Overview of Creating a Project

Ideas on how to create a project are based from information from two sources. One is Tales from the Electronic Frontier, page 46. The other is the Computing Teacher, May 1990.

This course requires basic Internet skills such as a functional use of email, mailing lists, news groups, WWW, search engines, file and image transfer and manipulation. If you do not already have these skills it is recommended that you take the "Learning Basic Internet Skills" course. If its been a while since you took "Learning Basic Internet Skills", its advisable for you to review the lessons in that course.

Designing your own Online Project

Determine your Goals


Keys to Successful Telecomputing

Some of these tips were published in an article in The Computing Teacher in May 1990 (pg. 25-28). (Reprinted with permission.)

1. Design a project with specific goals, specific tasks, and specific outcomes. The more specific, the better. You have to decide whether you want the goals aligned with "traditional instructional objectives" or whether you want to do something a bit different.

2. Set specific beginning and ending dates for your project, and set precise deadlines for participant responses. You should plan and announce your project well ahead of time (six to eight weeks is advised). You may also want to advertise several times.

3. If possible, try your project out with a close colleague first, on a small scale. This will alert you to technical problems and perhaps problems of basic project design. Don't forget about the resources close by. You may want to try a project simply between two schools in your own or neighboring school districts. If it is successful and would be enhanced by enlarging the number of participants, you can draw people in from outside of your immediate area.

4. Request collaborators by posting messages on electronic bulletin boards or mailing lists. Don't forget about the local folks - post a call for participation on your local mailing lists as well. Use the most appropriate audience you can so you limit the number of responses.

5. Give specific information about your project in the call for collaboration:
·goals and objectives
·your location
·grade level desired
·contact person
·timeline and dates
·how many responses you would like
·what you will do with the responses (will you reply to all? etc.)
·clearly state your expectations of collaborating partners

6. Provide examples of the kinds of writing or data collection that students will submit.

7. Find responsible students and train them to help facilitate your project.

8. At the conclusion of the project, share your results with others (including participants, parents, school newspaper etc.).