COLLABORATIVE LEARNING THROUGH THE INTERNET By Gamra Zenaidi

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COLLABORATIVE LEARNING THROUGH THE
INTERNETBy Gamra Zenaidi

• ONLINE PROJECTS

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Urgent Needs for More Motivation

• providing our students with real, authentic
  opportunities .
• stressing group work, interaction and cooperative
  learning.
• providing more motivating material.
• putting our theories and concepts into practice
  through new technologies.
• making the learning process more entertaining,
  engaging and exciting
• engaging into collaborative projects both on
  national and international levels.

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Online Projects

• Wide range of international projects providing
  more opportunities for engagement, interest and
  motivation.
• Interactive learning online is a learning for AAA
  ( Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime).
• Projects achieved by Tunisian teachers are to be
  encouraged and promoted.

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Objectives of International Projects

• learning to use new tools offered by technology.
• building dialogues of understanding.
• developing an ongoing collaborative community of
  teaching and learning together.
• communicating through interaction with global
  peers.
• encouraging cross-cultural collaboration.
• establishing human relationships among teachers
  and pupils from different nations.

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Implications

• a safe and structured environment for students to
  communicate
• a real audience for writing and reading for a
  purpose
• a culturally diverse community.
• the ability of teachers to involve students in
  writing and reading with a purpose.
• the possibility to engage them in meaningful
  learning activities.
• the opportunities to communicate in real
  communicational activities.
• the creation of intrinsically interactive,
  motivating activities

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Examples of International Projects

• ThinkQuest
• A non- profit organization offering programs
  designed to advance education through the use of
  technology.
• A growing online community where students and
  educators come together to share information.
• http//www.thinkquest.org

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Goals

• using the Internet to create Web-based
  educational tools.
• forming teams coached by teachers.
• developing innovative, high-quality educational
  materials.
• collaborating through cooperative learning.
• engaging into interactive learning through
  negotiation.
• developing projet management skills.
• raising the level of academic and technological
  expertise.
• enhancing research, writing and reading skills .

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iEARN(International Education and Resource
Network)

• Global Importance/ Achievements
• Since 1988 iEARN has enabled young people
• to use the Internet and other new technologies
  to engage in collaborative educational projects.
• to enhance learning and address issues of global
  importance.
• iEARN currently links 400,000 participants in
  over 95 countries in 29 languages.
• Students are linked through letters, emails,
  collaboration and exchanges to build an
  understanding between nations.
• final "products" include magazines, creative
  writing anthologies, websites, letter-writing
  campaigns, arts exhibits, workshops,
  performances, charity fundraising
• www.iearn.org

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ePALS

• Who can participate?
• educators
• parents
• students of all ages

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Benefits/ Services offered

• Contribution to international, multilingual,
  collaborative projects
• Meeting safely
• Using moderated discussion boards and
  password-protected chat rooms
• Creating and using monitored email accounts
• Finding partners and friends worldwide quickly
  and easily
• Participating in special ePALS events, such as
  live chats
• Overcoming language barriers with instant
  translation
• Taking advantage of resources offered by ePALS
• www.epals.com

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Projects by Tunisian Teachers

• Online and off-line projects
• Teacher-coached magazines disseminating students
  writnigs
• Personal websites mainly targeted at helping
  students with curriculum-based interactive
  exercises
• Student-oriented small projects(vocabualry lists,
  reading comprehension, language exercises)

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Limitations

• These projects lack
• collaboration between students from different
  schools
• collaboration between teachers within the same
  school and from other schools
• variety and clearly-defined pedagogical
  objectives
• continuity

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Steps to carry out a Project

• Step 1 Choose the curriculum-related goals.
• Step 2 Choose the activity structure(s)
• Step 3 Explore examples of other online projects
  to get ideas.
• Step 4 Determine the details of your project.
• Step 5 Invite collaborators to join your
  projects.
• Step 6 Form the collaborative group.
• Step 7 Have your students communicate with
  global peers on topics they already know well.
• Step 8 Create closure/ time limits

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Important Questions

• Is the project built on educational soundness?
•  
• Is there time to plan for the integration of the
  project into your existing teaching plan?
•  
• Are there clear outcomes, actions and/ or
  products for the project?
•  
• Is there a realistic timeline for the project?
•  
• Is the intended age group for the project clearly
  stated?
•  
• Are the technology requirements stated and can
  you meet them?
•  
• Are there enough participants for the project to
  be a success?
• Are there enough relevant resources for the
  project?
•  
• Is there a designated coordinator for the
  project?
•  

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Useful addresses

• http//www.thinkquest.org
• www.epals.com
• www.iearn.org
• http//www.schoolnetafrica.net (ThinkQuest
  Africa)
• http//members.tripod.com/exworthy/projects.htm
  (studentsprojects)
• http//stylusinc.com/online_course/process.htm
  (planning an interactive project)
• http//www.lclark.edu/krauss/usia/syllabus.html
  (Integrating the Internet into the classroom)