manipulate a tele-robotic
arm in order to view , plant, water, and monitor the
progress of a
Voices of Youth
World Summit for Social Development
Grades: 2-12
Ongoing? No
Youth from 81 countries used this site as a forum to speak on the environment,
human rights, population, poverty, gender equity, children, and other general
issues.
Writers' Corner
Cafe
Grades: 4-10 of Virtual
Architecture
Ongoing? Not Sure
This site features student writing and provides
guidelines for monthly real-time chats (using Internet Relay Chat) in which
students discuss the art of writing and even write a story
online--collaboratively!
YouthCAN: Youth
Communicating and Networking
Grades: K-12
Ongoing? Yes
YouthCAN is a youth-run site aimed at using technology to connect and help
people around the globe learn about environmental issues. YouthCAN sponsors and
organizes many conferences, activities,, events, idea exchanges, and stories
about how you can make a difference. Each spring the students of YouthCAN design
and present at a major conference in New York at the American Museum of Natural
History. This conference is attended by more than 1,000 presenters and
participants from all over the world. The site provides contact information for
the conference and planning committees as well as the prestigious list of
well-known groups who help to support YouthCAN. Other than the conference, there
is also information and links for other YouthCAN activities such as Hike the
World in which students will hike in their own areas collecting information,
taking pictures, and sharing by posting them in the forum. Another activity,
Global Reporters, asks students to research environmental issues of interest to
them and post their writings on the site. Finally, a third link provides a list
of Collaborative Projects related to environmental issues; these projects have
been created and managed by various teachers and students from around the world.