We have an exciting year planned for you!  We hope you are planning to join us. You are invited to create and sponsor your own projects; update or revitalize a project that is already in the iCollaboratory; or work in one of this year’s featured projects.

The iCollaboratory invites all students to participate online at NO cost.
To register for a project send email to icollaboratory@gmail.com with your school name, number of student participants and grade levels.
Please register for each of these projects a few weeks before it is scheduled to begin.

Featured projects we will be sponsoring are:

Moon Over Us - September-October  with Kidlink

In this project, students become cultural astronomers. They take a fact-or-fiction survey about the full moon; take digital pictures of the full moon on September 19; research and compare images of the full moon; create webpages that include poetry, history, beliefs, stories, and research. After creating their webpages they use dialogue, comments, and discussion to share their valuable insights. The project ends with a final survey and sharing reflections.  Students receive iCollaboratory Web Badge and certificate for completing the project.

Scariest Stories and Fall Poetry - October

Whether it be a scary story or a fall poem, we encourage students to share their literary work and discuss it with one another. Students use this project to develop their writing skills by sharing and discussing their narrated and/or illustrated (optional) writing in our online community.

The Scariest Stories project activities are designed to take about one hour a week in a school computer lab or on set of classroom computers. Teachers should plan to spend an hour a week in addition to the computer time for proofreading student work. Students who get involved spend more time writing, sharing and discussing their stories. Students who complete the survey, story or poem, comment on their pages outside the classroom and share a closing reflection about what they have learned will receive an iCollaboratory Web Badge and a certificate.

In this project students take a survey about what they love most about Thanksgiving or other winter holidays. They think about and write about what they are most thankful for on a webpage. Then they read other students’ thankful essays and let them know why they enjoyed reading them!  After that students take another survey to let us know what they did on Thanksgiving! At the end of the project, students share reflections about what they have learned in the project. Students who complete the project receive an iCollaboratory Web Badge and a certificate.

Activity 1: Students take a survey about what they are most thankful for  Nov. 1  - Nov. 7
Activity 2: Students write and illustrate essays about what they are most thankful for  Nov. 8 - 14
Activity 3: Students create a webpage and insert their essays into individual web pages  Nov. 15 - 22
Activity 4: Students review and discuss each others web pages Nov. 22 - Dec. 3
Activity 5: Students take the final survey and write shared reflections. Dec.4 - Dec. 10
              Students and teachers complete what ever they need to with this project! Dec. 10 - Dec. 23

Moon Over Us: Moon Phases - November-December   with Kidlink

In this project, students become astronomers. First, they will take a test to see how much they know about moon phases and how much they need to learn. Second, they follow the moon through its phases to learn as much about each of the phases as they can. They take digital pictures at least once a week to follow the moon and its phases. They research phases and write about them as they create a webpage journal about their moon observations. When they finish their journals and comment on other journals, they take a final test and write a shared reflection.
Student astronomers who complete the project receive an iCollaboratory Web Badge and a certificate.

Moon Over Us: Monthly Cycle and Influences on People - January-February   with Kidlink

It happens at least once every month. Sometimes, rarely, it happens twice a month. Up there in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's a FULL MOON.

Popular legend has it that the full moon brings out the worst in people: more violence, more suicides, more accidents, and more aggression. The influence of the moon and behavior has been called "The Lunar Effect" or "The Transylvania Effect."  The belief that the full moon causes mental disorders and strange behavior was widespread throughout Europe in the middle ages. Even the word "lunacy" meaning "insanity" comes from the Latin word for "moon." 
By http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/moon.html 

Is there scientific evidence to support these beliefs? Let's look at the data.

In this project, students become scientists.  They take a fact-or-fiction survey; share history and beliefs about the influence of the moon on their lives in spreadsheets and documents; use scientific process to prove facts and fictions about births, deaths and accidents in spreadsheets. After their research is complete, students create webpages to summarize their information and comment on the webpages. For those students who are available, we will Skype chat about their research. To complete the project, students take a final survey and share their reflections about what they have learned. They will receive iCollaboratory Web Badges and certificates for completing the project.

Chinese to USA Student Exchange - Mid January-February 

During the Moon Over Us projects, students meet each other and make friends. We would like USA families who are interested to invite Chinese students to stay at their homes and visit local schools during the Chinese New Year vacation. After school ends in the USA (June or July) Chinese students will invite the USA students and their parents to visit China and attend Chinese schools. Younger students will also come with a parent. If you think your students would like to participate in an exchange, please contact icollaboratory@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Moon Over Us: Moon Faces - March-April   with Kidlink

In the project, student astronomers around the world exchange results and analyze the differences of images of the moon and discuss this information by commenting on each other’s webpages.

In addition, students will research and share stories and legends about the Moon. The result is an intercultural exchange of explanations about the differences and similarities of each country from the sky, the data gathering technology, and cultural traditions.
After completing the project, including a final survey and sharing reflections about their learning, students receive an iCollaboratory Web Badge and a certificate.

National Poetry Month - April

Whether it be a sonnet or a cinquain, we encourage students to share their literary work and discuss it with one another. Students use this project to develop their poetry knowledge and writing skills by sharing and discussing poems they have written, narrated and/or illustrated (optional) in an online Poetry Month community.

Activity 1: Participants Take a Poetry Survey April 1-7
Activity 2: Participants Select a Poem Type April 1-14

Activity 3: Participants Create a Google Webpage and Write a Poem April 7-21

Activity 4: Participants Share & Comment April 21-30

Activity 5: Participants Take the Final Survey and write a shared Reflective Summary

When students complete the five activities they receive an iCollaboratory Web Badge and a certificate of completion.

USA to China Student Exchange - June-July  

During the Moon Over Us projects, students meet each other and make friends. We would like USA families who are interested are invited to stay with Chinese students in their homes and visit local Chinese schools during USA summer vacation before Chinese vacation starts the end of July. After school ends in the USA (June or July) Chinese students invite the USA students and their parents to visit China and attend Chinese schools. Younger students will also come with a parent. If you think your students would like to participate in an exchange, please contact icollaboratory@gmail.com as soon as possible.

We hope you will join us!

To register for a project send email to icollaboratory@gmail.com with your school name, number of student participants and grade levels.
Please register for each of these projects a few weeks before it is scheduled to begin.

Thank you,

Bonnie Thurber
iCollaboratory Director