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.
What I am Most Thankful For - November
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